Don't tell some on this board this. They will accuse you of not knowing the game. See, what you don't understand about St. Maldonado is he has mystical powers to make pitchers awesome. It's completely and totally why the Astros are so great at pitching. Ignore the fact that they are just as awesome at pitching when they throw the ball to someone else. Why is he here? He's a people person, damn it! You can't just expect the engineers to talk to the clients after all. Or the pitchers to be locked in enough to know what pitch they want to throw in a situation. No- it has to be St. Maldonado the pitcher whisperer and if you don't understand that... you must be pitied. Also- every decision the Astros have ever made is correct, and they made this Maldy decision- so ipso facto you are wrong and should sit there and stew and feel bad in your wrongness.
I think that evaluation ended during Spring training. Lee is starting in AAA so Taking over for Maldy will not require more innings than he is accustomed to. Salazar likely continues in his role as bench catcher & Diaz continues as a versatile bench bat/DH.
What I see is a dugout full of people who LOVE Maldy. When he does something good - even normally good - it is crazy how happy everyone is for him. I see and read all about how much the fans want him replaced, but my eyes tell me the players and management want him to play.
Not really. Most pro athletes who fit Maldonado’s profile (mediocre stastical performers on the back end of the age curve whose value is tied up in intangibles) tend to be above that, at least to the degree they welcome internal competition in the interest of winning. A really high character player would recognize the upside to bringing in a player who may represent an upgrade to their role on the team, and most would at worst view it as a challenge more than a threat. And yes I think that concept extends beyond sports.
Plus- he's going to get paid either way- bringing in someone that's better than him and can handle 80% of an 80/20 split could add 4 or 5 years to his career while he's around as the wily old veteran that helps with the pitching meetings and all the guys like throwing too. In addition to less wear and tear on the body. It's an odd choice not to embrace that role.
Because they feel sorry for him. It is like "Holy crap, the blind squirl just found a nut." You can't be anything but happy for the squirl. I am kidding, not kidding.
There is nothing versatile in how Diaz is being used. He's got 14 PA and is ahead of only Salazar on the team- 12th least amount.
Clearly your idea of pro athletes is different than mine. Admittedly I have no first hand experience but what I have read is that most athletes at that level feel that they are the best option and would not accept being replaced gracefully. To get to that level it takes a certain drive and personality that most of us simply don't understand.
I don’t think Maldy is a low character player. And this is all conjecture anyways. Also, some of the most competitive athletes ever scoffed when teams actively brought in or courted guys who could one day replace them… from Jordan to Brady to Rodgers to Biggio to Mad Max to Kenny Smith to moon….
None of those guys you listed are in any way similar to Maldonado. Maldy was a fringey player prior to coming to the Astros. He was a backup in Milwaukee for 5 years, then bounced around for 3 seasons before landing with Houston. Prior to coming to the Astros he’d played more than 100 games in a season just once. It’s not like he was some superstar who had right to feel like he was grandfathered into a starting MLB job.
The pitchers love him though. And he was a major factor (per everybody on this team) in continuing their winning ways. He won over Cole and JV. He’s won over his managers. Who does just willingly step aside when he’s one of the clear clubhouse leaders? Even Ausmus didn’t step aside. and again, this is all conjecture by you that he’s not “welcoming”.
Everything expressed by pretty much any poster on this board is to some degree “conjecture”. What’s your ****ing point?
My point is that it’s human nature to not just fall over backwards for your potential replacement. Even Jake ****ing Taylor, the ultimate team player, hated it.
I think Luhnow liked Maldy but I think Click is a stretch. If Click loved Maldy he wouldn’t have signed Castro when money was very tight. I don’t think he hated Maldy, but I think he wanted to reduce Maldy’s role but was frustrated by his obstinate skipper. I wonder if Brown is learning the lessons now that Click learned back then.
Click signed Maldy to a two year exension and gave him a raise. Castro was paid $3.5MM/yr (less than Maldy got) by a guy willing to pay $6 or $7MM to middle relievers. It would be hard to pay a veteran backup catcher much less than than Castro got. That he has an obstinate manager that keeps making decisions that lead to World Series appearances? (playing Yuli, putting Pena in the 2 hole, playing Chas against righties, etc)
