A prayer to stop curse. That you lift up our minds to heavenly desires, That you grant everlasting blessings to all our benefactors, That you deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren, relatives, and benefactors from everlasting damnation, That you give and preserve the fruits of the earth, That you grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed, That you graciously hear us, Son of God,
Besides the ghost runner vs Dodgers, Pressly hasn't allowed a run in 5 consecutive games. After going 0-3 to begin the season, Seth Martinez has two consecutive wins. Javier needs to DNP for a month. Call up a pitcher and/or trade for one and hope our better lineups are lined up. Yordan and Urquidy can go ahead return too.
One of the things I thought about Sorry. I had to leave immediately while starting a post I was going to say that the last several years, one of the things that has occured to me is that many of the energetic and vocal leaders on this team have left. Reddick, Springer, Correa, Verlander They were all at the forefront whenever an emotional situation came up - good or bad Bregman isn't cocky loud Bregman from 2019. Altuve isn't a ra-ra type or vocal. Tucker - your kidding right? Who steps up and tells his teammates to cut the **** and start playing winning baseball?
The Righteous Gemstones I know I know.... I'm still trying to adjust to being a more passive fan this season and not allow losses to bother me...... trying to let my Texans and Rockets (no expectations every time they play) feeling merge to the Astros.
Penn and Teller were not fooled by Javiers invisiball, but they are still working on Pressly's ghost runner.
Who knows? Maybe that leadership comes from an unexpected source. Odorizzi of all people, after one of the losses against Boston in the 2021 ALCS, gave a pep talk in the locker room that the rest of the team later said fueled their victory in that series. https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-veterans-address-team-following-game-3-loss
I've been wondering this as well for the past month. Wondering who will call for a players only meeting. I heard Abreu was a great leader for Chicago but problem is he's the new guy and he was sucking. Maybe Maldonado but maybe not this year(did he stop caring after they tried to replace him in the off season). Plus he's one of the worst hitters. Can anyone take him seriously? McCullers is probably a vocal leader but obviously he's injured and was away from the team and now he's out for the season. Kind of off topic, if they acquired a new player that's vocal and has leadership, will he be hesitant being the new guy??
Surprised you didn't mention Gurriel. He was loved and respected in the clubhouse. McCullers seems the best leadership candidate but he's not playing. Dusty should be a leader, but he's addicted to Maldy. There's so much negative going on this season vs previous, I'm not sure what the remedy is other than showing heart and not moping. If Abreu can hit 850 OPS the remaining season it will equal more winning and more confidence. He's the biggest single reason for this year's lackluster performance.
They are an older team - players like people calm down. Verlander was a leader of the pitching staff but there were issues with him and some of the other guys, his leadership was similar to Nolan Ryan - guys respected the work he put in. The leader of the Astros is the same it was 6-7 years ago, Jose Altuve. Bregman has become more involved in working with younger players and Jose Abreu is one of the most respected and liked players across the league. Maldonado is the bridge between hitters and pitchers. Tucker is a flake - but he has always been a flake. He isn’t usually viewed as a leader but I’ve heard nothing about teammates disliking him. If you mean the Astros need some new juice - someone young and outspoken to add a spark, I would guess maybe next year with Drew Gilbert in CF. That’s not really the personality of this group - they are typically more work driven and focused.
So, more like the Astros of the late 90s and early 2000s. Good or bad, there is just a noticeable change of attitudes and reactions on the field and in the dugout. Especially Springer and Correa's emotions. It's like winning or losing. Good things happening on the field or bad they act the same. Just do their thing and leave. Win or lose. It's not as fun or entertaining, but they aren't here for me. I will still watch just as I have for 44 years.
That could have been a corner turning win last night. Inspired effort when they looked flat and dead.
Altuve leads by example. He just hasn't played enough this year to remind the guys how hard you need to try. I honestly think we just need good health and Abreu and Bregman to play to their normal ability. With Altuves and Alvarez producing their consistent juice and Tucker, Abreu, and Bregman playing at their above average level, we only need 2 out of the other 4 players in the lineup to provide something on any given night. Unfortunately, one of those 4 is Maldy who only provides something once a week.
I think he can be ok. Maybe he needs to skip a turn ( if the Astros can afford that) and work on his mechanics. I haven't studied them, but there must be something different about the ball getting to the hitter.
