On August 21, 2015, Mike Fiers pitched the 11th no-hitter in Astros history against the LA Dodgers. Now is not the time for him to be searching for his lost control on the mound as a starter, even in a pinch. We really do like Mike Fiers, but we don’t think this is the time or place for him to rehab his lost pitching mechanics. The cost of failure is simply too high.
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ASTRO*NOTES
The Streak. The Cleveland Indians did it again. – Their Wednesday night, 5-3, home win over the Detroit Tigers now pushes the Tribe into the AL record books all alone, establishing 21 consecutive wins, at least, for today, as the AL all time record for most consecutive wins in an uninterrupted (by losses or ties) streak sequence. The 1916 New York Giants still hold the NL mark with 26 straight wins, but that tie with Pittsburgh that paused their streak between Wins 12 and 13 still remains as the uglification of their senior league claim.
Home Field Advantage. The Wednesday win by the Indians (90-56) and the loss by the Astros (87-58) also extended Cleveland’s lead in the race for home field advantage in the AL Playoffs to 2.5 games. …. Does anybody know all the words to Paul Simon’s “Slip-Sliding Away”?
AL West Magic #: As a result of Wednesday night’s games, the magic # for the Astros clinching the AL West title over the Angels remains at 5. Any combination of Astro wins or Angel losses that total 5 will give the AL West 1st place title to Houston.
Peaks and Valleys. As SABR friend Mike McCroskey wisely advised us all yesterday, the long baseball season is a relentless foray through peaks and valleys of high and low performance, even for the best of clubs. We may only hope that Cleveland exhausts their run through their current “Rocky Mountain High” in the next couple of weeks. – As for valley trudging, we Astro fans also need to hope that someone other than a lone Justin Verlander steps forward pretty soon to show all of his Astros teammates the way to higher terrain. We don’t need the current post-All Star Game club depression to end up being our all-too-familiar “Death Valley” parking lot of so many other previously disappointing seasons.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS
THRU GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
| RANK | AL WEST | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| 1 | ASTROS | 87 | 58 | .600 | |
| 2 | ANGELS | 74 | 71 | .510 | 13.0 |
| 3 | MARINERS | 73 | 73 | .500 | 14.5 |
| 4 | RANGERS | 72 | 73 | .497 | 15.0 |
| 5 | ATHLETICS | 64 | 81 | .441 | 23.0 |
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST GAME SCORES
THRU GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
ANGELS 9 – ASTROS 1
MARINERS 8 – RANGERS 1
ATHLETICS 7 – RED SOX 3
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AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS
THRU GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 544 | 190 | 38 | 4 | 23 | .349 |
| 2 | AVISAIL GARCIA | CWS | 461 | 150 | 23 | 4 | 16 | .325 |
| 3 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 544 | 177 | 28 | 1 | 24 | .325 |
| 4 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 445 | 139 | 30 | 3 | 13 | .312 |
| 5 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 537 | 166 | 48 | 6 | 26 | .309 |
| NR * | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 362 | 111 | 19 | 1 | 20 | .307 |
| 6 | JOE MAUER | MIN | 467 | 143 | 32 | 1 | 6 | .306 |
| 7 | ELVIS ANDRUS | TEX | 579 | 176 | 42 | 4 | 20 | .304 |
| 8 | JOSE ABREU | CWS | 564 | 171 | 38 | 6 | 31 | .303 |
| 9 | JONATHAN SCHOOP | BAL | 560 | 169 | 33 | 0 | 31 | .302 |
| 10 | LORENZO CAIN | KC | 531 | 160 | 25 | 5 | 14 | .301 |
| RANK | OTHER TOP 40 ASTROS | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 12 | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 408 | 119 | 28 | 0 | 21 | .292 |
| 15 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 489 | 142 | 25 | 0 | 31 | .290 |
| 17 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 477 | 138 | 36 | 1 | 17 | .289 |
| 21 t | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 497 | 141 | 34 | 5 | 16 | .284 |
NR * LOST TIME ON THE DL HAS TEMPORARILY REMOVED CORREA FROM AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING PLACE IN THE RANKING OF TOP 40 HITTERS.
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
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The Pecan Park Eagle 
September 14, 2017 at 2:12 pm |
Not starting Fiers again is all well and good as far as it goes, but at present its like putting a bandaid on a shotgun wound. Scores of the past five games: 1-11, 4-11, 2-10, 1-0, 1-9. In the past 5 games, (one time through the rotation) the Astros have scored an average of 1.8 runs per game, while yielding an average of 8.2 runs per game. Take Justin Verlander out of the picture, and they’re 0-5 as we head down the final stretch. Any way you slice or dice it, it’s pretty scary.
September 14, 2017 at 2:32 pm |
Mark, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, it’s “death valley” scary.
September 14, 2017 at 2:22 pm |
A team has to have some momentum going into the post season but the Astros have played dismally since the All Star Game. Correa, Springer, Gattis, Beltran, Marisnick and McCann have done very little offensively; the bullpen’s record speaks for itself and the starters are inconsistent. They could very easily get swept by the Red Sox and/or the Indians. Putting Fiers out there is waving the white flag before the game even starts.
September 14, 2017 at 2:35 pm |
And a big amen to the “white flag” analogy, Jeff.
September 15, 2017 at 2:40 pm |
Two months ago Larry Dierker stated the team everyone is proclaiming the greatest ever better get their pitching in order. How prolific, I hope the cream rises and the pitching staff steps up their game. Poor Fiers needed to see a Chiropractor after his last start…..Geaux ‘Stros.