Doubtful the players could have sabotaged the hiring if Espada had supporters in the building. Think about it. Chandler Rome claimed to have multiple sources within the Astros organization questioning Dusty not playing Chas and Diaz.
This is from a Chandler Rome article during the season last year….. “Yet nothing about McCormick’s playing time this season suggests any of that. Six Astros have taken more plate appearances than him. Seven have appeared in more games. His sporadic playing time is a constant source of frustration for some within the organization, who spoke on background because they were not authorized to speak publicly.” No matter how you feel about Dusty, you do not go leaking to the press especially when your team has a winning record, 1 season removed from winning a WS. Things that happen in the locker room should stay there. However, I don’t believe this source was Chas. It was someone higher. Possibly Espada. It was for damn sure someone within the clubhouse. https://theathletic.com/4840482/2023/09/07/chas-mccormick-dusty-baker-playing-time/
And this…. Curiosity remains as to why McCormick doesn’t play more, with few answers to be found and the issue seemingly one that goes beyond just matchups and defensive alignments. This week, four people with knowledge of the team’s inner workings said that McCormick’s weight has become a talking point for Baker. Like I said. Someone in that locker room was a rat and is still there. Might even be the current manager. I don’t care who the manager is. If a player has a supposed weight problem you don’t go running to the newspaper.
Btw, I believe Espada is the rat. Folks in the org expected Dusty to retire after 22. When he didn’t, all the anonymous articles started to come out. Yeah Espada is a snitch. Seems he felt for a reason he was the next manager in waiting after the sign stealing scandal, but the Astros hired Dusty to clean up their image.
I think the "rat" was Dana Brown. Maybe directly or maybe by directing some of his reports and requesting Rome not disclose the source. This doubles the effect since he was also on the record but could never be assertive enough to actually effect change.
Couple thoughts as most everyday prospects reach the 50 pa threshold: Surprised at how low Kenni Gomez’s ISO is. He’s hitting over .300 but has only 2 doubles and 1 HR. Taken with his low walk rate and high k rate, his 129 wRC+ is not as shiny as it looks. Still, a teenager having success in A ball is still a really good sign. The Astros hitting prospects are striking out at a very high rate in the early going. The average prospect has a 28% k rate this season. That would be fine if it was paired with huge power output, but the average iso is only .133. The 5 teenagers in Fayetteville have an average wRC+ of 111. Very very encouraging to see guys that young having relative success against guys 2-4 years older. AJ Blubaugh and Chase Jaworsky are the 2 prospects who have the most compelling case for a major breakout over this first month so far. Blubaugh only has 15 ip but if he is able to continue to be as dominant as he has been, in terms of stats he will be the best pitching prospect Houston has had in years, maybe in like 10 years.
I mean- not a better pitching prospect than 2017/2018 Whitley even though some small minded people think Forest has busted (it's clear that he's just waiting and taking his time to break out magnificently as evidenced by his 0.00 career MLB era). Who else is in that discussion prospect wise? Hunter Brown? I don't recall any of our current starters being considered much in the way of prospects and Franky Tuesday seems to be beyond the 10 year window you are talking about- but I'm not 100% sure that's the case. How good is Blubaugh potentially? Like top 50 prospect? Top 20 prospect? Top 100?
Isn’t Ausmus the bench coach for the Yankees?? Let’s kick out Espada and bring in Ausmus for some good ol espionage Kidding. Kinda…
This is from an article from 2010. Has there been a more recent success story of a mid-season managerial change. Since 1987, there have been 81 midseason managerial changes, one of which was in 1996 when Tommy Lasorda retired as Dodger manager after suffering a heart attack. Of those 80 changes due to firings, only 19 teams played better than .500 baseball after the change was made, some just barely. This does not include the changes that were made too early or late in the season to have a definitive impact. And only five teams made the playoffs following that change: the 1988 Boston Red Sox, the 1989 Toronto Blue Jays, the 2003 Florida Marlins, the 2004 Houston Astros and last year’s Rockies. Just six percent (5/80) of those teams which switched managers since 1987, made a good enough turn around to make the playoffs. Prior to 1987, there were 183 midseason changes (those not including the first or last 20 games of a season), with about 24 percent improving to a plus .500 team after the change.
