The Long and Winding Road
The MLB regular season is entering its final month. Good news is, The Houston Astros have been on an absolute roll lately. They went 5-1 on this last homestand, 5-2 on the last road trip, and are 10 for their last 13 altogether. They are 1 game behind in the wild card standings as well, with Baltimore and Detroit hitting the skids recently. The spacemen have a big opportunity to put themselves in contention this October for all the post season glory!
Bad news is, they have a tough assignment ahead of them. Their first 13 games in September are all against teams currently sitting in first place in their respective divisions. This includes in-state division rival, the Texas Rangers, whom they will face first up in Arlington starting this evening. Yours truly will be at the game on Saturday the 3rd! Not to toot my own horn, but I'm guaranteeing a Stros win for that game at the very least!
Sept 2-4: @ Texas Rangers
Sept 5-8: @ Cleveland Indians
Sept 9-11 vs. Chicago Cubs
Sept 12-14 vs. Texas Rangers
Then, it becomes even more difficult, with the rest of September being all AL West division games:
Sept 16-18 @ Seattle Mariners
Sept 19-21 @ Oakland Athletics
Sept 23-25 vs. Los Angeles Angels
Sept 26-28 vs. Seattle Mariners
Sept 30 - Oct 2 @ Los Angeles Angels
According to PlayoffStatus.com, The Astros have the 2nd strongest strength of schedule throughout the month in the American League. I think most of the fans and I can agree that this looks like the toughest part of the entire season. It will be the proverbial essay portion of the test for this team, as they press on to get a spot in the playoffs. But the spacemen are more than up to the task. With a team that has the kind of makeup the likes of which the Astros do, how could you not like their chances?
Of course, it also helps that your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis has been tearing the cover off of baseballs lately. In fact, here is an updated look at his offensive splits:
Last 7 Games: .368/.500/.895 (1.395 OPS!)
Last 15 Games: .311/.415/.622 (1.037 OPS!)
Last 30 Games: .317/.389/.554 (.943 OPS!)
Month of August: .311/.380/.544 (.924 OPS!)
Post All-Star Break: .305/.373/.586 (.959 OPS!)
2016 Total: .247/.314/.483 (.797 OPS!)
And his defense isn't shabby, either!:
Catcher's ERA: 3.39 (MLB league average = 3.91)
oStr%: 8.0% (MLB league average = 7.2%)**
zBall%: 12.5% (MLB league average = 14.5%)**
Caught Stealing Ratio: 54.2% (MLB league average = 30%)
Defensive Runs Saved Above Average: 4 (Tied with Jason Castro for MLB League Average!)
**These are the sabermetrics for framing, or the way a catcher presents the pitch to the umpire. oStr% = Pitches outside the strike zone called for strikes. zBall% = Pitches inside the strike zone called for balls.**
All of these numbers come with Evan Gattis having a complete crash course on offense and defense the entire 2016 season due to the off season hernia surgery and lack of a full spring training. This further proves just how valuable he is to this Houston Astros club AND to all of baseball. So what does El Oso Blanco and his more than solid numbers on both sides of the ball have to say about the upcoming schedule ahead?
Bad news is, they have a tough assignment ahead of them. Their first 13 games in September are all against teams currently sitting in first place in their respective divisions. This includes in-state division rival, the Texas Rangers, whom they will face first up in Arlington starting this evening. Yours truly will be at the game on Saturday the 3rd! Not to toot my own horn, but I'm guaranteeing a Stros win for that game at the very least!
Sept 2-4: @ Texas Rangers
Sept 5-8: @ Cleveland Indians
Sept 9-11 vs. Chicago Cubs
Sept 12-14 vs. Texas Rangers
Then, it becomes even more difficult, with the rest of September being all AL West division games:
Sept 16-18 @ Seattle Mariners
Sept 19-21 @ Oakland Athletics
Sept 23-25 vs. Los Angeles Angels
Sept 26-28 vs. Seattle Mariners
Sept 30 - Oct 2 @ Los Angeles Angels
According to PlayoffStatus.com, The Astros have the 2nd strongest strength of schedule throughout the month in the American League. I think most of the fans and I can agree that this looks like the toughest part of the entire season. It will be the proverbial essay portion of the test for this team, as they press on to get a spot in the playoffs. But the spacemen are more than up to the task. With a team that has the kind of makeup the likes of which the Astros do, how could you not like their chances?
Of course, it also helps that your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis has been tearing the cover off of baseballs lately. In fact, here is an updated look at his offensive splits:
Last 7 Games: .368/.500/.895 (1.395 OPS!)
Last 15 Games: .311/.415/.622 (1.037 OPS!)
Last 30 Games: .317/.389/.554 (.943 OPS!)
Month of August: .311/.380/.544 (.924 OPS!)
Post All-Star Break: .305/.373/.586 (.959 OPS!)
2016 Total: .247/.314/.483 (.797 OPS!)
And his defense isn't shabby, either!:
Catcher's ERA: 3.39 (MLB league average = 3.91)
oStr%: 8.0% (MLB league average = 7.2%)**
zBall%: 12.5% (MLB league average = 14.5%)**
Caught Stealing Ratio: 54.2% (MLB league average = 30%)
Defensive Runs Saved Above Average: 4 (Tied with Jason Castro for MLB League Average!)
**These are the sabermetrics for framing, or the way a catcher presents the pitch to the umpire. oStr% = Pitches outside the strike zone called for strikes. zBall% = Pitches inside the strike zone called for balls.**
All of these numbers come with Evan Gattis having a complete crash course on offense and defense the entire 2016 season due to the off season hernia surgery and lack of a full spring training. This further proves just how valuable he is to this Houston Astros club AND to all of baseball. So what does El Oso Blanco and his more than solid numbers on both sides of the ball have to say about the upcoming schedule ahead?
I think the smirk says it all!: "BRING....IT....ON!!!!"
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