[Official] Astros Off-Season

Disagree on the knees part. Less running = less impact on bad knees period. He's still very much young enough that as long as he can maintain his range of motion, he'd be way better off at 1B than LF.

Not that this is anywhere close to the same...but as someone with bad knees from 40+ years of soccer, I welcomed a move from the outfield to 1B when I was playing softball. Was a lot easier on me.

 

Yeah, I think Yordan's bat is too valuable, and his knees too fragile, to risk him at 1B.

 

100%

Reaction times are way different at 1st. You might be moving less, but those movements need to be faster and more extreme than LF.

 

There just isn't that much risk at 1B. The problem is, if Yordan plays 1B, then who is the DH? They are far more likely to try him at 1B if the NL rules remain the same. If universal DH happens as expected, I doubt they bother.

 

Toby's post above hit the mark - 1B doesn't involve much overall movement, but it's the suddenness of the movement that could lead to injury. 1B is less risky compared to other fielding positions besides LF, but it's an unnecessary one when you can just play him at DH. There's no world where you absolutely need to play him more than occasionally in the field.

 

Infielders on every pitch bend their knees to get into fielding position. Outfielders not so much. DHers even less so

Hinch or Luhnow mentioned this when Yordan was first called up.

 

OFs bend their knees on every pitch too, just not as deeply.

 

I really understand the fascination with Alvarez playing in the field. We only need there 4 times a year if we happen to make the world series. There are no better options at DH that are worse outfielders.

 

Trust me, bending isn't bad. Actually, most of the time my knees feel less pain when bent as opposed to straight. Running is. Both of my knees are arthritic. I'm 46 and already looking at replacement in the next few years. I can do squats. My soccer career is near over though because of the pain of running, even on some pretty soft turf, during and after games.

 

Plus the 10 interleague games...

The main interest is because it opens it up possibilities. I'd prefer a rotating DH giving guys days off in the field, and versatility is extremely valuable.

 

There's a reason why you often see IFs move to the OF but very rarely vice versa.

 

******* man. Sorry to hear the knees are to that degree of hurt. Hopefully it gets a bit better with replacements.

 

OF is easier to play. Most OFers played the IF in little league, but couldn't hack it as they moved up levels.

 

Holding out as long as possible until it becomes a better process. It's already improving and I could actually play again once it's done. I have 2 friends actually a little younger than me that have already had at least one replacement done and they're both playing still. So, there's hope.

 

This is exactly where I'm at.

Funnily enough, since yall are talking about OF v IF and stress on knees...outside of a long session in the batting cage, the "sports-related" thing that caused my left knee to get angriest and swell up was bowling.

 

Of course. I'd love to see a survey of MLB players about what position they played up to HS age. I'm guessing the majority were SS (and P).

 

Didn't Yordan hit better in games when he played the field...?

 

Yes.

Brantley hates DH but hits a bit better there than in LF.

 

FWIW, someone on Twitter pointed out that Seiya Suzuki doesn’t follow a whole lot of MLB guys on Twitter(except for the obvious stars like Tatis, Ohtani, Trout) but he does follow Altuve, Bregman, and Correa.

thought that was pretty interesting. With CF being a need and the reports about the Astros inquiring about Reynolds and Mullins, I definitely expect the Astros to at least kick the tires on Suzuki

 

Interesting. Suzuki was the best hitter in the Japanese Central League last season.