ALCS Astros v Rangers

[Frayed Knot]

Game 1 in Houston

Verlander and LHP Jordan Montgomery get the starts.



Scherzer has declared himself to be healthy for the series after missing the earlier round.

[stevejrogers]

2-0 Texas with Max on the hill Wednesday for Game 3 in Arlington

[Frayed Knot]

Texas is 7-0 this post-season yet tonight will be only their second home game.

- won two straight in Tampa

- won twice in Baltimore then the final game at home

- won the first two in Houston

[cal sharpie]

Now they're just at .500 at home.

[Frayed Knot]

Yet still undefeated on the road.

(potentially) Four games left, 2 & 2 H/R



Safe to say that Max's return following his short IL stay did not go well.

[Centerfield]

I wasn't expecting to want to see Max Scherzer get lit up, but when I tuned in, I found myself rooting for the Astros. And I certainly don't have any independent love for the Astros.



I think it's safe to say that Max Scherzer just doesn't have it anymore. His stuff seems ok to the untrained eye, but whatever made him special appears to be gone. He's a gamer, so I think he can have stretches where he deceives hitters and keeps them off balance, but I think that the dominant ace we knew before is history.



In the end, I think the Mets made the right call by letting an injured deGrom walk and unloading an over-the-hill Scherzer. Which is why it makes total sense that the Mets finished below .500 and the Rangers are up 2-1 in the ALCS.

[Frayed Knot]

Rooting for the stRangers but nothing to do with Scherzer or Verlander

[MFS62]

My fans of the series award goes to the couple that had a sign that said, "I had a better sign, but the Astros stole it".

Later

[Frayed Knot]

I miss the days when a beanball could be answered with a (no punches thrown) close-quarters yap-fest yet the result was no ejections.

[Frayed Knot]

Oh my!!

[Frayed Knot]

Oh man!



- Rangers have 1st & 2nd no outs in the 8th but fail to tack onto to their two run lead.

- Altuve hits a 3R HR in top 9

- Rangers AGAIN get 1st & 2nd no outs in their 9th ... but can't cash in.



Goes back to Houston on Sunday, Astros up 3-2, road team has won all five games so far.

[G-Fafif]

There's always a clip.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

The Rangers are flaming out and nobody wants to see the Astros in the World Series.

[bmfc1]

Frayed Knot wrote: I miss the days when a beanball could be answered with a (no punches thrown) close-quarters yap-fest yet the result was no ejections.

Do you mean to tell me that when a player got hit by a pitch his teammates reacted and their manager got very mad? I didn't know that a team could react. I thought all you could do was glare and say that the pitch "got away" from the pitcher.

[Frayed Knot]

I realize that yours was a thinly veiled (or not veiled at all) comment on Buck, so this is not a direct response to you.



But think about that scene last night (the afternoon game actually):

Garcia takes a fastball up on the shoulder one AB after a dramatic HR (and a trot around the bases to match)

- he immediately turns around and gets in the catcher's face w/the ump in between, nothing exchanged except for a few hand gestures

and probably a lot of colorful Spanish back and forth.

- benches empty but nary even a push or shove ... and that's the ned of it



Except that the pitcher, batter and ultimately Dusty got tossed, Dusty was for some colorful post-tossing language of his own but I don't

think that any of that was necessary. But apparently all the umps have to do is form an opinion that the HBP had intent behind it and

they can toss the pitcher. And I guess they just didn't like the tone of Garcia's yapping even if they couldn't actually decipher the words

so they tossed him too.

[Frayed Knot]

Frayed Knot wrote: I miss the days when a beanball could be answered with a (no punches thrown) close-quarters yap-fest yet the result was no ejections. Do you mean to tell me that when a player got hit by a pitch his teammates reacted and their manager got very mad? I didn't know that a team could react. I thought all you could do was glare and say that the pitch "got away" from the pitcher.

And it was really Bruce Bochy, more than Dusty, who should have thrown a fit. The Houston pitcher did, as judged by the umps, intentionally throw at Adolis Garcia. But what did Garcia do to warrant ejection except stick a couple of pointed fingers into the chest protector of Astro catcher Maldonado with some presumed gutter Spanish thrown in?

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Feeling more confident about a game seven.

[bmfc1]

Is it going to be Verlander v. Scherzer in Game 7?

[stevejrogers]

=bmfc1 post_id=139793 time=1698030691 user_id=73]
Is it going to be Verlander v. Scherzer in Game 7?

[Frayed Knot]

=bmfc1 post_id=139793 time=1698030691 user_id=73]
Is it going to be Verlander v. Scherzer in Game 7?

[ashie62]

Rangers raking out of the box



deGrom and Scherzer moving closer to a WS ring

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I confess I did not see this one coming!

[Frayed Knot]

I'd call this one over, but it's still just the top of the 7th.

There could be a dozen or more runs scored before it's all over. Just depends on how those dozen are divided up.

[Frayed Knot]

So no repeat in the AL

Stay tuned for the status of the NL

[stevejrogers]

Frayed Knot wrote: So no repeat in the AL Stay tuned for the status of the NL

No repeat champ as well for the 23rd straight year!

[Frayed Knot]

Frayed Knot wrote: So no repeat in the AL Stay tuned for the status of the NL No repeat champ as well for the 23rd straight year!

B-b-b-but I thought only a salary cap could bring about that sort of shared wealth.

[Lefty Specialist]

Not a huge fan of the Rangers, but F the Astros.

[MFS62]

That was the worst day for France since Napoleon invaded Russia.

I'm surprised Dusty didn't have anyone warming up.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Not a huge fan of the Rangers, but F the Astros.

I was definitely pulling for the Rangers over the 'stros.

And besides, I get a kick out of this being the Rangers third trip to the WS in the last 14 years and the contrast with the Cowboys not even reaching an NFC Conference final in the last 28

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: And besides, I get a kick out of this being the Rangers third trip to the WS in the last 14 years and the contrast with the Cowboys not even reaching an NFC Conference final in the last 28

There are two close ups directors always give us.

The first is the face of Jerry Jones when the Cowboys lose a game.

The second is the face of Dusty Baker in the dugout, not moving (or making a move), when his team is losing.



I'm not sure which I like more.



Later