I get what you are saying, but that one extra hit every few games is about 75 points different on batting average, makes a lot more difference than you would think And I know Maldanado is and will be the main catcher, I just have no clue why we are carrying 3 catchers if our manager refuses to hit for him in situations like last night Terrible “use” of a roster spot
I will say, Meyers, Hensley, Diaz, and Abreu are flat out sucking it up, and Matijevic is the only one not sucking it up at the plate in AAA (it is random luck that Matijevic is hitting and 3 of those 4 are this bad and he's hurt now anyway per Snake). I expect Abreu will rebound, though maybe not to what he was last year. It really looks like the Astros only have 8 good MLB position players (6 with 2 hurt) and a bunch of guys that are at best one dimensional. Brown really doesn't have much choice at this point, but hope that Dusty can use offensive-only players in situations that need hits, and defensive players when the Astros have the lead. Carrying 3 catchers is not keeping a good player down at the moment
I think Meyers might be pulling out of his funk. He’s looked more disciplined at the plate and he’s whiffing far less now.
i just hope the pitching get back to somewhat above average and offense score more than just 1 or 2 runs.
Will be the longest funk in the history of funks... when was he last funk-less? Right after call-up in 2021?
Through his first 225 PA including a cup of coffee in the playoffs and about 2-3 weeks last season his OPS was around .770. He was certainly up and down with heavy K's but overall pretty good over a not insignificant sample. A couple of weeks after his return last season he completely fell off the face of the earth and hasn't resembled an MLB hitter since (127 PA, sub .450 OPS). No clue whether he will ever be able to replicate what he did to start, but it feels like he's been terrible longer than he actually has. As is he's definitely gonna have to prove himself with limited PA now.
That's if Altuve come back and start smashing everything. Not saying it can't happen but we know things take time.
Just remember that after winning the championship 3 out of 4 years, the 2000 Yankees won 87 games and won it that year. I'm not saying we will win 87 games, but we don't have to win 100 games to win it all.
He hasn't been an above average hitter since his first month in the big leagues. His numbers were terrible during the last part of his first season.
When are we allowed to start getting concerned about this season? Is there a date circled on the calendar?
I remember him starting to scuffle some after the scorching hot debut in 2021... which is not out of the ordinary. There wasn't enough time for the adjust back possibility (then he got injured). I certainly think last year was partly due to injury recovery... but he seemed to do well enough at AAA. Clear there's likely a lack of confidence, and he's at the age now where simply dominating AAA may not be the most straightforward solution (as opposed to younger/more highly touted guys like Jarred Kelenic who may have finally found his way).
I have less information now than I did under Luhnow (for sure), and maybe about the same under Brown as Click. What I have heard is that overall the front office (as Brown isn't the only one involved in this) is not happy at all with how the Astros have performed overall, but they also feel that some of it has been bad luck/timing. The names I have heard complaints about are Garcia and Stanek on the pitching side and on the hitting side, I have heard some grumbles about Abreu swinging at too many breaking balls. I have asked about Diaz and Hensley and was basically told that once they show they can produce in the bats that they are given, then a discussion can be made about them getting at bats going forward. The Dubon at bats were/are supported by the hitting coach and some other coaches, as they think he is improved. My expectation is that unless they go and lose 5 out of 6 or something, they will try to hang on until they are healthy and have a better idea of what they want. Only other interesting thing I heard was that Maldy has not spent as much time working with pitchers on off days as in the past, and that Blanco may be tipping his pitches.
At the quarter point you can start to feel confident that some patters are not going to change..... one or two players may improve, but if you have 5-6 guys under achieving, you aren't likely to have 4-5 of them turn it around.
