Where did the Houston Astros come from???

[JMobile]

This team is over 600 in the AL West Division.
The only player they got is Jose Altuve, and I think he is underrated still.
Just saw the game vs the Padres on tv and the score was tied and they managed to get go ahead runs off of a bonafide set-up man, Joaquin Benoit, and end up beating the Padres 9-4 on a day that James Shields started.

So...........WTF????

[existential]

they came from the Colt 45's

[JMobile]

they came from the Colt 45's

This team seems legit though

[19th Hole]

Astros are off like a cannon.
Must be Lady Luck spinning the Wheel Of Recompense.
Maybe they will better the 0% TV rating of 2014...
Good for the Astros.




*Of course I had the Padres

[Ghenghis Kahn]

one of the worst teams last year... they win the most improved team of the year so far.

strange since most of the players are the same. maybe the whole team got some good lozenges similar to what arod was taking.

there's no way a team can just improve this much without peds imo.

[JMobile]

This is the line-up the Astros had that beat James Shields, Joaquin Benoit, and the new and improved Padres line-up;

Jose Altuve
Luis Valbuena
George Springer
Jed Lowrie
Colby Rasmus
Chris Carter
Jake Marisnick
Jason Castro

Who the fuk are those guys??? Most of the known guys in the heart of the line-up are journey men material.

[19th Hole]

<a name="&lpos=mlb:standings:team" href="http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/hou">Houston Astros<abbr title="Houston Astros">HOU</abbr>	12	7	.632	-	4-5	8-2	79	68	+11	W4	8-2

If the Astros could schedule more road games the sky is the limit.

[JMobile]

Astros facing Tyson Ross at Petco.....but Ross's last start was a Lost against the Rockos

[freeVICK]

Astros could be a goldmine to bet on this year

[Unwritten Law]

Let's see how they fare after the month of May. Improved indeed.

[44 Mag]

This team is over 600 in the AL West Division.
The only player they got is Jose Altuve, and I think he is underrated still.
Just saw the game vs the Padres on tv and the score was tied and they managed to get go ahead runs off of a bonafide set-up man, Joaquin Benoit, and end up beating the Padres 9-4 on a day that James Shields started.

So...........WTF????

They were also on the cover of SI last year, prediction, win the WS in 2017. I see them as a much improved team, tons of young talent, Altuve is great, Carter is their power guy. Couple more pieces and they will be on their way. Decent young pitchers by the way as well.

[Mr KLC]

I think it starts with their manager, AJ Hinch. This is his second shot as a manager after having a brief tenure with the Diamondbacks a few years back. This dugout is a lot looser than it was under Bo Porter. Also, unlike Bo Porter, he's on the same page as the general manager, Jeff Luhnow in using sabermetrics. Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh are a great 1-2 punch. Hard to believe that Keuchel was originally projected as a #5 starter, and they picked McHugh off the scrap heap. Bullpen is much improved. They were normally giving up the leads at the end of the game. Now I think their bullpen is top 5 in the majors so far this season. Pitching carried them starting out, but now the bats are catching up. Will be even better when Correa comes up next year, and Mark Appel cracks the starting pitching rotation.

[goldengreek]

Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh are STUDS

[mikemca]

Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh are STUDS

This

Plus they've been shytty for so long that their farm system has to have plenty of gems in it just waiting to blossom.The Cubs get all the press and rightfully so with Soler,Russell, and Bryant studs for the next 10-15 years plus others too but the Astros are in the argument for next in line.

[frogsrangers]

They are better but lets slam the brakes.

As a Rangers fan from 2004-2009 it seemed like every season the Rangers would start off hot and either be in 1st place at the All-Star Break or right in the mix.

Then in the 2nd half of the season the wheels would come off and the team would fade and not even finish over .500.

The Astros aren't there yet and will fade eventually.

[LT Profits]

Not surprising, they were popular choices to go 'over' their posted win total before the start of the season.

[LT Profits]

Not surprising, they were popular choices to go 'over' their posted win total before the start of the season.

Total was around 74.5 by the way, so oddsmakers already liked them considering they went 70-92 last season and had a streak of 100-loss seasons before that.

[44 Mag]

They are better but lets slam the brakes.

As a Rangers fan from 2004-2009 it seemed like every season the Rangers would start off hot and either be in 1st place at the All-Star Break or right in the mix.

Then in the 2nd half of the season the wheels would come off and the team would fade and not even finish over .500.

The Astros aren't there yet and will fade eventually.

Remember, I said a few more pieces and another year or so, but, right now they still need to be reckoned with.

[t-wizzle]

Well they've sucked for 5+ years now. Did you think it wasn't going to eventually turn around?

[Ghenghis Kahn]

relax, it's still early. the team will regress. they've just been hot. unreal they have scored the most runs in the last 7 days.

that shit won't last, hitting .229

[Big Bear]

is this thread making anyone else nervous about betting on the Astros tonight?

[posey]

No, since I don't.

[Big Bear]

u don't bet on the astros?

i can't wait to pound them tomorrow with Dallas Keuchel on the bump

that guy is my personal money printing machine

[DrunkHorseplayer]

Down on the Astros again tonight; they'll cool off but could contend for the division title. The AL West isn't as strong as expected.

[JMobile]

is this thread making anyone else nervous about betting on the Astros tonight?

If the Astros beat James Shield and Tyson Ross back to back, I doubt Andrew Cashner can put a cork on them. Keep rolling with the Astros.

[terrortwylight]

Yeahhhh I've cashed on the 'Stros the last 2 nights boys but tomorrow may be the night to take the other side.

Just saying. Look at that one very closely.

[existential]

DeAndre Jordan has a huge Astros tattoo on his shoulder if that means anything

[terrortwylight]

DeAndre Jordan has a huge Astros tattoo on his shoulder if that means anything

That should be taken into heavy consideration when placing your wagers tomorrow boys.

[Rbyrne]

Altuve best lead off hitter in the league, good starting pitching and improved bullpen, altuve and springer lead the American league in steals with 8 a piece, overall improved team even tho seems like they strike out a lot as a team.

[JMobile]

Yeahhhh I've cashed on the 'Stros the last 2 nights boys but tomorrow may be the night to take the other side.

Just saying. Look at that one very closely.

Cashner pitches tomorrow....what are you saying?

[Rbyrne]

Yea cashner is a good pitcher but I still lean Astros but padres are trying to avoid getting swept so will have to take a closer look in the morning

[JMobile]

Astros vs Padres is a day game. Get on it.

[Ghenghis Kahn]

i know keuchel is a stud but i doubt the pads get swept by the stros today.

[terrortwylight]

Cashner pitches tomorrow....what are you saying?

A wise man pointed out to me something I hadn't considered.

I'm on SD ML at -110. You can get it at -108 now. Padres vs Lefties = $$$.

I'm saying look at the splits very closely. The Astros are legitimately a good team right now. Do not misconstrue what I am saying.

Cashner hasn't given up a dinger to a righty all year. The splits indicate to me at least that Cashner is mowing down righties. Keuchel is a beast, but today he's facing a lineup of righties that are ready to bang on a LHP.

I think Fagan is the ump tonight.. his strike zone is normally pretty tight. If he stays true I think the Padres are going to release some pent up aggression.

I think last night Astros were like +135 on the ML. Right now they're -102 ML. A lot of funny line movement.

I've just seen this kind of thing from the books a million times. So have you.

End of the day I'm probably overanalyzing. But I feel good about SD tonight.

[Ghenghis Kahn]

line move is pretty evident. houston is the hottest team in baseball. keuchel is their ace, they've scored the most runs in the past 7 days, and to get them at plus money? sharps are hammering houston. but...