Luhnow should get credit for Altuve being extended. Crane should get credit on all FA signings. If he opened budget for someone like Springer, that would be even more on Crane. Click fitting Gurriel and Brantley within the budget Crane has given him is on Click. I'm not sure if Click is a great GM or not. However, if the judgement is based solely on what he's done and what has happened, he's getting more wins per money on his signings than most teams get. Granted, this is a really small sample. If Click is a bad GM, I doubt it will be because of FA signings.
What's good about eating innings if you're going to throw it up before the 3rd inning even starts. Stros don't need Bulimic pitchers. He should eat innings after the starter is done, say innings 5-8. See how that goes. Because as a starting innings eater he's been a failure.
I do not refute that Odorizzi was brought in to eat the innings lost by Valdez or as an innings eater in a young rotation. But of the options they now face, a six man rotation saves about 33 innings over a season while disrupting the tried and true five man rotation rest schedule. Right now, the BP needs help as much as starters need rest. Javier has significantly reduced innings since he was taken out of the rotation. At some point, reduced innings could affect sharpness. I do wonder if some entirely new concept could be used like a seven man rotation with the middle starter available for a couple of innings between starts. I know it sounds crazy, but so did Openers a couple of years ago. And 100 pitch limits in the early 70s.
I have no personal insight or rooting interest towards Click ... so I'm not chiming in with any real opinion of him ... Forget about him for a minute, and let's just step back and evaluate the position of New 2020 Astros GM as a job opening for any candidate Just listing out the set of circumstances ANYONE hired for the job would have inherited ... I am quickly overwhelmed with the magnitude of obstacles stacked against whomever took on the challenge: - COVID No first time GM has ever faced the unique set of budgetary, scheduling, amateur-draft and logistical nightmares that made 2020 the strangest MLB season I have witnessed Also caused cancellation of entire year of minors development Amateur draft without any scouting updates that was shortened to only 5 rounds hurt too - SCAPEGOAT Newly-minted villains of MLB Somehow responsible for all Sign-Stealing in the history of baseball, and universally loathed by just about every other fan base, hypocrisy be damned - SANCTIONS In addition to following the most successful, beloved brain trust the franchise ever had, he didn't have a top-100 pick in either of his first 2 drafts And I believe he and Crane were "assigned" Dusty as a watchdog via the Commish - CLOSING WINDOW Since the beginning of Luhnow's master plan to build an extended window of contention, 2020-21 was always destined to be the start a tough transition era for this core of players Losing Game 7 in 19 was the end of the 100-win run as an elite team ... by design As the young roster aged and guys ARB years began to expire, the budget dictated severe attrition of elite talent that was never going to be kept intact by any GM (Cole, Springer, Osuna) - ROTATION DECIMATION 2018 was the finest unit the Astros have ever assembled In only 2 years since, only the #5 LMJ remains First Keuchel & Charlie walked Greinke helped replace some of that Until the best SP on Earth left for NYC The devastation was completed with 3 concurrent, devastating injuries to our best rotation arms: Past - JV Present - LMJ Future - Whitley Click inherited all of that I can't hate on his performance under those unprecedented circumstances 2020 squad made the aborted season memorable with an exciting playoff run while developing a glut of talented young arms on the fly 2021 club has performed as fringe top-5 contender Lineup remains elite despite replacing heart&soul Springer with the empty uniform of Straw Rotation has been rebuilt around tremendous depth despite losing 2 of 5 best Starters in all of baseball back-to-back Bullpen has always been the weak-link unit of this club and it remains a dumpster fire If I'm Crane, these are my marching orders to Click for what I want to see from him rest of 2021: - Fix CF Easiest, cheapest fix of most glaring hole How much of JBJ's contract would MIL be willing to eat? If all else fails, bring Jake home for a bucket of balls - Buy Pressly some late help in pen With stands full again and impending budget relief coming when Greinke, JV & Correa expire ... The time is now to bump the payroll for a few months to make another playoff run While we have Brew on the phone ... what would it take to expand JBJ deal and rent Hader for 3 months? Luckily relief pitching is always the most abundantly available type of asset at the deadline - Verlander in AUG Haven't heard anything at all ... But if anyone can work back way ahead of schedule ... He has to begin minors rehab by AUG So he can use SEP as his spring ramp-up So he can be on the mound for Game 1 in OCT
Has whatever is wrong with JBJ's bat been fixed? I wanted him in the offseason, but would be very worried after 2 months of a bat that bad.
Who is blindly supporting him? Nobody is saying you are a bad fan just stop. A lot of people where wanting to run Gurriel out of town before the extension, so yeah he does get credit for resigning him at that contract. A lot of people were saying we needed an upgrade at 1st base. I have no idea why people need to make a judgement on Click either way,especially with all of the turmoil over the last 2 years.
I'm def not paying full retail for him, but if MIL marks him down to the clearance rack ... This is what I know JBJ can do: - Play great CF with range, instincts, and decent arm Speed is great and all ... but I'll take the complete package to anchor between old legs in LF and questionable instincts in RF - Run bases competently By this I mean avoid regularly making little league outs on bases by stealing in wrong situation, forgetting to slide into home on a tag-up, etc - Bat LH, and occasionally drive a ball into the OF On the rare chance JBJ actually makes contact, there is a decent chance at least 1 OF has to move his feet a little, and may even have to turn and run towards the wall once a week - Rely on a wealth of playoff experience Been to the mountaintop, and has generally been a clutch performer when the sphincters pucker up tightest I have no idea if JBJ can make better contact than Straw, but ... I'm certain he's a proven MLB vet I'm not sure Myles Straw could earn regular ABs for AA right now I'm betting they swap his 40man spot for Ciri the instant his service clock deadline passes If he can't cut it either, go find a vet rental for a couple of months to bridge until Leon takes over next spring
So Click gets no credit for gambling on all the young arms? Outside of Valdez and Abreu I don't remember anybody really talking about any of the other guys being counted on anytime soon? And Lunhow did not seem to be a guy who would have taken that many chances.
I hate to highlight it, but over the last 2 weeks Myles Straw has rebounded quite a bit. Thru 227 pa he’s put up an 84 wRC+ and 0.9 fwar, which puts him on pace to be merely a below average everyday CF. At this point given Houston’s lack of financial flexibility, the relative few CF available via trade, and the cooling of guys in AAA (Siri, Meyers, and Dawson have not continued to dominate over the last 2 weeks), it may be best to stand pat and see where Straw ends up after a full season. With so many everyday caliber SS available in free agency this offseason it’s possible Pedro Leon could ready to be the CF if they determine they want to upgrade from Straw. Next offseason will be huge for Click and the Astros in determining how long the window can stay open. He will have a large amount of payroll available, and if everything breaks right (Leon and/or Pena showing they’re ready, young pitching holding up in the rotation and getting established in the pen, everybody else staying healthy) there will be few holes in the roster. It’ll probably be the most exciting offseason ever for me, which is good since this trade deadline may be the most boring ever aside from 2020.
Its fine when its just Maldonado/catcher and him. But Dusty won't be able to play the "magnicificent seven" each/every game and Diaz being out really leaves a whole. bunch of unproven guys. That leaves a third of all games with Chaz/Straw/C, or Jones/Straw/C, or Robel/Straw/C. Straw almost has to get on base and produce in those scenarios...
The frustrating thing about this team is that it can destroy good teams as easily as it loses to poor teams. Astros success does not seem to correlate to wins and losses of the opposition. Against sub 500 teams, we're 8-11 or 0.42105. Against over 500 teams, we're 24-16 or 0.60000. Against teams 10 games+ under 4-8 or .33333. Against teams 10 games+ over 16-9 or .64000.
Reposting from Twins series thread: Really crappy news, feel terrible for him. Pitchers are notorious for doing this, and it's incredibly dumb, but I can totally understand why Ivey did what he did.
Yeah, and it totally screws the Astros. With Whitley, Solis, and now Ivey's situation the Astros basically have a 37 man and not a 40 man roster. The Astros might have to call Ivey up to put him on the 60 day IL to create a spot on the 40 man roster. That would mean he gets paid an MLB salary and his service time clock would be rolling.
I am a believer in Jones as an above average bench bat who can play 1B, 3B, LF, and DH. He projects to be below average (87-93 wRC+) but I think he is underrated. He’s never had an extended run in the majors and is only thru 63 pa total. I also think McCormick and Garcia can be roughly average. Not ideal but not a major issue, and gives the upside of giving young guys a chance to break in. Wow, that sucks. I understand why Ivey did it but that’s not going to win him any fans in any MLB front office.
It’s so frustrating seeing the A’s in first place with a +9 run differential. We’re clearly the better team. Hopefully we can eclipse them soon and not look back. HOU is 2nd in the AL in run differential (+79), with CWS and TAM at +91 and +78.
Luhnow left Click the keys to a Cadillac. Hopefully Click doesn't run the Cadillac into a ditch. So far I've been very underwhelmed with Click and getting rid of Goldstein because Goldstein didn't want to work from Houston (Especially in these Covid times we live in) was Click's biggest mistake of his tenure so far. Even bigger than the crap FA signings this offseason. (I count Brantley as an extension, not a FA signing.)
