There were a lot of noteworthy dimensions to McCann's presence on the Astros WS team last year, but one that stood out to me was how, as a rookie with the Braves, he caught the entire grueling 18 innings (and homered off Wandy Rodriguez) in that marathon NLDS Game 4 back in 2005. It must have been a let-down to McCann for his team to go down in defeat after that historical 18-inning game. Had the series gone back to Atlanta tied, his team would have had a good shot at going to the NLCS. Little could he have known that one day he would get his WS ring, but with the team that just beat him.
They're thinking Peacock for single/multi-inning relief, Devo back to single innings, and McHugh for long stuff. So they say this early. Hinch giving Morton the 1st home start is awesome, no wonder the players love him. I hope he needs earplugs the crowd is so loud.
Fangraphs has given the Astros a 25.5% of winning the World Series this year. For reference, they usually don't give out that high of odds until a team wins a division series. Very hard not to get excited about this team.
It's really hard not too. There will be adversity, especially when it comes to injuries IMO... it's never easy. But if we can get Homefield, limit our injuries and keep our bullpen fresh for playoffs... we put ourselves in a position to repeat. Best to temper expectations and just enjoy the ride. We can't win it every year... or can we?
