Do the Houston Astros scare you?

[58-4ever]

They have really solid (probably better than that) Starting pitching, a weird and dangerous ballpark that we've struggled in, and a squatty second basemen that always seems to be a thorn in everyone's side.

What about the 'Stros scare you, if anything?

Poll to come mofos.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Bowser

They are a talented team we should be wary of their talent. The thing going for us this time is that they won't be hitting against Vargas, Guthrie, and Blanton/Finnegan.



I suppose that if it gets to game 5 they could short rest Keuchel again, but we'll worry about that if and when it happens...

I certainly respect the Astros. They're a good team with a lot of talent, and they're going to be a force in years to come.

But I'm not scared of them. The national media will make much of the Royals' record vs. Houston this year, but I predict it will fail to talk about who actually started those games in Houston for the Astros (guys who won't even make the postseason roster for KC, with the exception of Duffy, who will be in the bullpen rather than the rotation).

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Yes. But it is more to do with the Royals playing like soggy nutsack recently.

This is the problem , we don't have any hitters on a hot streak. And Cueto sux

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I certainly respect the Astros. They're a good team with a lot of talent, and they're going to be a force in years to come.

But I'm not scared of them. The national media will make much of the Royals' record vs. Houston this year, but I predict it will fail to talk about who actually started those games in Houston for the Astros (guys who won't even make the postseason roster for KC, with the exception of Duffy, who will be in the bullpen rather than the rotation).

Yep, agree with all of this.

Here's another thing that irks me about the Astros (and Yankees, for that matter)...It annoys me when a team is considered a "power" team when they have short ass porches in their ballfield. Can you imagine what numbers Royals hitters would put up if they played in a park with an outfield like those two other teams? How many years have we made a joke about the "warning track power!" this team has? GMAFB.

[CaliforniaChief]

I posted a status update on FB last night and got several friends saying how they were rooting against the Royals because they're punks and bullies. LOL, how things have changed in one year.

Straight. Outta. Kauffman.

[KC_Lee]

Voted yes, but it's more of a symptom of being a KC sports fan. It's been at least two generations since a KC team has been consistently successful in the playoffs regardless of sport.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

I posted a status update on FB last night and got several friends saying how they were rooting against the Royals because they're punks and bullies. LOL, how things have changed in one year.

Straight. Outta. Kauffman.

Bullies? What?

I can't think of a single individual on any MLB team that I would consider a bully.

Besides that, the Royals have been pretty quiet. There isn't any comments like, "that's what speed do." Coming out of the clubhouse.

[Discuss Thrower]

That bullshit outfield of theirs does.

[Valiant]

All the teams this year in the playoffs seem visually better.

i think we can beat them. Hopefully a sweep.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Yep, agree with all of this.

Here's another thing that irks me about the Astros (and Yankees, for that matter)...It annoys me when a team is considered a "power" team when they have short ass porches in their ballfield. Can you imagine what numbers Royals hitters would put up if they played in a park with an outfield like those two other teams? How many years have we made a joke about the "warning track power!" this team has? GMAFB.

Check out how many HR's the Stros have hit on the road compared to home. You might just be surprised. The advantage is NOT what you're making it out to be. Some of you clowns sound like shit-spewing Denver Broncos fans.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by TEX

Check out how many HR's the Stros have hit on the road compared to home. You might just be surprised. The advantage is NOT what you're making it out to be. Some of you clowns sound like shit-spewing Denver Broncos fans.

The Astros aren't nearly as good at hitting HR on the road as they are at home. It's fact. Check the rate stats:

The Astros hit a HR once every 20 AB at home. They hit a HR once every 28 AB on the road. To put it into context, that's the type of difference per AB you see between a 20-HR hitter and a 30-HR hitter. They hit 25 percent MORE home home runs at home as on the road. That's a big gap.

If they hit HR at home at the same rate they hit them on the road, the Astros would have 25-30 fewer (depending on the number of ABs) home runs this season. To put that into a "wins" perspective, you're talking about 2.5-3 wins this season, which would have been enough to bounce the Astros out of the playoffs.

This is one of the reasons the Astros are 15 games under .500 for the season on the road (they're 25 over at home).

I think the Royals are the worst DS matchup for Houston, at least in terms of the Astros' power. They're going to have to win in other ways than just pounding the ball over the wall, because the K is a bigger road park, and the ball isn't going to travel the same way in cool October air in KC as it does in Houston.

[alnorth]

No. We could certainly lose, but between homefield, the pitching matchup, etc we should be favored close to 65%. I think of "scared" as being not favored or a tossup, which might be Toronto if that happens.

[Javabean]

I just had lunch with a friend from Houston who's a big Astros fan. He believes that the Royals will, in his words, "destroy Houston". He thinks they have no chance to win in KC and is just hoping they win a game in Houston to avoid a sweep.

[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by Javabean

I just had lunch with a friend from Houston who's a big Astros fan. He believes that the Royals will, in his words, "destroy Houston". He thinks they have no chance to win in KC and is just hoping they win a game in Houston to avoid a sweep.

Sounds like Garcia Bronco moved to H-town.

Well praise God all this talk will end soon and we can meet those bastards on the field and find out soon enough.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Javabean

I just had lunch with a friend from Houston who's a big Astros fan. He believes that the Royals will, in his words, "destroy Houston". He thinks they have no chance to win in KC and is just hoping they win a game in Houston to avoid a sweep.

Deal is the Astros are happy just to be there and that might come into play. It's already been a very successful season for them. I'll tell you something else, I used to work for the Astros until a few months ago and in meetings the 5th floor folks (Baseball Ops) used to use the Royals all the time for motivation. The saying was, "The Royals did it last year, why not us this year?" I can't tell you how many times I heard that in meetings. There is a LOT of RESPECT for the Royals among the Astros players and front office I assure you. As I said, I have personally witnessed it many times. This is the team they wanted to play - but it is not out of any type of bravado - it is out of respect.

In addition, they also love Kauffman Stadium and I'd look for parts to be incorporated into Minute Maid Park next season as a remodel is planned for this off season. Might just be a water fall or two...

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by TEX

Deal is the Astros are happy just to be there and that might come into play. It's already been a very successful season for them. I'll tell you something else, I used to work for the Astros until a few months ago and in meetings the 5th floor folks (Baseball Ops) used to use the Royals all the time for motivation. The saying was, "The Royals did it last year, why not us this year?" I can't tell you how many times I heard that in meetings. There is a LOT of RESPECT for the Royals among the Astros players and front office I assure you. As I said, I have personally witnessed it many times. This is the team they wanted to play - but it is not out of any type of bravado - it is out of respect.

In addition, they also love the Kauffman Stadium and I'd look for parts to be incorporated into Minute Maid Park next season as a remodel is planned for this off season. Might just be a water fall or two...

That's cool to hear. I have a lot of respect for Luhnow (especially since he was able to convince ownership that there was no point in being only slightly terrible while rebuilding, allowing him to just completely tear things down) and the young talent being collected in Houston.