Candelario seems average to me. Guess we'll see. Great move for the Cubs regardless as Candelario is blocked and not exactly young so his value isn't getting any higher.
And the Astros would take either team's successes, right? The Braves past 25yrs is an automatic preference, but I don't believe I would take the Marlins' last 25 years instead of the Astros'. We have two hall of famers and a lot of things to be proud of in that span of time.
No one thought bagwell was going to hit 40 hr. Nothing in his minor league track record said he was going to be that good. Sometimes its just luck. The astros rule 5d abreu and santana. There are going to be other good prospects.The astros have very good offense. If they can get some pitching they have a great chance to get to the WS. The astros have few years before they pay people. They better be going all in.
I think the Marlins and Braves are a really interesting contrast. Let's suppose the Braves *didn't* win a title. Which would you (or anyone) prefer: Decades of sustained success, enjoyment for 7 months out of the year every year, building connections with players, but with no ultimate title. 2 years of championships and everything that comes with that, but most years being out of contention by May People say a title is the only goal, but it's really not - *entertainment* is the goal. The more seasons you're in contention, the more total happiness fans are going to get. And sports, ultimately, is about entertainment. It's why middle-tier teams don't just tank everything in the hopes of being the Astros (the Astros did it out necessity because the team was left for dead).
I agree. Every day after a 10-12hr work day I come home completely stressed out and looking to unwind. In the summers this is easier than in the winters because of the Astros, and it is much easier when they are great like they are this year. I think people in their American quest to be first because "if you ain't first yer last!" have overlooked the part where being a fan of a team is a journey, not just an end. Baseball more than the other major sports is about that journey. Process over goals. It doesn't have to be as stark as Marlins vs Braves. Surely the Astros come somewhere in the middle, but think about this other goal than winning a championship: the Astros in consecutive years have put guys in the Hall that stayed their whole careers with us. They are our guys, end of story. How common is that? This article was done before a few more guys entered the Hall, but 50 is a good number to throw out: https://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/hall-of-famers-who-played-for-one-team/ In essence, having a one-team career HOFer is rarer than a championship which happens once a year. We got two in two years. Or more appropriately, two in the past 30 years, people whose 20yr careers we got to enjoy day in and day out because they won and did it the right way. Isn't that valuable too? And it's not like fostering and hosting such a talent is mutually exclusive with winning a title; in contrast, it's most certainly a predictor for title contention. Right now we've got two guys that have a similar chance to be HOFer's, and to spend their whole careers as Astros. It's something else to appreciate without getting bogged down by the day-in day-out criticisms of the team.
For all the argument I've made about a trade not being absolutely necessary, the major issue with the bullpen is changing my opinion on that matter. I only feel good about one guy out of the bullpen at this point, and I'm not confident you can just drop Peacock and Morton in and assume they will be great. More importantly, unlike a front end starter, it shouldn't be cost prohibitive.
Doesn't have to always be the hyperbole of the two most extreme examples. Would you rather have the A's last 25 years or the Blue Jays? Would you rather have the Cardinals last 25 years or the Phillies? Would you rather have the Rays last 15 years, plus going forward, or the Astros? Sure, it's all about entertainment. It's also about winning championships, which in and of itself is damn entertaining. Nobody is asking this front office to replicate a Marlins-like model. Nobody is asking them to give up all their top prospects for just this year. You've taken the "do nothing/stand pat" approach a little too personally... And I don't feel as comfortable as you with Fiers pitching meaningful innings at any point of a critical game.
It's the same pen... they were on their way to having issues given that starters were rarely getting to 6. I disagree that Peacock wouldn't be effective. He has been already this year, and as recently as Friday. He's been consistent all season, unlike Fiers and Morton. Morton is intriguing because he has explosive stuff and is typically great the first couple of times in the order. That seems like it has a great chance of translating to the bullpen, but I agree that you don't know for sure till he does it. Right now, it doesn't seem like they'll be willing to give up the asking price for a starter. No contending team has blinked yet.
I never said Peacock won't be effective, just that he's never been used in a high leverage relief role. You never know how pitchers respond to that. Harris was never overused, he went on the DL. Didn't mean much at first, but when he went back on the DL alarm bells went off. Devo's struggles were a little more forseeable given he's never done this for a full 162. He still may recover and be awesome, but at this point you have to be concerned. I though we had at least 3 great arms, with the potential to add some more with Peacock, Morton and maybe Gregerson. Now we only have one pitcher that is actively doing the job we hope he will do in October. The bullpen could very well come together and be awesome, but the price for insurance out of the bullpen is much more reasonable than insurance for a starter. I would be very surprised if we don't make any moves at this point.
Wow I just checked and the Astros bullpen era is ranked #22. Guess who's in the top 5 right now? Cleveland, Yankees, and Red Sox, teams in our conference.
I agree but it's hard to nail down which prospects they don't have room for. Imho This is the list of grade 50 and above guys who are superfluous: Reed Moran Davis Teoscar Alvarez Martes Paulino Armenteros F Perez Musgrove Those 10 guys should be MORE than enough to land 2 players who can help this years team in a significant way. And this would be the org Top 10 after those moves: K Tucker Whitley Fisher Bukauskas Cameron C Perez Rogers H Perez Stubbs Nova When you have one of the top 10 best catching prospects in the game as your 7th best prospect, you have a really good farm.
Astros need a TOR starter, then let Peacock and Morton multi-IP in the playoff. Collin and Lance can be trusted as a #3/4 with Mor-**** backing up. Harris might be proving another bull arm is needed. If we do nothing, but are healthy, I'm as confident as '98.
I am concerned about the health and effectiveness of Keuchel and McCullers... I'm concerned about what appears to be a heavily taxed bullpen... I'm concerned about trusting a playoff game(s) to Mike Fiers. I've watched Astros baseball my entire life, and I've never seen a lineup this good. I'd hate to think we didn't take advantage of it. I'm not suggesting "selling the farm." No one is...but this team already has a young core that isn't going anywhere...that young core has produced some ridiculously great offensive numbers this season. You don't have to break up the future to make a trade. I like Bregman, but holy crap I'd rather have Chris Sale right now.
An "all-in" day would be 2 relievers and a starting pitcher. That would leave this team without a single arguable weakness. With a bullpen of Fiers, Peacock, TBD, TBD, Devenski, Harris, and Giles (with Sipp and Gregerson taking to no leverage situations), and being able to add Morton to the bullpen in the playoffs, they can compete with anybody in terms of pitching staff.
