If it leads to just the slightest ability for Bregman and Alvarez to be fresher and continue to get huge hits for the remainder of the season… well worth it. Nerd cave win?
Diaz was the obvious better defender too. There was no reason to play Maldy as the starter. Diaz bat was ahead of his defense but his defense was still better than Maldy. Chas has had 200 at bats with an injury in the middle of it.
I’m not saying it’s closed on him either but it damn sure is coming to a close for 2024 if he doesn’t get it going soon. I don’t see them spending on an OF bat in FA this offseason so he’s going to likely have next year to prove this season was the fluke and not the prior two.
So, the Astros could've just put out their first 3 hitters and called auto outs for the remaining 6 in the order for about the same result.
coaches- "Alright Framber, foolproof gameplan today, just don't let them score" Framber- "Say no more fam"
Again, if you’re going all-in on the “that’s all this is”, he should snap out of it at some point. From what I’ve seen, his opposite field line drive percentage is way down against lefties (may have been due to his stance tinkering), his contact rate has dropped significantly to the point where eyesight correction is a valid possibility (in a non joking way), and I’d really like to see a semblance of extra-base ability again. He’s had one extra base hit since the 2 HR game? That’s a tad more than “just a slump” phase no matter how you want to dissect it.
If there was ever a series to “experiment”, this was the one. Reminded me a lot of the 2012-2014 days.
