"We're having some good conversations," Astros relief pitcher Brooks Raley said smiling. "Definitely earlier in the year before they had their babies. So far, I think they've done a great job getting used to the no-sleep and that stuff."
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Astros relief pitchers Brooks Raley, Ryne Stanek and Ryan Pressly all have newborns. Each bundle of joy arrived in the final three months of the season.
It's a bullpen baby boom.
Raley, a father of four, is a veteran resource for rookie dads like Stanek.
"Mostly, it's things like, 'I didn't know this even happened,'" Stanek admitted. "Hey, Brooks, is this normal? Is she going to make it?"
In baseball, there's no pressure like postseason pressure. But these guys say they are ready for the high-stress environment of the playoffs because if you can survive putting your child in a car seat for the first time, you can handle the World Series.
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"There's so many friggin' straps," Stanek said of his daughter's car seat. "If you don't put her in right, she's sitting on one, then you have to finagle an arm. You're trying to wedge a baby into some straps and they're getting all tangled. The first time was a disaster."
And that third piece of the Astros' bullpen baby boom? Ryan Pressly and his new son, Wyatt.
"I think he's got a little more help in the middle of the night than the rest of us," Raley said. "So I think he gets a little more sleep than us."
So, the bullpen scouting report says Pressly is rested and primed to pitch well in the World Series.