Astros series

[Chavez Ravine]

The 13 year old boy in me was thinking the other day that Felix needs to blow a few now so that he doesn’t decide to pick October as the time to be normal. Yawn…my take home is that we can run with these dudes and they need a miracle to beat us. Granted, I didn’t actually watch the critical innings because I had to make dinner and have a “conversation” with my SO.

[Just Regular]

Its a good challenge.    TEX, TBR, meh - the Astros are the class of the league and until anybody Ric Flairs and beats the man, everybody in the league knows it.

Encouraging Grayson line, Bats effective against one of the best pitchers in the league, just need to see Felix bounce back.    

Its true "biggest series of the year" is just one long string bet the way tournament playoffs are set up.    As in the last few weeks, the Orioles have entered the race for best record in the league and HFA throughout playoffs, it does add some juice to these HOU matchups.     For a while, BAL series have been throwaways for HOU - having their attention is fun.

[Malike]

7 minutes ago, Alasdaire said:

He's not infallible, but I question how much teams/players who have climbed the mountain before and whose seasons are failures if they do anything other than win a world series are really dialed in to game 122 or whatever of the regular season against a cellar dweller team in St. Louis. Valdez is an elite pitcher who can turn it on like he did in his last start to pitch a no hitter, and I would not feel confident this lineup would bat him around in the playoffs. It's encouraging that they've shown the ability to him him though, no doubt.

I have always been curious about if guys can just turn it on, why would they ever turn it off?

[e16bball]

44 minutes ago, vab said:

Really? A dropped third strike? 

I didn’t mean it to sound like I was bagging on the guy, but…Tucker did foul-tip one into the mitt (on 102 MPH gas) and McCann just wasn’t able to squeeze it. 

Very tough play, but if he had been able to secure it, they’re down to their last out. 

[Alasdaire]

1 minute ago, Malike said:

I have always been curious about if guys can just turn it on, why would they ever turn it off?

It's a good question. I think it gets at some of the questions about being "clutch" that a lot of statistically oriented baseball fans don't believe in and that is very difficult to prove one way or another.

This is just broscience, but maybe it has to do with how guys are motivated. In sports and otherwise, some people can intrinsically regulate their motivation and sustain effort. But others rely on external motivators like an upcoming deadline. If there's any truth to that, those people would have variable performance because the external source of motivation is not omnipresent, so they struggle with being "on" all the time.

Maybe in the same way that "January Joe" Flacco seemed to find a different gear in the playoffs, he would've been the type of student who slacked off until the night before his project was due until he felt that gust of wind at his back.

Part of what also might distinguish players who can turn it "on" is the ability to perform under pressure that some athletes have and other don't. Again, see "Joe Cool," which you could say about Montana, Flacco, and now Burrow.

All of that is just guesswork, but I do think about it sometimes because it seems like athletes very much seem to believe in the idea of certain guys being clutch or having another gear, so I'm inclined to believe there's something there.

[maybenxtyr]

4 hours ago, eddie83 said:

I was there recall it vividly. 

Same. First in person game in 12 years.

[RZNJ]

5 hours ago, e16bball said:

I didn’t mean it to sound like I was bagging on the guy, but…Tucker did foul-tip one into the mitt (on 102 MPH gas) and McCann just wasn’t able to squeeze it. 

Very tough play, but if he had been able to secure it, they’re down to their last out. 

It’s not really a play.  It either sticks in there or it doesn’t.  I don’t think it’s a skill.

[sportsfan8703]

Tucker is a really good player. Bautista couldn’t get a fb by him and didn’t want to throw the split 2-2 with the bases loaded. So he threw a pitch that everyone knew was coming. It’s a learning moment. Hopefully, in the playoffs Bautista doesn’t “give in” and trusts his stuff. If you walk in a run, so be it. This just shows how 102 isn’t nothing anymore if they know it’s coming right down the pipe. 

[SilentJames]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Tucker is a really good player. Bautista couldn’t get a fb by him and didn’t want to throw the split 2-2 with the bases loaded. So he threw a pitch that everyone knew was coming. It’s a learning moment. Hopefully, in the playoffs Bautista doesn’t “give in” and trusts his stuff. If you walk in a run, so be it. This just shows how 102 isn’t nothing anymore if they know it’s coming right down the pipe. 

Even if you know it’s coming 102 is still hard to hit, but any MLB hitter can guess right and run into one. 
 

it happens. 

[glenn__davis]

As good as he has been, more bad luck for Felix.  He's given up 4 HRs on the year, all 4 have led to blown saves.

[Keygans]

1 hour ago, glenn__davis said:

As good as he has been, more bad luck for Felix.  He's given up 4 HRs on the year, all 4 have led to blown saves.

Agree.   I’d rather him get beat on the fastball than the splitter.    Some times you tip your hat.   
 

His stuff was slightly off,  he made a few bad pitches the batter before.. though Mateo or any normal CF should’ve caught it,  his location was WAY off.      Also… I think Rutchman catches the dropped “strike 3s”.   So just move on to tonight 

[Dibbs31]

Insane to me that people think McCann should have caught that foul tip. It happens all the time in almost every game where a catcher drops a tipped third strike. 

[Frobby]

9 hours ago, e16bball said:

I didn’t mean it to sound like I was bagging on the guy, but…Tucker did foul-tip one into the mitt (on 102 MPH gas) and McCann just wasn’t able to squeeze it. 

Very tough play, but if he had been able to secure it, they’re down to their last out. 

Was right in his glove.  

[gallden]

Hindsight being what it is.. throwing the splitter to Tucker for two straight balls wouldn't have been the end of the world.  Hitters hit they see this velo everyday. 

[lfallo1]

s***** loss where we pushed Astros around, and then your AS closer throws a dud.  McCann play would have been nice, but as some others have said, that seems like one that sticks in the glove or it doesn't.  Mateo looking like a deer in headlights was not a great look, and Mullins can't get back fast enough.

Edited August 9, 2023 by lfallo1