Surprised this isn't getting talked about more as it's one of the first reports of what a lot of people have suspected re: losing the locker room. I wonder who the two prominent players were? If I had to guess, probably Bregman was one. He looks miserable out there. I'm not too sure who the other might be.
From the article The Houston Astros plan to give rookie manager Joe Espada plenty of time to see if they turn their season around, particularly with their pitching injuries, but two prominent players have privately expressed complaints about Espada’s communication skills in recent weeks. If the Astros miss the postseason and decide to make a change during the winter, the two hottest managerial free agents this winter are Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox and Skip Schumaker of the Miami Marlins.
Doesn’t really surprise me tbh. Actually further validates my suspicion of Espada. The dude seems like such a lightweight pushover. When we were playing the Mariners and there was a questionable call, the home plate umpire pretty much yelled at Espada to not come out of the dugout to argue. Espada sat there like a b!tch. Showed me everything I needed to see.
Are we really so despondent with the start of this season that we're already beliving "sources said"? Even if this article is remotely true, 2 vet players asking the manager to communicate better does not, in any universe, equate to "losing the clubhouse."
Espada is in over his head. The position the team is in calls for someone that has already figured it out. If I were a true believer in him I would at least go get an experienced bench coach to help him along. Too bad Yogi is not still out there, but that is the kind of support Espada will need for the next couple of years.
The Nightengale stuff is old as far as I know. There were players chirping after the Cubs series and then some drama during the Yankees series. I haven't really heard of any issues going on for a couple of weeks now. Not sure how much of it was because of Espada anyway, they are sick of losing and keep expecting to go on a run. With the record being 10 games under .500%, players feel they can complain more than when you are over .500%. Espada had some guys in the pen complain very early in the season (and rightfully so) but they met and discussed it and it has been less of an issue. I know some of the guys like Dubon and Meyers have both wanted to play more and have expressed that - but whatever. We will tell a lot about this Astros team shortly......... they have a very easy schedule on paper..... Oakland like 7-8 times, they have a series with Brewers and then the Angels..... they play the Mariners again and then the Cardinals, Twins and Angels. If they take care of business, they should be close to .500% or above after their next 25-26 games.
Often times when a complaint of this nature is made, citing "communication issues" is shorthand for something worse.
They didn't like how they were being used, and did not like that they did not consistently know when they would be used. It is something Espada can get better at - and he has overall been better than the first two weeks of the season. The question is, how much of this is because the Astros are losing....... and how much of it is that Baker and Hinch both were very good at keeping relationships strong or at least quiet in the clubhouse. I tend to think a lot of it is losing - because Hinch couldn't even get the players to take down the television near the dugout.
Its also not as if Espada has been a part of this clubhouse for years already and is just "getting to know" these guys. Sure, now he's got to have the most direct hands/on relationship with all players... but part of the decision to hire him was because of how presumably easy he'd fit in (as he was already part of the team).
If this is right, then how the players feel probably hasnt changed much (were still losing). The difference, if there is one, is it became public.
Or being familiar enough with a stable roster that it shouldn't be a hurdle. All this stuff gets overblown when losing though. People think managers are spending hours on end micro-managing individual players or just spending office hours as glorified counseling/therapy sessions. Sure, some managers have had to do that from time to time to get players through either a rough stretch or if they have some personal/away from the ballpark issues... but its not necessarily the day-in/day-out main part of the job (but it is a part), and even less-so for a veteran team... which this is. But the best managers know when to spend more time with an individual... when to leave others alone... and be able to be personable enough to where players will voluntarily come to them for advice or suggestions. Some people take to that immediately and are naturally gifted... for others it takes years to develop. We all know experienced veteran managers have that stuff down on auto-pilot and the in-game strategy/lineup stuff evolves over time based on analytics or individual trends (combined with years of context/handling similar issues before, etc.). Fans may know what moves to make in any given game... and how to possibly set up a bullpen schedule/rotation based on usage, health, age, etc.... but the inner-working of clubhouse dynamics/chemistry is something no fan has perfect insight on.
The difference between being The Manager and his previous position is considerable. He will have to go through a full season including the play-offs just to understand what he faces, and at least another season to begin to get comfortable doing it.
This is true - Espada does know the clubhouse well and the players and GM went to bat for him. However - what Espada and the Astros are learning is that being the top guy is different, and in some cases harder when you are internally promoted, because in the back of the players minds is the fact that he wasn't the top guy before and so they may not treat him as the top guy. Lets see what the next month brings - we will have a good idea. If they are 10-15 games below .500% in a month, then it is likely over. This is a cush part of the schedule for the Astros to pick up games, and the best way to do that isn't just winning series, it is ripping of 5 out of 6 or 8 out of 10. Espada now has Valdez and Verlander back and Javier was likely just rusty..... that gives him Valdez/Verlander/Blanco/Javier on the mound at least 4 out of 6 games and possibly 5. Also Brown has pitched better (which doesn't mean much). So - the pieces are there to start winning games.
Agreed. I hope its just rust for Javier. Running out of ways to optimize him for an entire seasons worth of starts, and reaching the part of the year where they gotta know what they're getting from the guys they are counting on.
