I don't follow the minors but pretty sure the normal contenders/buyers will be able to fire their cannon later if they want, even after firing their cannon at the deadline. Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Indians, Nationals...
And then, when we don't pay the elevated offseason price, all of the know-it-all fans will tell us to stop whining and that Luhnow will just address all areas of need at the trade deadline when prices are lower.
I think even the most knowledgable Astros fans don't fully grasp this concept. Contenders will be able to continue to go after trade targets... whether its via trading their best prospects now, or the prospects that are determined to be the best in the off-season. Prospect perception is a dynamic force... Whitley was not thought of as untouchable when the season began (but Martes was). There's still a good chunk of minor league ball to be played where another untouchable could emerge... or a Super 2/September call-up could make serious noise for the rest of the major league season.
It is hilarious to read the beginning of this thread.... where acquisitions/upgrades were not only desired by all, but fully expected. Even when they were beginning to separate themselves, the prevailing optimism was that they'll have a chance to get even better at the deadline.
you hear mlb analysts say they heard from opposing GMs saying the deals we sent them were "insults" and then Lunhow says he tried as hard as he could.... someone is lying
Reality is the team is trending down at this point. Hitting is slowing down without Correa and Springer. Pitching is a question mark every game. We're hoping whoever is pitching not to implode. Team confidence is not where it was at the beginning of the season. So even if we are a good team on paper, we are not striking fear into our rivals anymore. Whereas teams who beefed up at the trade deadline will receive a psychological and performance boost.
I am less than thrilled about how Luhnow AND Crane have taking to the PR waves in order to salvage what happened... most of the time, they make decisions/moves without a single worry about what the paying fan thinks (and most of the time, that's for good reason... since the average paying fan isn't going to make sound baseball decisions).... but now, they apparently find it necessary to save face amongst the fans in broadcasting about how hard they tried. I have yet to see this regime really care about how they're perceived by the fans/media... till now. Which tells me that Reid and the marketing guys really needed them to say something to try and not diminish the fan interest that is still in the process of coming back after the 2011-2014 suck-a-palooza. They're currently middle of the pack in attendance. Post-season games will be guaranteed sellouts, but there's unlikely to be an extra boost from a pennant chase that contending teams do usually benefit from.... and with Rangers fans unlikely to permeate the stands for the remaining head-to-head games like they have in years past, there's a chance that attendance/interest could actually subside (vs go up) to end the season. But... dollar dog days will always be profitable.
In this case, that person is you. We heard from *one* MLB analyst that said offers from various GMs on one player (Britton) were considered insulting. That's completely different than what you posted. Not multiple analysts. Not opposing GMs (one front office - Baltimore) Not deals we sent them - but deals they got from evertone That fits well with what we hear everywhere else, which is that the Orioles agreed to a trade that got vetoed by the owner.
When the bullpen imploded down the stretch and into October in '15, the Astros traded for Ken Giles in the offseason. When a line-up heavy with high-K/low OB% hitters sunk the '16 season, the Astros signed Gurriel and rushed Bregman through the minors, signed Beltran & Riddick and traded for McCaan. If starting pitching ultimately undoes the Astros, what in their (granted brief) history makes you think they won't address it in the offseason?
Ugh. It's been 48 hours and I'm still livid. I know this is unreasonable, but I can already tell that every game we lose due to starting pitching woes or bullpen issues, I will get mad at Luhnow again. Every time I hear about Sonny Gray, I'm going to want to change the channel. Every time I see Wilson or Watson in a big game, I'm going to feel sick. No matter how it goes down, if we don't win the World Series I can already tell that I will remember July 31 as the first time all season that I thought we might not win it all. The first time I realized that we weren't going to plug the holes. We KNEW we needed pitching help. Harris, McCullers, Feliz, and Sipp all on the DL within a 48 hour period. We've given up 13 runs in the 2 games since the deadline. And to top it off, a huge portion of #astrostwitter has the nerve to mock anyone who dares criticize our Glorious Leader Luhnow, even though he looked like he had just seen a ghost in his interviews immediately after the deadline. He knows he blew it. I get that not all of this was 100% his fault, but that's not an excuse. True or not, his moves + Keuchel's comments have now opened the door for 2017 to forever be remembered in Astros lore as "the year they didn't go for it." Praying Keuchel turns in a good performance tonight, or it will get even uglier.
We're officially at the point where fans just make up narratives out of thin air. Where is your measure of team confidence? Where is the evidence that teams are scared of other teams and play worse as a result?
Astros can't get Archer. He's issued a Declaration of Unfriendliness against Orbit. http://www.chron.com/sports/astros/...ness-Astros-Orbit-11721828.php#photo-13481665
Fan reaction was immediately scathing. FO misread the psychology of the team and the fans. I said uh-oh when days before the deadline Luhnow kept saying we want to bolster our pitching but won't overpay. He was not going all out to win.
If the asking price from us was similar to what it was from the Yankees we should have pulled the trigger on a Sonny Gray trade. I was expecting sticker shock, but they basically got 3 second tier prospects, and 2 of them are down with major injury. Not sure about Britton, but considering he went nowhere, I'm assuming the owner was price gouging after the GM's agreed on a fair trade. Disappointed we didn't add a bullpen arm because I think that has become a real issue. My opinion on our postseason chances hasn't changed much, nor would it have if we added some help. The gulf we have created has put us in a strange spot. It almost feels like we're just playing out the string. We're simply gonna be watching the pennant chase, but not actually involved in it just like the bad teams. Combine that with the negative PR vibe from the trade deadline. Now we've got fans acting like this is a trash organization, and we're hopelessly going nowhere despite winning 100 games. It's very strange.
During those terrible years, one of your big complaints was that the team didn't care about PR and you thought they risked losing their fanbase long term as a result, etc. Now you're upset that they do care about PR?
Not saying we won't . But if you wait until the end of the season to adress issues then those moves are too late . Also , we have taken the cheapest route towards solving these problems ( not a bad thing ) . Part of the reason Giles cost a lot in terms of prospects is because he is under team control for a few years . With starting pitching , there is no cheap solution ... Unless it comes from our own farm. And the problem with using that solution is that they might not be available to pitch in the postseason . To get an ACE you have to pay out the ass. We haven't shown a willingness to do that so far.
I'm speaking from what I think Keuchel will do, not blatantly pushing aside the moves Luhnow has made to get the team to the top of baseball. This is all Keuchel...
The right moves will probably be made at Winter Meetings probably and I have a feeling it'll be a statement move.
