This team has yet to win when losing after 6 innings. At somepoint Luhnow has to realize this team has been the mediocre mess it's been since June of last year and not the team that almost knocked off the Royals. Of course, given Luhnow's major league track record on trades, not sure there's any moves he'd make that I'd trust. Can we get Hunsicker back to make moves at the major league and just let Luhnow draft?
The Astros aren't going to want to pay him; he will be replaced by an internal candidate or some value signing late in the Spring hoping to rejuvenate his career.
just one more professional hitter. i blame the rays for not pitching to altuve. that's not how you're supposed to play the game!
You have guys like Danny Valencia who sign for cheap out there. We are mistakenly letting last year dictate this year. It's tough to watch.
What do you want him to do? He is told to make moves for impact players at less than huge dollars or that are on short deals... AND don't compromise the minors too much because in the future you won't have a competitive budget so the Astros better have guys to play well at low financial costs in the minors. It is a losing proposition. It is like asking someone to plug the hole in the boat and paddle back to shore.
The talent was overrated the same way the Rockets talent was overrated: by a fluke run. Rockets thought they were a PG away; went out and got one & didn't really tinker with the rest of the roster. Astros thought? they were a power bullpen arm away; went out and traded for one and signed Doug Fister. Fister was to be competing for the 4th/5th spot. He's currently their best SP. They didn't do much else. (Salary dumped Lowrie; dumped Conger for cash considerations; Villar for a minor-leaguer; let most of their FAs walk.) Same way the Rockets are lacking talent in general, Astros have holes up & down their lineup. SP is ehhh (probably being nice).
coaching is one of the main reasons the astros arent good. coaching was one of the main reasons the rockets had the season they had.
He sucked last season too. Low BA, low OBP, and strikes out a ton. He hit a couple homers in the postseason and of course management overreacted and gave this clown 15m. Unfreaking real.
I've been as big of a Luhnow proponent as anybody. Unless he's just completely hamstrung by Crane, I've been wrong. Our front office is without a doubt a HUGE problem right now. Stubbornness, cheapness, inflexibility, you name it - all problems. Big ones. Much like how I give McNair huge credit for bringing NFL back to Houston, but think he's been nothing but a putrid owner ever since, I give Luhnow credit for his scorched earth strategy to rebuild us. But he's clearly showing his enormous deficiencies as a GM now that last year's honeymoon is over.
Crane does realize that the goodwill the team built with fans from last year will disappear over the course of the season if they aren't competing for a playoff spot, right? At least I think it will and so will the small jump in attendance they've seen this year. It's just frustrating.
State it properly at least. Management reacted properly and gave him a contract that no player had previously accepted--and would have netted a pick if he declined. If he accepted, it was 1 year / low risk. The alternatives mentioned most often were Justin Upton (.226/.273/.344 for $133M) and Jayson Heyward (.226/.323/.313 for $184M)
I don't care for Hinch or McHale either and coaching can probably be better but that's just an easy scapegoat for fans. Fire the coach! Fire the manager! A.J. Hinch is holding the Astros back? (Or a specific coach? ie hitting coach/pitching coach/1B/3B/base-running coach) McHale was holding the Rockets back? No. But he was fired like everyone wanted! Then you got J.B. Bickerstaff. Oops, we'll take McHale back for now! Now we got Mike D'Antoni. Entertain me: Hinch is fired; who are we hiring? Let's hear some names. Don't tell me Brad Ausmus(who's a candidate to be fired any day between now & the end of the season). Don't tell me Bagwell or Biggio. No, not Joe Maddon either.
