MLB Chatter Thread

Texas Ace

Teh Acester
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Yeah, I actually see very few incidents like that out of Astros fans. Houstonians are guilty of caring a little too much about what DFW teams are up to, but I have always been told that Dallas fan is too busy reveling in a championship legacy to care about what Houston fan thinks. Good to know you care though.
If I had never left Dallas, I'm sure I wouldn't care one bit about Houston teams one way or another. My family back in Dallas doesn't care, but then again, they don't live in a city where the population is obsessed with yelling "Dallas sucks" at every.single.opportunity. they get.

So, yes, as a Dallas fan living in Houston, I will enjoy every single time a team from back home sticks it to this city that hates to lose to them so much.
 

Jiggyfly

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They have some impressive young talent, that is for sure. I don't see pitching, especially the starting pitching, being nearly good enough for that type of ascent right now. That is where they would have to put a lot of their resources (both free agent dollars and trade assets) in order to do what the Cubs have done. Can McCullers stay healthy? Hasn't been able to so far.

They also do not have anywhere near the kind of offensive depth as the Cubs either though. I was at Minute Maid for last Friday and Saturday's games and that lineup looked less than impressive with Correa out. Springer is a nice player, Correa is going to be a star, Altuve already is a star, and Bregman has star potential. That is a nice base, but what else is in the pipeline? Maybe AJ Reed I guess. He has not looked good so far but is a rookie. Could be a real asset down the road.

Unfortunately for the Astros, the Rangers have as much young talent/potential. Going to be interesting to see how things unfold in that division of the next few years.
This is how I feel.

There are some young arms who could be front line starters like Martes and Paulino which could free up a lot of money for a couple of bats.

Tucker is the only real plus position prospect they have unless Cameron has a bounce back season next year.

I think a Braun or somebody like that would really elevate this lineup.

I don't really know what else the Rangers have in there farm system but the Astros have enough to still add some great veterans.
 

Rev

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Rangers still have plenty but is all low A stuff now. A few pitchers left at AA but I can't see them being as active next season. Then again Daniels won't let the team fail because of that if they are close.
 

Kbrown

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This is how I feel.

There are some young arms who could be front line starters like Martes and Paulino which could free up a lot of money for a couple of bats.

Tucker is the only real plus position prospect they have unless Cameron has a bounce back season next year.

I think a Braun or somebody like that would really elevate this lineup.

I don't really know what else the Rangers have in there farm system but the Astros have enough to still add some great veterans.
Yeah, pretty much this. It was probably hyperbole to bring up the Cubs, but Houston has a talented base, a top notch farm system (although with Bregman up now, it is more a quantity of solid prospects than big time studs now).
 

Jiggyfly

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Rangers still have plenty but is all low A stuff now. A few pitchers left at AA but I can't see them being as active next season. Then again Daniels won't let the team fail because of that if they are close.
I feel Bregman and Gurriel are equivalent to what you got at the trading deadline and they are both on the club at least 4 years.

I think the biggest difference between the Astros and the Rangers right now is Hamels and Darvish and a veteran bat in the lineup.

If Mcullers can bounce back I really like our starting depth.
 

Cotton

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:unsure
 

Rev

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I feel Bregman and Gurriel are equivalent to what you got at the trading deadline and they are both on the club at least 4 years.

I think the biggest difference between the Astros and the Rangers right now is Hamels and Darvish and a veteran bat in the lineup.

If Mcullers can bounce back I really like our starting depth.
Are you saying Bregman and Gurriel are the equivalent of Lucroy and Beltran?
 

Jiggyfly

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:unsure
I'm glad Astros fans are getting rowdy, they have been pretty nonchalant for the most part over the years.
 

Cotton

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The lime feels vaguely racist somehow. :lol
:lol

I didn't even think about that. Which means you are clearly more racist than I am. :unsure
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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This is amazing to me, considering our bullpen has sucked out loud at times this year.
 

Cotton

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I have to say, and this might not be popular with other Rangers fans here, but I love Altuve. His spirit for the game is great. He is one of, if not the best, batter in baseball. He pops it up, and is visibly pissed at himself. Not that this is unusual, but you normally see that from players in slumps. He does it when he is killing it. Very cool to see.
 

Rev

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I have to say, and this might not be popular with other Rangers fans here, but I love Altuve. His spirit for the game is great. He is one of, if not the best, batter in baseball. He pops it up, and is visibly pissed at himself. Not that this is unusual, but you normally see that from players in slumps. He does it when he is killing it. Very cool to see.
Anger issues is a side effect of steroids.
 

Texas Ace

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I have to say, and this might not be popular with other Rangers fans here, but I love Altuve. His spirit for the game is great. He is one of, if not the best, batter in baseball. He pops it up, and is visibly pissed at himself. Not that this is unusual, but you normally see that from players in slumps. He does it when he is killing it. Very cool to see.
Great player and a really good guy too.

CSB - my cousin took her 6 year old son to meet him at a fan meet and greet thing, and she raved about how Altuve held the line up just so her son could finish telling him everything he wanted to. He basically just went way further than what was required of him to make it a personalized experience for the kid.

You pretty much hear stories like this all the time about the guy.

Big props to Altuve for that.
 

E_D_Guapo

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I saw an adult man at Minute Maid who was probably less than 5'-0" tall. He was wearing an Altuve shirsey. It was precious.
 

Jiggyfly

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Astros rookie Alex Bregman
drawing rave reviews from teammates


By Ken Rosenthal
Sep 11, 2016 at 12:06p ET
HOUSTON - Sitting side-by-side at their lockers, Astros stars Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa began gushing about their new teammate Alex Bregman, unsolicited.

"Write it down - he will get 200 hits next year," Altuve said.

"One of the best swings I've ever seen," Correa added.

Bregman, 22, only joined the Astros on July 25. He started his career 1-for-34. But he was at it again Saturday at Minute Maid Park, hitting an opposite-field home run off veteran right-hander John Lackey to help the Astros to a 2-1 victory over the Cubs.

Never mind that Bregman was 8 when Lackey won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Angels. The kids come quickly now, quicker than ever before, and it will be fascinating to see which of the first arrivals from the 2015 draft proves the best player -- Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, who went No. 1 overall; Bregman, who went No. 2; or Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who went No. 7.

Bregman draws the same kinds of raves as Swanson for his intangibles, and at least at this early stage might be the superior hitter -- he's batting .329 with eight homers and a .991 OPS in 160 plate appearances since his 1-for-34 start (Swanson is not exactly struggling, batting .314 with two homers and an .807 OPS in 77 PAs).


The serious comps can wait -- that Altuve and Correa couldn't wait to tell me about Bregman speaks volumes already. The Astros gave Correa practically a hero's welcome when he joined the team last season. But established players, even young ones such as Altuve, 26, and Correa, 21, are not always welcoming to the next big thing.

Bregman, though, is different.

Different because of his talent. Different because of his makeup. Different because he seems hellbent on being great.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch already calls Bregman "a glue guy," the kind of description normally reserved for veteran clubhouse leaders.

It helps that Bregman speaks Spanish, increasing his accessibility to every corner of the clubhouse. It also helps that he has superior work habits, impressing the Astros' veterans with his diligence.


At one point during Bregman's initial slump, Hinch turned to the rookie in the dugout and told him that he was going to move him up to second in the Astros' order -- in only his sixth major-league game.

"You're one of our best hitters," Hinch said.

"I know I am," Bregman replied.

"Then go get some hits," Hinch commanded.

Bregman went 1-for-15 in his first three days in the No. 2 spot, but has now reached base in 24 straight games.

When I asked him to identify the most unusual thing about his whirlwind season, Bregman did not say it was it learning to play third base and left field after getting drafted as a shortstop, or jumping from Double A to Triple A to the majors.

No, Bregman said, the most unusual thing was seeing "beach balls" the whole year and then starting his major-league career the way he did. He was not accustomed to that kind of failure, not in the minors, not at LSU.

He adjusted his hand path -- he had started dropping his hands rather than moving them forward as he began his swing. And he adjusted his mindset, realizing that while he was hitting some balls hard, it wasn't good enough.

"If you want to get hits in the big leagues, you've got to hit a LOT of balls hard," Bregman said. "They play where you hit it. If you want to be successful, you've got to hit the ball hard every single time. Altuve's hitting .350 because he's hitting three balls hard a game."

Great hitters are greedy like that, and Bregman looks like a great hitter (actually, Bregman at 6-feet, 180 pounds and Benintendi at 5-foot-11, 170 look more like fresh-faced kids out of college than future MVP candidates).

Oh, and drafting Bregman with Correa already at short was nothing short of an inspired move by Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, scouting director Mike Elias and their staff; Bregman is outstanding defensively, and the Astros likely will keep him at third base next season, with Yuli Gurriel moving to first or left field.

Bregman's teammates love him. His manager loves him. Everyone loves him.


"He has an infectious draw to him," Hinch said. "I really like his approach to the game -- humble but confident enough. Real baseball player."

And just getting started.
 

Rev

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Rangers aren't looking good for the playoffs. I want to believe in their motto Never Ever Quit but it's getting hard. Not that I would quit but for hopes of getting to world series. I just have to keep reminding myself that they play up to or down to the competion. I think they are around 60-30 against teams with winning records. Just a scary time as even Hamels and Darvish aren't pitching very good.
 
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