Jake Meyers has a .686 OPS. Last year, it was .582. Are you really going to argue *not* playing Jake Meyers has significantly hurt this team? That is pure nonsense. And BTW, Julks has a .650 OPS. Again, this is where stacked line-ups in years past spoils us. It is not terribly uncommon to have a collection of mediocre players vying for the 8th, 9th place in the line-up. The Astros are not routinely sitting elite bats for any of these guys. I put these two together because McCormick and Diaz have had very similar seasons. On May 31, Chas was slashing .209/.292./.419. Diaz had an OPS of .621. Then they both got very hot in June. And... they've played more as a result: - since June 13, Diaz has started 49/65 games, and set a 493 PA pace (estimating 145 games). - since June 27, Chas has started 47/54 games, and set a 540 PA pace (estimating 145 games). I certainly think there's a strong argument for playing the hot hand, and that Chas, especially, should have gotten more PAs in June. But, also: he has a pretty decent track record that doesn't look anything like this season. This idea that *everyone* knew his early June hot streak was sustainable is just retroactive bullshit. Again, sure - play the hot hand, and all - but nobody - NOBODY - thought Chas's stretch was anything other than an outlier hot streak. Bottom line: both guys have been playing regularly for two months now.
I agree. the point was that things largely even out... including Chas/Diaz not getting more AB's. Bregman did slump a lot... at a time when the other guys were injured, so it was magnified (even when Diaz/Chas were ascending into the type of elite hitters that nobody really expected going into the season). Not having Altuve/Alvarez for prolonged stretches forces guys like Dubon and Julks to get more playing time than deserved. I do wish Pena had improved from last year instead of slightly regressed. And I do wish Altuve hadn't gotten hit in the WBC. Other than that, I agree the lineup should be better than it was last year going forward... and into the next 2 years before they figure out what to do with Tucker/Bregman/Altuve.
Don't want to jump ahead, but assuming they make the playoffs, it's a safe assumption that Maldy will continue to catch JV and more than likely Framber. Does Dusty put Dubon in CF (instead of Chas) when JV pitches? If Brantley is able to contribute his options are in LF or at DH (again thinking ahead to the playoffs). So if Maldy is catching the only options for Diaz is at DH or 1B. If Yordan and Uncle Mike are basically handling LF and DH, if Dusty plays Dubon in CF when JV pitches this could possibly mean Chas sits which would be a HUGE mistake. I understand Brantley could possibly sit and you have Yordan at DH and Chas would slide over and play LF. Dubon is a bench player and has NO business starting any playoff game. Same as Maldy but we know Dusty will go with Maldy over Diaz at C when JV and Framber pitch (another huge mistake). Ideal lineup (if Brantley can contribute): Altuve 2b Bregman 3b Yordan LF Tucker RF Chas CF Diaz C Brantley DH Abreu 1b Pena SS Maldy catching Altuve 2b Bregman 3b Yordan LF Tucker RF Chas CF Diaz 1b Brantley DH Pena SS Maldy C There's a good chance winning the division could be decided by a game or two and how frustrating it will be knowing all of these lame @$$ lineups Dusty went with. He needs to STOP juggling the lineup (they're in the stretch drive and the time for experimenting is over). Put the best offensive lineup out there which means Diaz at C. You want the city of Houston to "thank you" Dusty? Then WAKE THE F UP and put Diaz at C and STOP with Dubon in CF. EVERY game matters!!! It goes without saying there's a HUGE difference between winning the Division and resting as opposed to the WC route.
The Astros would be the Top AL offense with 2 of the following: 1. Abreu being normal Abreu. 2. Diaz playing nearly every day. 3. Altuve and Alvarez being healthy. All three of those options are likely a huge loss of runs. I'd put Chas and Meyers lack of PAs as a 4th biggest loss of runs.
A healthy Brantley can help the Astros IF they use him to DH when Diaz is playing 1st/C and pinch hit in games where Diaz is 1st or DH. We just cannot have him stealing at bats from Diaz, who would likely have had 40+ homers had he played all year - which is massive. Only 5 times in major league history has a catcher hit over 40 homers in a season as a catcher....... Salvador Perez, Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella, Javy Lopez and Hundley.... Hundley and Lopez were PED users and did it in a very homerun heavy era.... So basically, you are looking at Perez, Bench, Piazza and Campanella. Let that sink in........... The point being that Baker better not let Brantley steal at bats from Diaz. Altuve Brantley Bregman Tucker Alvarez Diaz McCormick Singleton Pena This is their best line up if Brantley is hitting...... at 1st I would put anyone that is hot, if Abreu or Dubon isn't hot, then I play Singleton because at least he walks and takes pitches........
Probably. Hard to say Diaz was going to start everyday going into the season and all of those above scenarios are inter-connected. If Abreu is Abreu, he doesn't play any 1B. If Alvarez is healthy, he doesn't get much DH time. The only correcting factor is if pitchers like JV/Framber/Javier aren't so attached to Maldy... and that can only be something they can speak about. Still would like to see slightly more plate discipline. Its almost as if his lack of AB's has prevented pitchers from getting a full-formed book on how to pitch him (not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing). Curious to know what his swing rate is on balls out of the zone (which sometimes he hits those...)
Singleton is being shorted some respect around here. I'm not saying he deserves to be a starter but he has value and has produced much better than guys like Julks and Hensley have. And better than Abreu has for huge chunks of the year. He is one of the best 13 players on this team now and should get 1-2 starts per week if Abreu can't play more than 66-75% because they are babying his back- as long as Diaz is still starting at C or DH.
Javy did roids...? When did that come out? Again, sure - play the hot hand, and all - but nobody - NOBODY - thought Chas's stretch was anything other than an outlier hot streak. Um... there are lots of Chas truthers out there. Heck my friends are the original Chas Chompers. Chas has shown he can rake even before last postseason if given consistent playing time. But... every game matters... and we essentially conceded 5-6 games before the first pitch with no benefit in the subsequent games...
It's retroactive, though. Neither were very good through May. They both got hot in June. And they've played regularly since. I can't explain why Baker didn't ride Chas' hot streak in early/mid-June more - except that Chas had never had a stretch like that, and I wouldn't blame *anyone* for being dubious of it. That doesn't explain it away - but *no one* thought what he was doing in June was sustainable.
Pressly only had one game (his last game) being scored on in August. That game jumped his ERA from 2.75 --> 3.30. He's had an awesome season, but it was very risky pitching him 4x in 6 days in his last appearance after already being overworked most of the season. It almost worked out, but after MIggy worked his PC near 20 everything unraveled. Fortunately he's had two days rest since then and hopefully we can avoid using him again at least until tomorrow. Much of Neris' second half struggles is due to overuse. Maybe Dusty will avoid using him in 6-run games like he DIDN'T do earlier this season. The bullpen has shaped well and is still perhaps the best in baseball. The biggest challenge for the pitching staff as you said is the starters. Astros must invent a way to finagle rest for a certain of them.
Bottom Line: Chas is better than Julks. Meyers is better than Julks (slight with the bat, huge by defense). You can nit pick my post all you want or use that or this split, but that is my main point. If you agree with those two statements (even if you think Meyers over Julks is inconsequential), I am more right than wrong that Chas and Meyers are better players than the people that played over them.
I agree with you on all but the lineup. I think Bregman needs to stay in the #2 spot- especially vs RHP. I think moving Bregman, Yordan, and Tucker down in the lineup hurts this team even with Brantley. Altuve Bregman Yordan Tucker Chas Diaz Brantley Abreu Pena
Unless something has changed in the last year, the front office will have a huge say in the post season roster and the line ups. The front office has consistently had the final say on the post season roster and line up - until last year when Baker insisted on Gurriel and then started him. It largely paid off last year, so it is possible that Baker has more of a say this season. As for Maldonado - if Verlander, Valdez and Javier insist on him on Maldonado, I think you have to start him behind the plate for those 3. In that case Diaz can play 1st or DH. Each of the players in the line up bring different attributes. Players like Bregman, Tucker, Alvarez, Altuve and Singleton all draw walks - and that is a big part of the Astros post season success, they can get on base and run pitch counts up. However, what Diaz does is very important as well - he is a bad ball hitter, which means that he can get key hits against pitchers that otherwise don't walk many people and can reach base on "set up pitches" that pitchers don't expect hitters to swing at. The offense would obviously, ideally have a healthy Abreu hitting like he did with the White Sox, but even without that, it has a chance to be pretty dynamic.
Yes; Chas is better. Meyers is probably better because he's a very good fielder. But, also, since July 1: McCormick 188 PA Meyers 100 PA Julks 98 PA They rode a 10-game hot streak for Julks in July (.883 OPS July 1 - July 14). Since then, he's played sparingly and been demoted. What are you arguing here?
I sure hope that is the case this yr as well (front office dictating the lineup). Take it out if Dusty's hands. The remaining 30 games will also help sort some things out in regards to the playoffs: * how J. Abreu looks down the stretch *Brantley *who's the #3 SP *who's the #4 SP Thanks Nook!
You said in response to a post stating Dusty was not always playing better players over Maldy, Julks, and Singleton: Who? I think there's one better player - Diaz - and he's starting to play with much greater regularity. I think it is easy to see that I am saying that Chas and Meyers are better than Julks, and your previous statement is incorrect.
