I don't necessarily disagree, but the organization has a pecking order and Bielak is at the top for now. Showed decent result in the majors last season, has pitched better in AAA and has less option years remaining. Lets let Solomon prove he can get AAA hitters out consistently first. FWIW, i think both will be on the roster at some point over the next month, but Bielak will get first dibs at at regular long work.
One can't completely rule it out that Strom would have had some insight, but maybe the new guys do have a plan in mind. It's not exactly a long stretch of terrible pitching.
My understanding is that Strom planning on retirement (not sure if his idea or others) let the new guys focus on pitchers that became Astros in the last two years. The Astros young pitchers have had enough ups that I think the new guys are okay.
https://theathletic.com/3264941/2022/04/22/mlb-managers-under-scrutiny/ Dusty Baker, Astros Baker, 72, led the Astros to the ALCS in 2020 and World Series in 2021, but the team has yet to commit to him for more than one year. The exact contractual status of general manager James Click is not known, but this is his third season in Houston and he, too, likely will be judged on whether the team plays deep into October. Owner Jim Crane brought Baker and Click together in a hurried manner to help guide the Astros in the wake of the penalties the franchise received for stealing signs illegally. The two inherited a loaded roster from their predecessors, Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch. Any regression by the Astros will give Crane the justification he needs to make any changes he desires. If Crane objects to such talk, the solution is simple, just as it is for any owner dealing with contracts that are expiring or close to expiring: Award extensions.
I wonder if Stearns would have any desire to come back if they sent Click on his way? I don’t think it happens (moving on from Click this year) but it would be fascinating.
Feels much worse. Though, Astros only 1.5 and will still likely crush the AL West no matter how bad Baez is.
Stearns took over a pile of **** in Milwaukee and has them winning division titles. I have no idea what your problem with that move would be if they decided Click wasn’t the guy as I know next to nothing about the man at all, other than he was our #2 when we got good and has done good work up on Milwaukee. That seems like a good resume but shrugs, whatever.
It’s kind of funny that the gambles the Astros have made entering this season have generally worked out so far - Peña has played at an MVP level, Montero looks excellent after seeming like a non-tender candidate - and yet the team has played more or less like ****.
amazing the record is not much worse given Altuve/Tucker/Yuli/Yordan all hitting below the Mendoza line that's encouraging if you expect them to revert back to their usual numbers
Fun Facts: Stros have come to bat in 126 innings and scored in 28 of them (twice every 9 innings). 11 of those came in 17 innings over 2 games, without them they average scoring every 9.9 innings.
Glass Half Empty Guy: "Astros have the 5th worst OBP in baseball" Glass Half Full Guy: "Hey, they have only 8 GIDP (T-4th best) and 4 outs on the bases (T-2nd best)"
Well there you go. There's been a lot of b****ing on this board the past few years about the Astros hitting into double plays but we tried to tell them it's because the Astros are always on base.
