That tag-up on the pop out was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in baseball, and his mischievous grin and glinting eyes afterward, catching his breath and accepting his teammates’ compliments, were so great I woke up Mrs banedoodle with my laughter. She made me rewind it and then went back to sleep shaking her head–it was lost on her. But we know.
We are so lucky to have Altuve.
Last night Altuve put the AL on notice.
Clearly he is over the knee issues of 2018 and 2019 and whatever was living in his head last year.
The body language and attitude of the team are back to pre2020.
The swagger is back and the talent is still there.
160 games left and lots could still go wrong, but I like the start.
I agree Knox that was incredible. I remember an almost identical moment about (cough cough) 50 years ago, when Cedeno did the same thing to Tito Puentes. Cedeno went back to tag on a ball just like last night, just for fun and to draw a throw. Fuentes who was a bit of a hotdog himself faked the throw and Cesar started running before Fuentes had finished his fake, so Tito had to reload and Cedeno scored.
That play was badass!
No doubt Altuve’s reputation took a major hit last year. I’ve always joked that if he swung only at pitches he could reach…not strikes or pitches he could hit…but only pitches that he could actually physically reach with the bat, he’d hit .400. He’s shown a pretty good plate discipline early, and if that continues, along with hitting in front of Brantley and Bregman, he’s headed for a big year. Hopefully, he can keep that up. He’s prone to gripping and pressing, IMO, so hopefully he can avoid a prolonged slump.
It was a dumbass play which turned out well, and I am still shaking my head and wondering what Altuve saw to make him think he could make it. I am more encouraged about his return to hitting good pitches hard and am hoping his days of flailing wildly at anything and everything are over.
It was a very high risk play for Altuve but Andrus was the only dumbass on that play. I think Altuve was just going to break off the bag to see Andrus’ reaction but he saw Andrus wasn’t paying him any attention so the break became a sprint.
No, he would have been out then. He committed to go from the start. The play was not only risky; it was a dumb play which caught Andrus napping for an instant. Good for him, but I hope that is a once in a season play.
It was one of those no, no, no, yes plays. Glad it worked out, and it’s fun to catch the other team napping. But if Altuve gets thrown out there to end the inning, with Correa and Alvarez due up, we’re all wondering what the fuck he was thinking.