mvp 78

Verlander's comments weren't absolutely terrible, but don't blame the stadium dude: “I struggled in the Crawford Boxes,” he said. “It’s funny. We’re playing the Red Sox, and the only two places those are hits are here and Fenway (Park). “Other than that, they did a fantastic job of laying off my off-speed for the most part. They probably are one of the toughest battles top to bottom of any lineup I’ve faced all year.” Of the strike that wasn’t, he said, “I thought Chris did a good job. That one, personally, I thought it was a strike. I’ve been known to be wrong from time to time. I thought it was really close, and I wanted it, but I thought Chris did a fantastic job. Those guys have been really good back there.” “Devers put a decent swing on his,” Verlander said. “It was the Moreland one that was kind of debilitating. It was just over the left fielder to lead off an inning when we’re already down one. That was tough to deal with.” Of the Moreland double, he said, “I saw Tony jump, and I was having flashbacks to the catch he made a couple of days ago and begging for that. But (Ian Kinsler) was able to punch one, and then there was a 330-foot popup for a three-run homer, and that’s all she wrote.”

A year after Houston won the first title in the team's 56 seasons, Verlander had a rare off night in an elimination game and the Astros lost the AL Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in five games. "This year's team is better than last year's team," third baseman Alex Bregman said. "Everyone in here will have a little bit of an edge to play with, a chip on their shoulder knowing that we believe we should have been back-to-back champions." BUT THOSE INJURIES!!!!!!

Reminder that one missed strike call ruined their season somehow: Two quick strikes to Martinez kept him in rhythm. Verlander spun an 0-2 slider to put him away. Statcast showed the pitch nestling into the low corner of Martinez's strike zone. Home plate umpire Chris Guccione deemed it a ball, bringing Verlander to a stop as he pranced the mound. The crowd booed, still salty over the Game 4 interference brouhaha. Verlander readied for a pitch he did not think was necessary. He spun a wretched curveball. Martinez mauled it. The solo home run landed 396 feet away atop the train tracks. Boston boasted a lead it would not blow.

But is he clutch?

Would trade Murphy and Gabbard for Gagne all over again.

So trade Bogaerts to sign a more expensive SS? That doesn't seem like a DD move.

I keep Chavis and Dalbec and hope one of them turns into an adequate 1b. I think Swihart is most likely traded. Not sure they can trade Bogaerts as they don't have a good replacement for him at SS or in the 5th spot.

Why didn't the coaching staff notice this?

It wasn't a cake walk. The vast majority of the games were very close and hinged on a play or two.

Game 2 isn't until Wednesday. That's a full rest for him. edit: whoops, sorry for the dogpile. Three responses were more than enough.

Nope. Re-sign the guys you want to keep (Betts, Bogey, JBJ, Sale, Porcello). The system has decent relievers so I think they can retool in house. 2b and 1b replacement can come from in house too. Find a cheap DH if JD bounces.

I hope Machado signs with some dumpy NL team and we never have to hear from him again.

ARB eligible 2020. FA 2023.

That's what I was thinking. He screams flash in a pan.

I would not be surprised if they let Kimbrel walk and signed Eovaldi to save $$$.

I still have a lot of friends back in LA and I'm not the type to rub their noses in anything. The Lakers/C's finals were bad enough. I hope it's MIL. Except, now I'm going to have to really learn how to spell Milwaukee.

I think the Brewers would be an interesting matchup just because it's an "odd" matchup insofar that I don't think many people believed the Brewers would really get this far. Los Angeles has a beautiful stadium and the unis are really sharp. I believe a lot of people though the Doyers could go all the way. They've never been able to get over that hump tho.

It doesn't mean the Sox can't beat up the MIL bullpen. Even postseason wise, LAD have better reliever numbers.

I don't believe in the "happy to be here" effect. After the first series, that stuff is out the window.

The HOU bullpen had a much better season than MIL.

I think he said he figured something out mechanically, not that he felt better because of working out.

Where’s the champagne?

My son was up anyway.

C’mon

Just strikes. No walks.