“He comes the third time home …” (Coriolanus)
~ Willie Shakespeare
In implicit comment upon the 3-0 Rays win over the Astros on 8/02/2017.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS
THROUGH GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
| RANK | AL WEST | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| 1 | ASTROS | 69 | 38 | .645 | |
| 2 | MARINERS | 55 | 54 | .505 | 15.0 |
| 3 | ANGELS | 53 | 55 | .491 | 16.5 |
| 4 | RANGERS | 51 | 56 | .477 | 18.0 |
| 5 | ATHLETICS | 48 | 60 | .444 | 21.5 |
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST SCORES
GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
RAYS 3 – ASTROS 0.
RANGERS 5 – MARINERS 1.
ANGELS 7 – PHILLIES 0.
ATHLETICS 6 – GIANTS 1.
AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE
THROUGH GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 410 | 148 | 33 | 3 | 15 | .361 |
| 2 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 402 | 130 | 33 | 5 | 18 | .323 |
| 3 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 407 | 131 | 22 | 1 | 16 | .322 |
| 4 | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 325 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 20 | .320 |
| 5 | JEAN SEGURA | SEA | 329 | 105 | 20 | 0 | 6 | .319 |
| NR * | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 287 | 90 | 19 | 0 | 19 | .314 |
| 6 | BEN GAMEL | SEA | 333 | 104 | 19 | 4 | 6 | .312 |
| 7 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 368 | 114 | 22 | 0 | 27 | .310 |
| 8 | STARLIN CASTRO | NYY | 316 | 97 | 14 | 1 | 12 | .307 |
| 9 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 326 | 100 | 24 | 3 | 10 | .307 |
| 10 | DUSTIN PEDROIA | BOS | 336 | 103 | 17 | 0 | 6 | .307 |
| 25 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 363 | 103 | 28 | 0 | 13 | .284 |
| 44 | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 347 | 93 | 26 | 2 | 12 | .268 |
NR * = NEEDS MORE “AB”S TO QUALIFY FOR RANKING.
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ASTRO*NOTES ….
Astros’ Odds of Winning the ALW Remain Almost “Un-Losable.” In spite of all recent disappointments, including last night’s shut out by the Rays and Keuchel’s first loss in his second struggling return start in the middle of another slumbering bats, double play Hari Kari game, the Astros remain the overwhelming favorites mathematically to win the AL West crown.
If the 69-38 Astros go 28-27, about .500, in their final 55 games, they will finish with a record of 97-65 record.
To beat the Astros’ 97-65 at the wire, the second place Mariners (currently at 55-54) would have to go 43-10 in their remaining 53 games to finish one game ahead of a Houston club that only did the improbable by playing down to .500 the rest of the way.
It just ain’t going to happen, folks. In the amount of time we have left in this season, as measurable by the games that remain on the schedule, the Astros don’t have enough time left to get that sick, that bad, that untalented on a level that will allow Seattle, or any of the other ALW bunches, to start playing like the reincarnation of the 1914 Braves.
The issue now is – and all of Astros Nation knows it – is this singularly simple and complex question: How ready and healthy will this 2017 Houston Astros team be when it’s time to start competing in the short series, winner-takes-all playoff baseball season that’s coming up in October?
Our Literary Efficacy Source. Willie Shakespeare said it best, did he not? Whether we are longing for the answer to something so profound as the meaning of life – or so important as whether or not this is the year the Astros finally win a World Series, all the angst behind either inquiry is fully contained in the bard’s famous words:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, *
And by opposing end them?
~ Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1
* The Astros already know how to take arms against a sea of troubles, but, like most everyone else, they don’t know how to keep those arms pitching in the strike zone in ways that help keep them off the “DL”.
As for those two big questions we proffered earlier, I guess we’ll find out one of those answers in October. And who knows? Perhaps one joyous result will fill the needs of both.
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
August 3, 2017 at 2:05 pm |
Only the worst collapse in history would allow the Astros not to win the ALW. However, concerns over pitching may be greatly over-rated ASSUMING Keuchel and McCullers return to the form of April. If not, the acquisition of a single stud starter at the break would still have possibly not been enough. It is the drop off in offense that concerns me the most…especially against #1 starters and smart pitchers who know the scouting report. If you watch enough games you know where most Astro hitters can be pitched to have the best chance of success. That even includes likely AL Batting champion Jose Altuve. The best pitchers in the league can do that well more than the average. In the post season the best pitchers will provide the opposition. Rare, if ever, will be the multi home run, double figure run game in the post season. Pitching will have to be shut down and hitting will have to be clutch. AND we will all just have to wait and see how it goes. At full strength Astros are certainly capable, but they won’t be alone.
August 3, 2017 at 3:17 pm |
Greg – Let’s hope that “drop off in offense” has a lot to do with the concurrent total absence of Correa and Springer and that the other guys will pick up the beat too – “once we get the band back together” in time for the fall tour.
August 3, 2017 at 3:38 pm |
The Astros’ recent troubles show how crucial the absence of Correa and Springer is to their lineup.
“To take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them” is Shakespeare’s way of describing the ultimate passive act of suicide , whereas “to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” implies actively pressing on and choosing to live.
With Correa’s and Springer’s bats back in the lineup, the words of the Bard from Timon of Athens are apt: “Why this hits right.”
August 3, 2017 at 10:20 pm |
Thanks, Tom. Yes. It’s fold or fight time. And I too really like the Astros chances better if Correa and Springer are both back in the lineup by playoff time. Who doesn’t?
Their current absence makes it much easier for the smart pitchers to work the weak spots of the others without fear of a mistake leading to a multiple-run dinger by either of the two missing stars. The inning-ending double play is almost becoming the Astros’ offensive signature in games like last night.