But this was more 'by the book' managing. The unorthodox part was the number of moves that were made in one inning.
I think Garner is a great example. He made endless unconventional decisions that often worked out. But as soon as one didn't - like his pitching decisions in 2004 vs St. Louis or his handling of Lidge post-meltdown in 2005, etc - he still got railed on endlessly. It seems like the only way to not get railed on is to only make the conventional decision every time.
I can handle unorthodox, but that's a little ridiculous. And while it's great they won, Mills is showing a pattern of ineptitude here lately that you can't overlook. We were down to two pitchers (minus the other starters). Just because Myers can go 2 or 3 innings doesn't make it a good idea.
I don't really remember that much railing on him, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Obviously winning makes everything good, and losing makes everything bad.
I think what you have to look at is whether a team is under/over achieving based on what it has to work with. I remember reading that last year, we "should have" won several games more than we did based on some type of statistical analysis. I dont remember what factors they used. This year, there are those saying the same. Now maybe they are only looking at RS vs RA. I dont know. But if Mills is to be measured, it cant be based on one games management or W/L record. I am not a stat geek nor can I overwhelm you all with some kind of comprehensive stat analysis. But looking at how our offense, defense and pitching stacks up against other clubs, I really feel we should be closer to .500 than we are. Perhaps 11-12 instead of 9-14. And I think that Mills is responsible for most of that 2 game discrepancy. Just my take.
http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/05/01/state-of-the-team/ Overall Grades: Front Office: B+. Brad Mills: D- Apparently, our Mills concerns are acknowledged elsewhere.
http://www.astroscounty.com/ The Astros come off the series-opening win against the Mets last night, and we're waiting with ba(i)ted breath to see if Brad Mills has a blackout and takes J.A. Happ out of the game after the first batter. :grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:
Liked Garner a lot. I agree, dude had me scratching my head or yelling at the tv so often.....but it almost always seemed to work out.
pretty nuts if luhnow found our long-term starting ss with one quick under-the-radar trade shortly after taking over as GM.
Nope the only way to not get railed on is to make decisions that never turn out bad. Fair weather Fandom ftw!!!
At 28 years old, I don't see Lowrie being here long term. If he keeps up the good hitting and fielding and stays healthy, and with his cheap salary, the Astros may be able to get a nice prospect or 2 for him from a contender at the trading deadline. The fact that he won't be eligible for free agency until after next season will only help.
I see the Astros starting to reap the benefits of a building farm and good decision making in the 3-4 years window. Lowrie will be 31-32 years old. Not too old to be part of that if he and management mutually agree to resign/extend him.
The key is, he will be a FA after 2013 and may command big $ (again, if he stays healthy and keeps up the good hitting & fielding). Will the Stros be ready to hand out a big contract for 30 year old SS after 2013 and would Lowrie be willing to say? Hard to say if the team will be good enough by then to justify any of that. If Lowrie keeps up the good play and the Stros decide to keep him, and he reverts back to pedestrian hitting and ill health late this season and/or next season, the Astros could have missed out on an opportunity to pick up some prospects. Anyway, hard to say at this point. As we get closer to 7/31, it will be interesting to see if Lowrie can keep up the pace and present the Astros with a very nice dilemma. PS - This is also dependent on how Villar and/or Mier progress in the minors. If the Stros think one of them is our future SS, then it will be easier to turn Lowrie loose for prospects.
