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SirGreatWhite · 06-21-2019, 06:20 PM

The Astros season came to an unfortunate ending in the divisional round to the Cleveland Indians. The Indians ranked at or near the top in almost every offensive category and showed their lineup dominance in the first two games of the season against Astros aces Justin Verlander & Gerrit Cole to give the tribe a 2-0 series lead heading back to Houston. Game 1 was 8-5 Indians and game 2 was 13-1 Indians.

In game 3, the roles were reversed with the Astros getting off to a hot start in the early innings and chasing Cleveland starter Shane Bieber early in the game. The Astros continued to torch the Indians bullpen en route to a 10-1 win, which included 19 hits!

Game 4 shaped up to be a back and forth battle early with both teams scoring runs in the first two innings and the score being tied 4-4. In the bottom of the 5th the Astros scored a run to take a 5-4 lead and had Alex Bregman thrown out at the plate to end the inning that would have made it 6-4, which proved to be huge. The Astros got an ok start from top prospect Forrest Whitley who went 5 innings, including no hits or runs allowed in innings 3-5. The Astros had a 5-4 lead and their bullpen was set to do the rest of the work. Ideally we wanted to go Will Harris in the 6th, Kimbrel in the 7th, Pressly in the 8th, and Osuna to close it out in the 9th to force a decisive game 5.

The Indians had other plans. After a 1 out single, Jason Kipnis hit a blast of a 2 run homer into right center field off of Harris (who had really good stats against lefties!). Later in the inning, with 2 outs, lefty reliever Will Smith (whom the Astros acquired in a July trade) gave up a single to the 8 hole hitting catcher and then another 2 run bomb to right off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez. The Indians led 9-5 heading to the bottom of the 6th and never looked back.

The Astros had runners on 1st and 2nd with less than 2 outs in both the bottom of the 6th and 8th innings only to ground in to double plays to end both frames. The Astros were retired in order in the bottom of the 9th to end their season and watched the Indians celebrate on their home field.

It will be a sour taste in the offseason after having to watch that, but their is a lot to be proud of...the Astros won their 3rd straight AL West division title and made the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 years. We still have the core of the lineup in tact for next season. That lineup was able to stay healthy pretty much all of this season (*knocks on wood to not jinx anything*) and saw great performances from newcomers Michael Brantley, Jake Bauers, prospect Myles Straw, and September call up (and top hitting prospect) Yordan Alvarez. We were in the top 3 in every major offensive category except home runs (11th). One area of concern is the lack of production from 1st base, particularly from Yuli Gurriel. With Jake Bauers having a good season and prospect Yordan Alvarez making an impact in September and in the playoff series against Cleveland, it is likely his days as an every day player are numbered...at least on this team.

Areas to address in the offseason include the Gerrit Cole debate. Arm talent isn't the debate, it's whether or not he is worth the $30-$35 million per year he is likely to demand, especially coming off an injury filled season in which he missed 3.5 months with a shoulder issue and definitely wasn't 100% when he came back. He's only 29 years old and still has 3-4 years in his prime left and should be productive for 5-6 years; but again, at what cost? The bullpen will be mostly in tact and still solid with Pressly and Osuna both still under contract. Relievers Will Harris, Joe Smith, Will Smith, and Hector Rondon are all free agents. Harris, Rondon, and Will Smith will both likely command decent salaries ($5-$9 million range?) while Joe Smith can probably be retained fairly cheap.

On a personal note, this was really fun (and addicting at times) to do for the first season. I played 90%+ of the games for the regular season and all 4 of the playoff ones. I learned a lot along the way. I will likely simulate more games in the coming seasons so it goes by a little faster. We accomplished some goals and kept our farm system stocked with talent that can be used to keep organizational depth or be used to acquire MLB ready pieces that can help the Astros keep their championship window open as long as possible. Time will tell.

06-21-2019, 06:20 PM	#28
SirGreatWhite Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Texas Posts: 59	The Astros season came to an unfortunate ending in the divisional round to the Cleveland Indians. The Indians ranked at or near the top in almost every offensive category and showed their lineup dominance in the first two games of the season against Astros aces Justin Verlander & Gerrit Cole to give the tribe a 2-0 series lead heading back to Houston. Game 1 was 8-5 Indians and game 2 was 13-1 Indians. In game 3, the roles were reversed with the Astros getting off to a hot start in the early innings and chasing Cleveland starter Shane Bieber early in the game. The Astros continued to torch the Indians bullpen en route to a 10-1 win, which included 19 hits! Game 4 shaped up to be a back and forth battle early with both teams scoring runs in the first two innings and the score being tied 4-4. In the bottom of the 5th the Astros scored a run to take a 5-4 lead and had Alex Bregman thrown out at the plate to end the inning that would have made it 6-4, which proved to be huge. The Astros got an ok start from top prospect Forrest Whitley who went 5 innings, including no hits or runs allowed in innings 3-5. The Astros had a 5-4 lead and their bullpen was set to do the rest of the work. Ideally we wanted to go Will Harris in the 6th, Kimbrel in the 7th, Pressly in the 8th, and Osuna to close it out in the 9th to force a decisive game 5. The Indians had other plans. After a 1 out single, Jason Kipnis hit a blast of a 2 run homer into right center field off of Harris (who had really good stats against lefties!). Later in the inning, with 2 outs, lefty reliever Will Smith (whom the Astros acquired in a July trade) gave up a single to the 8 hole hitting catcher and then another 2 run bomb to right off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez. The Indians led 9-5 heading to the bottom of the 6th and never looked back. The Astros had runners on 1st and 2nd with less than 2 outs in both the bottom of the 6th and 8th innings only to ground in to double plays to end both frames. The Astros were retired in order in the bottom of the 9th to end their season and watched the Indians celebrate on their home field. It will be a sour taste in the offseason after having to watch that, but their is a lot to be proud of...the Astros won their 3rd straight AL West division title and made the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 years. We still have the core of the lineup in tact for next season. That lineup was able to stay healthy pretty much all of this season (knocks on wood to not jinx anything) and saw great performances from newcomers Michael Brantley, Jake Bauers, prospect Myles Straw, and September call up (and top hitting prospect) Yordan Alvarez. We were in the top 3 in every major offensive category except home runs (11th). One area of concern is the lack of production from 1st base, particularly from Yuli Gurriel. With Jake Bauers having a good season and prospect Yordan Alvarez making an impact in September and in the playoff series against Cleveland, it is likely his days as an every day player are numbered...at least on this team. Areas to address in the offseason include the Gerrit Cole debate. Arm talent isn't the debate, it's whether or not he is worth the $30-$35 million per year he is likely to demand, especially coming off an injury filled season in which he missed 3.5 months with a shoulder issue and definitely wasn't 100% when he came back. He's only 29 years old and still has 3-4 years in his prime left and should be productive for 5-6 years; but again, at what cost? The bullpen will be mostly in tact and still solid with Pressly and Osuna both still under contract. Relievers Will Harris, Joe Smith, Will Smith, and Hector Rondon are all free agents. Harris, Rondon, and Will Smith will both likely command decent salaries ($5-$9 million range?) while Joe Smith can probably be retained fairly cheap. On a personal note, this was really fun (and addicting at times) to do for the first season. I played 90%+ of the games for the regular season and all 4 of the playoff ones. I learned a lot along the way. I will likely simulate more games in the coming seasons so it goes by a little faster. We accomplished some goals and kept our farm system stocked with talent that can be used to keep organizational depth or be used to acquire MLB ready pieces that can help the Astros keep their championship window open as long as possible. Time will tell.