The Angels and Athletics are doing a number on the Rangers and Astros.
Unbelievable. We could have been 1.5 or 2.5 games out of first place.

Instead we may stay 4.5 games back unless we go to extra innings and win to be 3.5 games back.
What a great opportunity wasted on this road trip. We can't come back home soon enough.

Not to mention we're 1-9 against the Rangers this season in 10 games (still 10 left versus them).

We don't deserve to win the AL West if we can't handle our own business against these teams.

Well. The Astros and Athletics are going to the top of 10th still tied 3-3 right now.
Maybe the Astros will find a way to pull this game out but either way I'm disappointed.

Only bright spot tonight (unless we win) is Jose Altuve is 4-for-5.
He's now hitting a smooth .354 this year, 15 home runs, 54 RBIs.
OPS at .984. On-base percentage over .420. Has been top three in WAR all season.

hey whos first in WAR?

Mike Trout.

you bet your ass he is

Jose Altuve picked up a single in his first at-bat today.
Jeez. He's on fire! He may hit .360-plus this year.
This is the second best season that I've ever seen by an Astros player.
And like the first, it may result in another MVP award. The second in franchise history.

Jeff Bagwell's NL MVP 1994 strike-shortened season... He was a hitting machine that year.
At the time of the strike he was hitting .368 with 39 HRs, 116 RBIs and a 1.201 OPS.
He had actually broken his hand about a week before the strike. That was only 110 games played for him.
Had he played a full 162 games that year your guess is as good as mine. He was unreal that season.

It's a shame this Astros team can't put it all together.
They have to win today just to avoid the sweep at Oakland.
I stayed up close to 1 AM watching them lose 4-3 in 10 innings last night.
And I had stayed up past midnight watching them lose 7-4 the night before.

Typical Astros: They'll probably win today just to tease me but I'm not a fool anymore.
Those past two losses really ruined all of my excitement. Salvaging one win in this series is weak.

Even if the Astros win today and the Rangers lose again tonight I won't feel that good.

Being 3.5 games out of first place in the AL West would still upset me. Just a little tease is all.
We blew it the past two games, IMO. We could have have been "right there" to say the least.

The Astros just aren't meant to win the AL West. I need to realize that and not get my hopes up.
After last season's collapse and this year's weak record against division opponents I ought to know better.

Jose Altuve again. 2-for-2 today. An infield single this time.
When he heats up everything seems to be a hit. He deserves more national praise.
If he played for the Yankees, for example, he would have his own TV show and video game.
In Altuve's last 100 at-bats, he has 51 hits. He's hitting over .500 in that time. Ridiculous!

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Jul 20 2016 02:13pm

The Astros left Oakland with a 7-0 win. It would have felt nice if they hadn't lost to the Athletics the past two nights.
Doug Fister tossed seven shutout innings. He's been our best starting pitcher this year: 10-6 with a 3.42 ERA.

They didn't give Jose Altuve much to hit after his first two at-bats. He ended up 2-for-3 with a pair of walks.
He flied out on a pitch that was way outside the strike zone. He tried to be aggressive for a third hit today (could have had 3 walks).

Correa had 3 RBIs and Springer had 2 RBIs. The problem with the Astros offense is the middle of their lineup: Not enough consistency there from a game-to-game basis. Their top three is excellent: In fact, they've been hitting Correa 4th lately. But usually it's Springer, Altuve and Correa.

Yulieski Gurriel should help when he's called up in a few weeks.
And perhaps they can still trade for another big bat. Or even call up Alex Bregman.

The Astros may find a way to play both Gurriel and Bregman in the near future. They are high on both players.
We may see Alex Bregman called up before Friday Night's game against the Angels. But we'll see...

We don't deserve it but if somehow the Angels can beat the Rangers tonight the Astros will be 3.5 games out of first place.

The Astros have tomorrow off and then start a 6-game home stand: 3 with the Angels and 3 with Yankees.
I'm hoping to see them take care of business at home. A 3-3 West Coast road trip could have been worse I guess.

I just feel like the Astros need to show some urgency. We no longer have time to fool around. It's time to do what it takes.

Alex Bregman is starting in left field at Triple-A Fresno tonight. That's very interesting.
He's already made two nice catches out there. And Minute Maid Park it is only 315 feet to LF.

It shouldn't be too hard of an adjustment, especially in home games, for such a tremendous athlete like him.
It's kind of weird how he's a natural shortstop, moved to third base and is now shagging fly balls in left field.

The Astros are planning to play Yulieski Gurriel at third base and Alex Bregman in left field the way it looks. I can't wait until both players are in the big leagues: Bregman may be called up as early as Friday Night against the Angels from what I'm hearing.

Also Evan Gattis hurt his hand today. X-Rays were negative though.
He is our DH most of the time when he's not playing backup catcher.

We have Colby Rasmus in left field but I'm not sure what the long-term plan is for him.
He's a free agent this winter. He's only hitting .232. He hit the cover off the ball in the playoffs last year.

Either way, there should be plenty of room to play both Bregman and Gurriel soon enough.
It's amazing the Astros are very much in the playoff race. There is still time to win the AL West.

That's crazy to think about. We were 11.5 games out not too long ago. Could be 3.5 out by tonight.
We should be 20 games out and buried in the AL West standings already.
The Rangers own us in head-to-head play as well. They've owned us for two years now.

And also we've been losing too many games against bad teams lately.

LOL, I don't get it but I'll take it. Sometimes baseball is best to enjoy when you don't try to make sense of it all.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Jul 20 2016 09:01pm

Alex Bregman put on a show in left field last night at Triple-A.
Two highlight reel catches, three hits and a stolen base.
He has 8 multi-hit games, 5 three-hit games, in his 15 Triple-A starts since being promoted from Double-A..



He'll be starting in left field again tonight for the Fresno Grizzlies.

If he isn't called up before Friday Night's Astros versus Angels game then when?
The Astros have a day off today and can re-evaluate their roster. It's a good time to make a move.

We could slot him in left field right now just to take a nice look at this kid against big league pitching.
We have Colby Rasmus' and his .231 batting average in left field right now. I mean, man oh man...

It would be nice to see a guy who can just flat out hit in the lineup besides Altuve.
And to some degree Springer and Correa: Hopefully Yulieski Gurriel can rock that stick at third base soon.

If the Astros aren't going to trade for a big bat like Ryan Braun then the next best thing is to call these guys up.

Maybe we can make a trade for a much needed starting pitcher before the deadline.
3.5 games back of the Texas Rangers for first place and some talent on the way up.

With an exciting home stand coming up. This is an ideal time for the Astros to make some noise.