I see OF being a place that could be upgraded as I expect Marisnick and Aoki to regress. Can Yuli keep hitting snot out of the ball? I'm happy with the bullpen. I suspect Astros try to add another starter just due to not really having a spot that is overly weak. As always, I expect Astros to try to keep MLB roster intact, guys expected to be in majors in 2017, and Tucker....though right deal could involve Tucker or Martes.
Gurriel is hitting over .400 since his early season slump. And Harden, outside of yesterday, is averaging 38 pts/game in this playoff series. You're just a pessimistic downer. It's one thing to be disappointed in the moment, and then come off that shortsightedness when the player improves. It's another thing to continue to bash a player because of your ill-conceived notions, and never give them props when they're well-deserved. Why even be a fan if all you're going to do is denigrate some of our best players.....ESPECIALLY when they're playing WELL???
After the first month of the season, the Astros' pitching staff has the 5th-lowest hard-hit rate in baseball.
Sure dude. I made that Gurriel comment after he made a big defensive error in the first (I think) inning which cost us an out. I wasn't impressed with Gurriel last season and so far this season he hasn't impressed me. He has been playing well lately but does one have to form their opinion based on the last 10 days? That seems pretty shortsighted. Harden - He had another awful playoff performance yesterday. He really hasn't shown up in the most competitive playoff series since he has been here. He will have a good game every now and then but he has some major stinkers. For a guy that is suppose to be a top 5 player... he hasn't shown that in the big time... against Portland, against LAC, in big games against GSW... No one can point to a competitive series where Harden (a superstar) has taken over, dominated and pulled through for the team... I can't even think of too many single game playoff performances where that occurred. Harden has not elevated his game in the playoffs. It's been very disappointing and frustrating. Yesterday was yet another big game where he (a superstar) laid a huge egg. Where are the marquee superstar playoff performances? Point me to one. I can point you to a number of disappearing acts. But please point to "OMG Boxscore" like that is a nuanced approach to analyze a game... I've watched every playoff game he has ever played in Houston. I'm just calling a spade a spade.
I see a few people mentioning Aoki over performing. He's basically one 0-4 game away from being exactly on his career numbers, so he isn't exactly playing at some crazy pace.
So, you formed your opinion over 130 at bats last year where he is coming into a new country and a new league. No short sightedness there. He currently leads all AL first basemen in batting average of those who have at least 55 plate appearances. He has yet to make an error this year (and only made one last year).
I didn't mean error in the statistical sense but yesterday he stopped an infield ground ball and messed up the transition from the glove to the throwing hand resulting in the runner being safe at first. I think that was the first inning and was a costly play for us. So I said he hasn't impressed me as an Astro. He hasn't.
I say, " 0 for 4 would be regression, though, and it wouldn't take away his home run. It's going to take quite a few ABs to get him back down to his 1 home run for every one hundred and something ABs pace he usually does.
3 - 0 and fighting off the sweep. So big time. Picking one game out of all the big opportunities he has had it pretty sad. Portland? LAC? Any other great game against GSW? Yea. Didn't think so.
To refresh your memory, you griped after he hit into a DP yesterday. He did not have any fielding issues early in the game yesterday. He did make a really nice diving stop in the 10th, but failed to get the ball to Giles covering first.
It was the 10th. He made a diving play in the hole that should have resulted in an out, but couldn't complete the exchange. It was scored as a hit. The runner was stranded at 2nd to end the game. No harm was ultimately done. Interesting how you made that comment while completely glomming over how he scored the tying run in the 9th and drove in an insurance run in the 10th.
Best rated defensive first baseman so far this year, but OMG he made a mistake that HTM saw so he must suck defensively.
DP have been a huge problem for us... its super frustrating and a legitimate gripe if that is what it was I was griping about. I'm pretty confident Gurriel messed up a transition from the glove to his hand that allowed a big infield single yesterday that riled me up... I think you're wrong about that. Edit: I guess it was the 10th.
When you ask for evidence, @bobrek provides with you plenty. Then, you shift your argument to "Yeah, but....." every single time. Gurriel was coming into a brand new league, a brand new country, and a brand new situation for the final (what amounted to) 1/4 of the season. I think ANYBODY would struggle under those circumstances. However, this year, after a slow start, he has turned it on in a big way, and is currently the best hitting 1B in the entire league. But, instead of admitting that maybe you'll wait to **** all over him until AFTER a few months, you decide to double down on "being unimpressed." Sure dude.
What he points to one playoff game (I guess that's "plenty") in an already clearly decided series and that means Harden has been good in the playoffs? It's not a "marquee" performance if you're already down 3 - 0 to save the sweep Homers just ignore the heck out of Harden's lousy playoff resume because they love him so much. He didn't show up against Portland He didn't show up against the LAC He largely didn't show up against GSWx2 He didn't show up in a huge game yesterday For a superstar he has been pretty lousy in the playoffs while he has been here. I don't see how anyone could form an opinion otherwise.
In 2015 against Golden State, James Harden was just fine. He averaged like 28 pts, 7 rebs, and 6 assists on 47% shooting, and 43% from 3. The reason we lost that series was because we couldn't execute our offense in the last 2 minutes......partly because Dwight Howard was such a dud offensively. That, and Golden State is just really ****ing good at pretty much every facet of the game. http://www.basketball-reference.com...rn-conference-finals-rockets-vs-warriors.html Now, considering this is the Astros forum, let's get back to Gurriel. So far this season, INCLUDING his slump, he's hitting .321 with only 7 K's, and 5 extra base hits. Not world-beating, but CERTAINLY enough for someone to say, "Ok, let me give this guy a chance." And last year, when you say he looked like ****, in 36 games, he still ended up hitting .262 with 10 extra base hits, and 12 K's.
