Astros Crawfish Boil: November 2, 2022

So Game Three of the World Series wasn’t the greatest memory I’ll take from this season.

But they play seven, and as long as Houston wins four before Philadelphia does, I’ll be happy. There was a large helping of negativity on last night’s game thread, so much that I actually used the ignore button for the first time ever.

So it wasn’t the best game, but there’s no need to call our guys actual bad words. We’re not the Yankees, after all, much less the Phillies. And before I forget to note this: the Astros are better than either of them (or anyone else for that matter).

Astros News

This dude placed $10 million on the Astros, and stands to make $75 million if they win.

Here’s a deep dive into Houston’s logo history. My favorite remains the 77-93 version. What’s yours?

It’s a shame it even needed to be addressed, but Framber Valdez denies any use of a “sticky substance” in his start on Saturday.

Here’s the scoop on Martín Maldonado’s use of a forbidden bat.

So maybe LMJ isn’t your favorite Astro right this minute, but you can’t say his heart isn’t in the right place.

Around the MLB

Gold Glove winners were announced yesterday, including right fielder Kyle Tucker and shortstop Jeremy Peña.

Some trade talk here. The main takeaway is that the Angels aren’t very motivated to shop Shohei Ohtani.

Manfred seems to be betting on Vegas. He also remains a fan of the ghost runner (groan).

Jack Vita makes a compelling case to change baseball’s seven-game playoff format to 2-2-1-1-1.

Pedro Grifol secures the job managing the White Sox.

Oops! All Astros: Euris Vasquez

Euris Vasquez is a six-foot, 163 lb. right-handed reliever from Santo Domingo, DR. Born on October 24, 2003, he signed his first ever professional deal with the Astros on March 21, 2022.

Vasquez was initially assigned to the DSL Astros Orange squad on June 4. In his first appearance a week later, he earned an ERA of ∞ after giving up three earned runs on two hits and a walk without recording an out in a 9-6 loss to the DSL Red Red Sox. In his next appearance, on June 13, he recorded his only perfect inning of the season in an 8-4 win over the DSL Orioles Black.

Vasquez was shuffled back and forth between the two DSL clubs several times through the season, making five appearances with the Blue and four with the Orange. He faced 58 batters in total, walking 10 and striking out as many while allowing 10 singles, two doubles, and three homers. Opponents slashed .326/.448/.565 and were successful in steal attempts on three of four occasions.

Vasquez closed the season with an 0-3 record and a 9.53 ERA, along with a 2.206 WHIP in 11 ¹⁄₃ frames. Clearly some work needs to be put in, but Vasquez should get at least one more season to get things in order. Look for him back with the DSL next year.