In addition to the unbuttoned shirt, I also don't care for earrings (first Astro in a while to wear them while playing games?). Call me old school but I think it's unmasculine. Some things are for women only, such as earrings. Regarding my initial thoughts on the signing, Abreu wasn't really one of my favorite non-Astros in years prior, and he wasn't exactly someone I always fantasized on our team. I was very suspicious about the back end of the contract, but I thought at least in year one, he could be a 280 average and 20-25 homer player, and I did think the Crawford Boxes could help mask the decline in power. I recognize he wasn't a Bregman/Tucker/Altuve/Gurriel when it came to low K rates, but I didn't see him whiffing this much. He just really looks lost, and you can tell he has lost his power and bat speed. Maybe he is nursing some injury, but he really needed a day off. We'll see what happens, but the by the eye test, he does not look good at all.
Despite the reports that Rizzo was our "top target" at 1B, I don't think he was really leaving the Yankees. Sounds like classic agent tactics to up the price, and I believe that Abreu was always the real top target for the team. Had the Sox fully committed to selling at the deadline last offseason I think the Astros would have made an effort to go after him. Unlikely because the Cardinals still have another year on his deal, and maybe they get hot a la certain team we saw in the WS a few years ago, but if they still suck I'd like to try and get Goldy. He has a no-trade clause but I think he'd be more inclined to waive it for his hometown team to chase a ring than he would for most others. But just fantasizing for now.
Earrings are pretty tame compared to that beard and neck tattoos. Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. wore an earring and nobody cared when you hit like they did. I don't care if Abreu tattoos a cross on his forehead as long as he starts hitting again. If you want to bring the swag, you better have the bat to back it up.
TBH, I never paid attention until last year, when I heard a rumor that Jose Siri was in Dusty Baker's doghouse over wanting to wear earrings. The fact that he started wearing them in Tampa tends to show a little support to that rumor, but I think there were other factors, notably when he pimped a homer when down big late in a game about a month before the trade. That's when I started to grow tired of him. There's being energetic and there's being all-out flashy. But as you said, if the player plays like a star, he can do whatever he wants.
I sincerely doubt Dusty has an issue with players and earrings. Let's not forget Dusty managed Barry Bonds for years, who had a large dangly cross earring over his right ear during AB's.
Yeah. Even Tony La Russa didn't care what jewelry the White Sox players wore during his final stint. But I did notice that Siri added a LOT more jewelry (including more necklaces) in Tampa, but probably unrelated. I do get Dusty being upset about the homer against the Mets (correction: we were up big, not down big), and then there was also this: https://bleacherreport.com/articles...ad-opinions-tweet-over-hr-celebration-vs-mets Players can have fun, but they should also keep their emotions in check and I don't care for tweets like that not because I believe in muzzling players, but because I hate bulletin board material in general. But Siri is no longer an employee of the Astros, so whatever. He still had some good moments, and he got us Mancini, who snagged a hard-hit liner in Game 5 to end a threat.
Again - none of us are making these decisions. We place a little trust in those getting paid waaaay more w waaaay more access to information (should the decision makers choose to use it) to make those decisions. More importantly, very few on here were applauding the new “less analytics / more gut feeling” approach that likely drove the decision. Nvm that there were plenty outside of the Astros atmosphere that openly questioned the move. Heaven forbid fans have some faith. Speaking of which, I still have faith he’ll turn it around but this insistence that fans shouldn’t complain is hogwash. Dude has legit been one of the worst players in baseball. It’s ok to expect more for our marquee signing made by our “smarter than analytics” temporary FO.
This is a really fancy way of saying fans just criticize anything that doesn't work out. Fans routinely think they are smarter than the front office (like now). But then also when they are wrong, it's "well, front offices are smarter than us".
Wouldn’t the “gut feeling”/non-analytical move have been give into sentiment/nostalgia/recency bias and bring Yuli back? The fact that they didn’t even think twice about letting him go is as cut-throat/analytical/non-“gut feeling” as anything.
It’s the eye test for me. I know they have seen Yuli get some timely hits in the postseason. Granted he has had some down years. For them to just ignore all of that and not even offer him a contract is just being plain ignorant. Abreu has been on a bad Whitesox team whom we have had our way with with in the postseason. He feels the pressure being on this team.
Abreu in the playoffs... .321 AVG, .406 OBP, .871 OPS The choice was not Abreu or Yuli. It was Abreu or Josh Bell. Neither is performing at their expected levels. If you would have asked a bunch of MLB front office guys who was more likely to be washed up a 38 year old Gurriel who had a BAD season last year or a 36 year old Abreu that still hit .304 with 40 doubles I'm putting my money on 99/100 saying Gurriel is more likely washed. Astros got burned so far... it happens. Also, most people in baseball did like the Abreu signing. Any complaints was the 3rd year... not the signing in general.
Also, clubhouse chemistry. Yes, I remember being frustrated at times when Yuli would kill a rally, but he was a cornerstone of the 2016-22 Astros, and had become a respected leader on the team. Roster turnover is part of sports, and we've let other guys walk, but maybe he was more important to the clubhouse than we realize?
Eye test? Gut feeling? All of 4 games against the White Sox in the post season = “having our way”? Are we sure (as fans) that we’re cut out for being GM’s?
lol as opposed to the time honored tradition of what - fans not criticizing things that don’t work out? And this isn’t “not working out,” this is “disastrous signing” territory. The Montero signing - less widely lauded by fans at the time - also looks like a poor one. Not sure what to chalk that one up to. Or maybe one gut feeling outweighed the other? Naw that can’t be it. Just FYI, those weren’t the only two options for 1B. Hard to believe but it’s true.
Well considering those making those decisions decided to ignore said information because “This game is played by humans, not numbers.”
Not including data points known as October 2022 was a mistake... thankfully not as egregious as ignoring 2013 winter ball and spring training data points for JD Martinez.
Not including data points known as October 2022 was a mistake... thankfully not as egregious as ignoring 2013 winter ball and spring training data points for JD Martinez. I was okay with the move but skeptical. At least washed left side infielders can move to the right side as they lose some speed and agility, which is what Yuli is since he is a converted thirdbaseman. Washed first basemen need to be special to occupy the DH spot.
