I don't want to downplay anything. You want to pretend Jeff Luhnow was above reproach and just conveniently forget he made deals for Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers, Scott Kazmir, Roberto Osuna, Cameron Maybin, Francisco Liariano... That he used Josh Hader and Teoscar Hernandez in some of those deals... Jeff Luhnow was a very good GM. But he made plenty of mistakes, including being conveniently unaware of a large-scale cheating scandal that made both Click and Brown's jobs significantly harder. Again, it's really convenient to just remove the other team from the equation. Why would Toronto deal one of the best arms likely to be available 10 days before the deadline? That does not benefit them in *any* way. Brown has inherited an aging roster, that - under Luhnow and Click - has been shedding top-line talent, losing top-line draft picks, and making significant trades for years. You keep acting like all things are equal, and they very much are not. Brown is not working with the same resources Luhnow and Click had. I really DESPISE this kind of response as if I'm arguing the Astros didn't need to do *anything* - that's such disingenuous bullshit. I very obviously wanted them to get a bat. But there weren't many bats dealt, and I can only assume it's either because there weren't many available or the asking price was too enormous. I'm not just going to immediately point a finger at Brown because I have an axe I want to grind. I don't know if the Astros had enough to get Arozarena, and neither do you. To sit on your couch and pretend you have *any* insight here is remarkably self-serving. You have no clue how the Rays grade their return from Seattle; you have no clue how the Rays grade the Astros' system; you have no clue what the Rays wanted to accomplish or prioritize this deadline; and, frankly, you have no clue what they asked for from the Astros... To scream and yell at Dana Brown absent a whole lot of information points to you having a conclusion drawn way before any results came in.
I, sitting on my couch, KNOW what the Rays would've accepted and so I, still sitting on my couch, will be mad because of this insight! There were two significant bats dealt - both from the Rays - and you're upset Brown was in contact with the Rays? But, Ok - please tell us who these bats are Dana Brown should've dealt for, since you seem to know so much.
I'm going to leave you with this sense there's no use in continuing this conversation. Luhnow built a Dynasty, he had prospects to trade because he was the best GM in MLB and the last 8 yrs have been great. This is setup for an even longer run provided Dana does his job of adding to Luhnow's work just like Click did. So far Dana's work at the deadline isn't promising. Click and Dana have been left a cadilac lets hope Dana doesn't drive it off in the ditch. You can despise all you want. Dana could've made a deal for RA if he wanted too. The price for him wasn't too high. There were other bats out there that other teams managed to be able to acquire. The Stros had the prospects to add a bat. Dana chose to sit out the deadline, unless you consider adding a SP with a 5.00 era and trading for a journeyman RP doing everything he can to give HIS team its best chance to win a championship. If you believe this then we will have to agree to disagree.
Again. Luhnow inherited a train wreck & was given permission to tear it down. He flooded the system with prospects and high-end draft picks he accumulated by purposefully losing. If Luhnow were still here, he'd be running into the same limitations as Brown - maybe he finds better/smarter solutions to navigate around them? But please stop this idea that Jeff Luhnow was above reproach. He made plenty of mistakes, even after the Astros got good. Specific to Brown, I don't believe that's true. He's been given a good MLB roster that has been shedding talent for years (while getting older) and a mostly ravaged farm system, hurt further by the team losing four high-end draft picks. He didn't invest $105MM in Abreu, Brantley & Montero. This current iteration of the Astros is deeply flawed. It's no longer 2019. Again, you keep making two assumptions: 1) the Astros didn't actively pursue any available hitters beyond rumors you've heard (how in the world could you know that?); 2) the Astros' offerings were agreeable to any team that had a hitter you think they should have traded for (again, not something you would remotely know). And both of those ideas fly in the face of what actually happened: only a handful of bats were dealt - and, other than the two Rays, none were terribly impactful. The Astros are not going to get better adding "average" hitters to this line-up: they have those in DROVES. If Dana Brown didn't think the Astros needed offense, *that's* concerning. But every indication is that he pursued it but couldn't land a deal. It's disappointing. But also consistent with how the deadline played out for every other team.
No he wouldn't have run into the same problems as Brown. He was a guy who thought outside the box. He only had a very few guys that were untouchable. Sure he made mistakes, everybody does, but they were few and far between. Your not thankful that he built a juggernaut that self sustained itself with a few tweaks that should last for over a decade. I can guarantee you that he would have added more than a pitcher with a ,500 ERA and a journeyman reliever at the deadline. They have talent enough on the farm to add an impact bat. I agree with you about the contracts. I think Dana made mistakes a young GM makes. He got tunnel vision. Like I said, this isn't me thinking I'm sure Luhnow would have done more at the deadline than Dana did and this assumption is based on history. Right now an avg bat in LF, 1B would be a major upgrade. They're playing both of their catchers at the same time so they have avg to above avg bats at 1B and OF when Yordan plays LF. So no they don't have avg bats in droves. The way the deadline played out for some teams, they were able to add bats and more than a pitcher with a 5.00 ERA that they hope to fix and a journeyman reliever. Dana's doing all they can to bring another championship to this city. It's an opportunity lost unless the team is able to overcome this lack of aggressiveness.
The bottom line is that none of us can confirm or KNOW anything about what Btown did or didn't do or what Luhnow would or would not have done in his shoes. What we do know is: 1) Brown got the SP the organization identified as the best option. 2) Brown has prioritized rebuilding the farm system and prefers high ceiling over high floor talent. 3) Brown chose not to pay the prices required to add a bat. So what we can assume from that is: Brown feels that some combination of Melton, Baez, Dezenzo, Matthews, Blubaugh and possibly others will likely usher in a renewed era of dominance and the improvement a bat would bring in 2024 was not worth giving that up. Most of the 29 other organizations aren't interested in any of the current prospects outside of the very best 2-5. The organization must be down on Bloss and Loperfido at least and possibly Wagner as well. They likely felt they weren't foundational type of players and would not have the same value next year that they have now. I still think making the Kikuchi trade without following it up by adding an impact bat was a huge mistake, and may doom the World Series hopes. However the more I think of the future, the more I am excited about watching my Astros compete for World Series titles for another 6-8 years.
If they don't make the WS we can look back at the deadline as a big reason why. You could also say this was neglected this off-season as well. You can never have too much pitching.
I agree with the second part. Adding a SP was a huge topic in the off season ( especially after last year) and Brown gambled and lost. I also say let's not make the same mistake this year. Find replacement level SPs and sign them to minor league deals or choose the ones with options. Offer Urquidy a 2 yr/ $5M extension $1M in 2025/$4M in 2026. As for the first part, that's not decided yet. If Kikuchi pitches well, and the guys who a bat would have replaced play well then that won't be true. Unless Caleb bleeping Ferguson is on the roster and blows chunks that is
Agreed Let's just say I'm very underwhelmed by Dana's deadline moves and I hope they can fix Kikuchi. I don't have much hope for Ferguson.
Ferguson was decent in LA right??? Hopefully Astros know something that that the Yankees didn't know. But Yankees are decent with pitchers so who knows. What's interesting is Espada said they had interest in him for awhile and tried to acquire him in the past. Hopefully he becomes another Taylor Scott.
Please stop doing this. I've never said any such thing. Other than pointing out (correctly) that Luhnow made mistakes and, you know - the whole cheating scandal - I haven't said one negative thing about Luhnow. They have talent enough on the farm to add an impact bat. I agree with you about the contracts.[/quote] You can GUARNATEE it?... You're once again assuming significant insight you simply do not have. It is LITERALLY what you're doing. I mean, scroll up: you made a "guarantee" Luhnow would have added a hitter. You keep denigrating Kikuchi's "5.00 ERA" - which isn't his ERA (and it's not close to his FIP) - while simultaneously championing the Astros acquiring a gaggle of players who are, essentially, the hitting equivalent of a "5.00 ERA". And the lack of aggressiveness is, again, you projecting your bias onto a situation you know almost ZERO about.
You can GUARNATEE it?... You're once again assuming significant insight you simply do not have. It is LITERALLY what you're doing. I mean, scroll up: you made a "guarantee" Luhnow would have added a hitter. You keep denigrating Kikuchi's "5.00 ERA" - which isn't his ERA (and it's not close to his FIP) - while simultaneously championing the Astros acquiring a gaggle of players who are, essentially, the hitting equivalent of a "5.00 ERA". And the lack of aggressiveness is, again, you projecting your bias onto a situation you know almost ZERO about.[/QUOTE] All I know adding a pitcher with a 5.00 ERA and a journeyman reliever means they aren't serious about winning another ring this year. Now the rest of the team may overcome this, but there really wasn't much help at the deadline for the team this year even if Kikuchi works out.
As currently constructed this team is not repeating the record playoff appearances of previous years. If the "injured" return soon and contribute, maybe they will make a run, but maybe they won't. The 2024 Astros look like a .500 team.
Tucker could comeback hot, Yordan could get hot, Diaz could remain hot and Caratini could help the length of the lineup. If this happens and it could, plus Dana hits on Kikuchi then a run is entirely possible but I wouldn't bet on it.
I am a loooooong time Astro fan, I was a kid during Colt 45 days. When I used to live in Houston, I attended games, loved the Astros thru thick and thin (mostly thin). The last few years have been glorious. Last year was disappointing in that they struggled to win home games, but they almost got to the WS. This year has largely been a dud.
True, I started watching the Stros in 1969 as a 7 year old. The last 7 years are about as good as it gets. It could've been so much more than it's been with a little luck and Manfred blackballing Luhnow. The dynasty isn't what it used to be, but that's mainly because of injuries to the pitching staff and lack of planning in the offseason. This still doesn't mean they wont win another ring, but they're going to have to be very lucky and have things like Chas bouncing back, JV getting healthy and being Cy JV, Kikuchi fixing his issues., Hader/Pressly/Abreu being what they were thought to be before the season started. I also think Caratini is going to be a big part of this team if they're going to win a championship. Can all of this happen? Of course it can, but I would put the odds at less than 50-50.
10 for 54 (.186) That includes a 3 for 8 start, so 7 for 46 since (ouch) 0 HRs 3 RBIs That's an RBI a week. Ouch. Just for good measure, Justin Turner .167 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, .562 OPS.
