That seems like an understatement! Might that sentiment, which feels personal from a distance at least, be coloring your opinions? I have zero knowledge of the Goldstein situation, and am neutral on Click given he hasn't really done anything either way, but I'm enjoying the hell out of this team, feel good about the future, and don't see an obvious mistakes (Baez is the obvious one, but imagine a very conceivable scenario where he is healthy and a highly reliable 8th inning guy ... the team would be almost flawless now that Straw is hitting a little).
It's not personal with Goldstein. I dont know the man. I just dont think it's a good idea to let the man go that is responsible for most of the young talent that you see on the field every night when we watch the Stros, because he mainly works from home in Georgia. Which he's done for years, particularly during a pandemic. I'm of the belief that you hire talented people and let them do their jobs and that doesn't have to be in person. You can do this virtually. Make no mistake Goldstein is very talented at his job. I'm glad you can see the mistakes. BTW, doing nothing is a mistake.
If your expectation is a few more championships during the current competitive window, there's no way you're going to be anything but disappointed. One more ring would be a nice topper on the Luhnow era but I have no firm expectations of another ring. There have been plenty of good teams that only got 1 ring out of their competitive window. Most recently the Cubs. Heck, the Yankees may get nothing out of their competitive window. Click *is* learning on the fly. I almost completely write off the 2020 season for a myriad of reasons. If the worst we could say is he overpaid for a reliever and backup catcher and didn't pay market rate for a CF that may or may not generate more WAR than Straw this year, that's pretty dang good. He could/may still make just a total flop move like trading for Larry Anderson. But he hasn't yet. Knowing that you're such a Goldstein guy, what *could* make you happy with the current Astros team? It's freaking June. They literally can't win the World Series this month. If they had 5 more wins on paper, would you be happier? 10 more wins? Bottom line, there's just a lot of baseball to be played and a lot of moves that can be made before a hard judgement on Click should be made.
Playoff Bullpen if team gets/stays healthy for playoffs besides Verlander Pressly Javier Urquidy Garcia Odorizzi Raley Taylor Baez
Years too. How long is a long enough learning curve? It's been 3 offseasons, 5? 10? Man I never would've been successful with an attitude like yours. Do everything possible to win and if you lose you can still hold your head high. If they dont judge by championships why even have a WS or keep score for that matter? Set those expectations low and you want be disappointed. I guess that's the secret to life for some.
What's been 3 off seasons? Click was hired in February 2020. He missed around 3 months in his first offseason and then COVID hit.
What, the phones didn't work during Covid? What are your expectations this trade deadline? Mine are very low, I hope to be wrong.
The 2020 season started late and was still under threat of cancellation at the trade deadline. Players weren’t even in mid-season form until the playoffs, well after the trade deadline. Yet you want Click making trades under those circumstances? You want Click trading away the Astros very limited pool of prospects to get a rental player for a playoff run?
No playoff teams made moves? Yes I wanted him to make moves. He didn't and the jury is still out if he will this off-season and if he will make a move that will actually help the team. So far this hasn't happened.
In a seven game series you need four starters (Valdez, Greinke & LMJ). Who's your 4th starter as you have Urquidy, Odorizzi & Garcia all in the pen?
The 4th starter is also going to be in the pen for the series. Just like Morton started and relieved in the same WS. It also may not work out perfectly where games 1,2,3,4 are starters 1,2,3,4.
The 2021 trade deadline also has not happened. Let me guess. You are also mad at Click for not already drafting players in this year's draft which is weeks away?
The reason Morton came out of the pen is it was game 7. Nothing to save him for. In a seven game series you'll need four starters.
The 4th game could also be a bullpen game (which teams have been doing in the playoffs lately) but you still need a starter and I'm curious who Joe Joe would go with?
You didn't answer this question: Considering Click was hired in February of 2020, how has it been 3 offseasons? Providing something weird doesn't happen and they are still in the playoff hunt, I expect him to actively seek help in whatever area they need which I assume will still mainly be the bullpen. ETA - considering your COVID question, none of these teams knew if they would even have a season which essentially negated any trades involving players on the last year of their contract. I suspect most teams were wary of any trades until things started back up. Also, what did they need in the 2020 offseason? They were returning a stacked team that just lost a 7 game world series. Other than a replacement for Cole, the 2020 roster was set.
I haven't been a big fan of James Click thus far. Having said that, he does need more time to see what he can do. The hope is that he is really good in the draft and at managing player development. I find his free agent handling thus far to be mediocre, but it is a small sample size. He does give me some Tim Pupura vibes..... I really hope I am wrong.
Garcia deserves some consideration as a post season starter IMO. He's had a good year despite the record. Great stuff.
Bullpen day with whoever relieved Game 1 going 3-4 innings. Either that or someone like Max Scherzer. Edit: I am a firm believer in starters are typically better pitchers than relievers. I am also a believer in if you make a trade, it better be good.
