Against wind and tide, the stars do not lose the north

ByDavid Mitchell
Against wind and tide, the stars do not lose the north

  • Damián L. Delgado AverhoffJul 5, 2025, 15:30

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      He is passionate about sport. He was a sports editor in Bohemia magazine in Cuba. From 2005 to date it has reported important international events. He currently writes about baseball and boxing at Espndeportes.com.

The resurrection of the stars, the season of the left gardener José Altuve, the crisis of Yankees and other themes in the Ninth of AM850.

1. When he woke up, the stars were still there

When Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman marched to other lands, leaving José Altuve and Yordan Álvarez as the only consolidated offensive referents with the team that knew how to qualify for Playoffs consecutively the last eight years and win twice the World Series (2017 and 2022), there were few who believed that the fruitful fruct of the siders could reach its end in 2025. The hypothesis was consolidated after Álvarez was injured, who has been out of play since May 2. The AM850 Bet Predictions Before starting the season he placed the stars with a record of 87.5 wins (in 2024 his balance was 88-73) and chances of winning the West division In +110, the American League Championship Series in +550 and the World Series in +1200. A little less than half of the campaign is missing and it is very likely that the projection of 87.5 victories is well below. With current 53-35 balance, the stars need 35 successes in their 74 remaining games. To be more illustrative, playing for .473 (35-39) would overcome that prediction and very likely to win the west division of the la. Right now they exhibit the third best MLB record, shared with the Chicago Cubs. The postseason is already flour from another sack and there everything is more volatile.

2. What is the secret that the stars remain competitive?

It is obvious that management has managed to renew the team while remaining competitive. José Altuve and Lance McCullers are the only ones that remain the team that won the World Series in 2017. However, the manager Joe Espada has made the team work compact. That all haze even. In ten traditional collective categories widely used (five pitching and five batting), the stars march in the top five in seven of them. In the offensive, they are an average leaders (.261), tied with the angels Dodgers and fifths in undisputed (772); Meanwhile, the pitching has commanded the ship being fifths in effectiveness (3.50), first in salvages (29), first in strikeouts (853) and third in quality outputs (42). But it is not there, before the defeat by the minimum (6-7) on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies, the stars linked a string of 11 victories in a row in matches defined by a race, matching the longest streak in the history of the franchise. I have a friend and colleague who does not like to make predictions; He has his reasons. However, these stars seem to have enough octane to play in their ninth consecutive October and perhaps, destroy the pre -season bets.

3. José Altuve said yes to the change of position

Moving from a position in the big leagues is not as simple as it seems. Some can do it without apparent trauma, but it costs others more. The conflict in the Boston Red Sox between the team’s management and Rafael Devers is still resonated by moving it from the third base to the designated batter and then asking him to cover the initial after the injury of Triston Casas, the headline in Boston of the position. The thriller ended with Devers being transferred to the other side of the country, to the San Francisco Giants. Who does not protest a movement was the once second base -and winner of the Gold glove in 2015– José Altuve, at least, there were no public signs of his disagreement, although he looked quite bad guarding the left meadow of the stars in the preseason and was subject to ruthless memes. Altuve, the franchise player and that will probably end with a plaque in the Cooperstown Hall of Famehe accepted the challenge already his 35 years subordinated his personal interest to that of the team, which has used it interchangeably as a left gardener (37 games), second base (28) and designated (22).

4. How do you go to José Altuve defensively as a gardener and second base in 2025?

Transferred the threshold of the first half of the campaign, in the left meadow its defensive average is quite poor (.981), as well as its -4 outs above average (OAA) and its -1.5 dwar (defensive victories on replacement). As a second base, it has not shone, giving the reason to those who forced the movement since it had been dragging (among other statistics) a negative range of OAA (-3 in 2023 and -9 in 2024) in second base. Using the same metrics, Altuve average defensively in the intermediate .979, -1 OAA and his DWAR is -1.5. It is not in its best year with the Madero, but its offensive line of .269 AVE/.331 OBP/.443 SLU/.775 OPS, with 15 homers and 44 trailers have contributed to the buene step of the team. Although, its defensive metrics should not improve much, their batting could be on the extent that it gets used to the role it has been assuming in 2025. This week it was placed as the second producer of inatrapables in the history of the stars. Altuve already walks for 2,320 greater than 2,314 of Jeff Bagwell. Craig Biggio He is the historical leader of the franchise with disassembly 3,060 in his career.

5. Kershaw, the 3,000 strikeouts and a special moment

Clayton Kershaw battled to complete the three strikeouts he needed to reach 3000 in MLB and become the number 20 launcher to achieve it. On Wednesday, July 2, he noticed anxious every time he put the batter in two strikes. I lost the equanimity and on launched. However, he reached him to reach the milestone with the last pitching of his ninth opening of the season. Much has been written about the feat, but I prefer to stop in a couple of interesting details provided by our colleagues in AM850 Research. 1. Kershaw launched 100 shipments for six tickets to the Chicago White Sox, that was the first time he threw that amount in more than two years (June 20, 2023 – 103 launches vs. Los Angeles Angels). 2. The players who have suffered most Kershaw’s stoist power are: Brandon Belt (30), Paul Goldschmidt (24), Carlos González (22), Hunter Pence (20), Drew Stubbs (19) and Buster Posey (19). I want to go beyond the numbers, because I am almost convinced that the moment most appreciated by the 37 -year -old launcher arrived once the game was over. Below I leave the video and tell me if you share my opinion.

6. Bad news for the Yankees

If you believed that the journey of the Bronx’s mules could not get worse, it shows you yes, it could happen. Even that the postseason goes from being a possibility to a chimera. The group of AM850 Researchmade us notice that the Yankees had a 10-15 record in matches of the East Division of the American League And the last time they lost 15 of their first 25 division games was in 2016 when they did not reach the playoffs. That figure worsened at 10-27, after being swept in four games by the Toront East Division of the American League. But let’s go to the division record, the Yankees have begun with a balance of 10-15 or worse against opponents of the East Division of the American League Eight times since the division started in 1969. Coincidentally, they have never advanced beyond the Division Series of the American League In no year.

7. Will Aroldis Chapman play with the United States or Britain in the 2026 World Classic?

The million dollar question. The Boston Red Sox closer, Aroldis Chapman, flirts with the possibility of representing the Team USA in it 2026 World Classic (WBCfor its acronym in English). There is still nothing official, but the player born in Cuba, and nationalized American, told the full swing portal that he would have been unofficially contacted to know if he would be interested in playing. Chapman, 37, signed for a season and $ 10.75 million with Boston. The third relay with more strikeouts in history (1,297) played with the selection of Cuba in the 2009 WBC edition and then escape from the Havana regime and carved a fruitful career in The Major. Chapman revealed that he had received the invitation from the team of Great Britainbecause their paternal grandparents emigrated to Cuba from Jamaicacountry that was British colony until 1962. The player recognized that his priority for the low season is to get a contract in free agency.

When you are far from your homeland, finding a countryman is usually a reason for joy. It also happens in the Major Leaguesand this time it was captured in a very peculiar way. Three Puerto Ricans got together …Oh, blessed! And this happened …

9. Friends and nothing more … the rest, the jungle

These are the friends that you would like to have a lifetime. Those who advocate you in good times, bad and baseball games on your birthday.


David Mitchell
David Mitchell

As a passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience, I strive to uncover the heart and soul behind every game. Supported by a dedicated team of fellow enthusiasts and storytellers, I am committed to delivering insightful and engaging content that connects fans worldwide. Together, we celebrate the victories, challenges, and unifying spirit of sports through every article we craft.