" “The guys we have in this locker room want to be great,’’ McCann said, noting the pitchers arrive at 5 a.m. to do their weight lifting. “When you have that mindset, it’s very easy to turn the page and get ready for next season, and I think we’ve all done that. We had our time to enjoy it, but now that we are down here in camp, it’s time to try to do it again. There’s something special here.’’ " https://nypost.com/2018/02/16/the-killer-move-that-could-put-astros-in-rare-world-series-air/
I feel like Martres is the forgotten man. He is super young and has incredible stuff. I love his aggressiveness. Let's hope with another year of maturity he will be more open to coaching and learns to take care of his body. I think he has the confidence and ability to be a top notch closer or TOR starter in the future. I'd only trade him if it was in a package for a Realmuto.
That certainly sounds good, but a lot of smoke can be blown this early in camp. Even if weight wasn't his actual problem, any sign of commitment is a positive. Martes is a stud waiting to happen
This winter I had a few people tell me that maturity was an issue. He wasn’t a bad locker room guy but was still a kid mentally. He lacked focus sometimes but the desire and competitiveness was there. If his maturity comes,he has the type of upside very few pitchers have.
Per Kaplan, Hinch said his delivery was more "under control". To me, this matters a lot more than the weight if it is true. Martes looked out of whack at times last season.
I have never understood what the obsession is with only allowing relief pitchers to pitch one or maybe two innings. Of course if the players in the bullpen do not have the stuff, then that's what you have to do. But this Astros team has seven pretty stout starter level pitchers, at least two of which appear destined to pitch out of the bullpen this year. In the playoffs last year, with the regular relievers struggling, the answer was obvious to many of us before it was even tried. Use the starters that had been consigned to the bullpen for the playoffs for longer outings. Hinch did that and it worked brilliantly. We saw McCullers, Peacock and Morton all pitch successfully in that role. It was awesome in the extreme. So why in the world would this organization forget what it experienced and what it learned about their pitchers last year in what turned out to be an epic world series victory run? Why can't McCugh, or Peacock, or maybe McCullers or perhaps someone else come in with some regularity in the late fifth or sixth inning and finish the game if they are pitching well? Why not continue to use that longevity and that starter level strength at all points of the game, and routinely throughout the regular season, as the opportunity arises? I do not understand why Hinch and the Astros would not want to continue to do this, given the successful experience they have had doing that in the recent past with this particular group of players.
