LOL, some of you are taking this thread a little too seriously... Lighten up - we're in the ALCS! The last week of the regular season, after the Royals and A's debacle, I thought for sure we had given up and the players had quit on Dusty. I certainly didn't predict us going 5-1 against Seattle and Arizona. Granted, Arizona had nothing to play for once they clinched a playoff spot, but still. My best case scenario was squeaking into the playoffs and getting swept by the Rays - then reloading during the offseason.
Thanks, bro! I thought about hitting you up. I'll be there Sat-Tue, not sure how my schedule looks. I'll shoot you a DM if I think we can grab a meal.
I mean, sure - fans are entitled to whatever reaction. But... none of this should be a shock. Even if you're a casual, 2017+ fan, you should know by now two unequivocal facts: 1) baseball simply isn't designed to be nitpicked; the small, daily decisions too many have spent this year getting upset about... baseball has always been a long season and, way more often than not, it works itself out - you just have to be patient; 2) these Astros are not built like any other team you've ever rooted for, and there aren't many teams throughout sports history like them: they are fearless & they are relentless, and counting them out before they are actually out is a silly notion. One day, they will go down - it might be next week. But, man - if you spend that time whining and complaining and not stopping to enjoy what they've given us.... you're going to regret it. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime run. I still can't fathom that I get to root for King Kong. I've spent the vast majority of my life being pummeled by King Kong: the 70s Steelers; 80s Lakers/Celtics; 90s Braves; 10s Patriots, not to mention all the self-inflicted errors and meltdowns and ignominious losses, and... Every season, every series... it's a gift, My kid - who is 13 - told me last night, "It's just the ALDS," and I wanted to disown the spoiled little brat. When I was his age, the Astros had been to two - 2! - postseasons. He's witnessing his 8th! It's unfathomable and so precious and awesome and incredible, and...
I never lost faith in the team but I never expected Abreu to contribute much. I have been shocked and delighted by his late season and play off resurgence at the plate.
not sure how folks forget when Yordan was down, Abreu stepped up during a significant portion of that time
Proves my point, Madly "switched" it up on a series clinching, legacy defining, game. Not sure a young Diaz does that yet.
Not starting Diaz has caused the GNP of many nations to plummet, kick-starting a food shortage felt world wide.
Yea Eating crow. Maldy has done a great job settling down the pitchers and has some timely hits here and there. Abreu my goodness. Please keep it going.
The results are the results. Dusty Baker has been a fantastic manager in the playoffs with the Astros.
Maldy has certainly proven himself and Dusty's confidence in him. His baseball I.Q. was never questioned, just the value of it. In the postseason it becomes more important. He has also been better offensively and defensively in the 2nd half. If he wants to come back I wouldn't mind but hope that he will step back to 1/4 starts with Diaz playing catcher much more in 2024.
Diaz had a lower pitcher ERA than Maldonado. Guess what? Diaz will be young next year too. Do you want Maldy playing 100+ games in 2024 ??
Those small decisions that shouldn't be nitpicked had Houston potentially missing the playoffs after 160 games. Of course fans know they're witnessing a historic run. To suggest otherwise is just deflecting from the "small" decisions that almost cost missing the playoffs or entering the playoffs with a overworked pitching staff that needed rest but couldn't get rest because they were a wild card. Framber could already be shot for the remainder of the season.
Sure, if Maldy is the reason behind it. I'm in the Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, and Tucker are more the reason (among position players) for the Astros success lately crowd. Keep those 4 together for the next few years with Diaz, Chas, Pena and some pitching, and you have a postseason team only injuries and/or a bad manager can stop in the regular season.
If you're free Sunday night would be up for watching a game with an actual Stros fan. Although I am winning some of my friends over once they found out the Rangers want their fans to sing Creed.
Not up to me. Up to Diaz to convince Dusty, JV, Framber, etc... I trust those legends of the game to know what a good or great catcher is. Also have to factor in , perhaps Maldy intangibles convince FA pitching to come try and win.
As I've repeatedly said, listing the reasons for this team being - by recent standards - underwhelming, those small decisions fans kept harping on all year wouldn't be high on the list. I mean, the ENTIRE premise of that idea is based around the fallacy that players that routinely fail 65-75% of the time would succeed 100% of the time in all the games Dusty didn't play them. And... that's just not a remotely valid argument. Just look at this series: Diaz was 0-6 with 4 Ks and looked utterly lost. Baseball is hard. They nearly missed the playoffs because Altuve missed 70 games + Alvarez missed 40. They lost 2/5 of their rotation. Brantley and McCullers wound up being (mostly) non-factors. Good players (Valdez and Abreu) unexpectedly regressed; young players (Pena and Brown) unexpectedly did not progress; good players (Tucker and Bregman) had long stretches of producing below-expectations; the bullpen regressed; the offseason was lousy; they have played a lot of baseball the past seven years, which could lead to them both being tired and, honestly, bored... To look at *all* of that, and determine, "Yeah, but if they had just started so-and-so on April 30, and May 11, and June 25 and..." Baseball is full of those small samples - good and bad. It's silly to try and extract them. Bottom line: this team wasn't as deep, wasn't as good as recent teams. Fortunately, they got better at the deadline (Graveman *did* lengthen the bullpen; JV was desperately needed) and they got healthy (Abreu looks like a real threat, finally). Texas is going to be tough - maybe the toughest out they've had since... well, just from the AL, I think they might be the best team since the '17 Yankees. But I'll never count this team out. Do they? Because a large swath of them don't seem to be enjoying it.... Dusty is going to cost us the division! They were lucky and he's definitely going to cost us the ALDS! OK, fine! But no way we're winning the ALCS with Dusty Baker!! I can't imagine still being upset at something that didn't happen after the team just clinched its seventh straight trip to the ALCS is a recipe for enjoyment - but, hey: you be you.
