Good news is you don’t have to buy tickets to see the Astros this summer. Save some serious real money
Yesterday's loss compounded the sting of Saturday's unnecessary loss. Not getting a sweep would've been ok, from going from winning this series to losing is just infuriating. In my mind Saturday's loss was the worst of the year and could be the beginning of a final downward spiral. The bullpen which is supposed to be our biggest strength blew yet another win. Then in extras with a free baserunner and the best part of our lineup coming up we couldn't even get one run across the plate. This team came out broken right out of the gate, I don't know who is to blame really, but in situations like this a manager shakeup can do wonders. I couldn't have been more wrong about Espada, and now it makes sense why he has been passed over so many times by the Astros and by other clubs in the past. Clearly he is not a viable manager.
Bregman has never had fire. He just doesn't put much importance in winning and losing. He uses baseball to fund his other hobbies which is where his true passion lies.
Any team can lose 2 of 3 to any other team. In a vacuum, this series doesn't mean anything. The hole is just a couple of inches deeper. It's just that the team REALLY needed it to be positive.
I disagree. I think Bregman WAS all baseball all the time and he had a huge chip on his shoulder when not drafted in the first rd out of HS and then not #1 overall. He wanted to win very badly. Some guys accomplish the ultimate and need it again. Some guys do it and look for the next challenge. I think he has won twice and that's why the fire isn't there. Also, meeting Regan and starting a family has divided his focus and ambitions. Absolutely nothing wrong with any of that. It just sucks as an Astros fan.
Ball was juiced in 2018 and 2019. Also, he never mentally got over the scandal breaking after the 2019 season. Completely different demeanor since the start of 2020. Different player.
The last time we were REALLY good, the guy batting 2nd is the guy who so far has been maybe our best hitter this year. I'm not saying it will turn things around, but I would Altuve Pena Yordan Tucker Diaz Bregman Chas Caratini Meyers ** I was one of the biggest outward supporters of Yordan 2 and Tucker 3 and I still think our best two hitters should generally be there, but we have no one driving in runs. When Bregman gets going (he will) then you can always readjust
Maybe dropping him to 6th will add another "much needed" chip on his shoulder. I really think it's just chance he's starting worse than normal. Dude is in a contract year and that alone should be enough to motivate his performance. It shouldn't matter who the manager is, family distractions, or any other excuse. He's playing for a contract. This entire season has begun so weird. I would call it a curse, but Stros could've at least won the championship last year first. Sheeeiit... the curse began last season. Arlington celebrated.
You are correct. His dugout performance was an incredible boost to a great team having fun. He is far from our biggest problem even with his expected slow start. Our bullpen melt down and injuries have hurt us to start the season. The problem to solve is 1b. I hate replacing Maldonado’s production with an even worse production from Abreu. Diaz is as advertised. Fix 1b and the lineup is the best in the league. If Hader and Presley suck all year we are done.
Huh? Bregman has been a baseball junkie his entire life and all accounts of him are that he is obsessed with baseball and with winning. I assume you’re basing your claim on the fact that he does HEB commercials and sells salsa, but that’s pretty ridiculous.
Agree I'm not saying Bregman is bad. He is what he is. That's a dependable (full season totals anyway) 4 WAR player who will end up bring the 4th-6th best player on the team and very important. But he changed from the 6+ WAR player he could have continued to be, and that change was triggered by off the field decisions/influences
Bregman would be a lot better off in the eyes of fans if the balls weren't so juiced in 2019 and he didn't happen to get so lucky with backspin on his fly balls that year. That being said, Bregman's current batted ball profile is a mess. I would guess the problem is he is trying too hard than not hard enough.
I feel like he lost his swag when Hinch ripped him a new one for carrying his bat to 1st base during the 2019 World Series. Like he never quite recovered from that.
