*Okay, first, I took a look at some very offensive Offensive statistics done by Teh Astors. It's not pretty.
Regular season: 920 runs on 2183 hits/walks (1 run per 2.37 H+W), 375x1399 - .268 w/RISP
ALDS: 19 runs on 52 hits/walks (1 run per 2.73 H+W), 9x34 w/RISP (.265)
ALCS: 22 runs on 63 hits/walks (1 run per 2.86 H+W), 6x46 (.130) - a competent starting pitching staff could have knocked the Astros out before they even got to the World Series. It took two walkoff homers against the Yankees to win the Pennant.
World Series: 30 runs on 95 hits/walks (1 run per 3.17 H+W), 15x57 w/RISP (.263). But that's a little misleading - the Astros were 11x28 (.393) w/RISP in Games 3-5. They could do it, they just couldn't do it at home, where they were 4x29 w/RISP (.153). They scored 11 runs with 47 hits/walks at home in the World Series (1 run every 4.27 H+W). This is insane.
Ultimately, the Astros simply underperformed at the worst possible time. The Nationals didn't, at least on the road. Not exactly home-field advantage, then. Anyway, enough postmortem for now. There's 106 days before pitchers & catchers report. I'll take every single one of them but don't worry! I'll keep up with these existential questions throughout the offseason.
Chandler Rome: The stranded runners are all you need to know.
*Gerrit Cole had himself a rough few hours. After the game a frustrated Gerrit Cole "spoke" only after having to be convinced to the media saying he was "unemployed" and "as a representative of myself." Here's the video:
This is worse than I thought when I read the quote. This is actually trash. Wow. pic.twitter.com/Hs4nLyvzd5— Corey Elliot (@CoreyElliot) October 31, 2019
It's a bad look for sure, but let's keep in mind that it was less than an hour after having warmed up in the bullpen thinking he was going to come in with a lead and eight outs to go before clinching the World Series. He never got into the game. In Game 7 Gerrit Cole was, well, not rested, but good to go in the same way that Patrick Corbin was utilized. It was very unlike A.J. Hinch, who showed a willingness to use Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton in the 2017 postseason, and maybe that's what is so frustrating. So it's easy to see why Cole would be frustrated. It doesn't excuse it, and he's currently wearing some bad PR. Cole clarified his comments to the Houston Chronicle:
I was upset, and my tone did not come off quite the way I wanted it to. One win away. We had the lead with eight outs to go. It's just a tough pill to swallow...The comments were intended to be lighthearted, but also truthful in the sense that I don't want to be talking about free agency and I don't want to be addressing those comments 20 minutes after such a team loss...I'm not saying goodbye, by any means. I truthfully don't have a crystal ball. I could speak to what I know. And I know that I've loved every second here and I loved competing with the guys.
That's fair. It sucks. God knows I said some things on The Twitter 20 minutes after Game 7 ended that I wouldn't say again, and I wasn't in the bullpen, though it felt like I had a better chance of getting in the game than Cole did.
Cole did attempt to repair some of that damage in an iPhone note. You can read it here.
I think I've been pretty good at not telling you how to Fan. I don't prefer the Wave, but if you like it or your kid(s) like it, whatever. I don't ever want to leave early, but I don't know what your drive home looks like. But if you think this is acceptable, it's probably best that we don't interact.
Karbach promised to keep Cole's fridge full of beer if he stayed in Houston. Nice try, Gerrit Cole is obviously a wine guy.
*A.J. Hinch:
Thank you @astros fans for a memorable 2019 season. From standout player performances to a franchise record # of wins to clinching the AL West/ALDS/ALCS at home, you made it special. I’m sorry we didn’t get 1 more win to complete the memories. Can’t wait to get to work for 2020. pic.twitter.com/RDjFlLCIjM— AJ Hinch (@ajhinch) October 31, 2019
*And the front office starts to turn over all over again. Special Assistant to the GM and go-to translator Oz Ocampo is leaving the Astros. He had no comment on Thursday. Ocampo had come to the Astros with Jeff Luhnow from St. Louis. Kevin Goldstein (Special Asst to the GM) and Pete Putila (Assistant GM) are the only ones left. Probably nothing to it, tho.
*Free agency officially began yesterday and the following Astros filed: Robinson Chirinos, Gerrit Cole, Will Harris, Martin Maldonado, Collin McHugh, Wade Miley, Hector Rondon, Joe Smith.
*Ben Reiter: The Astros' run of success isn't likely to end soon.
*Stephanie Apstein: Where do the Astros go from here?
*MLB.com has every team's biggest offseason need. I'll let you guess what they have for the Astros, but the potential targets are Zack Wheeler and Jake Odorizzi.
*In his Way-Too-Early 2020 Power Rankings, David Schoenfield ranks the Astros 2nd, and note that Caesar's has Houston as 2020 favorites to win it all.
*Outside: The Horror Vault, a collection of the scariest, strangest, and most riveting tales they've ever published.
*Vice: I accidentally uncovered a nationwide scam on AirBnB.
*A Musical Selection:
