2019 sucked, no doubt, but for me its impact was muted a bit by the fact that they had broken through in 2017. In '80 and '86 they were still trying for that first one, and I was younger and things seemed bigger, and those losses just hurt.
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Iām not suggesting Altuve had a great series, but he was 30% of the offense. In the last three losses, where the Astros scored a grand total of three runs, Altuve led off the game with a walk, single and a single. He scored once. The problem this series wasnāt Altuveās lack of run scoring, it was Bregman, Alvarez, Gurriel, and Tucker combining for 4 RBIs while leaving 52 LOB.
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100% agree. Bregman was an automatic out there for a while. I still donāt understand why it took so long to drop him in the order. Hopefully Bregman gets healthy and gets it all figured out this off-season. 52 LOB from our middle of the order is just not acceptable.
98-99 hurt for me. Iāll always hate Kevin Brown and Walt Weiss.
2021 never felt like we should win the World Series; it always felt like we could, and maybe the cards were falling right when TB and LAD lost, but they never quite felt complete.
2019 absolutely felt like we should win it all.
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19 hurt but was mitigated by 17 still being so fresh and the feeling that we would get back here. This just hurts, while I still think we will be good next year idk if I can see us getting back here again for a while. It also hurts because after all the shit that we have been through the past 2 years, not even meaning covid, this was the chance to give a nice big middle finger to everyone. We deserved that, collectively. Also like 19 I leave this series thinking, we are the better team. The Braves played better and the better team doesnāt always win, thatās why they play the game on the field. But damn this was there for the taking and they just couldnāt take it. I proud of this team for achieving what they have with the shit they have to put up with. Iām proud of the product this organization has put on the field these last 7 years and look forward to more heartbreak in the future. Who knows what will happen a month from now much less a year. Maybe we are back here next year and with a few more bullets.
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2019 was hands down the best Astros team ever. Itās not really debatable, IMO. This 2021 team was so full of holes, itās amazing they got as far as they did, though as you say, the cards seemed to be in order for a good chance. When this Postseason started I thought no way in hell can they win it all. They may be able to slug their way past the White Sox based on matchups, but thatās where they shake out talent-wise.
What disappoints me is the lack of fight in this team. The 2017 or 2019 teams would not have gone into that goodnight so easily last night, especially the 2017 team. Perhaps they got complacent, perhaps that 2017 team had guys on that team (Springer, Reddick, McCann, Beltran, Verlanderā¦) who would not let them. This team did not seem to have that, and they were whipped dogs after the first inning last night. If they can sleep, so can I. Hell, they probably didnāt even know I was in the ballpark.
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This team was going to have to hit its way to a title.
I felt it very unlikely.
Then the postseason unfolded perfectly for them.
The bullpen pitched lights out despite the startersā woefully inept outings.
And in the WS the bats went into a collective slump.
Could have been up 3-1.
Should have been up 3-2.
Yes, they SHOULD have won this series.
2019 still bothers me more.
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McCann really gave that 17 team some much needed red ass. Bergmanās swagger provided some of that in 19. Bregmanās confidence is shot, itās not in Altuveās or Brantleyās nature, and so Correa tries to fill that (see: āitās my timeā), but I donāt think swagger is his nature either.
Agred they were gonna have to hit their way to the title, but they didnāt have to score 6 or 8 runs per game. Just couple would have done it. They didnāt have bludgeon other teams, they just couldnāt get shut out. They got shutout. Twice. And didnāt seem too worked up about it.
I think Correaās nature is full of swagger. Pehaps even too much swagger, not enough red-ass.
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Hard to know, but his bravado always seems to me like a kid trying on his dadās jacket.
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Thatās probably an apt description. As opposed to say someone like McCann, who I always pictured blowing his cigar smoke in someoneās face and telling them to āpiss off, sunshineā.
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Yep.
Hit, not slug.
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Itās wild. The 2021 Astros had the best batting average and OBP in baseball, hit for good power, and struck out less than any other team. They were near the best in the league in laying off pitches outside the zone. Inside the zone or out, they swung and missed at a lower rate than anyone else. They were built to hit in every way imaginable. It just didnāt happen when it mattered most.
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Thanks.
I knew I had to look it up.
I thought there may have been some issues with āonly remembering the badā on my part.
Unfortunately, thatās baseball
All players and all teams have ups and downs.
Itās very unfortunate this team hit a down when it mattered most.
I would say: 2019, 1986, 2005, 1998, 1980.
Agree this is not top 5.
I donāt know what position he would play, or how he would fit in but this team needs a red ass.
This team may have players with well rounded baseball skills but they donāt have fire, except for Siri and he needs a couple more years to play and develop it before he is able to transfer it ( though he sure did try)
Resigning Verlander would help but it should be position player ( too)
Holy shit, I am old.
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