The Pena situation is intertwined with the Marte issue. Crane wanted to boost the offense since they weren't bringing Correa back and gambling on Pena. He wanted to give Pena a shot but wanted to make CF a strong point. Plus, last November/December when a lot of this was happening Meyers was going under the knife for a significant shoulder injury. People seem to forget the 2021 World Series.... McCormick was 0-4 with 3k's in the World Series. He started game 1 and then only got 1 other AB. Then they tried Siri for game 2 and he was 1-4. Then they went to Tucker in CF in Atlanta. Siri and McCormick were a combined 1-10 in the World Series. Crane was not comfortable losing Correa and running Siri/McCormick in CF while hoping Meyers would have a smooth recovery from his shoulder surgery. I remember saying in the offseason forum back then "if the Astros have a 7-9 in the lineup of Pena, McCormick/Siri, and Maldonado I'm going to be disappointed." It was something ownership was concerned with.... and then like you said not being able to address CF at the deadline because of the high cost to get a Mullins or Reynolds.
Yes, I remember. You and I and a few others discussed how big a difference it made when you can stretch the line up from 5-6 deep to 7 deep. It isn't as simple as adding 25 homers to the line-up. It changes the numbers of the other players in the line-up, it impacts pitching decisions as well and gets you deeper in the other team's bullpen.' If the Astros end up adding a genuine middle of the order bat at LF or 1st, we will see a big difference in the offense. I suppose to be fair to Click, he would say he had a deal to stretch the line up by adding Contreras and he would have gotten Bell, had the Padres mega deal not happened..... still, the deal Click came to Crane with was not the deal that was discussed earlier, Hap was not included but the cost was the same.
I can’t fathom how any Astro fan can take Clicks side here. He’s been a risk averse p***y that apparently tells his boss to **** off whenever he feels like it, and seemingly came in hot and arrogant to one of the best operations in baseball, while confusing the teams success for the great work Lunhow did. you can basically sum up his decisions as follows: Odorizzi- horse **** Baez- even more horseshit Maton- shitty overpay unless Diaz is really good, that somehow looks better by fans because the dude has had 1 good 4 week stretch of pitching in his entire life and it was last year in the playoffs. He adds to his shitty pitching the selfish arrogance of a true chuckle**** who put his own aggrandizement before the team goals by breaking his hand bc he gave up a hit to his brother. **** that guy and fire him into the sun with Click Stanek- grand theft - absolutely great move Graveman/Montero- great great move. that’s it- that’s his transactions that matter for the roster. he spent 40M and a gold glove CF for 5 playoff years worth of middle relief while apparently being an arrogant **** head, pissing off the organization and big timing his boss. Meanwhile Crane took us from the dregs of baseball to this. I know which way I’m placing my bet on whose side I should take.
I actually thought should have been retained with the same leash. I just thought it was obvious that Pena was ready on defense alone. The way he moves to balls is elite and that is pretty obvious regardless of level. Granted I didn't think he would bat like that, but Correa and Bregman go through spells where they don't bat for **** either. Bregman went through 2 seasons batting like **** until he didn't.
These are the facts, Click was given a job, but not allowed to fully implement his desired front office, his desired manager, his desired scouting style, and had his moves constantly questioned or outright rejected. Maybe Click would have run us to the ground, maybe he would have set us up for a decade we don't really know. He was never remotely allowed the freedom or time Luhnow had to build this. I don't believe I've seen anybody "take Click's side". Some people understand it was a bad situation from day one because it was a hire made during a squeeze and the owner and GM weren't on the same page from the jump, and don't necessarily think Click is an awful GM. People aren't railing about splitting from Click. Some people want to s**t on him completely and some don't. We won a world series, so I'm in the camp of not s**ting on him, but understanding why the split happened.
The GM title doesn't mean it's his team. That only happens if you've earned the owner's trust or the owner is in the wrong business like Ford Motor Credit/GE. Some of you think owners are supposed to provide unlimited funding to the GM and then say and do NOTHING.
There didn't used to be numerous SSs who hit crazy numbers like Arod. But then the supply caught up with the trend. A six pitcher rotation may be the same and OUR six man rotation may be the trend setter. ps I do not consider skipping the sixth man because of off days any less of a 6 man rotation than i do skipping a fifth man for the same reason. It is there primarily to insure an extra day of rest for the starters to get them through the season and deeper into each game. It is no different than openers which were used because of the needs of specific team, but then expanded. I think it's peeked now. The Bull pens seem to run out of gas with limits on the number of pitchers and options limiting roster moves. The 3 batter minimum has also affected it.
He will not make spending for spending's sake a goal. But he's always been willing to make a good baseball move, even if it means going over budget. The key is not spending, it is making a good move if it requires spending. The good move is the key.
If he's cheaper and he only goes against righties it would help his value... I would platoon him and Yuli shifting Yordan and Abreu (if signed).
