I am not talking about any specific thing. To me, it started near the end of his time as an Astro. He is a great player, and I wanted him to stay. I do not hate him, but I do not like the current iteration.
Thank for your permission allowing me to be me and to express my opinion. Very big of you.
You are right! There was not an attempt in Game One either.
I have come around to that belief also. PeƱa in the two hole has been great in the first two games. His heroics brought Yordan to the plate, and the rest is history.
A personal note: I had one of those 2017 Game Five āspellsā yesterday which I started to feel in the Neris inning and which continued off and on until we got to the cool temp of the Flying Saucer after the game. They include a racing heartbeat and the onset of dizziness, and I have to stop what I am doing and be still until it passes. HH had to play Markās role and to look after me for which I am both grateful and embarrassed. I thanked him often yesterday and do so again today.
I had one of these things before a UT football game in 2021 while with Mark, and afterwards I went to a cardiologist for a complete evaluation of my heart. I got a clean bill of heart health then so I know what it is not, but I cannot explain or understand why this happens at some sporting events. My best guess is anxiety and intense excitement are the culprits, and lack of food may also be a factor. I have felt fine after the anxiety, excitement, and adrenaline subside, and I had no more issues the rest of the evening.
Worrisome more than scary, and I am sorry Matt had to deal with it and with me being somewhat less than my usual self. Go Astros!
Yep, itās true. BudGirl and AstrosFaninBigD were the play callers for Game 2
Jim glad you feel better and that HH was there to keep you steady. Astros wins are the best medicine.
Wins. And the beer. I think the beer helped tremendously.
It is essential that Yordanās parents be at every game for the rest of his career. Look at the two game record so far
So more thoughts from yesterdayā¦
How many times have you heard a guy who gets a big hit say āI didnāt try to do too muchā¦blah, blah, blahā. Thinking back to the 6th when Neris came in to face Raleigh with the bases loaded. Raleigh tried to do too much.
Altuve doesnāt have a hit yet this series, but he saved a couple of runs defensively. And Yuliā¦how good is that guy with the leather? Some people may not realize how hard it is to pick that high hop, itās a much more difficult scoop than a throw in the dirt. Yuli made two of them that saved runs.
Speaking of Yuliā¦the double play on the line drive in the 8thā¦Jim and I were talking after the 7th about how to avoid turning the lineup over and having to face Rodriguez again. When they put a man on in the 8th, it meant that barring a double play, Rodriguez would hit again. I was thinking to myself āunlikely to get a ground ball double play on Crawford, so what we really need is a line drive right at someone or a SOTO. I didnāt say it out loud, but I was thinking āa line drive right at Yuli would workā¦ā. Boom. I wish Iād have said something to Jim so he could verify.
I really like PeƱa in the 2-hole, and Iāve been saying for two monthsā¦swapping Yordan and Bregman was the best lineup change Dusty has made all season.
Meyers was a disappointment. I donāt think he even swung at a pitch in his two strikeouts. He was a deer in the headlights.
More section 112 discussionā¦in the 7th, pinch hitting Hensley instead of Mancini with two out and a RISPā¦what does that tell you?
And finallyā¦about Yordanās defenseā¦we couldnāt see the double off the wall, that corner was the one part of the field we couldnāt see, and I understand that Yordan didnāt exactly channel Roberto Clemente out there. But donāt think Yordan isnāt a fine outfielder.
Letās fucking go!
Which has to be especially maddening to Dusty who worked him in on a hunch heād hit Castillo well.
And I get Dustyās thinking. You knew you were gonna get fastballs from Castillo, just be ready. Same reason for starting Diaz, who is also a very good fastball hitter. But Meyers was not ready. He was just lost.
In Meyersās defense, he got fucked on strike three in one of those ABās. Which is not to say that he wouldnāt have just looked at a legit strike three on the next pitch.
Not an easy play by any means but one that could and probably should have been caught imo. He was concerned about the wall and misread the ball, he ended up being a little too far to the CF side of where the ball landed.
I would say Iād rather Yordan be a little ginger around the scoreboard wall than wildly crashing in to it. His bat is too important to lose him because of a jammed wrist.
He didnāt get there to make the play. Initially, it looked like he was there and then train wrecked, but the replays show it was never playable for him. I have no idea how good/bad a jump he got on it, though.
Nice soccer skills to kill it dead out of the air with his foot.
Yeah, that wall is a bit like a cheese grater. Iām fine with him being careful over there.
I didnāt even think of Mancini as an option until reading your post.
Yes, that says a lot about where both hitters are right now.
And another thingā¦Stanek. The Astros have used six relievers in these first two games, including Brown and Neris and used Abreu and Montero twice. But Stanek was not one of them. What am I missing?
Great question.
When was the last time he pitched?
I thought for sure he would have the 8th.
Jo and I assured about Stanek repeatedly.
Stanek last pitched in the final regular season game on October 5th. And Montero has become the 8th inning guy, but itās not like Stanek has struggled. Heās given up one run while striking out 17 in has last 14 appearances. He has a 1.15 ERA.