5 reasons why the Astros will (or won’t) repeat

[Troll Daddy]

https://www.mlb.com/news/can-the-astros-repeat-as-world-series-champs/c-265854342

[JustATroutFan]

One thing that the article did not talk about was that a lot of their guys had career years. Brad Peacock (who?), Charlie Morton, Josh Reddick, Marwin Gonzalez (mediocre player with a fluke season, check his track record prior to 2017), and all or nothing Springer hitting like .280 is an aberration.  

[Ohtaniland]

I remember when we all laughed at the Astros and welcomed them to the AL West. It’s tough to repeat as world champions because teams change gears every season. The Astros may not be as hungry or perform as well as last season but they sure will be tough to beat in the west. 

[Stradling]

We all remember that a few people were happy to have the Astros in our division.  They came over right at the end of their tank job (pathetic). Could you imagine rooting for a team that was purposely losing?  I get it it worked, but it’s seriously pathetic. 

[Vlad27Trout27]

I think offensively they will be fine, pitching is going to be the issue with them. Verlander is going be great, but after that it's a question mark, Kechuel's Fip and xfip suggest that he hasn't pitched like an Ace since his Cy young year ( he's has pitched more like a 3) and he has been hurt, personally i feel as if hitters are more patience and look opposite- field they can draw walks while also getting hits hopefully leading to a big ining, it will be interesting to see how Cole does, Mccullers has been there second best pitcher, buts he's been injured the most, Watching his pitching motion and the amount of curves he throw and relate this to his shoulder issues, He could hurt his arm (TJ). The leagues going to make adjustments against  Peacock and Morton and the Bp isn't that strong either.

[UndertheHalo]

15 hours ago, Stradling said:

We all remember that a few people were happy to have the Astros in our division.  They came over right at the end of their tank job (pathetic). Could you imagine rooting for a team that was purposely losing?  I get it it worked, but it’s seriously pathetic. 

Unfortunately, it seems like the lose on purpose tank job is perceived as the ideal rebuild model now.  I’m with you I think it’s terrible.  Not to be a huge homer but I think the Angels should get a lot of credit for NOT doing the tank job.  Not a lot of teams in pro sports going the retool on the fly route.  It’s definitely tougher. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

10 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

Unfortunately, it seems like the lose on purpose tank job is perceived as the ideal rebuild model now.  I’m with you I think it’s terrible.  Not to be a huge homer but I think the Angels should get a lot of credit for NOT doing the tank job.  Not a lot of teams in pro sports going the retool on the fly route.  It’s definitely tougher. 

It's bad for baseball.

People point out that tanking isn't as beneficial in MLB as in the NBA (where it is an epidemic) because of the uncertainty of the draft and the time it takes to develop talent but I think there are things people aren't considering.

We've seen the Lakers draft near the top seemingly every year but they have yet to find a difference maker. They can draft quality players every year but until they find a super star they will struggle to make the playoffs in the west. The NBA is a super star league.

MLB is about depth. Winning teams have quality players across the roster, and can call up players who can admirably fill in for injured players. It's a marathon not a sprint. It's about the team not the stars. This is why tanking has become so effective in MLB. The worse you are not only do you pick higher in each round but you get more money to sign guys. If you let your players walk you can get additional picks and money. The MLB draft is a numbers game. It's not about getting the top pick, or any one prospect. It's about hoarding talent.

Looking at the Astros, they have developed a ton of all star or near all star level players through the draft and they have the added benefit of not having to pay them anything for 6 years. This leaves them open to spend money on high priced players or trade for guys like Verlander. It should give them, and all the other tankers a near unstoppable 3 year window.

[Ohtaniland]

6 hours ago, ANAHEIMBOB said:

Mangers have played rookies in September for year's when they have been mathematically eliminated,  I see nothing wrong with playing rookies. I wish the Angels would have adopted to this method. Plugging in free agents hasn't been that successful for the Angeles organization.

 

Trying to buy a championship has never worked for Arte. 

[Docwaukee]

19 hours ago, ANAHEIMBOB said:

Mangers have played rookies in September for year's when they have been mathematically eliminated,  I see nothing wrong with playing rookies. I wish the Angels would have adopted to this method. Plugging in free agents hasn't been that successful for the Angeles organization.

 

It actually worked quite well prior to the Pujols and Hamilton acquisitions.   Vlad and Torii were great for us.  Bart was ok.  Guillen performed well but was a psycho.   There's a couple stinkers in there, but by and large we did pretty well.  Especially when it was to fill a gap or two with a solid player.   Albert was still a pretty obvious choice to make a run at when you don't yet realize what you've got in Trout.  He was a franchise changer and inner circle HOF guy.  He just happened to break precedent for decline relative to other inner circle guys.  

You are never going to have a home grown player at every position.  The last two WS champs have  had a mix.   The cubs brought in Lester, Heyward, Fowler, Lackey and a few others.  The Stros brought in Beltran, Reddick, Gurriel, and a few pen pieces.  

It's a necessary evil, but you have to avoid the traps.  First of all, stay away from expensive first basemen.  Those  seem like fools gold.  Second, don't get star struck.  Third, don't pay more for a guy just because he's the only one available at a position of need for you.  

[ten ocho recon scout]

14 hours ago, OHTANILAND said:

Trying to buy a championship has never worked for Arte. 

Or most other teams. One team out of 30 wins every year. Thwt doesnt mean teams shouldnt try to spend to win. Especially teams lioe us with huge media revenue.

[Angel Oracle]

Halos still are the only current MLB team to never lose 100 games in a season (most being 95 in 1980).

[Tank]

you have to wonder if there'll be a post-world series hangover for them. we've seen it from others in the past. or they could have had their appetite whetted so much they win again this year.

[totdprods]

They're going to be really, really tough this year and probably next. They still have impact prospects in the wings for depth or for trades. The bright side is they're probably going to be a little aggressive and "win-now" more with this core so they could eat into that farm more, and once their current core starts getting closer to FA, they could start looking rough around 2020, which is when the Angels farm should start producing.

I like that Eppler isn't going scorched earth to keep up with the Jones' (though I still think they should sign Darvish to help long-term) because realistically, the Astros have this division the next two or even three seasons but if the Astros miss a step and the Angels are clicking, they'll be right on top of them.

They've got one hell of a team though. I hate that Houston is in the AL now. The Astros were always my NL team and I don't like how I was denied the ability to feel a little bit of enjoyment with their WS win and bright future because of an ill-conceived realignment. 

[notherhalo]

When I think of the Astros being all too likely to repeat, I am reminded of the Cubs after their WS victory last year, and how the proceeding season actually turned out

Such is baseball

[Troll Daddy]

Pitching is the big difference between the Angels and Astros ... oh yea, you can add offense too (896 runs). Defensively I think the Angels have the edge