Hinch does his share, Judge shows class, a horse boner and more: The update for Oct. 23

Source: houstonsportsandstuff.com --- Sunday, October 22, 2017
If a starting pitcher on a pro Baseball team wins 20 or more games in a season, then that pitcher is considered an ace, and deserving of a huge payday. However, a Baseball team’s manager is not thought of in the same manner – financially – but can influence at least 20 games a year. Where is his paycheck? Astros fans got to watch manager A.J. Hinch at work in the series wins against the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. There are other moves that affected dozens of games – like when the starting pitching staff was going through injuries after the All-Star break and the Astros still won games – but let’s concentrate on the Red Sox and Yankees. Hinch brought in Justin Verlander to relieve against Boston. Verlander had never relieved in his professional career – or even after high school – and many thought Hinch had pushed the panic button too soon. And some said Verlander would be too tired to pitch in the next round. But it worked. Verlander was aces in both the Red Sox and Yankees games. Verlander would go on to win the MVP Award for the ALCS. In Game Four against the Yankees, Hinch yanked Lance McCullers after giving up a home run to Aaron Judge. Some suggested that Hinch pushed the panic button too soon then, too. And sure enough, the Yankees pounded the relievers after that and won the game handily in New York. So one move worked and one move didn’t. Then, in the seventh and deciding game against New York, Hinch starte ...

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