If we can get Britton for only Martes and one other prospect I think we should also be getting Gray or something.. Not totally into Verlander. I think we need a SP and RP but maybe we are waiting to see if any more elite-ish pitchers become available... Degrom, stroman, etc
Game 1: Keuchel Game 2: Morton Game 3: McCullers Game 4: McHugh Game 5: Keuchel Game 6: Morton/Peacock Game 7: Keuchel/McCullers Something like that. I would want to give Keuchel Game 1 if possible, but Game 2 could happen.
Zach Britton is pitching as we speak (or type, I should say). He just gave up a double to Chirinos with 2 outs in the 9th. Good news for the Astros, they have had to put O'Day and Brach on the mound today as well, so hopefully the O's pen will be a little soft for us tomorrow.
Is Britton healthy? That is the big question right now.... and the O's taking less for him would be telling. If he is healthy, he's going to need some time to get his sharpness back. Mechanics and control way off right now.
He's not looking sharp tonight. After the Chirinos double, he gave up a walk, a wild pitch, and a 2-rbi single. He came into the 9th with a four-run lead, now it is down to two. Astros fans would be climbing walls if he did this for us (esp in a game against the Rangers)
OK, ill play: Game 1: Keuchel Game 2: McCullers Game 3: Peacock/Morton Game 4: Keuchel Game 5: McHugh or Fiers? Game 6: McCullers Game 7: Keuchel
Britton finally got out of the inning on a fly ball to the warning track, but it took him 23 pitches to record 3 outs. I liken acquiring Britton now to buying a used luxury car (let's say a BMW 6 series). Imagine you're in the market for such a car and you go meet a fellow who has a year-old car of this type up for sale. He's asking $80,000 - enough to buy a few ordinary cars that run well. But you want the best, right? So you're shooting for the high-end BMW. Imagine that the current owner is an honest fellow, and he tells you that a couple months ago the car was in the shop for a few days getting a new fuel pump, and in the last 30 days there has been a clanking sound in the engine and intermittent puffs of black smoke coming out the exhaust... but nonetheless, the car has gotten him to work every day. Rest assured, he says: "It's a BMW and only a year old. These cars have a great track record." Would you buy that car? I wouldn't, especially if I'm going to need to drive it a lot and if my business will suffer should it break down again. Even if he lowers the price to $50,000, I'm much more inclined to go with a less flashy name brand like Pontiac, Toyota, Chrysler... if the car has a fairly clean mechanical history and has been running well over the past year. Added bonus: I probably only have to spend $20,000 to $30,000 and can trade it in next year if I want.
I wouldn't give up Martes for this version of Britton. If the Orioles can get a talent like Martes for Britton, they are foolish if they don't jump at it.
Pete Munro started Game 6 of the NLCS.... in a game that would have sent the Astros to the WS if they had won.
for a bit of historical perspective -- Astros pitching workload in an unsuccessful postseason bid What lessons can we take from the '86 experience? 1986 NLCS - Astros vs. Mets (6 games, including one 12-inning game and one 16-inning game) Scott - 18.0 IP Knepper - 15.1 IP Ryan - 14.0 IP Andersen - 5.0 IP Kerfeld - 4.0 IP Lopez - 3.1 IP Smith - 2.0 IP Calhoun - 1,0 IP Total of 62.2 IP Scott was the scheduled starter for Game 7 if we had gotten that far, which would have pushed him close to 25 IP (rather insane some would say). I'm interested to make some comparisons between the '86 pitching staff and what we have this year in terms of pitching stamina and effectiveness. One rather incredible accomplishment of the '86 staff was to achieve a .910 WHIP and 2.87 ERA in the NLCS. Only problem, the Mets posted a 2.29 ERA against us.
Mets pitching workload in 1986 NLCS Gooden - 17.0 IP Ojeda - 14.0 IP Orosco - 8.0 IP McDowell - 7.0 IP Fernandez - 6.0 IP Darling - 5.0 IP Aguilera - 5.0 IP Sisk - 1.0 IP total of 63.0 IP One thing that stands out is how the Mets distributed their workload more evenly. We really tried to get the triumvirate of Scott/Ryan/Knepper to take the lion's share of the job and left only 15.1 IP to other guys. If Devenski, Fiers, Peacock, and another multi-innings reliever like Hand/Igesias/Minor/Swarzak are there to step up for 6 to 8 innings each, that would be huge and it would be more like what the Mets accomplished in '86.
So Darvish is now on the block. Will Martes, McCurry, and C. Perez get it done? Probably not. But for a rental the price should be lower than Quintana/Gray/etc. even considering Darvish is a better pitcher. I'd be willing to do Martes plus 1-2 2nd tier guys like Teoscar, Musgrove, Armenteros, Cameron, C Perez, etc. Getting Darvish and a reliever like Wilson or Britton would be about as much as anyone could have hoped for Luhnow to do to improve the team. What a stacked roster that would be.
I would not trade with the rangers under any condition. Not from any of the top 25 prospects at least. Let them dig themselves out of the prospect hole they are in on somebody else's watch.
