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Game 6: A Halloween Astros Ghostbusters’ Dream

October 31, 2017

“We are the Ghosts of Games 2 and 5! Would you Astros fans care to dodge us, one more time?”
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“You bet we do and will!”

 

The Dream That Makes Speculation A Waste

It’s the one we Astros fans already hold:

  1. The Astros bats come out hot and heavy in the first couple of innings and string a 5-run 1st and a 4-run 2nd into a 9-0 lead, going into the 3rd inning.
  2. Astros starter Justin Verlander strikes out 5 of the 6 first Dodgers he faces and heads into the 3rd with a no-hitter.
  3. The ‘Stros add 2 runs each to their score in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings. The inflating score is now 15-0, Astros
  4. Verlander continues with a perfect game through the 5th – and now has a total of 10 punch-outs to boot.
  5. A little past half way, the Astros pen is quiet; the Dodgers pen is flowing like a weary Congo Dance line.
  6. Astros fans get to watch in a building state of anticipatory joy. There is none of the gripping apprehension and gulping disappointment that put us all through the ringer constantly in Game Five. We are now, every dad gum one of us, simply, but glowingly, all sailing into the beckoning texture of a rainbow-lighted finish line at the Pearly Gates of our 2017 club’s voyage into the Great Hall of World Series Baseball Champions – and we are entering to stake out a can’t-miss-it first space of honor for the Houston Astros.
  7. Verlander finally gives up a 7th inning “whoops hit” in the form of a swinging bunt lead-off single down the 3rd base line by the scruffy looking Dodger with the unruly red beard and hair, but the Astros ace quickly makes up for it by striking out the next three men he faces.
  8. Verlander pitches the 8th and 9th, stronger than ever. He finishes the day with a yield of 0 runs, 1 hit, 22 strike outs, and 0 walks, a World Series pitching win, a World Series trophy for his team, and a World Series ring for himself and each of his teammates. The final score is a record shattering 24-0, Astros over Dodgers.
  9. The Astros also set another World Series single game record of 9 home runs when each member of the starting lineup (Springer, Bregman, Altuve, Correa, Gurriel, Gattis, Gonzalez, Reddick, and McCann all hit for the circuit in Game Five. *
  • Amendment: Reader Paul English brought my attention to the fact that I had been wishing here for a “DH” homer in my original expression. Now we need to make this singular change to the identity of the hitter of that 9th Astros homer in Game 6 tonight. It cannot be DH Evan Gattis because there is no DH in the NL game and Brian McCann is the catcher. Now the 9th HR is struck by, who else, our great starting pitcher ace, – without whom, there wouldn’t even be a big Game Six coming up tonight – the one and only Justin Verlander!

The Options to Disaster and Meltdown

If the unthinkable happens tonight, the Astros still can save their championship hopes with a Wednesday win in Game 7 at LA. – But where does pitching come from?

If Verlander were to bomb or injure early?

Bring in Morton. Then go back to Musgrove, if need be.

If Verlander were to tire or need 2-inning save help late?

Relent in a pinch. Bring in McCullars for short help at closing.

If there is a need for Game 7?

Start Morton and hope he goes 5.  Leave him in for as long as he seems up to shutting them down.  Then bring in the fresh or little used McCullars – or use Keuchal.

Don’t give the ball to Giles, Harris, Devenski, Gregerson, or Liriano, if more help is needed. If it is, go to a more rested Peacock or Musgrove.

Just Easy Guesses.

As per usual, Astros Manager A.J Hinch gets to do the expensive decision-making here. And deservedly so.

C’mon, Astros! ~ Bring home our first World Series victory this Halloween Night!

And try not to make the ride anymore scary than it has to be!

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Posted in Baseball | 2 Comments »

The Most Off-and-Over the Wall Game Ever

October 31, 2017

How Game Four of the 2017 World Series Played Out in the Mind’s Eye.

 

How Game Five of the 2017 World Series Played Out in the Mind’s Eye.

 

After seventy years of attentive focus upon how the professional game of baseball is played, I had never seen anything like Game Five of the 2017  World Series in my life. Ever.

Oh yeah, as Post-WW2 kids, we did this sort of the thing on the Houston sandlots on a daily basis, but, jeez, these were the heavyweights of professional baseball in 2017, playing on the highest, brightest, most respected, tradition-rich stage that baseball has to offer. It isn’t supposed to work out that this way. Good pitching is supposed to stop good hitting, and this game featured two former Cy Young starters, one of whom (Kershaw) is still regarded as the greatest starter in the game today.

Neither Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers or Dallas Keuchel of the Astros got through the first 5 innings; both were bombed; and both suffered from poor defense. It was an ebb and flood evening of hitting monsters, ones who had come to the park this night to do bad things to good people on the other side who entered this battle with the small case “p” printed at the end of their last names in the box score. It was a night that could have shifted easily to the Halloween date. These monsters had shown up early to capitalize on the endless stream of uncapitalized “p” bodies that zombied their over-worked arms through the pit of misery that the MMP pitching mound had become for their kind this haunting night in baseball history.

Pressure and over-use sucked energy from pitchers like the bite of the vampire sucks blood from the living. The big-boppers-of-baseball-bashing then monstered their ways over pitchers whose low energy and high anxiety served up home run pitches like grab-and-go doughnuts from the Shipley’s drive-by window.  Less favored, but last resort pitchers began to parade into the game from the pens like so many mummy-paced zombies and – as for any real closers – they were only present as invisible men among the house of many wolfman-maned batters. And the scruffiest of those was both scraggly redheaded and all decked out in Dodger blue. What a cast – and it only missed Halloween by a couple of earlier time days.

The malevolent baseball gods were equivalently undermining to the large and small “p” men this night. Orange. Blue. It didn’t seem to matter. If a “p” man could throw a baseball, he could hit a bat in motion that would turn that baby around and send it soaring into the farthest home run regions of Minute Maid Park.

Three times in Game Five, twice for the Astros and once for the Dodgers, teams drew back into ties on the heels of 3-run homers.

In the end, it was the sound of Alex Bregman’s bat in the bottom of the 10th with two outs. A single to left center was in motion and pinch runner Derek Fisher was well into the final 180 feet run that would end the blood spilling, at least, for this game. Around third came Fisher, sliding easily into home long before the ball arrived for a no-chance play.

Game over. Astros, win 13-12, in a five plus hours game. Astros now lead the 2017 World Series pursuit, 3 games to 2, over the LA Dodgers.

We take nothing for granted, but we raise our cups in a toast of hope!

Dilly! Dilly!

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Posted in Baseball | 4 Comments »

My First World Series Game

October 29, 2017

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Houston Astros
October 28, 2017, Game Four

Jose Altuve at the Plate, 1st Inning, Game Four
He grounded out, 4-3. (Photo by Sam Quintero)

 

My First World Series Game ….

….. took almost eighty years to happen.

…. came about as Game Four of the Dodgers vs. Astros match in Houston on October 28, 2017.

…. only happened because of a special invitation from my good friend, Dr. Sam Quintero.

…. sadly for us Astros fans, was lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 6-2.

In spite of the Astros loss, I shall never forget the emotional high that came with “just being there”, nor will I ever fail to reflect on the sweet generosity of my “dear friend and buddy Sam” – anytime I now think or write about the Baseball World Series, the Fall Classic, or the greatest competitive championship challenge in all American team sports. They all are one and the same in our hearts and minds. They are – the World Series!

Bill McCurdy and Sam Quintero
World Series Game Four
Minute Maid Park, Houston
October 28, 2017

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Dodgers taking batting practice prior to Game Four

Disappointments …

The Giveaway Aspect. Game Four was not a “winnable game lost”. It was a “winnable game given away” by the use of “closer” Ken Giles in the top of the 9th and the score tied 1-1. The resulting loss knocked the Astros out of their big chance for a 3-1 Series lead and the possibility of closure on the whole world championship goal tonight – here at home in Houston.

Even as we saw the change unfolding during his warm up pitches, many of our minds were muttering already in early apprehension. Even though earlier times for Giles were recalled as non-World Series situations, we all recalled what he had failed to do in the past under pressure – and we already knew all of his post-game apologies to the team by heart. We did not want to hear them again, but that’s exactly what we feared lay ahead as he prepared to appear in Game Four.

And I’ll be damned if that isn’t pretty much exactly what happened.

Happy and Civil Dodger fans abounded. at Game Four, especially as it ended in a 6-2 LA win.

The World Series is Not a Rehab Hospital for Closer Self Esteem. We all are human. And sometimes we humans need to go away somewhere and rebuild our self-esteem. But, if you are a big league closer with self-esteem issues, the World Series is not the place you go to work them out. The World Series, every pitch of the World Series, is the critical moment that all worthy clubs play the long seasons and playoff runs to reach. Screw up there – and there are no do-overs. Any way you slice it, the World Series is NOT the place to overcome old personal demons at the risk of robbing others of their club accomplishment dreams.

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

 

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Game 3: Two Half Game Starters Works Again!

October 28, 2017

A.J. HINCH
Manager
HOUSTON ASTROS

 

A.J. Hinch did it again!

By design, quiet sub-conscious self-utterance, or simply by effect, the Astros have brought home a win this playoff season by manager A.J. Hinch’s use of two starters in two half-game-each outings. The first time came in the ALCS Boston Series in which Hinch used Morton for 5.0 innings and McCullers for 4.0 innings to knock off the Red Sox. This time the came over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Three of the World Series as McCullers this time worked 5.1 innings and Peacock followed brilliantly for 3.2 stanzas – in almost the same outs-split. – In each game, the first pitcher up got the win and the second man took credit for a long and dutiful “save”  for his mound partner and team.

One could argue in favor of coincidence here and write the whole thing off to an appearance of two long saves by a second long-relief pitcher who won critical games for his Astros club.

Maybe. Maybe not.

As we’ve written previously, and quite recently, we think that this sort of game could be an evolutionary next development in the historical use of starters.

A crude look at the history of starting pitcher psychology will suffice to suggest what may be coming next – and, thanks to Mr. Hinch, may already be here:

  1. Iron Man Starters: “Give them the ball and get the hell out of the way.” Old Hoss Radbourn, Iron Man McGinnity, Walter Johnson (19th century to somewhere in the 1920s.)
  2. Relief Pitchers Become Respectable: (Wilcy Moore) Jazz Age starters needed relief from the daily onslaught of night-time living, day-time working, and hangovers, etc.
  3. Relief Pitching Specialists (Bruce Sutter, etc.) Mid-20th century to 21st century saw the advent of relief pitcher specialists (early/late, long/short, set-up/closer, etc.)
  4. Analytic Determinations begin to induce Pitch-Counting, and Shorter Expectations for How Long a Starter Should Go per game; (21st Century Analytics begins to shape pitching.)
  5. Now we have pitchers whose psychological grasp of a complete game is closer to 5 than it is 9 innings.

…. So, here it comes …. Why not take two of these really good “5 innings-is-a-CG” conditioned-mind pitchers and start them serially together to cover the full 9 innings of the same game. Let them fend for themselves without throwing in other “relief” pitchers to further lower their expectations of themselves in matters of endurance. The goal is to find combos of two guys who can work together to win a 9 inning game as one man alone used to go about the same task.

And we’ll see. But that seems to be very much what Mr. Hinch is both trying to do – and on the road to getting it done – as the next evolution in pitcher usage. We don’t see the end of the one-man starter, but if the two-man approach works in some instances, why not use it? Frankly, I thought Peacock pitched like a man who didn’t want to let his predecessor McCullers down last night. We can’t know that to be true, but we can know this much: Something was pumping Peacock to new heights in Game Three – and whether that was just being in a World Series, we will never know for sure. At any rate, Peacock’s caring, control, or a sense of confidence in his own abilities riding to a new high doesn’t really matter so much today. What matters is – Brad Peacock was pitching in Game Three like King Kong in the early 1930s movie, when he punched out that elevated train he saw coming at him, deep in the heart of the big city.

And what a great place to carry out this kind of research Astros Manager Hinch has chosen – smack dab in the middle of this very exciting World Series!

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

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Bill Gilbert: Astros Win Game Two with 4 HR

October 27, 2017

Bill Gilbert’s Special Report on Game Two of the 2017 World Series.

 

Astros Win Game Two with Four Home Runs

By Bill Gilbert

 

In a game that will likely be remembered as a classic, the Houston Astros evened the 2017 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at one game apiece with a 7-6 win at Dodger Stadium in eleven innings. There were eight home runs in the game, four for each team, including five in extra innings which had not been done before. It was the first win of a World Series game for the Astros in their 56-year history.

The game was almost identical to the first game through the first six innings with the Dodgers taking a 3-1 lead on a walk followed by a two-run homer, this time by Corey Seager. It was the first time Justin Verlander had given up three runs in a game in the 10 games he has pitched since arriving in Houston on August 31. It was the first game in which he did not pick up a win and he was in line for the loss even though he only gave up two hits, but both were home runs.

Rich Hill pitched four strong innings as the Dodger starter before being removed against his will, a move that Manager Dave Roberts may regret since he ended up using all eight of the pitchers in his bullpen including his top two relievers who were out of the game before the extra innings.

Astro bats were largely silent for the first game and the first seven innings of game two before breaking out in a barrage of four home runs in the next four innings by Marwin Gonzalez, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer. The Dodgers seemed to be in control entering the 9th inning with a one-run lead and their ace closer, Kenley Jansen, on the mound. However, in an unlikely turn of events, Gonzalez hit an 0-2 pitch from Jansen into the stands to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

The Astros wasted no time taking the lead in the 10th inning when Altuve and Correa led off the inning with back-to-back home runs off former Astro, Josh Fields. However, Ken Giles was unable to hold the two-run lead, allowing a home run to Yasiel Puig and a game-tying single to another former Astro, Kike Hernandez.

The home run barrage wasn’t over. In the eleventh inning, George Springer hit a two run homer off of the Dodgers eighth relief pitcher, Brandon McCarthy. It was then up to Chris Devenski to protect the lead in the bottom of the inning. The Dodgers led off with their two best hitters, Seager and Justin Turner. Devenski retired Seager on a long drive to center field and Turner on a line drive to third base. That left it up to utility infielder, Charlie Culberson, who had only two major league hits in the regular season and five in the post-season. He unexpectedly hit a home run and ran around the bases waving his arms as if he had just won or at least tied the game. However, the Astros still had a one-run lead with Puig at the plate. Puig worked a nine-pitch at-bat before striking out on a changeup from Devenski to end the game with an Astro win.

If Game 2 is an indicator, this should be a very interesting World Series as the Astros return to Houston for three games this weekend with J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday night.

 

Bill Gilbert

10/27/17

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Pre-Game 3 Notes and Reflections

October 27, 2017

Altuve #1

Correa #2

Puig #3

Springer #4

Culberson #5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Break-Out Game for Five World Series Extra Inning Homers

World Series Game Two was something of a break-out game for extra inning homers. Reader/Contributor Fred Soland wrote us the next day to pass on this information:

“Bill, there was another rarity that occurred in last night’s (second) game (of the World series). Prior to last night, there had been a total of 17 home runs hit in extra innings, forever. However, last night alone, there were 5 home runs hit in extra innings, in fact, in a span of 42 minutes. Pretty crazy stuff last night.” ~ Fred Soland, Reader/Contributor, The Pecan Park Eagle.

We haven’t yet verified the report with Baseball Reference, but we trust the undocumented source in this instance. Fred, if you have validation source data, please pass it along to us and we will reference it here to your report.

We all probably know the five different batters who did the overtime muscle work in Game Two extra frames, especially the three Astro mashers. As a group, they were Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and George Springer of the Astros – and the irrepressible Yasiel Puig and Charlie Culberson of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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We may be wrong, but we think the Blum World Series Homer in that 2005 win in Game 3 for the White Sox over the Astros has been immortalized in Chicago.

A Houston-Regrettable Extra Inning World Series Home Run

It happened on October 25, 2005 at Minute Maid Park in the 14th inning of World Series Game Three. White Sox batter Geoff Blum, the same cuddly fellow who now calls Houston home as the lovable “Blummer” member of our Astros TV broadcast team, came up to the plate and popped a solo home run over the right field wall. Blum’s homer gave the Chicago White Sox a one-run lead and the momentum to add another before they were retired. The Astros fell quickly in the bottom of the 14th, dropping to 0-3 in the Series and well on their way to a final sweep into defeat the next day.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/1259616//

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Dr. Sam Quintero
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HOUSTON STRONG

Dr. Sam Quintero Represents SABR in the Pre-Game Flag Ceremony Prior to Game Three Tonight

For the second time in this 2017 Playoff Season, Dr. Sam Quintero of UH and the Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR will serve as one of the 100 volunteers who will present the giant American and Texas flags prior to Game Three and the start of live World Series action at Minute Maid Park tonight, Friday, October 27, 2017. Thank you for your service, Dr. Quintero! – Who you are – and what you stand for – is both supported and honored itself by all of us who value our American flag as the protector of freedoms that exist nowhere else on earth as they do here.

We may never be perfect, but we’ll never stop trying to get there. Liberty and Justice for All is the standard. Nothing less will do. And we-will-get-there – with people like Dr. Sam Quintero showing the way by his everyday service as a giving citizen and contributing member of our Houston community.

The man doesn’t just give by holding the flag. He gives by living it through his local contributions of being himself on a daily basis. When you think of “Houston Strong”, think of Dr. Sam Quintero. You will have a better handle on the meaning of the term.

Opening Day 2017
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Minute Maid Park
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The Pre-Game Flag

GO, ASTROS! ~ OUR TIME IS NOW! ~ ONE GAME AT A TIME!

Go get ’em in Game Three, Lance McCullers! And keep those bats hot and the hits raining heavy, Mr. Altuve and Company!

You guys can do it! ~ We, your fans, believe in you all the way!

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Game 2: Both Managers Glimpse Pit of Misery

October 26, 2017

Now Immortalized!
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CHRIS DEVENSKI
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Astros 7 – Dodgers 6 (11)
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October 25, 2017
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1st Astros Winning Pitcher in a World Series Game

 

Astros Pull Even in 2017 World Series

And it was like a wild emotional-range scramble through a mixture of wide-swinging good and bad baseball reality for the many of us who watched Game 2 at home on television – and for the fans of both teams – we’re pretty sure. – How could it not be? The Astros and Dodgers each cranked out 4 HR to set a record for the new high of 8 homers as the mark for most total HR in a single World Series game.

In fact, some of the things that happened in the game easily fell into the theme of that oft-shown Bud-Light commercial in which the villagers are bringing gifts of Bud Light six-packs to the king, as he then thanks them most graciously with a head table toast from one and all of DILLY!-DILLY!

The six-pack donors in this fantasy merger represent to the game’s home run hitters as their contributions to the honor of the baseball gods that run the World Series. The baseball gods table salute of Dilly-Dilly takes on the acknowledgement, indeed, that they are pleased.

When managers Dave Roberts and A.J. Hinch then both go up together to present their story to the baseball gods of how they each tried to ice the game by getting two innings of salvation work from their two closers – but failed, in spite of good intentions, they are given no credit for simply trying and are each harshly admonished for crossing one of baseball’s serious lines of managerial propriety: “A manager shall never expect too much of any single player for the sake of making himself look good, if it works out.” In this dual instance, it failed for both Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers and Ken Giles of the Astros in their second innings of effort.

“For this gift,” shouted the baseball gods speaker to both Roberts and Hinch, “go with my man Edwards here. He’s going to give each of you a tour of the Pit of Misery!”

“Pit of Misery! Dilly Dilly!” shouted the baseball gods in a sardonically smiling toast of condemnation.

Fortunately for the Astros, and the Integrity of Baseball, George Springer’s 2-Run Homer in the top of the 11th – and Chris Devenski’s final act punch-out of Yasiel Puig in the bottom of the 11th spared baseball its first World Series game version of the Pit of Misery – the one in which both managers might have been forced to use position players as pitchers into deep extra innings due to an exhaustion of all other options.

The Astros won Game Two, 7-6, in 11 exciting innings. And Chris Devenski is now and forever the first World Series game-winning pitcher for the Houston Astros. When later asked for his own reaction to the idea of having now earned that level of permanent acclaim, Devenski’s words were few, but heartfelt to the brim.

“I am honored,” said Chris Devenski, as he also brushed back a flood of emotion that also wanted to come out as either shouts, screams, laughter, kisses, hugs or tears – just minutes after he struck out Yasiel Puig to end the last threat to this first Astros World Series game victory in their second Series try. Much as we hate to recall it, the 2005 Astros lost the 2005 World Series as National Leaguers in a four-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox.

Now, if the Astros can only take the next three games at home, they can celebrate their ascendance to the title of 2017 World Series Champions without returning to Dodger Stadium for Games 6 or 7.

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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World Series Game 2: Stating the Obvious

October 25, 2017

Justin Verlander
Carpe Diem Personified

 

The Obvious Astros Challenge

For the Astros, Game 2 is a must-win proposition. We cannot afford to go home for the next possible three, down two games to none. That would mean we had to then win all three of our home games for the chance to go back to LA for a 50-50 shot at winning one of those games, almost surely again against Mr. Clayton Kershaw – either in Game 5 at Houston or Game 6 at LA. – The uphill math and the upgrade momentum challenge in all cases would be the same river in which Cubs drowned in their NLCS with the Dodgers. – And, to have no part of it, our Astros Strong guys must win Game Two in LA tonight.

The Obvious Astros Requirements for Avoiding an 0-2 start in LA

  1. See the lead photo and save us the words. Our beloved Justin Verlander must again do his Marvel Comics act and stop the Dodgers tonight as he did the Red Sox and Yankees.
  2. The explosive Astro bats of Jose Altuve and Company must come to life on the road and stay hot upon their return to Houston Friday night.
  3. The defense needs to keep making those iconic plays on the level of Alex Bregman’s “The Throw” and George Springer’s “The Catch” from the ALCS Yankees match.
  4. And all “Stranger in Paradise” lyrics from Astro players along the lines of “I’m just happy to be here” should totally disappear. If striking out two or three times against Dr. Kerplunk in Game One last night didn’t cure that disease for everybody then we must hope that Manager A.J. Hinch already has insisted that every other Astros batter also share the breakfast choice of Alex Bregman on this and every other Game Day the club shall have.

We Didn’t Come This Far to Settle for “Wait’ll Next Year!”

“Wait’ll Next Year!” is the most wisdom-vacant loser-compensation post-loss growl in all of sports. If you ask people who’ve been around Houston baseball over the entire course of our 55-year-old MLB experience, they will tell you that every small and giant hill we had to climb to get this far in 2017 is not guaranteed to be there in 2018, even if we seem to have most of the same players ready to go over a road to the World Series that looks pretty much as it did this time.

It’s not. There is no next year. There is only now.

And, if our words are not enough testimony for you, and you still want to hang with “wait until next year,” ask some of the multi-generational survivors of the Chicago Cubs resurgence as World Champions in 2016. It only took 108 years for the Cubs to repeat the journey they previously last made successfully in 1908.

Those who win often seem to be those who understand best that their power to do so only exists now. These are the clubs that “get” that their power to win a championship exists now and that it is never guaranteed to anyone because of who they are. It will go to the club that best uses its ability to seize the day over those things they can control beyond the ability of the other team to resist, and the random appearance of chance events, like a rainstorm,  that sometimes appear as intervening factors in a game’s outcome.

The Latin phrase for this decisive action is “carpe deim” and its literal translation into English is “seize the day”.

Our Obvious Wish

Come on, Astros, seize the day – while this moment of World Series harvest is available to the club that best possesses and uses their abilities to that end.

 

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

 

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Who Are These LA Dodgers, Anyway?

October 24, 2017

Kiki Hernandez (14) celebrates 3rd HR against Cubs with Yasiel Puig in game that clinches 2017 NL pennant for Dodgers.

 

Who are these Dodger guys, anyway?

Once you get past the big names of Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig, their roster doesn’t exactly bounce off our minds like words written on plaques destined for the Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t mean we Astros Nation people take anything for granted here. After all, these are the guys , not the Houston Astros, who won more games in MLB this year than anyone else. LA had 104 wins in 2017, and that was two more than the Cleveland Indians garnered and three more than our Astros captured.

Our deficiency on finger tip information is directly connected to the Astros deeper absorption into the world of the American League. With the Astros rolling to this moment – and never inter-league playing the Dodgers this year a single series time – it seemed enough just to know that the boys from La La Land did have Kershaw and Puig – and that they were doing pretty well themselves.

Now it’s come down to “prove who’s best” time in that little dance we all know as the World Series and – lo and behold – we find that the Astros and Dodgers have both fought their ways onto the dance card as the only contestants.

The following table is a glimpse view of the probable starting lineup for the Dodgers in Game One tonight.  It reflects how each of the nine projected Dodger starters have fared over the season and in the playoffs.

A Former Astro Pick Shines in LA

One interesting name on the list is Dodger shortstop Enrique “Kiki” Hernandez. Kiki originated as an Astros 6th round amateur draft pick in 2009, but he moved on to the Miami Marlins in that August 2014 trade that sent several Astros players to Florida in exchange for Jake Marisnick and others. The Marlins then grouped Kiki in another multi-player deal and shipped him off to the Dodgers in December 2014.

All Enrique Hernandez did in the 2017 final elimination of the Cubs playoff game was to crunch three home runs into the hopper of an LA winning cause.

Here’s a link to the Fernandez mad bomber game:

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/10/20/16507098/kike-hernandez-home-run-prediction-mother-text-message-dodgers-nlcs-mlb-record

A Tabular Look at the Probable Starting LA Dodger Nine By Season and Playoff Stats

# PLAYER POS B/T S/PO AB R H HR RBI SB AVG OBP
1 Chris Taylor CF R/R Sea > 514 85 148 21 72 17 .288 .354
P0 > 32 8 9 2 4 0 .281 .410
2 Justin Turner 3B R/R Sea> 457 72 147 21 71 7 .322 .360
PO > 31 4 12 3 12 1 .387 .500
3 Cody Bellinger 1B L/L Sea> 480 87 128 39 97 10 .267 .352
PO > 36 6 10 2 4 1 .278 .316
4 Yasiel Puig RF R/R Sea> 499 72 131 28 74 15 .263 .346
PO > 29 6 12 1 6 0 .414 .514
5 L. Forsythe 2B R/R Sea> 361 56 81 6 36 3 .224 .351
PO > 19 6 6 0 3 1 .316 .458
6 E. Hernandez LF R/R Sea> 297 46 64 11 37 3 .215 .308
PO > 12 4 5 3 7 0 .417 .533
7 Austin Barnes C R/R Sea> 218 35 63 8 38 4 .289 .408
PO > 23 6 6 1 3 1 .261 .370
8 C. Culberson SS R/R Sea> 13 0 2 0 1 0 .154 .267
PO > 11 2 5 0 1 0 .455 .417
PITCHER B/T W L ERA G GS SV IP SO
9 Clay Kershaw L/L Sea > 18 4 2.31 27 27 0 175. 202
PO > 2 0 3.63 3 3 0 17.1 16

 

Additional Observations ….

Dodger Line Up Has Pop at the Top

The Dodgers’ first 4 hitters have 21, 21, 39, and 28 homers on the season, and, to back up the contact threat, their 2017 BA’s check in at .288, .322, .267. and .263.

Kershaw’s Playoff Mark

Kershaw won twice against the Cubs, but his 3.63 PO ERA was a tad higher than his 2.31 2017 season mark.

Let’s Get It on!

First Pitch is now only Six and One Half Hours Hours Away at this late “additional observations” posting to the column.!

Go Astros!

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Rain Reduces Vintage Ball DH to One Game

October 23, 2017

The reincarnated second coming of the Houston Babies will quietly hit the 9th anniversary year of their first game on October 25, 2017. Playing by 1860 rules, the club is actually a rebirth of the 1888 Houston Babies, our city’s first fully professional base ball club.

 

The original 1888 Houston Babies of the brand new 1888 Texas League. (See if you can pick out the original Bob Dorrill look-alike player from that first Houston Babies team.)

 

The Barker Red Sox showed up to play the Houston Babies in the late morning first game of a scheduled Texian Days doubleheader at the George Ranch on Saturday, October 21, 2017. (We are still looking for the manager Bob Copus look-alike figure among the early arrivals from Barker.)

 

Sadly, it wasn’t to be. The Houston Babies and the Barker Red Sox reportedly had a rousing good time scoring plenty of runs in the first game of their scheduled doubleheader at the George Ranch Texian Days celebration near Sugar Land on Saturday, October 21, 2017, but greater hopes were to go unfulfilled on a day destined for rain. A heavy down pour wiped out the second game and surely also tampered with all other outside activity at the celebration, so the valiant gladiators of the old bat and ball game went home to watch college football on TV as they awaited Game 7 and the eventual joy of watching the Houston Astros take out the New York Yankees, 4-0, for the American League pennant and an all expenses paid trip to play the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League in the 2017 World Series.

The vintage game will rise again to play and charm the world in our area. All it needs to stay healthy is enough players to have experienced the sandlot fun of the game on a day at George Ranch in which the weather there looked like this bucolic scene from the same field of dreams back in the spring of 2012:

 

We’ve already built it.
Won’t you come join us?

 

For further information on how you may get involved in vintage base ball play, please contact either of our two current club managers:

Bob Dorrill of the Houston Babies, bdorrill@aol.com

or

Bob Copus of the Barker Red Sox, rcopus@qclabs.com

In the meanwhile, have a great and peaceful day of the mind.

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

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