Pitching has been a disappointment pretty much throughout baseball. The new rules were meant to increase offense and they have. We also had a large number of pitchers in the WBC and regardless of how well liked it was, those guys didn’t have a normal spring and they were coming off of a short offseason anyway I can’t stand seeing Dubon and Myers in the lineup, and Diaz wasting away on the bench blows my mind. But Brown seems like a much stronger personality than Click and hopefully he will force some changes quickly if we don’t play better the next dozen games or so
We have been playing with three hands tied behind our backs (IR) and two which are paralyzed (Bregman and Pena). Things will get better. At any given time, you can expect 2 of 7 "hitters" to slump or go on IR. But the other 5 can carry the team offensively. McCormick is currently our 4th best hitter, but we aren't getting any of the youngsters stepping up. I consider 7 "hitters to be adequate with 2 defensive specialists in the line-up. Perhaps we are just facing great pitching, but I don't think so. We can handle things if Bregman and Pena get back to average until the line up gets longer with the return of Altuve and Brantley. As far as pitching, we lost a Cy Young pitcher and a regular rotation starter during a time where we played until November, faced WBC losses and had to adapt to offense friendly new rules. Just put me in the 'don't over react' camp.
I used to say that and now I cringe when Bregman comes up to bat. It's pretty bad when Dubon, Meyers, and Maldonado are batting better than the chokers (Bregman & Pena) in the top of the lineup. Pena's HR might be a sign of waking up, but Bregman is asleep at the wheel right now when he picks up a bat. He's cringeworthy.
I am just happy I was watching Wednesday against the Tigers so I can tell my grandkids that I saw the last game the Astros ever won.
My measuring rod is not a PA or even a game. It is more times on base than games played. Yes it's arbitrary, but it's my point of diminishing returns. This is not the rod for greatness, just adequate. Using my cutoff (not including reaching by means other than H & BB.) Honestly, my standard was lower than I expected: 1. Tucker 9 H, 6 BB, 9 G, 15/9 1.667 2. Abreu 12 H, 2 BB, 9 G, 14/9 1.556 3. Alvarez 9 H, 4 BB, 9 G, 13/9 1.444 4. McCormick 5 H, 3 BB, 6 G, 8/6 1.333 5. Hensley 6 H, 3 BB, 7 G, 9/7 1.286 6t. Dubon 5 H, 1 BB, 5 G, 6/5 1.200 6t. Julks 6 H, 0 BB, 5 G, 6/5 1.200 ____________________________ 8t. Pena 7 H, 2 BB, 9 G, 9/9 1.000 8t. Bregman 5 H, 4 BB, 9 G, 9/9 1.000 8t. Maldonado 4 H, 3 BB, 7 G, 7/7 1.000 11. Meyers 3 H, 1 BB, 5 G, 4/5 0.800 12. Salazar 0 H, 1 BB, 2 G, 1/2 0.500 13. Diaz 0 H, 1 BB, 4 G, 1/4 0.250
Let me know when you've pull ed your self to gether. I was just messing with you ealier. Didn't mean to over react.
Bregman still getting walks, striking out less, and getting on so Yordan can drive him in. He’s also probably got a ridiculously low BABIP and is actually driving the ball the other way as of late. All of this is small sample size induced… which by itself is cringeworthy that you’re getting cringeworthy. The key is these guys are healthy and stay healthy. Water finds its level. The guys who have proven track records will get back to there (again, if healthy). Yordan and Tucker will eventually slump and Bregman will be carrying the offense at some point. Now whether or not the Hensleys, Myers, and Julks of the world have a chance of becoming something is still a big fat unknown. Dubon should be the last man on this roster and is only there because he can play multiple positions with some ability.
While BO slot shouldn't make a difference, it is clear it does with some players. But I do wonder whether Pena starting at 2B was batter psychology or coincidence. Or do pitchers really throw him stuff he can hit because of Yordan hitting behind him?
