"To feel so desperately that you're right. Yet to fail all the same. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives"
Likewise, the biggest villain in baseball won its third AL pennant in five years.
Houston has unquestionably been the most hated franchise in baseball since news of its cheating in 2017 became public. They were able to dodge the boobirds and haters in the mostly fan-less 2020 pandemic season, but faced many jeers along the way this year.... and it didn't matter. The big orange villain from Texas cruised to 95 wins (an incredible 101 pythagorean wins!!!) and through its AL competition in the playoffs.
It's odd -- in five seasons, Houston has either gone to the World Series or ALCS every single year. It's an extremely impressive run and Dusty Baker deserves all the credit in the world for what he's been able to do during his two years at the helm. Also the cheating factor is going to have many dismissing this squad's greatness (and their run may be over if Correa leaves this offseason), but this five year stretch is arguably the best five year run of any franchise since the turn of the century... but the lack of finishing in the World Series is a HUGE counter to that argument (even though I'd take their run/teams over the Giants 2010-14 squads).
Speaking of villains, here's prime Beltran...... who also fell short in the postseason for the Astros during his hey-day. Now onto the 2021 Houston Astros:
Lineup: This lineup has very, very area of relaxation for opposing pitchers as it's almost non-stop OB 9 hitting: Altuve, Bradley, Correa, Tucker, Bregman, Gurriel (10!), Castro... and then OB 8 Alvarez has a bunch of power! Maybe the lack of sign-stealing decreased the power, but Dusty's squad was still putting a hurt on pitchers and this lineup is FEARCE. I see 8/9 of these guys getting drafted, including Castro because that bat for a catcher plays, even with weaker arm. Heck, even Chaz brings speed A, ok defense, and a 17-20 HR range in the 9 hole with a solid enough OB 7. This lineup is clearly an upgrade over Atlanta, even if no one is close to as good as Acuna based on its incredible depth... I mean, they had 400 pt Gurriel hitting fifth! Overall, the lineup clocks in at 2910 points!!
Bench: Jake Meyers is the best guy off the bench and is essentially interchangeable with the weakest part of the lineup... but he's the least draftable guy here from a team-building perspective. Gonzalez and Maldonado are clutch because they're such cheap punts with good defensive usage, especially drafted punt catcher classic Marty M! However, I think Diaz has a shot to be someone's starting 3B with that +3 arm and a decent OB 7 chart for under 200 points -- someone will fall involve with the huge single range and put him in the 8 spot with his or her fingers crossed!
Rotation: Considering the narrative in the World Series, I expected the Astros to be significantly weaker than Atlanta in showdown card form... how wrong I was! Like Atlanta, Houston starts their rotation off with a pair of Tier 2 cards, but this time the aces are both Control 6! There's another Tier 2 card in the fourth slot too, giving them an extra Tier 2 stud. Valdez then brings a Tier 3, no doubles card to the rotation, and Grienke rounds it out as another Tier 3, no doubles pitcher. Even their sixth starter is a tier 3 compared to the Tier 4 in the fifth spot for Atlanta. Overall, the rotation comes in at 2860 points and looks absolutely potent!
Bullpen: When you look at the bullpen, stud Tier 1 closer Ryan Pressly and key deadline addition, Tier 2 no doubles Graveman jump off the screen as a lethal 8-9 inning punch. Helping get the ball from the strong rotation to these lockdown firearms is the task of three Tier 3 arms in Taylor, Stanek and Garcia -- they aren't the best, but they're good enough to get the job done. Also in the bullpen is one of the most fascinating cards in the set, Cristian Javier -- a Tier 3, no doubles guy with IP 3. Under original rules, that's 9 innings of Control, on at 17 with no doubles pitching for only 520 points and a steal! Under many custom rules, he's way too pricey to roster for the amount of IP you're getting... a real catch 22 and why it's crucial to clarify the reliever usage rules in your league before a draft! Thanks to the expensive Javier, the bullpen costs 1610 points (I still prefer the deeper Atlanta bullpen).
Overall: The 25 man roster for the Astros comes in at an eye-popping 7850 points!! I have a strong suspicion this is the most expensive squad, but the Dodgers are going to be gnarly too. Overall, it's clear that Dusty got the most out of these boys statistically and it'll be interesting to see what they do in 2022 to follow-up... something tells me that they'll at least find themselves in the ALCS again -- seems to be the trend!
No comments:
Post a Comment