Ahhhhh, okay, here we go. If you're only going to watch one baseball game this year, this is the one.
Game 1: Nats 5-4 Astros
Game 2: Nats 12-5 Astros
Game 3: Astros 4-1 Nats
Game 4: Astros 8-1 Nats
Game 5: Astros 7-1 Nats
Game 6: Nats 7-2 Astros
First time in US sports history where the road team has won each of the first six games (happened a few times over five games but never for six), does that end tonight? I didn't write this at the time but after Game Two it seemed to me that the Astros would win the next four games and we'd forget the early dominance of the Nats. My thinking was threefold: 1) I had the Astros in six and expected that schedule to hold; 2) the beatdown the Nats laid down in Game Two is one of those beatings that feels great at the time but was likely to be more motivational to the losing team rather than the winning one; 3) did the Nats think they were gonna beat Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander again? Well the Nats did get to Verlander a second time and held off defeat last night, even after going down in the 1st inning. Impressive.
You'd expect the home team to be the favorite but that doesn't seem to be the case this time around. That said, the Astros will have Cole available tonight to bolster what has been a spotty at best bullpen. The Nats are either hot or cold, if they can get to Zach Greinke early, they could run away with it. That said, I think runs will be hard to come by tonight and I'll stick with the Astros. Damn, I love baseball!
Showing posts with label astros. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astros. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Sunday, October 20, 2019
2019 World Series
The Nats blasted through the Cards after sneaking past the heavy favorite Dodgers. Their pitching (Sanchez, Scherzer and Strasburg) has been lights out for the last coupla weeks but the Cards were overmatched and the Dodgers were ready to lose, so seeing the Nats here isn't a shock. But as good as that pitching has been, it's hard to imagine they're gonna dominate the Astros lineup.
The Astros are the best team in baseball, have been all year long and frankly I thought that only the Yankees (*) and Dodgers (well, and the Cubs) had any chance of beating them this year and they'll been facing none of these teams in the next round, so it already feels over.
In this matchup the Astros have the better offense, defense, pitching, coaching and the home field advantage. In baseball that doesn't always matter, the better team really only has slightly better than 50/50 chance of winning in a 7-game series. But I'm not going upset here. The Astros bats can occasionally go cold and that Nats starting pitching is pretty damn good, but I don't see the Astros losing more than two games.
Gotta go Astros over the Nats in 6.
Revisiting my pre-season over/under predictions, how did I do this season?
Right
Red Sox (yeah, they had regression written all over them but I still had them in the play-in game), Blue Jays (yeah, they were what I thought they'd be)
Twins (they really pulled it together this year, I knew they'd be good but they were even better than I thought), White Sox (yup, they were pretty terrible), Royals (yup, they were pretty terrible)
A's (good squad, they always play hard), Rangers (they were I thought: slightly underrated but not really good enough to make a run)
Nats (losing Bryce Harper was all they needed to take off), Mets (barely covered but they did), Phillies (I knew adding Bryce Harper was not gonna get them where they wanted to go)
Cards (yeah, felt time for them to reassert their leadership in this division), Reds (not bad actually, they could've been a lot worse), Pirates (that Renaissance they'd had for the last few years felt like a mirage and it was)
Dodgers (the class of the division for the foreseeable future), D-Backs (not bad but nowhere near the post-season), Rockies (mediocre as usual)
Wrong
Yankees (thought they'd be good but they were even better), Rays (didn't see them as a playoff team but they were tough), Orioles (wow, even worse than I thought they'd be!)
Indians (I thought 90 W's would take that division, not even close and their 93 W's didn't even get them in the play-in game), Tigers (omg, were they really that bad?)
Astros (man, I knew they were the best team but they blew my expectations out of the water), Angels (thought they'd be ready to make a move this season...nope), Mariners (not sure what happened to them, felt like they were growing nicely)
Braves (they were better than I thought they'd be but somehow I knew they would be), Marlins (yuch, they're even more terrible than I would've thought possible)
Brewers (thought they'd finish behind the Cubs, they did not), Cubs (thought they'd finish ahead of the Brewers, they did not)
Padres (did I really think they were gonna be good?), Giants (better than I thought they'd be, still waiting for them to truly bottom out but maybe they never will)
My post-season predictions
I did have the Nats over the Dodgers and the Cards but I whiffed on picking the Mets in the play-in and the Cubs coming out of the NL.
I was okay in the AL: I had Red Sox (instead of the Rays) over A's, I had the Yankees over the Indians (instead of the Twins) and the Astros over the Yankees in the finals.
I had Astros over Cubs in 7, still feel like I got a good shot of coming out with the champion.
(*) If you haven't watched the end of that game, this is a long clip but totally worth it.
The Astros are the best team in baseball, have been all year long and frankly I thought that only the Yankees (*) and Dodgers (well, and the Cubs) had any chance of beating them this year and they'll been facing none of these teams in the next round, so it already feels over.
In this matchup the Astros have the better offense, defense, pitching, coaching and the home field advantage. In baseball that doesn't always matter, the better team really only has slightly better than 50/50 chance of winning in a 7-game series. But I'm not going upset here. The Astros bats can occasionally go cold and that Nats starting pitching is pretty damn good, but I don't see the Astros losing more than two games.
Gotta go Astros over the Nats in 6.
Revisiting my pre-season over/under predictions, how did I do this season?
Right
Red Sox (yeah, they had regression written all over them but I still had them in the play-in game), Blue Jays (yeah, they were what I thought they'd be)
Twins (they really pulled it together this year, I knew they'd be good but they were even better than I thought), White Sox (yup, they were pretty terrible), Royals (yup, they were pretty terrible)
A's (good squad, they always play hard), Rangers (they were I thought: slightly underrated but not really good enough to make a run)
Nats (losing Bryce Harper was all they needed to take off), Mets (barely covered but they did), Phillies (I knew adding Bryce Harper was not gonna get them where they wanted to go)
Cards (yeah, felt time for them to reassert their leadership in this division), Reds (not bad actually, they could've been a lot worse), Pirates (that Renaissance they'd had for the last few years felt like a mirage and it was)
Dodgers (the class of the division for the foreseeable future), D-Backs (not bad but nowhere near the post-season), Rockies (mediocre as usual)
Wrong
Yankees (thought they'd be good but they were even better), Rays (didn't see them as a playoff team but they were tough), Orioles (wow, even worse than I thought they'd be!)
Indians (I thought 90 W's would take that division, not even close and their 93 W's didn't even get them in the play-in game), Tigers (omg, were they really that bad?)
Astros (man, I knew they were the best team but they blew my expectations out of the water), Angels (thought they'd be ready to make a move this season...nope), Mariners (not sure what happened to them, felt like they were growing nicely)
Braves (they were better than I thought they'd be but somehow I knew they would be), Marlins (yuch, they're even more terrible than I would've thought possible)
Brewers (thought they'd finish behind the Cubs, they did not), Cubs (thought they'd finish ahead of the Brewers, they did not)
Padres (did I really think they were gonna be good?), Giants (better than I thought they'd be, still waiting for them to truly bottom out but maybe they never will)
My post-season predictions
I did have the Nats over the Dodgers and the Cards but I whiffed on picking the Mets in the play-in and the Cubs coming out of the NL.
I was okay in the AL: I had Red Sox (instead of the Rays) over A's, I had the Yankees over the Indians (instead of the Twins) and the Astros over the Yankees in the finals.
I had Astros over Cubs in 7, still feel like I got a good shot of coming out with the champion.
(*) If you haven't watched the end of that game, this is a long clip but totally worth it.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
2017 MLB Post-Season Predictions (part 4)
I am a Cleveland Indians fan and I watched them a lot this year. I don't recall their games against the Astros but I remember being very impressed with the Dodgers (best team I saw all year long). The Astros owned the first third of the season, the Dodgers owned the second. Both had their struggles, too, but fortunately for them they got the struggles out of their system before the playoffs started (not true for my Indians, alas).
Astros handled the Red Sox without much problem; Yankees caught the Indians backpedaling. The Yanks were able to steal W's at home against the Astros but that team isn't quite ready, they got further than they should have this year and the Astros were able to right the ship and take the victory.
Dodgers handled the D-Backs without much problem; the Cubs caught the Nationals at less than their best. The Cubs have a lot talent--thought they should've been the dominant team all year long--but they just weren't up to it this season and the Dodgers mowed them down easily.
Both of these teams dodged a bullet: Indians at their best and Nationals at their best would've challenged both of these teams, may have even gotten past them. But champions get lucky, too, that doesn't mean the Dodgers and Astros are undeserving. Not at all, they're both excellent squads and did what they had to do to get to this point.
My first thought is the Dodgers have deeper pitching, more variation in the lineup and the home field advantage, gotta go with the Dodgers. But the Astros as an underdog is very intriguing: they're a scrappy team, the kind of team that probably loves the idea that no one thinks they can do it. Baseball is a momentum game, gotta figure the Astros have a good shot at steering the series their way.
Astros handled the Red Sox without much problem; Yankees caught the Indians backpedaling. The Yanks were able to steal W's at home against the Astros but that team isn't quite ready, they got further than they should have this year and the Astros were able to right the ship and take the victory.
Dodgers handled the D-Backs without much problem; the Cubs caught the Nationals at less than their best. The Cubs have a lot talent--thought they should've been the dominant team all year long--but they just weren't up to it this season and the Dodgers mowed them down easily.
Both of these teams dodged a bullet: Indians at their best and Nationals at their best would've challenged both of these teams, may have even gotten past them. But champions get lucky, too, that doesn't mean the Dodgers and Astros are undeserving. Not at all, they're both excellent squads and did what they had to do to get to this point.
My first thought is the Dodgers have deeper pitching, more variation in the lineup and the home field advantage, gotta go with the Dodgers. But the Astros as an underdog is very intriguing: they're a scrappy team, the kind of team that probably loves the idea that no one thinks they can do it. Baseball is a momentum game, gotta figure the Astros have a good shot at steering the series their way.
I think the Dodgers are better and have the better chance at winning, but that's precisely what gives the Astros a chance to sneak the whole Series. I was going to say Dodgers in 6 but I think I've talked myself into Dodgers in 7. Should be a hell of a Series, I'm looking forward to it.
Friday, October 13, 2017
2017 MLB Post-Season Predictions (part 3)
Yankees-Astros
Hate to sound like a grumpy Indian fan but the Yanks didn't win that series, the Indians lost it. I was impressed with the Yankee tenacity and the timely hitting but their victory was more a case of the Lindor-Kipnis-Ramirez trio all falling flat (last year this was Kipnis's team, but this year Kipnis was in and out of the lineup, never got on track at the plate, I was dubious of sticking him in CF, it ultimately upset the balance). The Astros, on the other hand, got just enough of a test from the Red Sox to get them rolling into this series. I'm not blown away by the Astros pitching but the defense and lineup are playing good ball right now. The Yankees are on a nice streak, riding a wave but Judge and Sanchez honestly kinda sucked against the Indians and I didn't see enough from the vets to make me think that the Yanks are balanced enough to win another series. I'm a big fan of Severino but Tanaka is up and down (he was decidedly up in Game Three) and I think the bullpen may have played itself out. I like the Astros to win 6.
Cubs-Dodgers
The Dodgers sure looked awful in September but they're looking pretty good again in October. I thought the D-backs had a chance to put the touch on them but they held their ground and got it done. (You gotta respect the fact that the losers all went out with their best SP: Sale, Greinke, Kluber and Scherzer all played big minutes in their teams' final games) They seem to be rolling again and at their best I thought the Dodgers were the best team I saw all year. I've got stick with them to keep it going against the Cubs, who are too up and down, especially the pitching. The Cubs have big moments, big plays, tough outs and then they have careless defense, bone-headed baserunning and pitching that falters. They've got to the goods to be the best but I kinda don't see them bringing the goods 4 times out of 7 games against the Dodgers. I'll take the Dodgers in 7.
Hate to sound like a grumpy Indian fan but the Yanks didn't win that series, the Indians lost it. I was impressed with the Yankee tenacity and the timely hitting but their victory was more a case of the Lindor-Kipnis-Ramirez trio all falling flat (last year this was Kipnis's team, but this year Kipnis was in and out of the lineup, never got on track at the plate, I was dubious of sticking him in CF, it ultimately upset the balance). The Astros, on the other hand, got just enough of a test from the Red Sox to get them rolling into this series. I'm not blown away by the Astros pitching but the defense and lineup are playing good ball right now. The Yankees are on a nice streak, riding a wave but Judge and Sanchez honestly kinda sucked against the Indians and I didn't see enough from the vets to make me think that the Yanks are balanced enough to win another series. I'm a big fan of Severino but Tanaka is up and down (he was decidedly up in Game Three) and I think the bullpen may have played itself out. I like the Astros to win 6.
Cubs-Dodgers
The Dodgers sure looked awful in September but they're looking pretty good again in October. I thought the D-backs had a chance to put the touch on them but they held their ground and got it done. (You gotta respect the fact that the losers all went out with their best SP: Sale, Greinke, Kluber and Scherzer all played big minutes in their teams' final games) They seem to be rolling again and at their best I thought the Dodgers were the best team I saw all year. I've got stick with them to keep it going against the Cubs, who are too up and down, especially the pitching. The Cubs have big moments, big plays, tough outs and then they have careless defense, bone-headed baserunning and pitching that falters. They've got to the goods to be the best but I kinda don't see them bringing the goods 4 times out of 7 games against the Dodgers. I'll take the Dodgers in 7.
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