Houston Astros 2019 thread............

But maybe there should be?

 

Up to the doctors and lawyers.

 

Today Framber Valdez, of all people, became the 5th different Astros pitcher this year (13 outings total) to allow
2 or less hits, and
strike out 8+
He joins Verlander, Cole, Peacock and Urquidy
This is the first season in team history where five different pitchers have accomplished this.

 

From Aug 1, 2016


From tonight (edit from later in same game - Yordan now has 21 HR in 60g)

 

He reached 20 HRs faster than any Astro in history.

 

Top pitching prospect had a forgettable year, but maybe finally coming around

 

AL ERA leaders

1) Justin Verlander - 2.69
2) Gerrit Cole - 2.85
3) Zack Greinke - 2.90
4) Wade Miley - 3.06
5) Charlie Morton - 3.11​

 

Justin Verlander becomes only the 6th pitcher in MLB history to throw 3 or more no-hitters.

 

Justin Verlander AL ranks:

Wins: T-1st
ERA: 1st
Ks: 1st​

The pitching triple crown

Any chance he could he win the AL MVP?

 

Since Yordan Alvarez came up on June 9th:

Yordan Alvarez has slashed --
.323/.421/.681 with an OPS of 1.102
21 HR, 19 2B, 61 RBI
wRC+: 185

However, fellow Cuban Yuli Gurriel has slashed --
.356/.406/.705 with an OPS of 1.111
23 HR, 22 2B, 67 RBI
wRC+: 190

 

Always a chance but the baseball purists always insist that the CY Young is equivalent so the MVP needs to be awarded to the best everyday player. Pure BS, but that is the way it always has been.

 

WHIP is a made-up number. Winning percentage and ERA are the numbers to focus on.

 

Disagree on WHIP

 

Winning percentage over WHIP? I don't think so. Walks & hits per inning pitched is all about the pitcher, as is ERA. Winning percentage is about how much run support you get. Ask JV how much that no-hitter would have been worth if Toro doesn't get him 2 runs in the 8th.

 

Which pitcher do you want:

A) 2.5 ERA and a .450 winning percentage; or
B) 2.75 ERA and a .600 winning percentage?

It is a team game and winning is the only statistic that counts.

 

Wins are not a good tool to compare starting pitchers, or any pitchers

 

Gerrit Cole now has consecutive starts with 14 Ks
First pitcher in Astros franchise history to do so (kind of amazing considering we had Nolan, Mike Scott and JR)
Only 1 pitcher has ever had at least 14 Ks in 3 straight - Pedro in Sept 1999.

Career games in an Astros uniform:
Roy Oswalt - 303
Nolan Ryan - 282
Mike Scott - 263
Roger Clemens - 84
Justin Verlander - 68
Gerrit Cole - 60

Career games with at least 14 strikeouts in an Astros uniform:
Gerrit Cole - 5
Justin Verlander - 4
Mike Scott - 3
Nolan Ryan - 2
Roger Clemens - 0
Roy Oswalt - 0​

And so here are MLB standings overall thru Sept 2 (hat tip to the Rangers who finally helped us with something)

 

Depends on what I am trying to measure. If I'm a GM and I need to trade for a pitcher, I want #1. #1 is the better pitcher, #2 is on a better team. I don't get why you can't see that.

 

Wins are not the measure of a good pitcher. If he has a high era and lots of wins that means the team just outscores everyone. It's not a measure of the pitcher's quality.

If I trade for a pitcher with a 3.5 era & 15 wins while my team only scores 3.0 runs per game, that doesn't mean we'll suddenly start scoring 4 runs per game because he's pitching. His era also isn't going to drop to 2.9 so he can keep winning.

 

ERA is generally the best number. WHIP is a reference point, but the result of WHIP will show-up in the ERA. At least WHIP has some basis and is definately better than the geek made-up WAR.

I get it that any one player may benefit from the play of others on the team, but that is how it is in all team sports. Every year there will be a pitcher or two who struggle, but the team generally wins when they pitch.

 

Try not to hate me, but I disagree yet again

 

I saw that catch live, it looked bad - we dodged one there

 

You cannot be right all the time. You like WHIP, but the effect of WHIP shows up in the ERA.

 

The win probability chart from last night -- pretty amusing
Was 7-0 Seattle before Astros cleanup hitter had come to the plate for the first time

 

If this happened once or twice, you shrug your shoulders, "he missed it"
But Joe West does this to us every time he is behind home plate
Over multiple seasons