We would me a nightmare matchup for LA...again

Astros have the tie breaker over the Dodgers as well. (Division record)

sahen said:

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JusHappy2BeHere said:

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11 games left for Houston and New York, 10 for Ellay.

Astros and Yanks tied for the best record in baseball, and the Dodgers 1/2 game back...

Houston has Rangers, Angels, @Mariners, @Angels

New York has Angels, Jays, @Rays, @Rangers

Dodgers have Rays, Rockies, @Padres, @Giants

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Dodgers are 1.5 games back and have 12 left to play counting their game tonight against the Mets

Astros hold the important tie breaker with the Yankees so even though we are tied with them we are basically a game up.

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Win the rest anyway, Astros. Send a good signal

sahen said:

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JusHappy2BeHere said:

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11 games left for Houston and New York, 10 for Ellay.

Astros and Yanks tied for the best record in baseball, and the Dodgers 1/2 game back...

Houston has Rangers, Angels, @Mariners, @Angels

New York has Angels, Jays, @Rays, @Rangers

Dodgers have Rays, Rockies, @Padres, @Giants

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Dodgers are 1.5 games back and have 12 left to play counting their game tonight against the Mets

Astros hold the important tie breaker with the Yankees so even though we are tied with them we are basically a game up.

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you are correct.... and I am bad at counting apparently

Its on!!

Playoff dominance is a comin!!

GoldMind said:

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Its on!!

Playoff dominance is a comin!!

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Be nice if we showed up tonight. Astros down 5-3, out hit 8 to 2 so far. Plenty of time to come back and win, but real stinker by Jose U so far.

Astros down 6 to 3 now, top of the 6th, 2 out man on 2nd

Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Its on!!

Playoff dominance is a comin!!

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Be nice if we showed up tonight. Astros down 5-3, out hit 8 to 2 so far. Plenty of time to come back and win, but real stinker by Jose U so far.

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Well well we'll if it ain't old geezer showed up when we're losing.

Yea in the meantime, most media types have agreed that we are the best and most complete team in the last 100 years.

GoldMind said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Its on!!

Playoff dominance is a comin!!

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Be nice if we showed up tonight. Astros down 5-3, out hit 8 to 2 so far. Plenty of time to come back and win, but real stinker by Jose U so far.

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Well well we'll if it ain't old geezer showed up when we're losing.

Yea in the meantime, most media types have agreed that we are the best and most complete team in the last 100 years.

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be nice to clinch tonight, is all.

And praise from the media does not mean relax and take the night off.

Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Its on!!

Playoff dominance is a comin!!

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Be nice if we showed up tonight. Astros down 5-3, out hit 8 to 2 so far. Plenty of time to come back and win, but real stinker by Jose U so far.

---

Well well we'll if it ain't old geezer showed up when we're losing.

Yea in the meantime, most media types have agreed that we are the best and most complete team in the last 100 years.

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be nice to clinch tonight, is all.

And praise from the media does not mean relax and take the night off.

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I guess we've taken the night off 53 times this year, oldbear

GoldMind said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Its on!!

Playoff dominance is a comin!!

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Be nice if we showed up tonight. Astros down 5-3, out hit 8 to 2 so far. Plenty of time to come back and win, but real stinker by Jose U so far.

---

Well well we'll if it ain't old geezer showed up when we're losing.

Yea in the meantime, most media types have agreed that we are the best and most complete team in the last 100 years.

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be nice to clinch tonight, is all.

And praise from the media does not mean relax and take the night off.

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I guess we've taken the night off 53 times this year, oldbear

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Nah, some games we just ran into a better team. Tonight is like one of those two games we saw from Miley.

Astros keep Anaheim at 6 runs, get a run to make it 6-4 now top of the 9th.

Rondon on the mound trying to keep the Angels at 6 so Houston has a chance.

Calhoun homers, 8-4 Angels now

Astros go 1-2-3 in the 9th, lose 8-4.

Yankees close a game, even with Houston at 101 wins but the Yankees have 55 losses while Houston has 53 losses.

No help from the Rangers either... 9-0 As in the 3rd.

I will be driving this afternoon, and so will not be able to comment while the Astros clinch their 3rd straight division title.

Cruising and finally giving Verlander some awesome run support to clinch it. Up 13-2, top of the 7th.

Go 'Stros!!!!!

What
A
Time
To
Be
Alive

Question:

Would you rather be the #2 seed and not have to face Oakland in the 1v4 matchup? Or would you rather have the 1 seed and just hope that you can win games 1 and 2 with Verlander and Cole in a best of 7?

Houston is 2-6 vs Oakland in the last 8 although and has been kryptonite for HOU lately. That said, I believe they've only faced Verlander once and Cole- maybe once? (Maybe not at all - he was a scratch, I believe, in one of their series but I could be misremembering. It may have been another series.)

NY can't pitch but they can hit throughout the lineup. I somewhat like the idea of having NY dispose of Oakland preemptively but I'm nervous about giving up home field.

In the end, my gut says getting the 1 seed is ideal and you just hope that, if Oakland is your matchup, that you can go up 2-0 in the first two and then win 2/5 on the back-end, retaining home field vs the Yankees. But there is a little part of me that is worried about Oakland and their momentum against the 'Stros in recent months.

You want the best record and to play the wild card team. A one game playoff is taxing on the pitching staffs. Both teams will throw their ace and both will go to pins quickly if there are signs of trouble.

A well rested Minnesota team is scary in and of itself.

GrowlTowel said:

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You want the best record and to play the wild card team. A one game playoff is taxing on the pitching staffs. Both teams will throw their ace and both will go to pins quickly if there are signs of trouble.

A well rested Minnesota team is scary in and of itself.

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I don't want to sound dismissive of Minnesota, they are a very good ballclub. But... they have the #29/30 SOS in the country this year and I somewhat feel like their stats are a little inflated.

Oakland is just playing well with a lot of confidence right now. Atlanta on the NL side is similar. I had not considered the impact of OAK having to throw their #1 in the WC game and the impact on their rotation for the following series. You're right - that does change my thinking.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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Question:

Would you rather be the #2 seed and not have to face Oakland in the 1v4 matchup? Or would you rather have the 1 seed and just hope that you can win games 1 and 2 with Verlander and Cole in a best of 7?

Houston is 2-6 vs Oakland in the last 8 although and has been kryptonite for HOU lately. That said, I believe they've only faced Verlander once and Cole- maybe once? (Maybe not at all - he was a scratch, I believe, in one of their series but I could be misremembering. It may have been another series.)

NY can't pitch but they can hit throughout the lineup. I somewhat like the idea of having NY dispose of Oakland preemptively but I'm nervous about giving up home field.

In the end, my gut says getting the 1 seed is ideal and you just hope that, if Oakland is your matchup, that you can go up 2-0 in the first two and then win 2/5 on the back-end, retaining home field vs the Yankees. But there is a little part of me that is worried about Oakland and their momentum against the 'Stros in recent months.

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Division Series is best 3 out of 5. I feel pretty good about the Astros chances running Verlander, Cole, Greinke out there in a 5 game series. If they are down 1-2 after the first 3 then you make them beat Verlander and Cole again in Houston. I don't care what the other team's jersey says that set up is as good as you can possibly have.

In the end, the Astros want home field advantage. They have the best home record in the league this year and Minute Maid is nuts for playoff games. The Astros want every team to be facing Verlander and Cole and 45000 screaming fans as many times as possible.

I hope the Astros resign Garrit Cole this winter... but it's going to take an insane amount of money.

sahen said:

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BaylorGuy314 said:

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Question:

Would you rather be the #2 seed and not have to face Oakland in the 1v4 matchup? Or would you rather have the 1 seed and just hope that you can win games 1 and 2 with Verlander and Cole in a best of 7?

Houston is 2-6 vs Oakland in the last 8 although and has been kryptonite for HOU lately. That said, I believe they've only faced Verlander once and Cole- maybe once? (Maybe not at all - he was a scratch, I believe, in one of their series but I could be misremembering. It may have been another series.)

NY can't pitch but they can hit throughout the lineup. I somewhat like the idea of having NY dispose of Oakland preemptively but I'm nervous about giving up home field.

In the end, my gut says getting the 1 seed is ideal and you just hope that, if Oakland is your matchup, that you can go up 2-0 in the first two and then win 2/5 on the back-end, retaining home field vs the Yankees. But there is a little part of me that is worried about Oakland and their momentum against the 'Stros in recent months.

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Division Series is best 3 out of 5. I feel pretty good about the Astros chances running Verlander, Cole, Greinke out there in a 5 game series. If they are down 1-2 after the first 3 then you make them beat Verlander and Cole again in Houston. I don't care what the other team's jersey says that set up is as good as you can possibly have.

In the end, the Astros want home field advantage. They have the best home record in the league this year and Minute Maid is nuts for playoff games. The Astros want every team to be facing Verlander and Cole and 45000 screaming fans as many times as possible.

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You are right...brain fart on the division series being 3/5.

I am reversing my position (or...reinforcing my original, somewhat wishy-washy, position).

Verlander has had 3 starts vs Oakland since the break. 19IP, 11H, 6R (5ER), 33K, 4BB
Cole has only had 1 start vs Oakland since the break. 7IP, 2H, 1R/ER, 11K, 1BB

It's interesting to me that the way the schedule has fallen, Cole hasn't had to face Oakland but once since the ASB. I haven't looked at the other matchups vs Oakland in the last 8 but I seem to recall Miley getting shelled twice (which is another post topic altogether), Urquidy having a so-so appearance once, Verlander pitching a gem but still losing, and Greinke getting a win or two. I just don't think Oakland has had to face our typical rotation.

Either way, based on the stats, I feel really good about HOU 1, 2, 3 vs theirs. Hope the Stros can finish up these last 5 games strong and healthy and then roll into the postseason with some swagger.

JusHappy2BeHere said:

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I hope the Astros resign Garrit Cole this winter... but it's going to take an insane amount of money.

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Clearly they will want to but, yeah, someone is going to back a truck full of money to his house. He's had an amazing year thus far.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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JusHappy2BeHere said:

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I hope the Astros resign Garrit Cole this winter... but it's going to take an insane amount of money.

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Clearly they will want to but, yeah, someone is going to back a truck full of money to his house. He's had an amazing year thus far.

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Playing Devil's Advocate, one reason Cole has done so well this season is so e has a strong position for bargaining.

If the Astros pay him what he wants, will they get a season next year as good as this one? I don't think so. Cole's no slacker, but I don't see him the way I do a Verlander, who always pitches as if he will be judged on his last game. Is it maybe smarter to spend money on other talent in, say, a bullpen?

Oldbear83 said:

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BaylorGuy314 said:

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JusHappy2BeHere said:

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I hope the Astros resign Garrit Cole this winter... but it's going to take an insane amount of money.

---

Clearly they will want to but, yeah, someone is going to back a truck full of money to his house. He's had an amazing year thus far.

---

Playing Devil's Advocate, one reason Cole has done so well this season is so e has a strong position for bargaining.

If the Astros pay him what he wants, will they get a season next year as good as this one? I don't think so. Cole's no slacker, but I don't see him the way I do a Verlander, who always pitches as if he will be judged on his last game. Is it maybe smarter to spend money on other talent in, say, a bullpen?

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Cole has had a season of historic proportions: All time Astros strikeouts in a season breaking a 40-year-old record. Even if he works just as hard, he's unlikely to repeat that.

Oldbear83 said:

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BaylorGuy314 said:

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JusHappy2BeHere said:

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I hope the Astros resign Garrit Cole this winter... but it's going to take an insane amount of money.

---

Clearly they will want to but, yeah, someone is going to back a truck full of money to his house. He's had an amazing year thus far.

---

Playing Devil's Advocate, one reason Cole has done so well this season is so e has a strong position for bargaining.

If the Astros pay him what he wants, will they get a season next year as good as this one? I don't think so. Cole's no slacker, but I don't see him the way I do a Verlander, who always pitches as if he will be judged on his last game. Is it maybe smarter to spend money on other talent in, say, a bullpen?

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Glad it is not my money cause Cole is gonna demand a ton. I do not think he is only doing well cause it is a contract year, but it is unlikely he repeats this year's performance. He is basically wrapping up one of the most dominant years of all time and it would be hard for anyone to repeat that.

As a fan I hope Crane says to hell with the money and pays him. Then we get to see several more years of Verlander, Cole, and Greinke and laugh at opponents as they try to score a couple runs why we see how many fans we can pepper with home run balls. We could enjoy yearly debates on which of our 3 should get the Cy Young, but if that doesn't happen we will still win a ton of games.


Here is a scary thought. What if we would have paid Charlie Morton to stay with us as well. Would they even make the Astros play the games?

Yordan is about to be on Reggie Jackson levels of playoff immortality

Wade Miley needs to go to the bench.

GoldMind said:

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Wade Miley needs to go to the bench.

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Yeah, it's pretty obvious something is wrong.

Oldbear83 said:

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GoldMind said:

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Wade Miley needs to go to the bench.

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Yeah, it's pretty obvious something is wrong.

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3 runs given up so far on 4 hits, 2 walks, plus a balk.

And we're still in the 2nd inning.

Yikes.

Well, I know we can't win em all, but it's hard to understand what happened to Wade.

Oldbear83 said:

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Well, I know we can't win em all, but it's hard to understand what happened to Wade.

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Mileage perhaps

GoldMind said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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Well, I know we can't win em all, but it's hard to understand what happened to Wade.

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Mileage perhaps

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Didn't think about that, but it makes sense. Gotta be killing Wade to run dry now.