Despite how much they were beloved, the clubhouse didn't revolt when there was no legitimate effort to keep Straw, Springer, McCann, Correa, McHugh, Morton
Maldy aging, everything slows from reacting to recovery. This year, our pitching staff has been shaky which is why this year should be his last. Additional year would be detrimental to the Astros.
I want him gone as much as the next guy but this simply isn’t true. He actually lost weight coming into camp (18lbs) and has kept on it off. He’s just getting old and it shows.
LOL he’s always had a gut, but overall he did drop weight coming in and its apparent in his face and legs but we agree, he ain’t good anymore.
The other day I watched a replay in slo mo of him throwing down, he missed the bag by 3 feet and his gut shook 3 times...
The bottom line is that at some point, Diaz earned this job. Dusty can dusty all he wants, but when does it become unfair to a young player who outplayed the veteran and should have the job? And at what point does the organization step in because that decision is costing the team wins and its chance at another World Series Championship? I want Maldy on this team. I think he is invaluable on this roster and on the bench. He is no longer an asset on the field. He needs to be Framber's personal catcher or starting once per week.
Maldy won't start everyday if/when the pitching staff speaks up. Maybe it's beginning https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/brandon-bielak-tosses-seven-scoreless-innings-in-astros-win
Bielak and France..our "worst" starters just went 7 innings with Yainer catching.. meanwhile Brown, Blanco, and Javier just struggled to go even 5 innings with Maldy catching...... Brown was pitching lights out with Yainer and then struggled once Dusty switched him to Maldy... is it a coincidence? also Yainer's CS% is more than double Maldy (40% compared to 18%). also Maldy leads MLB in passed balls....by far......second season in a row.......
This is exactly right. People seem to misunderstand the pitcher-catcher dynamic. When Javier has a good game, he is not thinking "I pitched well because Maldy called a great game!". When he has a bad game, he's not blaming Maldy either. Pitchers will always believe their results, good or bad, are the result of their own actions - throwing good pitches, bad pitches, locating well/badly/etc. It's just the nature of an elite athlete - they internalize everything. So this whole "oh he had a good game with catcher X, why would he want Catcher Y" thing is irrelevant to them. From his perspective, Bielak had a good game because he pitched his ass off. BUT, trusting Diaz as he mentioned in his quotes means he's less likely to ask or hope for Maldy going forward. The Maldy-thing is basically what Cole said: pitchers love that he does his homework and knows everything and anything there is to know about a hitter, he puts in the time to know them as a pitcher really well, and he's willing to call out pitchers when needed and do his part to try to get the best out of them (whether it works or not). So if they are struggling or need an idea of how to beat a hitter or whatever, they know Maldy is there. Or if Maldy says a certain pitch is the right one, they trust it and probably don't question it because they know he's done the research. Developing that with another catcher takes time. By all accounts over the last 6 years, most catchers fit into a generic pot of catchers that aren't bad or good. Certain ones, like WIllson Contreras this year, are hated for one reason or another. And a few, like Maldy, are revered for their back-end work. Diaz is in that generic pool right now like most everyone else. If Maldy wasn't here, pitchers would be 100% fine with Diaz catching them; but Maldy IS here, so they are going to prefer him if they have the choice. And when your pitching staff is the best in baseball, you probably defer to them. But the more you hear quotes like this, the more Diaz will likely earn playing time as a C because it means Diaz is building that connection. The other issue is what Diaz is still expressing towards the team about his desire to be a catcher. I suspect he's pretty thrilled right now getting to play a lot and being a DH. Hopefully when Yordan is back, he won't want to go back to part-time, and will be more interested in wanting to be a catcher.
Diaz hits significantly better when he catches. Their was a quote or two about his lack of desire to be a catcher last year when he was in the minors but I haven't heard anything this season. It seems he's embraced improving his skills behind the plate and building a rapport with the pitching staff. It's too bad Dusty has zero desire on developing him there.
I believe there was a big discussion here during this past offseason where he told the Astros he didn't want to be a catcher, and people here thought he was a lunatic for wanting to give up his primary route to the majors. But we don't really know whether he changed his mind or still grumbles about it or what. But for now, he's in the ideal spot for himself playing DH.
