Caller on the postgame said Astros pitching is averaging 85 EV this season. Astros had 6 of the 8 hard hit balls today. The players are looking frustrated because the BS is all happening at once early this year, but it won't continue. Team will get healthier plus Bregman and Chas will increase closer to their norms. Jabreu needs to be taken behind the shed.
"Look at those professional ballclubs! I'll bet you that your Astros barely win no more than 33% of those games. And, you gotta score a 50 in the dance contest."
Clev-good, sea- playing better, nyy-good, det-playing well, oak-we suck against, milw-good and scoring a lot, laa- not as bad as in the past, oak-we suck against, sea- playing better and rising I could very easily see us only winning a game each series
Click leaving wasn't really his choice. Crane only offering a 1 year contract immediately after winning the WS was a huge slap in the face. Everyone knew Crane was trying to push him out. Crane hated how Click didn't chase big names but all the splashy big names Crane and Bagwell have signed have backfired. I'm positive Click would've made some savvy under-the-radar moves to patch up and add depth to the bullpen instead of chasing Hader when you really didn't need another closer. Seems like analytics have gone out the window with this braintrust.
We'd actually have a decent bullpen, like the one Click built to win the WS. I also doubt we'd have Montero, Abreu, and Hader making tens of millions more than their actual worth. Crane wanted all the credit, so he went Jerry Jones. Until he sells the team, don't look for the Astros to get better.
This is bascially the problem. Correa and Springer were the leadership of the team. We lost both, and didn't replace them with any leader that wants to win more than lose. Altuve is just a great player, but he's not a guy to get into the face of anyone on the team. Tucker and Bregman have a very ho hum attitude towards baseball. Pena and McCormick were always meant to be supplemental talent. I guess Verlander is the last real leader in the clubhouse, but we are 1-2 since he rejoined the team. I said many times before the season started that we should have been seriously shopping Tucker, Bregman, and Valdez.
The way things are going, Crane is going to forced into a rebuild sooner than later. Not right away, but sooner than he would like I am sure. When that occurs, no more expensive overpays are possible. It will be back to building the farm, which if he is still around by then, would put Dana Brown in a much more important position. Having said that, IDK what kind of credit Crane will be given. I agree with you that Crane stole the show, just not the one he thought.
The rebuild should have started in earnest this off-season. Tucker, Bregman, and Valdez are all going to be leaving in the next 2 seasons and the Astros have no plan to replace their production other than over the hill veterans who are part of the "back of card" All-Star teams.
Didn't matter who pitched today, can't win if you can't score. Losing game 2 with a 4-2 lead going into the 9 was the killer.
How about that easy schedule? I give up. This is our 2012 Red Sox year. Espada is Bobby valentine, a completely clueless jackass. It’s a complete waste year just hope that our 2025 is like the Red Sox 2013.
The Astros are actually top 5 in multiple offensive categories. Most hits and fewest strikeouts among them. But it doesn't feel like it when the pitching has given up the 2nd most runs.
This is why I wish we could have kept Gilbert last year. He had fire to him. He got his teammates pumped and annoyed the other team. We are missing that element these days. Now, I understand why he was traded but I wish we had something like that on our team. I would like to add the biggest designated a$$hole at the trade deadline.
The hardest part is that the Astros are better than this - it’s sad to watch but there’s no one currently on this roster that’s gonna spark anything on this team. No leaders. Not sure there are many changes that can be made - trade Bregman for what a bag of chips? No Passion, uninterested and totally aimless. The accountability needs to start happening and this team needs to be shaken up right now.
Verlander and Altuve are leaders. This team appears to be missing the Morton, Brantley, Beltran, McCann, and (gasp) Maldonado type of veteran leaders who fill in the areas where type of leadership JV and Tuve provide doesn’t fit the bill. This stretch is looking more and more like a management/coaching problem than a player problem.