For me, its a B. Screw ESPN and their C. We have been hurt and have put ourselves in a great position to catch a team most have given an A. Once we get healthy, add a lefty bat (brantley?) and a pitcher or two, watch out! Add Yordan to this line-up, getting Breggy on track, and playing Diaz more should equate to another 10 games over .500 and at least a wild card berth. If Urquidy, Javier, and Brown find their form, we have put ourselves in a great position to overtake the rangers by the end of July. Solid B.
I think the overall performance is a B+ That's better than the sum of the parts though. Starting pitching: A- Bullpen: B Catching: D Infield: C- Outfield: B+ Offense: C- Defense: C+
Everyone has played to my expectations or better except for Abreu, Montero, and Bregman. We are lucky to be in the position we are with the injuries to Garcia, Urquidy, Alvarez and Altuve. Baker and his goofiness has been very frustrating since we don't have the cushion we normally have. Brown needs to make something happen around a pitching.
Imperforate anus is a relatively common condition that occurs in about 1 out of 5,000 infants. Not everybody gets one.
Well - I am not happy where the Astros are, they should have at least 7-8 more wins at this point. However, nothing is done in a vacuum. The Astros are very lucky to not be out of the Division and Wildcard race. They have lost 4 of their 6 starting pitchers from last season..... Verlander left and McCullers, Garcia and Urquidy have been injured all season. The Astros have started a rotation that includes two rookies (Brown/France) and a journeyman (Bielak). The offense has been without their best two hitters for long periods of time (Altuve/Alvarez). A rookie that was a non-prospect has been getting a lot of time in the outfield - and their big off season signing has a .630 OPS. The Astros were 7 games behind the Rangers not long ago - but now are only 2 games behind. The whole bloom could fall off the rose for the Astros in the second half - or they can get Alvarez and Altuve back, trade for a starter and win the division by a half dozen games.... the pieces are there for a top 7 offense and a very good pen.
I would go with B- to B, certainly below expectations after winning the WS. The next few weeks will either lift our spirits or dash our hopes. If the Astros can get everyone healthy and pick up a good player or two then a playoff run is likely. If not, will likely be sitting out the post season.
Not even remotely. It's more of a "pulling my hair out that Dusty can't see Diaz is clearly better and deserves to be the starter " post I want Diaz to start at catcher 4-5 times per week. But I love Maldy. Just like I love Bagwell. I even loved Baggy in 2004 and 2005 but wanted him on the bench most games.