they have a shift on him, he does not go the other way, at least move the 3b to play as a REAL 3b and maybe some holes will open and his average goes from .211 to .230
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Altuve messing with Chris Carter. <a class="hashtag" action="hash" title="#Astros">#Astros</a> <a href="https://t.co/N2PYuWeSEZ" title="https://vine.co/v/iTJnF7DteW3">vine.co/v/iTJnF7DteW3</a></p>— PDS (@PatDStat) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatDStat/status/719242029046206464" data-datetime="2016-04-10T19:13:57+00:00">April 10, 2016</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In that situation, they had a runner on 2nd, 2 outs and the pitcher on deck. Castro's job is to try and drive in the run. I can GUARANTEE you that Hinch or any other manager in the entirety of organized baseball, would not want Castro bunting in that situation.
Not sure why you guys continue to try and engage him... as if you're going to get a solid back/forth going at any point. Its only been 5 games... and he's reached a whole new level of annoyance.
Oh, I get all that. But is it Castro, or is that lack of them acquiring a quality backup? I would also argue once again that he is a very good defensive catcher and he is not the problem with the offense (if there is one, I mentioned it earlier), so I don't get the hate. The top guys in the order will turn around, though. Gomez is much more problematic at this point, but he provides very good defense at a premium position (much like Castro), though there is Marisnick waiting for PT. Bat Castro 8th like the NL'ers do if you have to, put somebody in the 9 spot that can be on base when Altuve/Springer come up (not your typical 1-2 hitters). Again...if they had decent starting pitching, they'd have 1 loss at most so far.
Nobody is blaming him for losses... but he is in a pretty terrible place at the plate right now, and as much as he wanted to improve his approach and technique in ST, it hasn't yet translated. That's the criticism/hate/whatever (which you're certainly over-blowing... nobody is saying anything new while Gomez, Springer, Altuve are getting plenty of run from the knee jerks). And again, his defense is still not good enough to overcome that. And having Gattis catch again is entirely on Castro and his continued regression at the plate (along with other viable DH options). Its also unlikely Castro is retained long-term (while Gattis has some club control), so whatever move they ultimately may make for a future catcher would still need some insurance.
