The Pecan Park Eagle

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.

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

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.

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

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS

THRU GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

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

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

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

AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS

THRU GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

NR * LOST TIME ON THE DL HAS TEMPORARILY REMOVED CORREA FROM AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING PLACE IN THE RANKING OF TOP 40 HITTERS.

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

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