Oldbear83 said:

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Thanks, JustHappy2BHere. I never heard about this before. Glad it worked out well, but that was scary just to read, and reminded me a little too much about a hospital visit my daughter had when she was 5 months old. There's no way you can see that happen to family and not be scared witless.

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my nephew as well... at 18 months he fell in the kitchen and hit his head... got over it, and then at 2 am crawled out of his crib, went into the other bedroom and woke his parents up saying he felt bad. He was blue when they got him to the hospital, and they happened to have a Neurosurgeon in the building when they got there. He's fine 40 years later... scary still...

JusHappy2BeHere said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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Thanks, JustHappy2BHere. I never heard about this before. Glad it worked out well, but that was scary just to read, and reminded me a little too much about a hospital visit my daughter had when she was 5 months old. There's no way you can see that happen to family and not be scared witless.

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my nephew as well... at 18 months he fell in the kitchen and hit his head... got over it, and then at 2 am crawled out of his crib, went into the other bedroom and woke his parents up saying he felt bad. He was blue when they got him to the hospital, and they happened to have a Neurosurgeon in the building when they got there. He's fine 40 years later... scary still...

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When my daughter had her episode, my wife and I were happy at first that the ER people moved her to the front of the line. Then I realized they moved my daughter ahead of two gunshot victims, meaning this was "oh ****" serious even to the doctors. Worst night of my life, waiting and not being able to do anything but pray.

Jagan graduates high school next May and starts college next fall. I never forget how lucky my wife and I were that night, or how different things could have been..

It appears pictures with the World Series trophy on this tour are free, unlike the $35 required donation required at Minute Maid in December.

https://www.mlb.com/astros/fans/world-series-trophy-tour/

Wednesday at the South Austin Academy ... I just may have to head down.

Astros "on verge" of acquiring 2011 #1 overall pick, MLB All-star, and starting RHP Gerrit Cole from the Pirates.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-buzz-trade-talk-deals-and-rumors/c-260657722

But what will Houston have to give up to get him ....

Please be true. And if it's Kyle Tucker, then that's good news for those hoping Marwin wants to stay an Astro.

Boom.

The Astros now have the 2011 #1 overall pick in addition to making the 2012, 2013, and 2014 #1 overall picks.

So that's Gerrit Cole, Carlos Correa, and what would become Alex Bregman.

Seeing from other sites and Tweets that it is not official yet. Lots of smoke though and would be a huge get. Go 'Stros!

Bear8084 said:

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Seeing from other sites and Tweets that it is not official yet. Lots of smoke though and would be a huge get. Go 'Stros!

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Yep. Jon Morosi went a little too quickly. We'll see.

ValpoCory said:

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Bear8084 said:

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Seeing from other sites and Tweets that it is not official yet. Lots of smoke though and would be a huge get. Go 'Stros!

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Yep. Jon Morosi went a little too quickly. We'll see.

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Yeah, reminds me when we got Verlander and is leaked out but everyone was sure it wasn't a done deal yet. Go 'Stros!

Any concern about his down year last season?

BearFoot said:

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Any concern about his down year last season?

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Definitely. Cole is no Verlander. That's why no one needs to worry about the Astros trading away Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley, who were untouchable even for Verlander.

What Cole gives you is a workhorse that can pitch 200 innings with reasonably good stuff. That has some value.

I got really excited, then really sad

Don't sweat it. Bad track record of winning at Minute Maid anyway:

http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2008-2009/bu07.html

Crash Davis said:

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Don't sweat it. Bad track record of winning at Minute Maid anyway:

http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2008-2009/bu07.html

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Great find. Who was Gerrit Cole's battery mate in that game?

ValpoCory said:

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Crash Davis said:

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Don't sweat it. Bad track record of winning at Minute Maid anyway:

http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2008-2009/bu07.html

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Great find. Who was Gerrit Cole's battery mate in that game?

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Is this a trick question? It was Steve Rodriguez.

I was there. Cole had a great outing. Six innings of two hit ball. He gave up one unearned run, which earned him the loss. We won off their bullpen. It did not hurt that we had a triple play, started by Dustin Dickerson.

Nguyen One Soon said:

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ValpoCory said:

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Crash Davis said:

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Don't sweat it. Bad track record of winning at Minute Maid anyway:

http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2008-2009/bu07.html

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Great find. Who was Gerrit Cole's battery mate in that game?

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Is this a trick question? It was Steve Rodriguez.

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Steve Rodriguez is everywhere.

WE just got better

Didn't give up the farm to get him, either.

Best offense ever? Astros have shot at history

Lineup that led MLB in runs, wOBA, wRC+ in 2017 could be better

Quote:

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By Mike Petriello MLB.com @mike_petriello
Jan. 29th, 2018



In 2017, the Astros had the best offense in baseball, and that's not a particularly controversial statement. Houston scored the most runs (896), had the fewest strikeouts (1,087 -- 17 percent of its times to the plate), and had the second-most home runs (238). Like traditional stats? The Astros had the highest batting average (.282) and slugging percentage (.478). Prefer advanced metrics? They led in Weighted On-Base Average (.349) and Weighted Runs Created Plus (121, where 100 is "league average" for that year), too.

They were so good, in fact, that to call them "2017's best offense" actually undersells them considerably. Last year's Astros were either modern baseball's fourth-best offense ever (if you include pitchers batting) or the 10th-best offense ever (if you don't).

Either way, it was a historic performance, and in 2018, they're going to bring back more or less the same group, which leads to an important question. No, it's not "can they do it again." It's this: Can they be even better? Is there a path to another historic season here?
Yes -- if everything goes right, which it rarely does. But could it?
Before we get to their ceiling, let's start with the Astros' floor, which is considerable. Despite the presence of multiple superstars here, this isn't a collection that revolves around one or two players. Part of the reason they're so good is because they're so deep -- their primary No. 8 hitter last year, for example, was Alex Bregman. All he did was to hit .284/.352/.475 (122 wRC+) at 23 years old and homer off Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Chris Sale (twice) in the playoffs.

Just over one year ago, we looked at the Steamer numbers and noted that the Astros were projected to have 2017's deepest lineup, with eight hitters expected to have at least 300 plate appearances and league-average or better production. As it turned out, they had nine. (Like everyone else on Earth, Steamer did not see Marwin Gonzalez coming.)
If we do the same exercise for 2018, we get nine projected to be average or better. No other team has more, and that makes sense. Veterans like George Springer, Brian McCann, Evan Gattis and Josh Reddick have found their above-average level and stayed there for the past few seasons. We're now four seasons into Jose Altuve being a star, and two years into him being a superstar. Correa has been a stud from the first day he set foot onto the diamond. Yuli Gurriel's first full season was more or less what his Cuban history suggested. There's not a huge risk of collapse from most of this group, barring injury. Almost no one had an unexpected breakout.
We know the Astros can be good, but how can they be great? Let's build out a best-case scenario with three reasons to think that the 2018 group could top the '17 version and challenge the best lineups in baseball history -- and, to be fair, one big reason they might not.
First, the three reasons they should improve:
Correa stays healthy
You won't see Correa on the leaderboard of baseball's top hitters, because he didn't qualify. Thanks to a thumb injury and ensuing surgery, Correa played in only 109 games and took 481 plate appearances, short of the necessary 502. If he had managed to get those 19 additional times up to the plate, he'd have tied with Freddie Freeman to be baseball's sixth-best hitter in terms of wRC+ -- and he only turned 23 in September.

You obviously can't just assume that Correa's same performance from last year will continue into next year, which is why we look to projections. By their nature, they're conservative, but both ZiPS (142 wRC+) and Steamer (140 wRC+) suggest a reasonable outcome is an elite-level season, with a chance for more. Correa might have missed something like 150 plate appearances last year; some of those went to J.D. Davis (.279 OBP), who filled in at third as Bregman pushed to short. The more Correa plate appearances, the better.
Fixing the problem spots
Speaking of shifting plate appearances to more productive hitters... Last year, 17 Astros hitters received at least 50 plate appearances. Of those 17, five produced at a below-average level:
Designated hitter Carlos Beltran (509 PA, 76 wRC+)
Left fielder Norichika Aoki (224 PA, 88 wRC+)
Left fielder Derek Fisher (166 PA, 82 wRC+)
Center fielder Cameron Maybin (63 PA, 72 wRC+)
Center Juan Centeno (57 PA, 67 wRC+)
That's 1,019 plate appearances that came out to a total line of .234/.292/.378 (79 wRC+), which is basically what Jason Heyward (.243./315/.353, 78 wRC+) has done over 1,073 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2016-17. That can do a lot to drag down an offense.
But as things stand, four of those players will not be on the Opening Day roster, possibly all five. Beltran retired at the end of the year. Maybin is a free agent, unlikely to return. Aoki was traded to Toronto in July. Centeno was claimed off waivers by Texas in November. Fisher will probably see time with Houston, but he's also just 24 and could easily return to Triple-A to begin the season.
The Astros already had the fewest below-average hitters last year, and now this entire group might be replaced (or, in Fisher's case, retains hope of better performance). Maybe prospect Kyle Tucker steps up, or a healthy Jake Marisnick continues his 2017 improvement (.243/.319/.496, 117 wRC+), or a Lucas Duda type arrives to take some DH time. We don't know yet. But we do know that last year's limited problem areas aren't returning.

Bregman picks up where he left off

In the first half, Bregman was good, but not great, hitting .256/.338/.419 (105 wRC+). It made him the 93rd-best hitter of 166 qualified batters. In the second half, Bregman exploded, hitting hitting .315/.367/.536 (141 wRC+). That made him the 18th-best batter of 162 qualified hitters -- in the second half, he outhit Jose Ramirez, Anthony Rendon and Cody Bellinger.

There's reason to wonder how much of that is sustainable; Bregman didn't hit the ball harder, or in the air more, or even walk more. He mostly struck out less and pulled the ball more. That's why the projections are splitting the difference; Steamer (122 wRC+) and ZiPS (115 wRC+) are seeing basically what Bregman put up in 2017 (122 wRC+). That's probably fair, to think that he's better than his first half and not as good as his second half. But Bregman is still not even 24 yet, which makes his second-half breakout all the more appealing.
Now, other than injury, what might make us hesitant to expect greatness?

No one knows what to make of Gonzalez
Between his smashing breakout hitting year (.303/.377/.530, 144 wRC+) and his ability to make starts at five positions, Gonzalez got some down-ballot American League MVP Award support in 2017. But what is he? Over Gonzalez's previous five seasons, he hit just .257/.298/.389 (90 wRC+). Last year, only one other hitter had a larger gap metrics indicated would be expected and what actually happened. Looking back at 2016's biggest overperformers -- like Trea Turner, Sandy Leon, Tyler Naquin and Aledmys Diaz -- very few maintained their performance in 2017.

It doesn't mean Gonzalez can't repeat, of course. But you understand why the projection systems are so conservative here, with Steamer seeing a 103 wRC+ and ZiPS at 106. How could you not be?

Ultimately, the argument is academic. Barring an injury disaster of epic proportions, this is going to be one of the best lineups in the baseball, probably the best, and whether it ranks in the top five or 15 or 30 of the all-time list is less important than how much damage the put on the rest of the AL in 2018. From the way things stand now, that looks to be considerable.

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New threads for our first homestand. If it were up to me, I would wear these in Arlington to start out the season. Go 'Stros!!!!!

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22356050/why-hit-400-ever-again

Interesting read.


Watch Altuve do it now.

GoldMind said:

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http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22356050/why-hit-400-ever-again

Interesting read.


Watch Altuve do it now.

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I read it too. Not exactly going out on a limb, especially when teams would rather their players hit for a 1.000 OPS than a .400 batting average.

Realmuto for Kyle Tucker in the works?

BearFoot said:

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Realmuto for Kyle Tucker in the works?

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Better not be

https://www.fishstripes.com/2018/2/10/16999614/mlb-trade-rumors-miami-marlins-astros-engaged-in-jt-realmuto-negotiations

BearFoot said:

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https://www.fishstripes.com/2018/2/10/16999614/mlb-trade-rumors-miami-marlins-astros-engaged-in-jt-realmuto-negotiations

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Pray they know what they're doing.

I trust Luhnow and company, but it would be a head scratcher of a trade when we already have McCann and Gattis.

Bear8084 said:

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I trust Luhnow and company, but it would be a head scratcher of a trade when we already have McCann and Gattis.

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If the Astros were to obtain Realmuto, then the already unlikely 2019 option for Brian McCann will all but certainly be declined. Catcher is the one position where the Astros don't have a bright present or future.

McCann's intangibles are better than his tangibles right now. He'll be fine for this year, but in 2019, the catcher position needs to be addressed.

GoldMind said:

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BearFoot said:

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Realmuto for Kyle Tucker in the works?

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Better not be

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Marwin Gonzalez fans would like that, for if Tucker is an Astros heading to Spring Training in 2019, Marwin won't be.

ValpoCory said:

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Bear8084 said:

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I trust Luhnow and company, but it would be a head scratcher of a trade when we already have McCann and Gattis.

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If the Astros were to obtain Realmuto, then the already unlikely 2019 option for Brian McCann will all but certainly be declined. Catcher is the one position where the Astros don't have a bright present or future.

McCann's intangibles are better than his tangibles right now. He'll be fine for this year, but in 2019, the catcher position needs to be addressed.

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Giving up our #1 prospect for an old catcher, whose numbers are slightly better than McCann's if I recall, when we didn't have to for better prospects would be shortsighted.

Bear8084 said:

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ValpoCory said:

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Bear8084 said:

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I trust Luhnow and company, but it would be a head scratcher of a trade when we already have McCann and Gattis.

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If the Astros were to obtain Realmuto, then the already unlikely 2019 option for Brian McCann will all but certainly be declined. Catcher is the one position where the Astros don't have a bright present or future.

McCann's intangibles are better than his tangibles right now. He'll be fine for this year, but in 2019, the catcher position needs to be addressed.

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Giving up our #1 prospect for an old catcher, whose numbers are slightly better than McCann's if I recall, when we didn't have to for better prospects would be shortsighted.

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Poor McCann looked like he was in agonizing pain any time he had to run bases in the World Series