Altuve walks it off, all the way to the World Series

The Astros weren’t built to win just one championship. Raising the trophy one time was never going to be good enough. You don’t endure three consecutive years of losing 100 games to rebuild into a juggernaut and get just one taste of champagne at the end of October.


Perhaps that’s what drove the Astros to wash away last year’s heartbreaking playoff loss to the Red Sox and come roaring back to a club-record 107 wins. Maybe that’s why they remained laser-focused despite being tested by the Rays in the American League Division Series and never took anything for granted when they pushed the mighty Yankees to the brink of elimination in the AL Championship Series.
 And when Yankees first baseman DJ LeMahieu hit a stunning two-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the ALCS to tie the game, that simply set the stage for José Altuve -- the only Astros player who endured the three 100-loss seasons in a row -- to send the Astros back to the World Series.

 Altuve crushed an Aroldis Chapman slider and hit a towering walk-off two-run homer in the ninth inning to score George Springer for a 6-4 win over the Yankees in Game 6 on Saturday night at raucous Minute Maid Park. The Astros won the best-of-seven series, 4-2, to punch their ticket to the World Series for the second time in three seasons.


The Astros will play host to Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park against the National League champion Washington Nationals, who overcame a 19-31 start to reach their first Fall Classic. Nearly eight months after the Astros and Nationals -- who share a Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. -- began the season with an exhibition game, they will meet for the right to be called World Series champions.
“We’ve said all along our goal was to win multiple championships,” Astros president of baseball operations and general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “We’re not there yet.”

It’s the third time in five seasons the Astros have eliminated the Yanks, who battled with Houston for the best record in baseball all season before losing home-field advantage in the final week of the regular season.
“I feel like we are on equal footing with them,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Unfortunately, sports can be a little bit cruel for the team that goes home and such can happen in the series.”

The Astros, who have been headlined all season by their star-studded starting pitching, had to turn to their bullpen to try to finish off the Yanks, saving dominant ace Gerrit Cole for a possible Game 7 -- and in a perfect world -- Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.

The start of the game couldn’t have gone any better, with Brad Peacock using seven pitches to breeze through the first inning. Needing a hero, Yuli Gurriel -- 1-for-20 in the ALCS entering the game -- blasted a three-run homer to left in the bottom of the inning to give the Astros a 3-0 lead. Gary Sánchez answered with an RBI single off Peacock in the second.


“He was incredible tonight,” Hinch said of Urquidy. “What's hard for a young player is not really knowing what was going to happen or how he was going to be used. It probably would have been easier on him emotionally just to start the game and have the normal routine, and we weren't going to do that. And we told him we weren't sure if or when he was going to pitch, but the way the game was progressing and we went through a lot of pitching early, we don't win this game if Urquidy doesn't come in and get the outs that he did at the time in which he did to turn it over to the back end of the bullpen.”
Then there was steady veteran Will Harris, who got the final out in the sixth and three more big ones in the seventh, with an unreal assist from left fielder Michael Brantley. He made a diving catch of an Aaron Hicks fly ball and doubled up Aaron Judge at first to end the inning and make Minute Maid Park erupt with noise.

“Our bullpen, we all read what everybody writes that everybody we face has a better bullpen than us and to do it on a bullpen day [was sweet],” Smith said. “It took everybody out there, though.”
From pitching to defense, the Astros were doing everything they had to do to overcome their offensive shortcomings in the series. They were two outs away from a tense win when LeMahieu socked his game-tying homer just over the glove of a leaping Springer. Minute Maid Park sat in stunned silence.

“I knew that was gone,” Osuna said. “That was a terrible feeling. I felt terrible. When Altuve hit the homer, obviously I came back to life and pretty excited right now.”
In the end, it worked out like it should have for the Astros. It was Altuve sending the rocket into the night. It was Altuve humbly rounding the bases and into a mass of teammates. It was Altuve that sent the Astros back to the Fall Classic.

What is to come ?  Well, I'd suggest you tune in on Tuesday night and watch, otherwise you might  miss something special.

Time for Change

Like bananas, flowers and carrots, managerial openings come in bunches in MLB these days. There were six of them after the 2017 season, another six after the 2018 season and eight of them after the just-completed 2019 season.
One of the eight skipper spots has been filled by  Joe Maddon;s return to his Angels roots. But as the World Series looms, there are still interviews being conducted, with several examples of the same guy going for multiple jobs.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the seven remaining openings, and the pros and cons that a discerning managerial candidate must consider with each one.


CUBS


Pros: Though this club fell flat again this year, there is certainly enough talent on the Major League roster that you don’t have to squint hard at all to see a contender in 2020. The front office is highly motivated to kick things back into gear and to be more progressive in terms of technological adaptation at every level. And, of course, the allure of managing one of baseball’s most supported franchises in one of its two most hallowed ballparks sells itself.
Cons: No matter how polished, professional and experienced you might be, you’re replacing a guy in Maddon who was generally a master at handling the media and absorbing and overcoming the inevitable controversies and distractions that come with a 162-game schedule. Fan angst is at a high point given the way the past two seasons ended abruptly, the rotation is old and the farm system was raided by trades and graduations, lessening the margin for error in a market where nothing goes unnoticed. Oh, and Kris Bryant is a free agent in two seasons, just so you know.

GIANTS

Pros: A supportive fan base in a big market means there could be opportunity to make significant additions in the not-too-distant future, and after season loss totals of 98, 89 and 85 the past three years, expectations are necessarily tempered for 2020, so even flirting with .500 would be considered a success in your first season. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is one of the brightest minds in the game, and we have every reason to suspect that he can successfully reshape the roster.
Cons: You’re replacing a legend in Bochy, so, while the bar might not be set high for '20, three titles in a decade is a pretty steep organizational precedent. The upper levels of the farm system are not stocked with what is considered to be elite talent, so there’s no telling how long the aforementioned roster recalibration might need to take real shape. Zaidi’s general manager and managerial searches are taking place concurrently, so at the moment it’s unclear who you’ll be working closely with or what the power dynamic might be moving forward.
  
METS

Pros: A team that for the past few years has put too much hope and emphasis on its potentially great rotation now finally has the legit offensive cornerstones to be a viable NL contender. Though the farm system took a hit with the aggressive bid to make the 2019 team a contender, it still has enough talent to feel comfortable with the long-term ability to fill some needs internally. And while working in New York is its own animal, succeeding in New York is a reward like few others.
Cons: Look, things can get messy with the Mets. This isn’t the smoothest ship on the MLB waters, and the tabloids are quick to recognize any ripples in the water. You’d better bring your "A" game from a game-management perspective, and you’d better understand -- as Callaway apparently didn’t -- that even when you’re winning, media members are going to pick at (and spotlight) any negatives. That’s life in the big city. Furthermore, Brodie Van Wagenen’s approach to the GM job is still very much under scrutiny after his aggression in the both the winter and midsummer went unrewarded, so it’s hard to say if the margins of the roster will be accurately addressed.

 PADRES

Pros: First off, have you ever been to San Diego? Yeah, I mean, come on. But as far as the baseball is concerned, the arrow is certainly pointed upward here, with a rich farm system, a strong nucleus at the big league level with Manny Machado entering his age-27 season, and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack entering their sophomore years, among other pieces. This team hasn’t been competitive in a decade and hasn’t been to the playoffs in 14 years or the World Series in 21, so even finishing above .500 will earn you praise.
Cons: With so much money already committed to Machado, Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer, is this club going to expand the payroll enough to adequately address other problem areas on the roster? And while the farm system is undeniably strong, how long will it take to build a legitimate, postseason-caliber starting rotation? Trying to compete with a rich Dodgers team loaded at both the big league and Minor League levels is no picnic, even if San Diego is a lovely place to have a picnic.

PHILLIES

Pros: This is another market where your legend can grow quickly if you win, and a roster with Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, Andrew McCutchen and Aaron Nola, among others, can most certainly win -- provided health cooperates a bit better than it did in ’19. Ownership’s commitment to building a winner was made quite evident last season, and consecutive second-half fades have everybody on board hungry to take the next step.
Cons: After ownership forced the front office’s hand in the replacement of the hitting coach and then the manager, is greater discord on the doorstep here? Furthermore, does this team legitimately have the infrastructure to justify the big expenditures at the top of the roster, or are you entering a scenario in which even an average rate of injury and ineffectiveness sullies the season? Do the aforementioned second-half slides mean the law of averages should aid the next skipper, or are they a systemic issue that a mere managerial change can’t fix?

Managerial Candidates ?

Rain rain go away..astros yankees want to play

With heavy rain forcing a postponement of ALCS Game 4 in New York on Wednesday evening and the Nationals completing a four-game NLCS sweep against the Cardinals the previous night, there was no postseason baseball yesterday for the first time this October. The fallout from the weather-related shakeup is wide-ranging and will undoubtedly have a massive impact on the remainder of an already compelling series. Let’s start with the immediate future before delving into some of the long-term ramifications. It’ll be Masahiro Tanaka versus Zack Greinke when the ALCS resumes with Game 4 on Thursday night, with the Astros holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 will now be played on Friday, which was originally scheduled as an off-day for both teams. Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) will take place in Houston on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Obviously, the Yankees benefit tremendously from the postponement, which enables them to hand the ball to Tanaka for Game 4 on his normal four days of rest, instead of their original plan to go with a bullpen game. The 30-year-old right-hander fired six scoreless frames to lead the Yankees to a victory in Game 1 last Saturday. He’s quietly morphed into one of the best postseason performers of his generation, posting a microscopic 1.32 ERA over 41 career postseason innings (seven starts). The short-term benefit of having Tanaka on the mound with a chance to even the series on Thursday night shouldn’t be overlooked. However, the monumental task facing the Yankees over the remainder of the condensed series is that they’ll need to win three games in four days, while facing the Astros’ “Big Three” starters, and relying primarily on their bullpen. In a New York minute, everything could change in this series. A one-game deficit certainly isn’t insurmountable. However, the Yankees need their bats to come alive and strong performances from Tanaka and likely Game 5 starter James Paxton if they’re going to send the series back to Houston.

Meanwhile, the Astros find themselves squarely on the precipice -- just two victories away -- from their second World Series appearance in the last three years. They’ll turn to Greinke on normal rest for Game 4 on Thursday night, rather than their originally scheduled bullpen game, which likely would’ve been started by rookie right-hander Jose Urquidy. The 35-year-old veteran will aim for improved results after he was tagged for three runs over six innings in a Game 1 loss. Astros manager A.J. Hinch confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that veteran righty Justin Verlander, who gutted out 6 2/3 solid frames in a no-decision in Game 2 of the series last Sunday, will start Game 5 on Friday. The central question for the Astros over the next 48 hours is whether they’ll be able to wrap up the American League pennant in New York. If not, the series shifts back to Minute Maid Park for Game 6 (and a potential Game 7 as well), where Hinch would almost certainly face a decision regarding when to deploy ace Gerrit Cole, who is in the midst of a historic postseason run. The ideal scenario for the Astros would be to finish off the Yankees with Greinke and Verlander, enabling them to save Cole for Game 1 of the World Series against the Nationals next week.

Maddon, Angels Re-Unite In Los Angeles 

The Angels officially agreed to terms with Joe Maddon on a three-year contract to fill their managerial vacancy. It’s a long-awaited homecoming for the veteran manager, who spent 31 years in the Los Angeles (formerly Anaheim) organization prior to taking over as Tampa Bay’s manager from 2006 to 2014. He spent the last four years managing the Cubs, including winning a World Series title in 2016. The 65-year-old owns a 1,252-1,068 career managerial record over 16 seasons. He's been to the postseason eight times and taken home Manager of the Year honors on three different occasions.

Clearly, the Angels had their sights set on reuniting with Maddon once he became available. The high-profile veteran manager will be replacing Brad Ausmus, who lasted just one season at the helm in Los Angeles before being terminated shortly after Maddon and the Cubs parted ways at the end of last month. On the heels of a disappointing campaign in which they went 72-90 overall and finished fourth in the Amercian League West, the Angels appear poised to make a splash in free agency this offseason and build around franchise cornerstones Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani moving forward.  

AL Quick Hits: Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that he's “not sure” whether Giancarlo Stanton (quad) will be ready to start Game 4 on Thursday … Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that Mike Butcher is under consideration to be the Angels' new pitching coach.

NL Quick Hits: Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Buck Showalter is a “strong” candidate for both the Mets and Phillies' open managerial jobs … Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the Padres are bringing in managerial candidate Jayce Tingler for a second interview … Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reported Wednesday that, in addition to the Royals, the Giants, Mets and Padres have also shown interest in Mike Matheny for their managerial openings … Hernan Perez has elected free agency after being outrighted off the Brewers' 40-man roster on Wednesday … Marlins sent RHP Hector Noesi and C Tyler Heineman outright to Triple-A New Orleans … Reds claimed LHP Josh Smith off waivers from the Marlins and also designated C Juan Graterol for assignment.

The Blue Jays Blueprint

The blueprint for a successful rebuild can be found in Houston, where the Astros have gone from a perennial bottom feeder to a potential dynasty within a matter of several years.

Houston went through a lot of pain before becoming a team that advanced to the American League Championship Series in three consecutive seasons.

 The organization tore apart its foundation and started over with a renewed emphasis on drafting, signing international players and hitting the open market when the time was right.

The result has been three consecutive seasons of 100-plus wins and three division crowns. Next up is a matchup with the Yankees, which starts Saturday, where the club will look to advance to the World Series for the second time in three years. Houston, in its current state, is the envy of almost every team in the league.

Of course, it’s not always that easy. More rebuilds fail than become a success and just because something worked for one team doesn’t mean it will work for another. Yet, at the same time, most organizations look at what happened in Houston and want to replicate it. Baseball often is a game of copycats and teams have been following this model for a while.

There are a lot of comparables between the Astros and Blue Jays, but it’s worth pointing out that earlier this decade the state of Houston was far worse than anything Toronto has experienced over the last several years. Houston lost at least 107 games in three consecutive seasons from 2011-13. Not surprisingly, the Astros’ attendance, which exceeded three million in 2007, dipped to 1.7 million or fewer from 2012-14. 

We know Bo

The lowest point might have been 2013 when the Astros opened with a payroll of $26 million (all dollars U.S.). Bud Norris, who was cut by the Blue Jays in spring training, was the opening day starter for a team that almost nobody cared about. There were five players on the 25-man roster who made seven figures, and nobody earned more than Norris’ $3 million. That’s as close to rock bottom as it gets in this sport.

It was a clear case of the team tanking to improve its draft position and focus on youth. There was a risk of alienating the fan base and turning people off the sport — and to a certain extent that happened — but a series of deft moves by general manager Jeff Luhnow turned an ambitious vision into reality. 

George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman were among the top picks made by Houston in the draft. Yuli Gurriel and Jose Altuve were added as international free agents while others, such as rookie of the year candidate Yordan Alvarez, were acquired through trade. Those moves, combined with a countless number of solid picks and signings, laid the foundation for what Houston is experiencing now. 

Thanksgiving Day

It is the time to be thankful,
To be thankful to the family,
To be thankful to friends,
To be thankful to the cobbler,
Be thankful to the person, who built your home,
Yes, I should be actually be thankful for thousand of things around,
I cannot look around for anything else,
I feel all full,
When I look all around,
I am thankful for the air,
I am thankful for the birds that fly,
And, the food that keeps me alive,
I am blessed and I will say every second!
It’s my day and I want to say…..
Life is lovely, live it, love it….
Happy Thanksgiving Day, and playoff baseball to boot !

It was 50 years ago

I have been writing this particular blog for some weeks now, in time for the World Series, and the celebration of 50 years ago. 

It is New York, in early October of 1969.

Indian Summer, in these pre-Earth Day times, is something everyone can see. An orange, almost atomic sky.

You reach to touch the furniture of 50 years ago.

A television made by Zenith. Ashtrays ready for filling on just about every table. A kitchen clad in Formica in case of Swanson or Chef-Boy-R-Dee spills.

This, you realize, is exactly the moment that your life as a kid drastically changed. Nothing to do with family, or with your life at school. It has to do with the team you root for — the usually cartoonish, normally hopeless Mets.

New York/New Jersey at this time is not a Yankee area, as some might assume. The Yanks are a so-so squad. The area is still nostalgic for its National League Dodgers and Giants, whose blue and orange colors have been blended into the uniform of your Metropolitans.

During their first seven years, from 1962 through 1968, your Mets have never finished higher than ninth place — ending up in last five times. No one understands this, but this year’s team of young unknowns and journeyman players is out of the cellar and on the move.

You are back there in memory … and it is simple to slide into old and familiar patterns. Running to find the paper, then riffling furiously for sports and for “The Standing of the Clubs.” Barely believing what you read.

Barely believing, because the 1960s New York you know is not the glossy, tourist-friendly locale of needle skyscrapers, or the High Line, or of Hudson Yards. For the first time ever the Big Apple has free-floating fears about itself. A clinical complex. It needs a civic psychiatrist.

New York is often referred to as “Fun City.” It is a bitter joke. Movies like The Out of Towners and The Prisoner of Second Avenue reflect a place where people are angry. Angry and afraid. Although you live in Chelsea, a neighborhood that’s relatively calm, just about everyone you know has been mugged at least once.

For a battered metropolis that’s confronting blackouts, garbage strikes, and bankruptcy, the Mets of 1969 are starting to feel like redemption.

Your team has pulled ahead of the Cubs — a franchise of future Hall of Famers like Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins and Ernie Banks. Your team has captured its division in a shower-bath of Reingold Beer. And, in a wink, your Mets have mopped up Hank Aaron’s Atlanta Braves in three games.

Even your mom has turned into a fan now. She is obsessed. And superstitious.

When leadoff hitter Tommie Agee comes to bat, she flees to the kitchen. “He usually walks or singles” she tells me, “when I am making toast.”

 Whenever the all-but-unstoppable Tom Seaver pitches, Mom is convulsed with worries. Standing by the sink sometimes leads to another strikeout for Seaver. But, one night during an important inning, she turns on the faucet for good measure — and the tactic fails.

Mom isn’t sure what will work when the Mets face the airtight Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, who trot out perennial all-stars Frank and Brooks Robinson, and have won 109 games. You tell her you are not concerned. You tell yourself that, too.

The Series begins. It is a flame-colored event, at least when it comes to logos and uniforms. The Orioles sport a slightly different shade than the Mets. And they are the shooting stars at first, beating Seaver in the opening game, and defeating your Mom’s sink strategy once and for all.

You are not concerned, you say to her. And, somehow, thanks to some magic that’s in baseball, you are actually proved right. Your Mets and Tommie Agee and Jerry Koosman and Don Clendenon and Cleon Jones take games two, three, four and five.

There is a Wall Street ticker tape parade for the world’s most unlikely World Champions. You are back there, seeing it all. And what you see is orange. Like the New York license plates on taxis. Like the “N” and “Y” on Met caps.

Almost atomic. Like the tinted sky.

This day of big city celebration is as smoggy as any other. But despite the inversion — despite the unbreathable air — your Mom shouts suddenly: “Open windows! Open them all!”

You run for the newspaper. You pick up a pair of scissors.

Together, you toss out some ticker tape of your own.

Enjoy the celebration.

Astro Nomical

Jose Altuve and Gerrit Cole Celebrate

There are officially four teams remaining in the quest to be called 2019 MLB World Series champions. The final piece of the puzzle was put into place on Thursday night in Houston, as Gerritt Cole put the Astros on his back as part of a 6-1 victory over the Rays in a decisive Game 5 of the ALDS.

While it wasn’t quite on the level of the Cardinals’ historic beat down of the Braves in Game 5 of the NLDS on Wednesday, the Astros poured it on in the first inning against right-hander Tyler Glasnow.. It almost felt like they knew what was coming at times, with Glasnow later acknowledging that he was tipping his pitches. The Astros tallied four straight hits to begin the bottom of the first, including an RBI single from Jose Altuve and a double from Alex Bregman to knock in two more runs. After Glasnow retired Yordan Alvarez with a ground out Yuli Gurriel singled to drive in the fourth run of the frame.

While Glasnow was able to avoid a complete nightmare inning like we saw from the Braves, it really didn’t matter, as four runs were more than enough for Cole. He allowed just two hits over eight innings of work, with the lone run scoring on a solo homer from Eric Sogard in the second inning. The AL Cy Young Award hopeful walked two batters and notched 10 strikeouts, still hitting 99 mph on the radar gun after reaching 100 pitches in his final frame.

Cole has now struck out at least 10 batters in 11 consecutive starts, including nine regular season starts and two starts during the ALDS. That’s the longest such streak in MLB history. He struck out 25 batters total in his two starts against the Rays, the most all-time in a single division series. He’s on a decent little run right now with free agency awaiting him after the postseason.
Taking the “all hands on deck” approach literally, the Rays used nine pitchers in the winner-take-all game. After the four-run first inning, they were able to hold the Astros off the board until Michael Brantley and Jose Altuve connected for solo homers against Emilio Pagan in the eighth. The homer from Altuve was his 11th all-time in the postseason, passing Chase Utley for the most ever among second basemen.

The Astros will now make their third straight trip to the ALCS, with a matchup against the Yankees set to begin on Saturday night. Two of the sport’s most power-packed and star-studded teams going head-to-head. It should be a doozy of a series.

Quick Hits: The Phillies fired manager Gabe Kapler on Thursday after the club went 161-163 over two seasons on the job. … Annibal Sanchez will start Game 1 of the NLCS for the Nationals while Mikilos will get the ball for the Cardinals. … Despite the Dodgers’ disappointing exit from the NLDS, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports that Dave Roberts will remain the club’s manager. … X-rays came back negative on Kurt Suzuki’s left wrist and he’s expected to be ready to go for Game 1 of the NLCS against the Cardinals on Friday. ..Michael Wacha (shoulder) will not be added to the Cardinals’ roster for the NLCS. …C.J.Cron will get an outside opinion for a nagging right thumb injury and could require a procedure to alleviate symptoms. … Athletics catcher Sean Murphy underwent surgery for meniscus issues in his left knee on Thursday and is expected to be ready for spring training. ... The White Sox announced Thursday that Frank Menechino will serve as the club’s hitting coach, replacing Todd Stevenson. … Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. will be back as Marlins’ pitching coach in 2020 while third base coach Fredi Gonzalez will not return. … Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mets will interview Twins bench coach Derek Shelton for their managerial opening. … Padres prospect right-hander Jacob Nix was arrested on October 6 in Peoria, Arizona on charges of criminal trespassing. … Mariners prospect outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been shut down early from the Arizona Fall League due to back soreness.