With the pitching injuries, this team might not be talented enough to overcome poor game management. Brown has to make some moves If Gilbert wasn’t struggling he would probably get the call if Yordan goes on the IL
losing Click was a big mistake. Also, I think team chemistry took a huge blow with Gurriel leaving. Dusty was given too much power. We're in big trouble now.
Really difficult for any team to overcome serious injuries to multiple superstars AND serious injuries to multiple SP AND absolutely disastrous free agent signings of everyday players. If Yordan is out more than 6 weeks this year is toast. Trade Maldonado, Abreu, Maton, Stanek, Neris, and Montero. Listen to offers on Tucker, Bregman, Framber, and pretty much everyone except Alvarez and Altuve. Get ready for 2024. What a disaster. James Click probably has his feet up on his desk right now.
That more than a slight overreaction. Astros fans have become so accustomed to making the playoffs easily, the thought that it might be a struggle seems like a disaster. We only have to hold off 1 of the 4 eastern teams to make the playoffs. Even if we drunkenly stumble through the season, it all resets if we get there. There's still plenty of high end talent to get warm and win games if we get there.
They’re going to need more starting pitching regardless. The lineup (regardless of the 7-9 hitters) still needs Altuve/Bregman/Yordan/Tucker to hit at elite levels. I was out on LMJ after the playoffs as it was clear he wasn’t going to be the same pitcher he was in 2021… and had obviously changed his arsenal to compensate for the injury he and the team is still trying to keep under wraps (impressive that it’s going on 2 years now). Granted, price tag for JV became exorbitant, but I was never on board claiming we had 6 legit starters. Had big hopes for Garcia… but this game shows us that all pitchers eventually will succumb to some sort of injury, minus the select few who were genetically blessed. Still plenty of season but will need something to be reinforced… and sorta moot if it’s not a frontline starter as I don’t think they’ll have enough as is to succeed in a 7 game playoff series.
At first I was against going after Perez, since we already have an all-star catcher in waiting. Brown should say screw it, get a starting catcher and force Dusty to bench Maldonado and Abreu. Diaz can be your everyday 1b. Dusty not pinch hitting for Maldonado was infuriating. I know there is a lot of season left, but that doesn’t mean guys like Maldonado and Abreu are going to suddenly find the magic. Maldonado is also blowing behind the plate. He actually took a strike away from Valdez by falling a foot off the plate. He is no longer some savant, if he ever was, defensively.
If Urquidy comes back, are our starters any worse than the Phillies last season, or the Braves in 21. Like everybody I would prefer more, but plenty of teams get through October without 3 top guys. I think people have become so accustomed to our stupid strong teams they lose perception of what most teams have in October, and that's not 3 or 4 aces.
With the pitching injuries, this team might not be talented enough to overcome poor game management. Brown has to make some moves If Gilbert wasn’t struggling he would probably get the call if Yordan goes on the IL Lol Luckily for the Astros, and their fans, Jim Crane isn't a quitter
But if you can get one, why not? We are going to have a severe log jam in the OF next year and very tradeable assets. The catcher position is a strength organizationally speaking. !b is probably the easiest position to fill. In spite of our struggles, we are still set up to compete for WS for at least the next 3 years. Of course, it all comes down to the price you are going to pay for said SP.
It's a balancing act between the now and the future. If the Astros pushed in chips almost every year like some fans want to this run would have ended years ago. It also takes another team willing to give up on their season to make a trade, which not many teams are willing to do, further driving the price up. Playoffs are a privilege not a right, most teams appreciate the mere chance to compete in October.
My reaction assumes Yordan is out long enough to dramatically reduce the odds of Houston making the playoffs. He’s been carrying this offense almost by himself. They’d probably have lost 5 more games without him. I don’t think Houston should sell if they project to make the playoffs (unless they just get bowled over with ridiculous overpays). But if they’re out of it, they can position themselves as one of only a handful of sellers with genuine difference makers and possibly the only team that can offer a multiyear star player (Tucker or Bregman).
Like the world in general these days Most fans are at the extreme ends on their thoughts Either we can't win the division so we better go for the wildcard cause no way we are catching the Rangers or Dusty don't need to worry about playing our best lineup now, we all know he will do it in October (as if there is zero doubt we will make the playoffs) Truth is, as soon as Garcia and Urquidy both went down the reality is somewhere in the middle. We have two legit Aces, and a 3rd who definitely pitches like one at times. How many teams have 3 SPs you would trade Framber, Javier and Brown for? Not many, if any. Regardless of the overreactions of fans every time a reliever gives up a run, we have one of the best bullpens in baseball. Only the Yankees, Guardians and Padres have better pen ERAs than ours. Our 6 blown saves are the lowest in baseball We also have a core of everyday players with immense talent, and who have played their best in the biggest moments. We just need a couple of solid everyday players added to the mix and our lineup becomes one of the best quickly. So reality is we could easily win this division, and reality is also we can miss the playoffs. What we can't really afford is Dusty continually throwing poor lineups out there. Keeping Diaz on the bench, playing Julks over Chas vs LHP (or over Dubon for that matter), when we face a LHP it doesn't take a lot of baseball knowledge to know Myers, Chas and Dubon should all be in the lineup. Things like that haven't really mattered much the past few years because we had so much pitching we just rolled anyway. That isn't who we are anymore, and hopefully Dana Brown will be able to get that through to Dusty
Brown becomes the wild card… if the playoffs were now, I’d be completely comfortable…. But I’m not sure what his arm is going to look like if he ends up pitching the whole season (which was never the plan). Even the 2019 team, which had more starting pitching depth than what they have now, felt compelled to get Greinke specifically to optimize their playoff chances. While you don’t always need 3 or 4 aces, I think some have forgotten how much of a crapshoot the playoffs are without solid starting pitching. The Astros advancing to at least the ALCS in all these years, never having a hiccup in the DS (or wild card) series is a testament to that.
I agree. Very good post. I’d love to add another big time starter, because I think it will make up for having a down year at the plate. Just like with the Rockets or Texans, it comes down to cost. Can we get a TOR pitcher without screwing up our long-term plan of competing year-in and year-out. I think we have sufficient enough OF depth to be able to swing it, but it takes two to tango. If we don’t do a thing at the deadline, I’m still high on our club. To tell you the truth, They wouldn’t even be struggling as much offensively if Brown would start forcing Dusty’s hand on Maldonado, Julks, and Abreu.
Even that by itself doesn’t overcome subpar starts by Tucker/Bregman… and Altuve’s injury (Although I expect all three to hit much better going forward… and will see how long Yordan is out for).
I think the Greinke trade was as much about addressing the likely departure of Cole as it was th 2019 run. And yes, October is absolute wild card. Our starting pitching in 21 was abysmal and we came close to winning it all. The unpredictable nature is all the more reason I think it makes no sense to say a team can't win. Any team that gets there can, although you obviously would prefer to be better optimized.
Agreed… but I still think they’ll ultimately need more. Not sure why they were holding hope on LMJ given that he couldn’t even get right after an entire off-season of rest (unless they were oblivious to the extent of the injury, again). Even 2021 still had the last great version of LMJ, ascended Framber (after he took the next step in covid 2020), and young sensation Garcia all having elite playoff performances (mixed in with some Urquidy solid-ness, and Greinke veteran-ness). I wasn’t surprised when they got top notch performances out of them… but when they faltered in the World Series, it was easy to point out a slight lack of experience or missing that other JV-like ace.
Maybe not, but I think it would have given us a couple of more wins and it would also position Diaz and McCormick to have a shot at stellar 2nd halves. Diaz can’t become a steady hitter if they are sitting 3/4ths of the time. There is no excuse for Julks and Maldonado getting so many starts at their expense. Abreu I can understand, but there is nothing wrong with moving him down in the lineup until/if he gets it together.
Bregman is about 30 points in wOBA down. Tucker is about 20 points in wOBA down. Dubon's wOBA while Altuve was out was about 25 points less than Altuve's on average. Dubon has played a lot better than I've expected. Julks's wOBA is about 45 points less than Meyers and Chas. Maldonaldo's and Abreu's wOBA are about 65 points less than Diaz. Diaz probably shouldn't play everyday even with playing 1B/DH along with catcher, so it would probably be close. I'd give the edge to being able to overcome it considering the defensive advantage even with Tucker having an off year.
Agreed. Obviously lineup injuries leads to less ability to experiment with Julks and F around with Diaz. Not sure if Brown is as big of a Meyers fan as Click was…. Only because he may have a semblance of trade value now that gets exploited if they try and make a bigger move.
