re: DAT Offseason Thread: Sorry Not Sorry. Still 2017 Champs.

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After calling himself “unemployed” and saying he would speak with media as “an affiliate of myself” following Wednesday night’s loss in Game 7 of the World Series, Astros starter Gerrit Cole clarified his comments.

“I was upset, and my tone did not come off quite the way I wanted it to,” Cole said Thursday. “One win away. We had the lead with eight outs to go. It’s just a tough pill to swallow.”

In the short time since the game had ended, Cole was dwelling on the team’s extraordinary season that came up short. He did not want the focus to be on his role or lack thereof in the game. He did not want to be bombarded with inevitable questions about how manager A.J. Hinch did not use him out of the bullpen or about the expectations for his upcoming free agency.

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When a member of the Astros' media relations staff asked Cole to step into a media scrum in the clubhouse, Cole pushed back and suggested that he did not have to do interviews because, with the season over, he no longer was employed by the Astros.

“The comments were intended to be lighthearted, but also truthful in the sense that I don’t want to be talking about free agency and I don’t want to be addressing those comments 20 minutes after such a team loss,” Cole said.

Cole also explained that the Boras Corp. hat, which had the insignia of his agent, Scott Boras, he wore after Game 7 did not have anything to do with his relationship with the Astros. Cole had been wearing the hat for three months, mostly on days that he started, as “a good luck charm.”

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He said he did not intend to disappoint or offend fans.

“My wife and I just are so comfortable here,” Cole said. “It’s been such a great environment for the family. It’s been such a wonderful opportunity from a pitching standpoint, from making lifelong friends — anybody that gets to hang around the unique people on our team, like José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, we have one of the best managers in the game, A.J.

“I’m really grateful for this experience. I’ve loved every minute of it. I'm not saying goodbye, by any means. I truthfully don’t have a crystal ball. I could speak to what I know. And I know that I've loved every second here and I loved competing with the guys.”

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Well. Sign him up!

The only thing that rubbed me wrong was the Boras hat. Guess I never noticed it before, but it wasnt a regular pitching day for him. Otherwise it seemed like a reaction rooted purely in the disappointment of defeat.

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Jose Quintana

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Now there’s a name I haven’t thought of since Jan 2017.

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RISP

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I never want to hear this phrase again.

I don't agree with pulling him at that point, but it's not some horrible error to pull a guy who just gave up a homer and a walk and put in your most consistent reliever. (Who then gave up a HR on a great pitch, just got beat)

Now... not starting the 8th with Cole is indefensible and I'll never forgive Hinch for that. It was 3-2 and the best pitcher on Earth was in your bullpen.

The guy who had played in six games in the series and had given up a homerun to the same guy the previous night. Yes

Doesn't matter how dominate the relief pitcher is. The same shite always happen to guys who are seen alot in a series.

You gotta understand, we’ve all watched Harris for years and know he’s not who everyone thinks he is. He allows inherited runners typically to score at high clip (higher than typical relievers), which rarely effect his actual numbers but kills others numbers. We know Harris and this year overall was anomaly to who he is.

Moment I saw him called I knew that was coming. His run was ending and you could see it coming the night before. He had a good year but he’s not a guy I would ever fully trust. This is a guy who was left off on one of the playoff rosters last year (ALCS I believe), so it’s not like he has a great history to pull on.

Harris had given up a 2 run HR the night before. He is a 2 pitch guy, cutter or curve, w no velo, coming after a 4 pitch guy who had everyone off balance.

2 guys to avoid, Rendon and Soto, the ones who hit him, had just batted. He dominated everyone else on 80 pitches. He deserved the right to finish the rest of the lineup.

Harris matched Greinke’s hit total in what, 5 pitches?

Don’t get me wrong, when you hit 3 piss missiles w 2 outs and 2 on earlier in the game right at people and have outhit your opponent 8 to 2, yet trail 3-2, the baseball gods made it perfectly clear that the Astros were getting butt fricked.

Hinch just happened to be the instrument of choice this time. The man makes few decisions all season long, and more often than not they hurt more than help, so I understand why he watches like the rest of us.

And Jwho can confirm this, I said I didn’t like the early signs in this game, and disagreed with taking out Greinke before the fateful result.