Not even sure why he was batting; lefty-on-lefty. And I absolutely would have had him swinging away 3-0; almost any ball in play scores the run: why not make it easier on him. That sort of mystified me. I mean, honestly... you'll take a walk there, obviously... but a walk puts the double play on the table. Let him swing away and make contact.
At this point, I feel that way about everyone in the lineup. They're simply not getting hits with RISP...and it's not just one guy. The entire lineup is doing that, it seems.
We just can't put a complete game together. Way too many mental mistakes. Constantly having other teams take advantage of our mistakes and failing to capitalize on the ones we receive. If the offense shows up, the pitching doesn't. If the pitching shows up, the offense doesn't. 5 of the first 7 batters reached base safely via walk, hit, or HBP and yet 0 runs. Those things shouldn't happen. If Gomez doesn't get caught in that rundown, the team scores on Castro's dribbler. Instead, nothing. Easiest way to beat this team is put people on base, because we can't hit with people on base. 16 solo HRs. .836 OPS with nobody on, .640 with men on. Get that runner into scoring position and it drops to .575. It makes some sense, as the bottom of the lineup is terrible, but damn it.
They've lost games in every possible way: hitting, pitching, fielding, baserunning. It's maddening, I can't imagine how frustrated Luhnow, Hinch & Co are right now.
we need to go streaking! this has to be one of the toughest 2 week schedules to open up the season. with one of our stud pitchers down and brain farts, our record is who we are.
There is absolutely no way that Hinch is already on the hot seat. He's a solid manager. The team just hasn't put it all together so far this season. 15 games isn't anything to fire a good manager over. Although, I really can see Luhnow going after a catcher and another ace before/at the trade deadline. Castro's defense is good, but he can't hit to save his life. A guy like Lucroy might not be as good defensively but is light years ahead of Castro at the plate. And as far as pitchers, I have a gut feeling that it's gonna be tough to count on McCullers to be a true #2 this year. So bringing in a big name pitcher at the deadline seems like a priority to me.
Something to keep in mind... we've played an incredibly difficult schedule so far. The Yankees are at the least a solid team, no real excuse for losing the series in MIL, the Royals are great as we all know, the Tigers aren't slouches by any means and the Rangers are a good team as well. With series against the Red Sox, Mariners, A's, Twins, Mariners, and Indians upcoming, I'm not terribly worried about where this team is right now. If they are anything worse than 12-7 in those 19 games, then I will begin to get worried, but not yet.
Hummmm, Lets see. The Rockets got far last year in the playoffs. Farther than many thought they would. The Astros got far last year in the playoffs. Farther than many thought they would. CHECK. The Rockets basically kept the same team in tact from last year expecting similar results. The Astros basically kept the same team in tact from last year expecting similar results. CHECK The Rockets came out of the gate this year stone cold. The Astros came out of the gate this year stone cold. CHECK The Rockets fired their head coach early in the year after having extending him. The Astros ... ... ... ... ????
Let's see what the team does in this upcoming softer stretch in the schedule. If the team continues to play bad baseball then yes changes need to occur including putting some heat on Hinch. The team hasn't just been slumping to start the year but they are making some minor league mistakes. Almost as if they are in the midst of spring training or something. Looking at the beginning schedule I didn't think they would have the April they had last year but the way they are playing is still very concerning.
The Astros are not dogging it and not playing hard. The Rockets looked like they quit on the court every game.
No just saying if they can't right the ship against lesser teams then it is definitely time for changes. Some of the Pollyannas on here keep saying it's too early to make major changes. I think it wouldn't hurt to make some changes including sitting dead weight like Gomez down for an indefinite time and calling up Kemp.
Lesser teams? Yanks are 5 and 8. Then Brewers, they are 7 and 8, and they are not a good team. Then we faced the Royals, in a 4 game series. You know how difficult is to lose a 4 game series, especially at home? We did. We beat the Tigers and we did not face their best pitcher, Zimmerman. And now the Rangers. They were just 1 game over .500 before they beat us twice. Is not like we are playing teams with great records, is just that ours is one of worse in baseball.
Gomez can come up with a mysterious injury and get sent to the DL if you know what I mean. He is a negative and hurting the team the worse right now of the position players along with Castro but there's no one in the minors yet ready to take his place. Gomez being an everyday player is bad for the team right now.
not to mention the 25 man. I'd be fine with a trade of Gomez at this point--but it's probably not feasible. I suppose if Gattis proves himself capable of catching, they can use Kratz's roster spot on both the 25 and 40 for Kemp (or Duffy)
