Actually, sending Salazar down in theory hurts Diaz. They even mentioned on the broadcast yesterday that Dusty will probably be reluctant to DH Diaz or play him at other positions bc WHAT DO YOU DO IF SOMETHING HAPPENS?!?!? OH NO, HE’S THE BACKUP CATCHER, CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU HAD TO MOVE HIM FROM 1B or DH to catcher mid game???? What would you do?????? NO!!!!!!!
This. I think Diaz gets fewer at bats now. 1st base shouldn't be an issue since you can plug someone else there if Diaz needs to move to catcher but we're kidding ourselves if we think Diaz will cut into Abreu's playing time. You lose the DH if he has to move but stop playing scared. You can use bats on the bench to pinch hit like an old school NL game. With the rule changes, extra-inning games don't go too long to where you'd deplete your bench.
There is no downside to loving a 1B to C. Any reason given is simply an excuse. Moving the DH to the field of play is something else and causes the pitcher (or a PH) to hit the rest of the game. The Astros can avoid this by DHing Abreu and playing Diaz at 1B. That way, if Maldy gets hurt then Kessinger, or even Dubon or Tucker (he played 4g/13.2 innings in 2019 and 11g/81 innings in minors) can play 1B without requiring the loss of the DH.
No way Dusty uses Diaz at DH without a 3rd catcher on the roster He could, however, play Diaz at 1B and have Abreu DH some, Abreu isn’t a good defender anyway
Yea, I wouldn't expect that this series though because I doubt the Astros are in a hurry to put Alvarez in left field on the turf in Toronto.
Oh I think he sucks more or less. But he’s been a much better hitter than Abreu which is the definition of damning with faint praise. I’d rather Dubon hit 9th in my lineup than Abreu 6th.
If it helps make him a better player by October, sure. Maybe if they had worked Tucker in slowly, they wouldn't have had to send him to AAA for most of the next year after a disastrous start. They said from the start that they had things for Diaz to work on with hitting coaches. Maybe that work paid off instead of developing bad habits in the game. We don't have any counterfactuals to work with, so it's impossible to know. But the Astros' goal isn't to have him be good in April or May. It's to have him be really good by October. Call me crazy, but I trust the Astros' development people on the best way to do that over fans who want him to play just because.
Or maybe that's just the Dusty you've imagined in your head because you have a need to complain about him. The only "evidence" for this is that Dusty wouldn't play Vazquez at 1B last year but it ignores the fact that Vazquez sucked as an Astro and he, rightfully, believed in Yuli.
The best thing the Astros can do until Brantley returns, or another run producing bat is added: Vs LHP Altuve Pena Yordan Bregman Tucker McCormick Abreu Meyers Maldy Vs RHP 1)Altuve 2)Pena 3)Yordan 60% LF / 40% DH 4)Bregman 5)Tucker 6)Diaz 60% 1B / 30% C. or McCormick 7)Abreu 40% 1B / 60 % DH 8)Meyers 80% CF or McCormick 40% LF 20% CF 9)Maldy 70% C. or Meyers
If they have to move Diaz to C and have the pitcher bat once or twice in a random regular season game, it's a literal non-issue. In the playoffs, maybe a different story. But the Astros simply don't care that much about a regular season game.
I would say it's a very small issue but not a non-issue And easily remedied by swapping Abreu to DH and Diaz to 1B.
Dusty has literally used those words regarding using backup catchers at the same time as a starter. Also, I guess Todd Kalas is just a moron according to you and b****es about Dusty.
lmao if the Astros have developed a technique of improving hitters without playing then I would suggest they put Abreu on the 60 day DL today and wheel him back out after he’s marinated a few months in this Astros secret development sauce. Maybe then he’ll be decent by October when he’s needed.
Fangraphs might have the Rangers with better odds of winning the division than the Astros, which would seriously hurt the Astros' chances to repeat no matter how well they are playing this fall, but we must, above all, keep in mind that the games the Astros play this month do not matter.
It's all relative now. Fangraphs have the Rangers 51.3% and Astros 44.5% to win AL West. 3 days ago it was Astros 52.5% and Rangers 42.3% Regardless, they have the Astros with a better chance to win the W S. 9.5% to 7.7% The odds will be totally different again in 3 more days
What were the Yankees odds via fangraphs this time last year? it’s as if nobody here has actually followed any winning baseball team throughout an entire season…
If the season were to end now: Astros at Orioles best of 3. Winner gets Rays best of 5 Yankees at Twins best of 3 Winner gets Rangers best of 5
6/6/2022 Fangraphs playoff odds. Yankees 71.9% win division 10.9% win W.S. (Astros 96.7% win division 11.9% win W.S.)
June 20th was an off day before the Astros played 9 consecutive games vs Yankees (5) and Mets (4). Fangraphs had Astros 14.0% to win W.S. and Yankees 13.8% After the 9 games had been played : Astros 14.2% and Yankees 12.1%
