Hader named AL Reliever of the Month
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BoooâŚtoo many tourists here in the summer as it is.
In last nightâs Orioles@Rockies game, the Rockiesâ manager pulled a double-switch when changing relievers, putting the pitcher in the catcherâs spot and the new catcher in the pitcherâs spot (which actually was the pitcherâs spot because they had sacrificed their DH in the previous inning). The (slow) catcher had made the last out of the previous inning, so he was due to be the Manfred Man in the bottom of the inning, but because that was now occupied by a pitcher, the rules say that you can use the player in the lineup spot in front of the pitcherâs spot, their 2B in this case. That guy scored, as did two others, and the Rockies won in 11.
I was completely unaware of that provision. I suspect Espada is, too.
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Nope, certainly didnât know that rule.
This happened a number of times in the NL, prior to them using the DH. The rule is there for the same reason as the Manfred Man, to reduce potential injuries to pitchers. Allegedly. And I suspect Espada is unaware of a lot of things baseball related.
I stumbled across this and found it interesting.
Astros against other AL playoff teams
Rays: 2-1
Yankees: 3-3
Red Sox: 5-1
White Sox: 5-2
Guardians: 4-2
Combined: 19-9
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So, when a team consistently plays up to the competition this much and repeatedly plays sharply down to the poor competition, does that mean they are a good team that is poorly managed/executed or that they are a poor team that gets lucky? Over and over again? Or, something else?
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At the start of play today (baseball-reference doesnât update until all games are over):
Stros had the 2nd best W% against teams .500 or better in MLB (behind Milwaukee, ahead of Atlanta)
âŚand the 5th worst against teams under .500
Adding in NL teams, theyâre winning at a .649 winning percentage:
| Opponent | Record |
|---|---|
| Tampa Bay | 2-1 |
| NY Yankees | 3-3 |
| Boston | 5-1 |
| Cleveland | 4-2 |
| Chicago White Sox | 5-2 |
| Milwaukee | 1-2 |
| LA Dodgers | 1-2 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3-0 |
They have not played Atlanta or Philly and the AZ series starts tonight, of course.
At 12-12, the Astros are .500 against the three teams that are below a .400 winning percentage.
What winning percentage is considered âbadâ? I suspect there are more than three bad teams in the league. .425? .450 seems pretty close to your standard mediocre team.
I wonder about the value of this stat. I look at the standing every day and see we go pretty well against teams >.500 and wonder why we were not doing better in the w/l column? Being in a weak division, we have had 43 games against teams >.500, Rockies and Giants have played damn near 80 (nice to be us). Because the number v teams >.500 is dynamic, how useful is it? It feels like we have been at .500 or less for most of the season so far, so⌠ah fuck, now I have a headache from thinking about this stuff. The only number Iâm looking at now is the one between us and whoever is second in the division and hope we not relying on LAA and the Aâs to get us over the line.
This is a really tough question, the Giants and Rockies could possibly be mediocre teams in the AL West, but they are definitely bad teams where they are. Wasnât the reduced number of games within the divisions supposed to somehow even out the comp and give lesser teams in tough divisions a shot at mediocrity?
We should all wonder about the value of all stats.
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The Astros have been two different teams this year: before June 1 (27-34), and after June 1 (45-35). Contributing factors:
- Return of Hader, leading to
- Abreu fixing himself
- Return of Brown
- Banishment of Burrows
- Sidelining of Imai
- Return of Wesneski
- Emergence of Blubaugh as valuable bridge guy
Casual observers scoff at them because of the overall record and the dismal overall state of the AL West, but theyâre missing the point that the post-June 1 Astros are a team that might actually belong in the postseason.
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Canât argue with that mate. I thought going into the season that our hitters were above average and when we had a few pitching woes the bats would carry us, shows how much I know.
Remember early on the Astros were hitting the shit out of the ball and the pitching was absolutely abysmal.
I fully thought this was going to be our mid 2000s Rangers season where every game looked like a slow pitch softball score.
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I thought we were absolutely getting the 2000 season, with a staff full of Jose Limas
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The next 10 days (DBacks, @Phillies, @Rays) will determine whether they actually belong or not. They really need to go 4-5 or better during that stretch. During that same time the Rangers get Rays, @Mariners, and @DBacks.
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I think that stat, like a lot of others, is the proverbial lamppost used by a drunk. The takeaway is that the Astros tend to mail it in vs the weaker teams. Whether thatâs on the players or the lineup the manager runs out there is another question.
Well now Iâm having an existential crisis.
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