Screw throwing a guy out there based upon "track record". Can see doing that from April to mid August, but when you're in a battle to make the playoffs (more importantly winning your division) you just can't do it. It's about producing, and some of these guys have NO freakin business being out there. You can't wait around (and hope) for "track record" at this juncture. The 'Stros have a good nucleus moving forward after this season, but there's no damn guarantee they'll be in this position next year or the years to come. As Hey Now stated when you're in a position to go for it you do it. Especially for a franchise who's NEVER won a World Series.
Nobody should be jumping off the ledge based on recent results... but its obvious that if the Astros go on to win the division along with make noise in the playoffs, it will be despite the production at 1B, not because of it. Its a position that was not conceivably maximized in terms of attempting all potential possibilities. Some of it was wishful hoping that Carter could re-duplicate an unlikely hot streak... some of it was 40 man shenanigans... some of it could literally be a "we are who we are" mindset and it doesn't matter what we have there as long as the other guys perform. I just think it was a mistake... and one that can be looked back on with criticism as to how it was handled (provided they don't win the WS this season).
Yes is strikeout number are very high but that was what this team was built around a bunch of hr hitters with high strikeout numbers so sitting him doesn't make much sense at this point so put him back in there because if he does get hot i think we all know what he can do.
Agreed. (and apologies because the below isn't what your post was exactly about) But speaking of not jumping off a ledge based on recent results, I've carefully stepped down a couple ladder rungs on my "expectations ladder" based on the team's performance since roughly mid-May. Around mid-May, the Astros sailed to ten games over .500. Pre-Correa. Since then, they have drifted between 8 and 14 games over .500 (hitting that high mark six times--they are 0-6 when 14 games over .500) and currently sit at 12 games over .500. So, the first six weeks, which included a seriously fun 10-game winning streak: 10 games over .500. The 15-or-so weeks since: 2 games over .500. Good, but not great, team. If somebody not named Altuve or Correa doesn't heat his bat up, I expect the Astros to fall just short of the postseason or make a quick exit. Consider the dumpster this franchise has been in since the close of 2008, I'll take it. Meaningful baseball in September! How cool is that? Here's to some more of the younger guys become plus major leaguers in 2016 or 2017. Would love to rule the AL for five or six years. As long as we're forced to play in this craptastic league, we might as well dominate. :grin::grin:
Was anyone else anxious-to-maybe-a-bit-unhappy about this back in March? Because I was. I don't like "softball" or "homerball" or "AL-ball". Too inconsistent. And, that's exactly what this offense has become. Dreadfully, woefully inconsistent. Infinitely more fun that anything from the last six years, but they're going to get run out of the playoffs (if they make it) faster than Kevin Brown chased us in '98 unless someone goes all Chris-Carter-turned-Reggie-Jackson-for-three-weeks again.
i don't want to be that guy...that gives up on players too quickly as I usually live to give rooks three seasons, but could we have landed Cespedes instead of Gomez? Rasmus/Springer/Cespedes wishing gomez can bring it to close out the season.
I agree, but we also haven't had "on" Altuve + Correa + Springer together yet. It feels like those 3 can change the complexion of the team so drastically when combined with real pitching
If Springer returns to form and Gomez can get it going... the Astros are a very dangerous team. Gomez is .323/.371/.516/.888 his last 8 games - if it's a sign of him settling in, turning the corner... that bodes well.
So now Lowrie is killing the ball, and Gomez has been excellent in his last 11 games (.310/.362/.476). Funny how letting guys with track records play their way through slumps usually will yield results. Valbuena has posted a solid .778 OPS over the last 3 months. Gattis since his abysmal start has also posted a solid .777 OPS. We'll see where his year end OPS is. Anybody who wants to argue for or against Gattis can selectively choose how far to go back in his game log. He hasn't been great this year overall, but he can still finish the year with really good numbers. The Astros and their terrible offense who makes all pitchers look good, has somehow managed to average 5.8 runs over the last 11 games. Luhnow won't panic, he assembled this team. He isn't gonna make changes because of a bad stretch, he knows what these guys can and can't do. And also, as expected, Carter has yet to have a meaningful PA in September, so he isn't completely oblivious to knowing when to stop running a guy out there. With all hands available, I have every reason to believe our offense can be as potent as anybody's.
I agree with you, i have my reservations about Gattis for one reason, and one reason only, we have Tucker and i would like to give Tucker more at bats as a DH. Gattis is doing much better in the second half, but still Tucker's numbers vs righties are still better. I am not saying complete platoon here, but more games to Tucker, and IF IT WORKS, continue doing in it.
...on a hot streak. 4-6 in their last 10. (Last night, of course, was Fields's fault and not the offense.) 2 games over .500 since mid-May. That hardly qualifies as a "bad stretch"; it's roughly half the season. This team is a good, not great, team. I hope they get super hot end of September and stay that way through October. :grin:
Of course... but they have had great pitching for the majority of the season. The offense was a disaster when Springer first went down... and in-general on the road. If they do happen to miss the playoffs, there are a few places in the lineup that could/should have been upgraded far earlier in the year... if not for the game of statistical chicken they played.
You're ignoring the fact that Lowrie and Springer both missed a large portion of that. Also Marisnick was producing at pitcher levels (sub .500 OPS), now we have Gomez who is finally starting to perform up to his level. Correa also missed all of May. The Astros team that was treading water, isn't the same team we are fielding right now. And since we are cherry picking stretches, we are 26-21 since the ASB, which is a 90 win pace.
And I should add that this team has the 3rd best run differential in the majors, which is often on of the best indicators of how good a team is.
Wasn't even thinking about that... I just notice in general, whether its regards to the overall team, or Gomez, or Gattis, or Marisnick, or any topic where theres a varying trend of performance based on the sample size, you'll always be able to find the "good" stretches and highlight them. Its a good trait... I'd keep it up... definitely outweighs all the negativity that usually pervades these boards. (and as far as the Carter thing... it defies all logic/reason at this point to the level that nobody can be "right" on him... hell, wouldn't be surprised to see him in the lineup again tonight because at one time in his career he got a hit against Gray).
I get just as irritated as other people, but i certainly do try to stay optimistic, objectively so most of the time. It's not just this board, it's sports fans in general. I've never understood how such a large portion of them are so miserable all the time. As soon as something goes wrong, or their team is challenged, they fold up and start complaining.
