Indeed. And yet? A playoff rotation of Framber/Yousei/Hunter/JV (with Blanco/Spencer just in case) would probably be one of the best of all playoff teams.
Last night's blowout negatively affects the 40-23 portion of that post. Espada didn't really make any mistakes today though. The offense just sucked.
Arrighetti last 5 starts: 29 IP, 25H, 9BB, 36K, 3.41 ERA, 0-3 (team 0-5) Stros scored 2-1-0-2-0 runs in those games
It should of been a 7 game losing streak. If not for O.Cruz betting against his team and Yordan overrated speed. Why is Pedro Leon batting 9th?!?!?!?!?! Can't he bat 2nd and give him confidence for the future. The Blue Jays is batting Loperfido 2nd in the batting order for the Blue Jays ever since the trade. It is not like Bregman is etched in staying next year. If not for Kukuchi magical 1st start for the Astros, it has been DisAstrous week.
Missing Kyle Tucker for this long has to factor into this. The front office, nor most of us, could not see Chas and Abreu going from being solid to abjectly horrible and they just did not have the margin for error. The other parts of the lineup are in line with their projections. The front office not getting a bat at the deadline is awful, though.
It was going well for awhile, I guess we’ve returned to a stretch where the Astros are going to piss me off a lot and ruin my weekends. **** my mental fortitude for allowing that to happen.
Bregman missed a game changing 3 run homer off Skenes by the slimmest margin I think I’ve ever seen a ball miss the pole. So yes we got lucky in others but definitely didn’t get a break there.
It's NO longer May or June or even July. It's August. This team is what it is. The bar since 2017 is World Series or it's a failed season. This team has has hung in there despite countless injuries to the SP. Throw in they've only had Tucker in two of the four months they've played. The pitching is one thing. I mean what in the heck do you expect when you're playing countless guys who are utility players at best way too much (Dubon, Singleton, Meyers, Cabbage, Chas, etc etc AND they didn't go get a bat at the deadline. This team struggles against average pitching (and rookies) and we're hoping they'll be able to hit elite pitching (and that's what they'd be facing IF they made the playoffs and that's a HUGE if). They have a stretch coming up in a couple of weeks where they're going to be facing the Red Sox, the Os, the Phillies and KC (14 games). Also I get the excitement about Kikuchi the other night, but let's also keep in mind that TB Lineup he faced. Six of the nine hitters he faced had an avg below .200 (so let's see how he faces a good hitting team). His era before the trade was over 8.00 over his previous 8 starts. I get having hope, however right now I think it's smoking the hopium pipe thinking this team can seriously contend for a World Series and right now it's more like they won't even make the playoffs. I HOPE I'M WRONG!!!
The team appears to be drifting. They might feel abandoned by "leadership." The powers that be didn't exactly go "all in" for this season, so it appears they have thrown in the towel for this year. That resonates with players. As currently constructed, they just don't have talent to compete at a high level.
I don’t know how it will be done, but this team needs better hitters at 1st base, left field, and center field next year. Also, gotta replace Bregman. If they don’t address these holes in the offseason, they aren’t trying to win. They will need another bullpen arm and at least 1 more reliable SP as well.
Looks like I didn't miss much after not catching any of the games this series. Offense is still lifeless and Yordan can't hit at home; it would help if Tucker can have his leg reattached.
In all fairness, we just don’t have enough to offer. The cupboards are pretty bare. We can’t compete with other teams right now in that regard, not to mention the fact that we have an inexperienced GM. This is the end of the party, so to speak. The reason we have Brown is to rebuild the farm.
I believe I posted it last Sunday, but it's been a while since we've won on a Sunday. So much for Sunday being fun day.
