We are a nation of self-entitled pricks.
10 Likes
I’ve been able to mostly ignore it, but it’s only going to get worse.
He’s a douche-backs fan and lives in Pahoenix, what else would you expect?
2 Likes
He deserves a kick in the nuts but I suspect he’s missing the required equipment.
You love to see it.
3 Likes
This is a funny video and all, but why is Isaac Paredes batting first?
You want your speed at the top of the order.
5 Likes
You need someone to knock in OB machines like Hummel, Trammell or Short
2 Likes
To quote Moneyball, “he gets on base”
3 Likes
I was wondering the same thing. And, what I settled on was this; Espada wanted/wants the Astros to get a better look at pitchers at the start of the game. And, Paredes is the perfect person to do that. The quality of his AB’s, especially after getting to 2 strikes, is unparalleled. Think how the Altuve experience was for the first month of the year. One pitch, one out was the rule except for the occasional leadoff HR. To wit, the runs per first inning are on an upward trajectory, from 0.230 runs per first inning while Altuve led off from the start of the year to April 26th, 0.375 runs per first inning while Pena led off from April 27th thru June 27th and 0.555 runs per first inning while Paredes has led off since. My untrained eye says the resulting quality at bats has been increasing in the first couple of innings and I am wondering if better/longer looks at the pitchers is a contributing factor. Long gone are the days of the early season where every game has us starting the 4th inning with the Astros having zero or one hits…
Here’s the first inning hitting stats for the season broken down by Atulve/Pena/Paredes “tenures”.
| G | R | AB | H | BA | OBP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 6 | 91 | 18 | 0.198 | 0.235 | 0.476 |
| G | R | AB | H | BA | OBP | OPS |
| 56 | 21 | 213 | 54 | 0.254 | 0.309 | 0.694 |
| G | R | AB | H | BA | OBP | OPS |
| 9 | 5 | 41 | 15 | 0.366 | 0.381 | 0.893 |
5 Likes
To back this up, average pitches per plate appearance. Paredes is #1 in AL at 4.4 pitches seen per at PA. Where as a team, the Astros tie with the Athletics for the fewest pitches seen per PA at 3.74. League average is 3.86.
Cam Smith comes in at 4.0 (T-17th in AL)
Walker at 3.94 (T-26th)
Caratini at 3.63 (not enough AB to qualify in AL list but would be tied at 58)
Meyers at 3.65 (63)
Altuve at 3.52 (T-64)
Pena at 3.36 (T-68)
Diaz at 3.20 (T-70)
and Dubon at 3.14 (not enough AB but would be tied for 71)
2 Likes