Yulieski Gurriel agrees to 5/$47M deal with the Astros

i mean....if he was ready to sign a contract....shouldn't he be ready to play?

Anyway, loved watching last night, hoping for some more of the same. Good hitting.

 

I dunno. But one post did say that baseball players just stand around 90% of the time, thus negating any sort of athletic need at all.

You could start with that.

 

Gurriel has played more than 90 games in a season once.

He hasn't played organized baseball in a year.

Not surprised at all that he isn't playing every day.

It doesn't mean he won't play a lot for the Astros.

 

I swear to god I saw Reed walk to the plate in these unis and I could've bet you it was Charlie Kerfeld minus the glasses.

 

So what you are saying is that nothing has changed until 2 weeks from now?

 

But why? Why is it so hard for him to play baseball every day? Baseball is the least taxing sport outside of ping pong. That's why guys like David Ortiz can play every day.

Gurriel not having played organized baseball in a year should have no bearing on him playing every day...if it does, then it's not going to be a good outcome for someone that is only 32 years old. I know a lot is being made of his age, but he's plenty young for the sport.

 

Hate to even suggest it but what if he has some nagging injury?

 

it doesn't work like that.

You cannot take a baseball player, not have him play for a year and expect him to be ready to play every game. Players usually pace themselves in Spring Training after a 4 month break.

David Ortiz has been consistently training and playing for years. Also it is a lot more physically demanding that it looks.

The idea that a 32 year old, moving to a new culture and language; can sit out a season and with NO major league or high minor league experience could slide seamlessly into the majors and be a major contributor was a real stretch and shouldn't be counted on.

The purpose of the assignment to the minor leagues was to knock the rust off and get him in game shape. My understanding is he has been taking a lot of instruction and working and practicing quite a bit.

I wouldn't read too much into one way or the other.

 

Speaking of "guys like David Ortiz"....have you read about what his everyday day-game routine is just to get himself in shape to hit. Not play, just hit?

You're talking like someone who is allergic to dirt.

 

Just because it MAY be the least taxing doesn't mean it isn't taxing. These guys don't just show up at the park and play for 3+ hours. They get there a few hours earlier to work out. They play 162 games in around 180 days, so they average 6+ games every 7 days.

Tell the Rangers players who tend to play in 90+ degree heat day after day in the summer that baseball isn't taxing.

 

I think you have to really watch and pay attention.

What these guys do isn't as easy as some think.

Just swinging the bat 4x a night against someone throwing 95 mph is physically draining.

A lot of these players have 4-5 hour routines every day. Ortiz has talked about the weight room being a 2.5 hour long event every day during the off season. He also has cardio every day, and that doesn't count the work in the cage, stretching, watching tape and meeting with coaches.

When I was involved with the Astros, 20+ of the 25 men on the team had lengthy pregame workouts that last 2-3 hours. There were 2-3 that didn't have that level of discipline and work ethic but all of those players (other than Berkman) had short careers or changed their habits as they got older.

 

Right. It's as easy as ping pong.

Being a dentist is the least taxing medical vocation outside of being a podiatrist.

 

That's not how bar fights work

Better come out swinging or you gonna take a pool stick to the head

 

Unless you're with Gurriel everyday and also privy to exactly what the Astros are doing with him, I really don't understand how people have such a big problem with his handling thus far. I mean we basically know nothing other than he isn't playing everyday. Doesn't mean he isn't doing all sorts of other things necessary to be ready to play in a week or so.

I was guilty of being really impatient with the Astros and their handling of Bregman but he at least had a nice sample size of domination. This wasn't a this year and that's it signing, give him a second.

 

Yhis may have been posted way back in this thread but why didn't he play competitive baseball for over a year?

 

You Anti-Dentite b*stard......

 

Are you assuming that Gurriel has sat on his couch for the last year and just snacked on potato chips while binging on reality TV?

The guy is in great shape...or should at least be in great shape.

Obviously, these baseball players have 4-5 hour routines every day...but the most important part of getting someone back into the groove is making sure they are out on the field. You're not going to get acclimated to the pitching by watching from the sidelines. If that means shortening your stretching routine during the day in order to be able to DH at night, then that's what should be done. DH doesnt take much toll at all. The hardest part for Gurriel will be trying to gauge pitches coming his way and making contact.

Not sure if any of you remember a guy named Jorge Cantu. Used to play 3B for the Marlins, had some pretty solid, short term success as a pro. He's a good friend of mine...we've discussed this very topic, so that's my source.

 

Wasn't he competing in the Caribbean World Series when he and his brother defected in February of this year?

 

So Cantu agrees that only ping-pong is less taxing than baseball as a sport?

 

We gave him 50 mil . If his brother comes how much will he cost? I don't know if this is a good deal . I am sorta out of the loop regarding the current cost of baseball players and wins .

He's not playing at MLB yet . This organization has definitely shown a willingness to speed it's favored players through MILB . I'm assuming there is a good reason they are taking time with him . I'm pretty sure most people assumed it would be about a month before he came up .

I usually give the front office the benefit of the doubt . It's just rational . They have an immense amount of information with which to make decisions and they have many years of experience doing this kind of work . That being said it's perfectly acceptable to worry about the deal . The longer he stays down and takes to adjust to MLB the less value we get .

Frankly trust , isn't rational or assumed , I'm fully behind fans that don't trust this front office/ owner . They have been hesitant to spend and they purposely tanked for 3 years . Spending 50 mil on a Cuban who hasn't played in a year is a risky move and could impact future spending . In that vein I'm definitely worried/ relying a bit on gurriel to succeed.