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Thread: Astros Success

  1. #1
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    Astros Success

    Any takeaways from the Astro's world series win and how they accomplished it?

    The Astros were in a position to draft very well over the last few years and got Bregman, Correa, Springer and Gurriel

    The Astros have an MVP caliber 2nd baseman in Altuve

    The Astros have an experienced and capable DH in Beltran

    The Astros spent the money and got the best SP (Verlander) available at the last minute

    The Astros got McCann who helped them a lot

    Interesting for those who claim lineup posiitioning doesn't matter. The Astros stacked their lineup with the first 5 doing the bulk of the damage. Also note they have a low strikeout rate.

    So, the Sox draft position will not allow them to build up the way the Astros have. We got Castillo and they got Gurriel. We on paper had better relief pitching and possibly better starting pitching top to bottom but they are the best hitting team and can make up for the pitching deficit.

    So we get Cora and hope that some of the hitting success of the Astros can be transferred to our young guys. Lets not get too wound up about power hitters with long uppercut swings. The Dodgers had those and they were striking out at a high rate against good pitching. Lets get contact hitters with some power, like Nunez.

  2. #2
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    It's the second championship in a row for teams that used the 'Tank and Rebuild' approach.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Bellhorn04 View Post
    It's the second championship in a row for teams that used the 'Tank and Rebuild' approach.
    A mode that would never be tolerated in Boston.
    The Yankees could go 0-162 and it wouldn't be enough

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by illinoisredsox View Post
    A mode that would never be tolerated in Boston.
    I'm sure glad of that.

  5. #5
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    The Astros were old and talentless without a super loyal fan base.

    They went through a massive rebuild. I don't use the word tank - it is the correct decision that playing a promising kid is better than a mediocre veteran. They knew they would not be good for 3 years and made all their decisions with that in mind.

    The Red Sox have never really bottomed out that way - nor could they. There have been a few awful seasons sprinkled in - but they were awful due to decisions not working out ... not kids getting reps.

    I am not sure there are many larger lessons - the teams are not very far apart. Red Sox just need to get better in a few places, but Sox are in the same cohort as the Astros.

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    You might say that the Astros success also revolved around their Latino position players' cohesion and spirit. At times it seemed that the Series was between the Latinos and the Whites (ha)

    One thing that really impressed me was the way the Astro hitters attacked the ball. And doing so while striking out very few times, given the level of the pitching on LA.

    And what a super clutch hitter in George Springer.. who happened also to deliver the most clutch post season "interview." To think the guy was 5'2" tall and weighted under 100 when he made his high school team.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fxkatt View Post
    You might say that the Astros success also revolved around their Latino position players' cohesion and spirit. At times it seemed that the Series was between the Latinos and the Whites (ha)

    One thing that really impressed me was the way the Astro hitters attacked the ball. And doing so while striking out very few times, given the level of the pitching on LA.

    And what a super clutch hitter in George Springer.. who happened also to deliver the most clutch post season "interview." To think the guy was 5'2" tall and weighted under 100 when he made his high school team.
    And Springer was awful in the ALCS ... clutchiness changed

  8. #8
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    The big lesson is that the postseason is awesome - but yes, a crapshoot. The Astros won the games - and winning titles is why you do this. But this shows the fragility - and luck you need to win the 11-12 games.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cp176 View Post
    I'm sure glad of that.
    If we were ever in a position that called for a complete rebuild, I would hope the front office would recognize it and act accordingly. Luckily we haven't had to face a situation like that, though I think we'd be in a bit better position today if we'd gone for more of a rebuild-on-the-fly approach (the way the Yankees just did) in 2014-15.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Flap View Post
    If we were ever in a position that called for a complete rebuild, I would hope the front office would recognize it and act accordingly. Luckily we haven't had to face a situation like that, though I think we'd be in a bit better position today if we'd gone for more of a rebuild-on-the-fly approach (the way the Yankees just did) in 2014-15.
    We kind of did in 2014-15

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by sk7326 View Post
    The Astros were old and talentless without a super loyal fan base.

    They went through a massive rebuild. I don't use the word tank - it is the correct decision that playing a promising kid is better than a mediocre veteran. They knew they would not be good for 3 years and made all their decisions with that in mind.

    The Red Sox have never really bottomed out that way - nor could they. There have been a few awful seasons sprinkled in - but they were awful due to decisions not working out ... not kids getting reps.

    I am not sure there are many larger lessons - the teams are not very far apart. Red Sox just need to get better in a few places, but Sox are in the same cohort as the Astros.
    In the down years the Astros resisted the temptation to sign veterans to attain transient mediocrity and instead planned for the future.

    Houston has been rewarded for its deferred gratification.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sk7326 View Post
    And Springer was awful in the ALCS ... clutchiness changed
    Thank god for Verlander in that series, or we would have had to tolerate a Yank-Dodger Series. I much preferred this series, and this winner.

    And we can say we were beaten by the BEST in the playoffs.

  13. #13
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    Sports Illustrated called it in this 2014 cover story:

    http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/10/mlb-...ted-cover-2014

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by harmony View Post
    Sports Illustrated called it in this 2014 cover story:

    http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/10/mlb-...ted-cover-2014
    Pretty amazing.
    “The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

    "When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
    It's only difficult for other people.

    It works the same way for stupid."

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by harmony View Post
    In the down years the Astros resisted the temptation to sign veterans to attain transient mediocrity and instead planned for the future.

    Houston has been rewarded for its deferred gratification.
    This

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