OK so my anxiety this year is assuaged as the Astros reach agreement with my boy Jake Marisnick and avoid arbitration. Now if they would just make him their every day CF, I would be set.
Career OPS: Willie Mays: .942 Vladimir Guerrero: .931 Alex Rodriguez: .930 Chipper Jones: .930 Griffey jr: .907 Hank Aaron: .929 LANCE BERKMAN: .943 ..... just saying
Fangraphs projections show Astros will go 98-64 in 2018 Tops in MLB Others projected into the AL postseason: Indians (93-69) Yankees (91-71) Red Sox (91-71) Angels (88-74) Why play? The Astros-Dodgers Series was good enough to skip season, just go straight to it again https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings
Astros open the defense of their title with a win over the hated Rangers, 4-1. Springer is the only player in MLB history to open 2 consecutive seasons with a homer. My boy Jake also tatered. Verlander went 6 scoreless. Devinski and Peacock also combined for 2 scoreless innings. Giles picked up where he left off last year - he got the save but he always makes you sweat it out.
I'm a Ranger fan, and for some reason, I have a hard time making myself hate the Astros. The rivalry feels forced - like it's something the league is artificially pushing by putting the Astros in the AL West and, previously, by creating interleague play, which I always thought was a dumb idea, because it unbalanced the schedules for no reason other than to exploit a cheap gimmick. Most Ranger fans I know (mostly in the DFW area) also don't hate the Astros. Their feelings range from positive to indifference. Obviously Ranger fans wished their team had won the World Series last year, but for most of them, the Astros were their second choice. Most Astros fans I know (mostly in the Austin area) feel the same way about the Rangers. Maybe things will change over time, but I think there are too many former Dallasites in Houston and too many former Houstonians in Dallas (and therefore too much cultural similarity) to create a major rivalry. Furthermore, the teams have Nolan Ryan in common. In fact, he has spent the last 35 years bouncing between the teams. I think that makes it harder to foster too much contempt. Finally, there are too many other teams more worthy of hatred - like the Angels, Yankees, and Mariners.
The main reason I hate on the Rangers is the media here in Austin trying to convince everyone this is a Ranger town, which it is not. This has been going on since I moved here in '83 and I never have understood why they want it that way.
I thought the defending World Series champion always started the season at home. Why did the Astros have to start the season in Arlignton?
In baseball, I hate the Yankees and Oakland, not enough sports hate to include Houston in my baseball teams I hate list. Besides I have too many friends in Houston and for decades Houston was my NL team plus a guy I went to high school with pitched for the Astros. So unless they are playing the Rangers or in division race with Rangers (which for long time wasn't a problem because they stunk and shouldn't be problem for next couple of years because the Rangers are going to stink) I tend to cheer for them.
I can't answer for why the media would push the Rangers over the Astros. Personally, I didn't notice that, but I also didn't live in the area as long as you have. (I moved to Austin in December 2003 and left in October 2011.) From what I could tell, Austin was clearly Astros territory. Most baseball fans I knew were Astros fans first. Most MLB news coverage I saw was geared toward the Astros. It was easier for me to find Astros games on TV than Rangers games. I noticed some increased interest in the Rangers in my last year or two in the area, but that was mostly because (1) the Rangers were good, and (2) the Express began affiliating with the Rangers. However, that paled in comparison with support for the Astros.
The push in Austin media for Houston was likely due to the early affiliation of Round Rock with the Astros. That affiliation changed somewhere around 2011 when the Express became a Rangers feeder club.
No matter what happens on the field, Austin will go back to Astro country starting next season when the eXpress returns to the Astros. Looks like the Rangers want to cover with moving an AA franchise from Colorado Springs and turning it into an AAA team with the current Missions moving to Amarillo.
This ball was even further off the plate than the yellow dot It looked 8" off the plate Pitcher is thinking "safe 0-2 pitch way outside, try to get him to go fishing." It was almost 98 MPH Jose just stuck bat out there and dropped it down right field line for a run scoring 2B He is 10-for-20 on the year
