All series talk goes in here. Non series talk goes somewhere else. No PBP, that can be found from other sources if you need it. All games arebroadcast on AT&T Sports SW unless otherwise noted. 4-17 Kevin Gausman (R) vs. Cristian Javier (R) 7:10 4-18 Nathan Eovaldi (R) vs. Jose Urquidy (R) 7:10 4-19 Jose Berrios (R) vs. Luis Garcia (R) 7:10
We better start clicking and Baker better start managing to win games or we are going to be in a big hole after the next 3 series.
I would like to see Diaz be given a chance to catch Javier. Hopefully Chaz is back, but even with him this lineup is not good enough right no to just accept an 8 man offense everyday. If Diaz is gonna be an option in October we need to start getting him reps right now, this is BS that he sits on the bench 75% of the time.
Some version of this has been stated by many many fans over and over for the last few years. Do you ever get tired of banging your head on the wall over and over? The Astros feel Maldy is still the best catcher on this roster, for what they expect the position to accomplish. Haven't they earned the benefit of the doubt yet? I am hopeful of Diaz and his future, but trust the team.
No, I will never stop banging my head against this wall, particularly when the offense around him is dog s**t. You can tolerate Maldonados limp bat when the top 6-7 are elite or near elite, he is less tolerable otherwise.
I trust the team paying Maldy $4.5M is an indication that the Astros are trusting the other positions to be the ones winning the game while they find an affordable replacement (affordable has been the problem). Maldy may be the best catcher on the 26-man roster. Diaz does have a chasing problem. That said, the Astros are likely in real trouble if Maldy is the best option in the 7th inning with the bases loaded down 5. Maldy has been hitting the ball hard lately, but I would not trust him at the plate over a semi-blind Chas or Julks.
That and the very common refrain of "the astros lost, it's [insert worst hitter]'s fault". Maldy: 0-2 with 1 BB and 4 LOB. Definitely not great Top 4 in the lineup last night: 2-16 with 1RBI, 1BB, 12 LOB. That's clearly a team loss. And I'm moreso annoyed that the top of the lineup isn't handling their business. I don't expect much from Maldy.
I just accept Maldy is going to be bad, but Diaz's 1 extra hit every few games isn't going to make us. I'm more concerned with Hensley and Meyers being a black hole in positions that are supposed to produce runs. Having a DH and center fielder that hits under 200 isn't going to get done especially when our star players at third and shortstop isn't lighting the world on fire.
Astros are guilty of paying Abreu on his past accomplishments. Best to have resigned Yuli for a year. Too late now. Good luck with Abreu.
Meyers and Hensley won't play much longer if they don't hit, they will both be on the bench or off the roster entirely with Chaz, Altuve and Brantley back. That's kind of my frustration with the "I don't expect much from Maldy" mentality. You are already trying to build an offense with 8 spots, if the top 6 aren't beasting it gets hard quickly to build a good offense. A league average hitter which would normally be great from 7-9 looks like a weak spot. I don't want him mothballed and forgotten, but the fact that they won't even give somebody else a chance to outplay him is what aggravates me. Dusty won't even give Diaz a DH game to try and establish himself. Vasquez was proven last season and he was given clear backup duty.
Beyond putting the best lineup out there to win now, there is no way in Hell that can be good for Diaz's development as a player.
I have a feeling he will find his groove and fit in the middle of this lineup perfectly. Joining a new clubhouse isn't always easy.
Especially after they gave that nonsense speech about Lee getting sent to AAA for that exact reason. I find it hard to believe they kept 3 catchers on the roster so Diaz and Salazar can both sit on the bench. Diaz was supposed to be given chances to hit between LF,1B,DH and C, as is he's just the backup catcher and Salazar is a waste of a roster spot.
The way the roster was constructed, and the way some of these players are being used indicates to me some dysfunction between Brown and Dusty not all that unlike the dysfunction that existed between Dusty and Click.
This Brown needs to just stop with the 3 catchers on the roster nonsense cause Dusty has no idea why we have 3
Pena is playing fine (offensive anyway). Bregman started really slow, but has had a good last couple of weeks. On CF, yes it is advisable to have a CF with a BA over 0.214 if they aren't providing power or getting on base at a high clip. Chas should be back soon to fix that.
