DON'T COUNT 'EM OUT
Ken Hoffman's grand-slam reminder that the Astros can still take it back
Oct 25, 2019, 11:30 am
DON'T COUNT 'EM OUT
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
Win or lose (stop worrying — the Astros have not yet begun to fight in the World Series), this has been the team's greatest, and my favorite, season ever. I've been to more games at Minute Maid Park, and watched more games on ATT SportsNet, and enjoyed every minute, all the wins and even the losses. Thankfully there were more wins, 107 of them, the most in Astros history.
It's corny to say the Astros are the good guys, but they really are. After they won the American League pennant, and the players' families came onto the field, it looked like parents day at sleepaway camp.
When Jose Altuve blasted a walk-off 2-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the Astros to the World Series, the ball disappearing over the fence was only the third-sweetest image of the night. No. 2 was Altuve bunching his shirt together as he rounded third base so his teammates couldn't tear it off him — "The last time they did that, I got in trouble with my wife." The best moment was Altuve's 2-year-old daughter Melanie running into daddy's arms.
This was the year only two pitchers won 20 games, and all of them were Astros. Justin Verlander finished 21-6, including a no-hitter. Gerrit Cole was 20-5 and the last time he lost a regular season game was back in prehistoric May. One of them will be named the American League's Cy Young Award winner in a few weeks.
Yordan Alvarez is a sure shot to win American League Rookie of the Year. He socked 27 homers and batted .313 after being called up in June. And the American League Most Valuable Player Award surely belongs to Alex Bregman, who clubbed 41 homers and drove in 112 runs. They say in sports, the best ability is availability. Well, between May 25 and June 18, Astros All-Stars Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Carlos Correa all were out with injuries. Bregman played every game and carried the Astros to a 14-8 record during that stretch. And Bregman really didn't kick his season into high gear until July. That's an MVP. Yeah, he's a cocky brat, but he's our cocky brat and we love him.
It will be the first time in baseball history that one team boasted the MVP, the Cy Young winner and Rookie of the Year. But it shouldn't stop there. A.J. Hinch absolutely deserves to be Manager of the Year. The Astros lineup is loaded, sure, but it takes a calm, mature hand to keep the clubhouse together and egos in check. Hinch has a fun side, too, playing along with announcer Julia Morales for touristy vignettes in baseball cities on the road.
And when it hit the fan, and an Astros official hurled inappropriate comments toward female reporters, and Astros executives botched the team's response, and still won't come clean on details, it was Hinch who stood tall in the clubhouse and said, no, The Astros will not tolerate any behavior like this, no way, under no circumstances.
That's a leader.
Mat Drain, the Grand Poobah of Pickles, and his Aramark staff at Minute Maid Park stepped up their game this year, too. New items included Smoked Pork Burnt Ends Topped Tots, Calabrese Shrimp Sandwich, Frito Pie Corn Dog, and my choice, a simple but elegant Prime Rib Sandwich. And for dessert, how's Kahlua Tiramisu sound?
You practically had to eat with your pinky out this year. Smoked Pork Burnt Ends Topped Tots? Might be time to for Human Resources to check Drain for performance-enhancing Blue Bell. There were 13 Dollar Dog Nights at Minute Maid Park. In Houston, fans get a regular-sized frank on Dollar Dog Night. Other cities go cheap with smaller dogs that should have a toothpick stuck in them.
Here's how dominant our Astros were this season. If I got home a few innings late and turned on ATT SportsNet, I was shocked when the Astros were trailing in the game. I always expected them to be up 4-1. Our broadcast team of Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum, and Julia Morales was solid from spring training to the last game of the regular season. You didn't realize how wonderful they are until you listened to how horrible the Fox announcers were.
Buck up, Astros fans, the World Series is not over by a longshot, which if you listen to the oddsmakers, that's what the Astros are. Mattress Mack and I are still betting on them. Me in a theoretical sense, Mack in every sports book from Mississippi to Vegas.
Altuve, the greatest Astro ever, started slowly this season due to an injury. He was hitting .262 at the halfway mark. I remember a radio caller asking the host if he thought Altuve could get back to .300 this year. The announcer said nope, we're too deep into the schedule. Oh yeah? Altuve was over .300 less than two months later and finished at .298 with a career-best 31 homers. He's clutch in the post-season, too: 13 home runs in only 45 games.
Continue on CultureMap for Ken Hoffman's final thoughts on why he's not giving up on the Astros.
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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