Major League Baseball: 2018 Season

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Joey D
If they don't loose 100 games, I'll be impressed.

At least some of the young guys look sort of promising.
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This. I knew going in to this season that they would not be good. It's a true rebuilding year on all fronts and the only to see where the young talent stacks up is for them to play. I also am shocked that some of the new guys are showing some promise much sooner than expected.

On a related note to that- I'm already sick and tired of hearing people complain about losses already. Al Avila is doing it right by actually rebuilding the team instead of Ken Holland's half ass "we can win without rebuilding" attitude that has the Red Wings stuck in a perpetual losing streak. Houston won the WS after rebuilding. Yet somehow Holland still managed to remain the GM of the Red Wings....
 
We just had our unveiling of the Championship banners and stuff. It is still surreal to be the defending World Series champions (not "World" champions) and having all kinds of pressure on us to repeat as champions. I mean... the Astros have all kinds of swagger now. If you are the defending champs and have a solid lineup, you would be too. Tomorrow night is supposed to be the ring presentation here in Houston.
 
The Reds finally got off the schneid and won a game themselves. They somehow allowed the Cubs only 2 hits in a 1-0 shutout.
 
Time for another series. The Houston Astros are on a six-game home stand beginning with the Baltimore Orioles coming to Houston. Yep- B-More and H-Town. Championship banner and ring presentations for us. But more importantly- baseball! Here's how this series ended up:

GM1 - BAL at HOU: 6-1; Houston
GM2 - BAL at HOU: 10-6; Houston
GM3 - BAL at HOU: 3-2; Houston

So we have our first sweep win of the season. A big key to Game 2 of 3 was a MASSIVE Grand Slam by Josh Reddick to put the Astros ahead with 10 runs. Dallas Keuchel was rather off in Game 3, but all sins forgiven with some solid play by the Astros in a close game. Rondon took over for Keuchel and did brilliantly. I heard we don't play Baltimore again until this September in Baltimore. So the O's won't be playing us again for quite some time this season!

Up next for Houston... we got Thursday off, but we host the San Diego Padres over the weekend as our Championship festivities continue.


I hope your team(s) have done well today/tonight. Congratulations to all winners from today and all who won recent series.
 
The season is now over a week old as of this post. So how do you all like the season so far? It's time to get some more weekend series going. Be sure to enjoy the weekend series this weekend.


As always, good luck to all of your favorite teams.
 
The Reds got one win in the first week. They've also played the fewest games of any team so far thanks to the weather.
 
We're done with the San Diego Padres for this weekend set. A three-game series after the Thursday off meant my boys went back to work. So how did we do? Find out here:

GM1- SD at HOU: 4-1; San Diego
GM2- SD at HOU: 1-0, 10 innings; Houston
GM3- SD at HOU: 4-1; Houston

The Astros just seemed flat on the Friday night game. That was the game in which many people got replica World Series rings. The Saturday night game was weird. The game ended 1-0 with absolutely nobody finding Home plate during regulation. The only scoring hope was San Diego botching what should have been a pop-up fly ball that brought an Astro home to win. No problems whatsoever in today's Rubber Game. We did plenty of damage with a three-run jack in the 5th inning. The Padres would pick up a run, and we responded with an extra run in the 6th. We won this Interleague series.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... we're going to go north to entertain the Minnesota Twins for a quick three-game series. Yeah, we're taking our Tour of Awesomeness to Minneapolis. And... it's going to be pretty cold and maybe snowy for this series, if it gets in.


Elsewhere, here are some completed game results...

* It was 8-7 in Boston as the Red Sox took down the Tampa Bay Rays. Boston, of course, was one of my Astros' victims in last postseason en route to HOU's World Series run. The Red Sox saw Carson Smith win and got a Save from Craig Kimbrel. Alex Colomé was the loser for TB.

* Another one of the Astros' World Series victims was New York. Same score as the previous result, but in favor of the Away team, and it took 12 innings to settle this one in the Bronx. The winner was Richard Bleier for Baltimore, and the Save went to Brad Brach. For the Bronx Bombers, Adam Warren was the loser.

* The Kansas City Royals fell at the Cleveland Indians 3-1 today. Cody Allen picked up the win for CLE, and Brandon Maurer was the KC loser.

* One Ohio team won; did the other win? No. The Cincinnati Reds got blanked and spanked 5-0 at the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jameson Taillon was the Pittsburgh winner. Tyler Mahle took the loss for Dolph Drago's Reds.

* Miami doubled up the other Keystone State team 6-3 on the road. Omnis' Miami Marlins saw Odrisamer Despaigne get the win along with a Save from Brad Ziegler. Luis Garcia was the losing Philadelphia Phillies pitcher.

* Joey D and AnthonyD1993's Detroit Lions did good in the south side of Chicago. The Tigers picked up a 1-0 victory at the Chicago White Sox. Former Astro and former no-hitter pitcher Mike Fiers got the win, and Shane Greene got the Save for DET. It was Reynaldo Lopez who took the loss for CHW.

* Hostilities notwithstanding, Arizona took down St. Louis 4-1 in St. Louis. There was an argument that lead some bench clearing in St. Louis. The Diamondbacks' winning pitcher was Yoshihisa Hirano. Brad Boxberger got the save for ARI. STL's losing pitcher was Dominic Leone.


Congratulations to all other winners from today/tonight as well as all series winners.
 
...and Twiiiiins! The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins set it off in this quick three-game road trip in Minneapolis. Here's how it went:

GM1 HOU at MIN: 2-0
GM2 HOU at MIN: 4-1
GM3 HOU at MIN: 9-8

Astros have lost their first series of 2018, and I typed this report as the Twins hit a walk-off jack to sink my Astros. The Astros were down 8-1 in Game 3 of this set to come all the way back 8-8. But, it wasn't enough until the Twins hit the walk-off homer to take this series. It was that the Astros had a decent winning streak at Target Field. Now, they've lost back-to-back games at Target Field. And did I mention that the first two games were at night with temperatures of around... 30 degrees Fahrenheit?

Up next for Houston... back home to host the Texas Rangers for a three-game weekend series. But first, we have Thursday off.


Congratulations to all other game winners and series winners.
 
The Mets are now 11-2 on the year, following their 9 game winning streak snapped in a 5-1 loss at home to Milwaukee. I honestly would like to see the Mets trade Matt Harvey away. He is not the same pitcher (not even a lite version of himself) and the team cannot justify starting a pitcher every 5 days that cannot go even 5+ IP.
 
Slightly over 2 weeks of play, and the Reds have...2 wins. 8 straight losses. Looking like it's going to be a great year...again. :rolleyes:
 
Meanwhile in Houston... we started the season with a series win at the Texas Rangers. What happened when the series shifts to Houston? This:

GM1 TEX at HOU: 4-1; Houston
GM2 TEX at HOU: 6-5, 10 innings; Texas
GM3 TEX at HOU: 3-1; Texas

I did not see any of the Sunday game. However, I was concerned when I saw in my Twitter feed that Bartolo Colon had a Perfect Game working against us. Glad the Astros broke that one up. Last Perfect Game against my Astros I can remember was some time when [still in the National League] we lost 10-0 at the San Francisco Giants. Back to back series losses for the Astros now.

Up next... LATE GAMES, baby! We'll head out on the road for seven away games in two cities. It begins with a four-game set at the Seattle Mariners starting later tonight (since it's Monday Central Daylight Time as of this post), followed by a three game set at the Chicago White Sox. But first things first- Seattle for four.


Congratulations to all winners from Sunday including all series winners.
 
I kind of forgot the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins would host a series in Puerto Rico. It's on right now on FOX Sports 1 if you're looking for a game tonight. Currently no score in the middle of the 1st. Minnesota is the "home" team in this series.
 
The Price is NOT Right in Cincinnati. I read in my Twitter news feed that Bryan Price, CIN's manager, got canned. When you have so much futility, you're going to have to get rid of some folks. Not exactly a fire sale, but I'm sure anything to bring a proud franchise like the Reds back to relevance will certainly help.

How are your teams doing so far this 2018 season?
 
JohnBM01
The Price is NOT Right in Cincinnati. I read in my Twitter news feed that Bryan Price, CIN's manager, got canned. When you have so much futility, you're going to have to get rid of some folks. Not exactly a fire sale, but I'm sure anything to bring a proud franchise like the Reds back to relevance will certainly help.

How are your teams doing so far this 2018 season?
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The pitching coach got canned as well.

Pretty happy with how the Jays are going this year at 12-5 so far. After 17 games last year they were 4-13.
 
Yeah, 21 runs between the O's and Tigers today in MoTown. Good news for Tigers fans is that DET was on the WINNING side of the 13-8 score today. And hey- Detroit swept Baltimore! Any time you can sweep a team (even sorry ones), that's worth a smile on your face. Up next for you guys is hosting the Kansas City Royals for a three-game weekend set. Wow... as I was researching this post, Kansas City is 3-13 on the season. Ouch. Maybe your Tigers can get something going early in this 2018 season.

Now on to my Houston Astros. We played four games in Seattle, and this is a series summary:

GM1 HOU at SEA: 2-1; Seattle
GM2 HOU at SEA: 4-1; Houston
GM3 HOU at SEA: 7-1; Houston
GM4 HOU at SEA: 9-2; Houston

So in the Emerald City, Houston sparkled like a diamond except for the game on Monday. The bats needed to wake up for the Astros, and they sure did in this series followed by some solid pitching.

Up next for the Houston Astros... we go from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest. We're going to entertain the Chicago White Sox in the South Side of Chicago for a three-game weekend set. Yep- the 2005 World Series: Houston at the Chicago White Sox. Only that Houston is not in the National League as we were in 2005.


Elsewhere, and a few musings...

* The Cincinnati Reds fired a few folks with this dismal start. Reds Nation will have to deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis for a three-game weekend series. Then, they'll return home to host the Atlanta Braves in a four-game set starting on Monday. First things first- deal with the Cardinals in St. Louis for the weekend.

* The Toronto Blue Jays started their four-game set at the New York Yankees. As of the time of this post, NYY is ahead 2-0 on the Blue Jays in the Top of the 3rd.

* You know how I tend to fear Seattle in the AL West? Well, change that. Now I fear the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim most as far as AL West teams are concerned. They are probably going to be the Astros' toughest opposition in the AL West.

* Everyone's awed at the performance of the Boston Red Sox so far this season. Last postseason, the Red Sox were the playoff victims of the Houston Astros en route to our first-ever World Series championship. The Red Sox will wrap up their three-game set at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight. Then, they'll take on the other AL team in California- the Oakland Athletics, in Oakland for a three-game set. Heading into tonight's game, BOS is 15-2, and LAA is 13-5.


Congratulations to today's/tonight's winners and all series winners.
 
Feel bad for Price. It really wasn't his fault how the team was performing. He's essentially been managing a Triple A team the past few years in Cincy. Not even Sparky or sweet Lou could coach this team to any more wins. But they needed a fall guy to make it look like they were doing something. Unfortunately for Price, it was him (and the pitching coach).


Edit: What a depressing post #2,500 for me on GTPlanet. :lol:
 
My Astros still won that game in Seattle despite the mental error that was part of the Triple Play. So all sins forgiven.

My Houston Astros are dealing with the Chicago White Sox in Chi-Town, but I want to wish Danny Farquhar well in his recovery after suffering a brain aneurysm and multiple surgeries. He's told to be in critical condition despite successful surgeries.

How do you cool off the red hot Boston Red Sox? No hit them. So congratulations to Sean Manaea for the no-no as the Oakland Athletics won 3-0 last night.


Enjoy today's games as well as tonight's Sunday Night match!
 
Brandon Belt broke the MLB record for longest AB today. Here it is in all of its glory
Outcome:
fly out to RF
 
The Houston Astros will wrap up this road trip in the south side of Chicago. How did we do against the White Sox in this rematch of the 2005 World Series? Summary:

GM1 HOU at CHW: 10-0; Houston
GM2 HOU at CHW: 10-1; Houston
GM3 HOU at CHW: 7-1; Houston

Game 3 was the only time we trailed in this series. The 'Stros held serve and played winning baseball complimented by solid pitching. One sad stat I came across during this series was that Dallas Keuchel was 0-3 on the year so far. Keuchel did good on Saturday night to get his first win of the season. I still remember when he was seemingly unstoppable at home en route to an AL Cy Young. According to Yahoo! Sports, the 2018 Houston Astros are 6th in batting average (.254), 3rd in runs (115), 1st in ERA (2.28), and 2nd in WHIP (1.04). We are now 16-7 on the 2018 season so far.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... a LONG home stand. We got the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to deal with starting Monday night. It's a three-game series. The home stand also includes three games against Oakland, and then a four-game series with the Yankees.


Congratulations to all winners from today and all series winners.


[OMISSION] Dallas Keuchel was the only starting pitcher with a losing record among the five-man rotation for the Houston Astros. He remains the only starting Astro pitcher with a losing record (now 1-3 after the win on Saturday).
 
31172106_10160151624495005_3624639543816224768_n.jpg


:)

15/6 to start the year. Won all of the 7 series we've played so far. Team records being broken. I just hope we can keep this up throughout the season. And of course very little coverage by the MLB on their social medias. Probably because we're not a team from the north east or southern California.
 
...and meanwhile, the Houston Astros have lost back-to-back games. My fears of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are confirmed and very real. I usually give summaries but decided to say we failed again- 8-7. The HOU/LAA series will be a tough one for the AL West crown. Right now, it's so far, so bad for the defending champs against the Halos.

Cheers to Reds Nation, by the way! 👍
 
Look who shown up to H-Town... the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim- the team that will give the Astros nightmares in the AL West race. Could THIS be the indication of what the HOU/LAA series will be like after this summary?

GM1 LAA at HOU: 2-0; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
GM2 LAA at HOU: 8-7; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
GM3 LAA at HOU: 5-2; Houston

So we prevented getting swept. Game 3 notes coming up. A three-run bomb by HOU helped put the Houston Astros ahead 3-0. Then a solo jack by José Altuve made things 4-0. It was Albert Pujols who hit a low-line homer that reached the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park to make it 4-1. At that point, Justin Verlander gave up only one hit prior to Pujols' jack. We still held serve in Game 3 to prevent the Halos sweeping the 'Stros.

Up next for Houston... after taking Thursday off, it's the Oakland Athletics for a weekend series. Three games. Then New York Yankees come to H-Town starting on Monday. Oakland first.


Congratulations to all series winners and game winners from today.


[UPDATE] Oakland A's series next, NOT Arizona. Changes made.
 
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After goofing big time saying that our next opponent was the Arizona Diamondbacks, I since corrected it saying we're hosting Oakland.
Time to see how the Astros did hosting the other California AL team after a not-so-good time hosting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Series summary:

GM1 LAA at HOU: 8-1; Oakland
GM2 LAA at HOU: 11-0; Houston
GM3 LAA at HOU: 8-4; Houston

The Astros must have had a bit too much rest to lose big on Friday night. They since recovered and lashed out on the A's. We are now 19-10 on the 2018 season, leading the AL West by two games over the Seattle Mariners. LAA, OAK, and TEX round out the AL West standings as of the time of this post.

Up next for Houston... we welcome some team called the New York Yankees for a four-game series. The last time the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees met, it was the 2017 American League Championship Series. This series with the Yanks will be final series of this home stand for the Houston Astros. As much as I still see the Angels as a viable AL threat, I think even more so with the Yankees. So we'll see how this series goes.


I hope you enjoy the next series! Good luck to all of your favorite teams.
 
You can't win the World Series in March or April. You can, however, be on a path towards losing if your season isn't going well so far. Here is the first Standings Update of the 2018 season heading into today's games. Find your favorite team(s):

(Source: Yahoo! Sports)

--- AMERICAN LEAGUE ---
AL EAST: Boston (21-7), NYY (18-10), TOR (16-12), TB (13-14), BAL (8-20)
AL CENTRAL: Cleveland (15-12), DET (11-16), MIN (9-15), CHW (8-16), KC (7-21)
AL WEST: Houston (20-10), SEA (16-11), LAA (16-12), OAK (14-14), TEX (11-19)

--- NATIONAL LEAGUE ---
NL EAST: New York Mets (17-9), ATL (16-11), PHI (16-12), WAS (13-16), MIA (10-18)
NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs (16-10), PIT (17-12), MIL (17-13), STL (15-12), CIN (7-22)
NL WEST: Arizona (20-8), SF (15-14), COL (15-15), LAD (12-16), SD (10-20)

--- OTHER OBSERVATIONS ---
BEST RECORD: Boston (21-7)
WORST RECORD: Cincinnati (7-22)
BEST HOME RECORD: Boston (10-3)
BEST AWAY RECORD: Boston (11-4)
WORST HOME RECORD: Kansas City (3-12)
WORST AWAY RECORD: Baltimore (3-10)
LONGEST CURRENT WIN STREAK: Chicago Cubs (5 game winning streak)
LONGEST CURRENT LOSING STREAK: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (4 game losing streak)
BEST CURRENT 10-GAME STRETCH: Tampa Bay (9-1)
WORST CURRENT 10-GAME STRETCH: Minnesota (1-9)


Again- it is still very early. Some current losing teams can still trend upwards by getting on hot streaks and winning games. Current winning teams can fall apart and go on losing ways. It is still very early. So keep playing hard as the season rolls on!


Good luck to all of your favorite teams moving forward.
 

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