LOL well my understanding is that because they have been working with the pitchers and understand release points, and all the other intricacies' of pitching from a mechanical standpoint, they have worked with select hitters for the purpose of helping our hitters pick up the ball and adjust, and to help them get even more information on how hitters are processing things and learning - so that they can carry that over to our pitchers.
Things I'm very concerned about. Altuve losing to father time. Alvarez never getting his hand right and not being very good. Espada continuing to be stupid. Things I'm greatful for. Paredes, Pena, Meyers, Brown, Hader, Abreu and the Cub's GM
You are justified on Walker and Alvarez, they are vastly under-performing but I believe in both cases the fault lies on the GM. He replaced an overpriced and aging first baseman with an overpriced and ageing first baseman in a totally inexplicable off season move that will leave the team carrying two years of dead money at first base again. As for Alvarez, his peak value was before this season started and instead of trading him this off season as I called for repeatedly his glass jaw reduced his trade value and kept the DH spot tied up to put Altuve in left field. Diaz is simply an overvalued catcher who had a good season. All of his value was in his bat without which he is just a guy.
We can not forget Crane when passing out blame. If he did not refuse to be open minded about adjusting to how teams spend and the expenses of the game have changed, then this is a much different situation. Star players under the age of 32 will always require more than he has been willing to offer. As long as this is the case, the Astros will be limited to 2nd tier and/or older players if they need to use FA to fill a hole. And once a player has enough career earnings to not have to worry about working again in their lifetime its too late to get them to agree to an extension.
Diaz hit well for 2 full seasons. He’s had a rough first 2 months to this season. Why do some of you guys just write people off so damn quickly?
Diaz will be fine with the bat - he is just too talented. Will he be a catcher in 4-5 years? Maybe, I don't know.... but I don't think he is the real problem.
I think it's human nature to panic when things aren't going well. Unfortunately baseball is also a game of failure and as Astros fans we have seen many good hitters go bad over the years. Personally, I am not worried about Diaz returning to prior levels, but am getting pessimistic about him becoming a star level hitter until he improves his plate decisions.
Yes but it’s a process that needs to be respected. Lots of casual fans in here who can’t handle a slump or learning curve or an adjustment period even though….that’s baseball baby!
As for Abreu - he is coming off the books after this season and was not signed by Brown. The commitment to Walker remains to be seen, but it is only a three-year deal and the Astros need another bat at an affordable cost and short length. That is why they signed Walker. He is very capable of turning it around. As for Alvarez - the Astros were not going to trade him because they were not going to enter a full rebuild. Yordan Alvarez for his career OPS+ of 165 entering this season. For some perspective, the career OPS+ of Ted Williams is 170, Ty Cobb 167 and Hank Aaron is 155. Yordan is in the top 15 highest career OPS+ in baseball history and is 27 years old. As for Diaz, he isn't Maldonado or Carlton Fisk out there handling the pitching staff - but he is also 26 years old with a WAR value of almost 4 a season. Couple that with him not likely even in his prime yet, and that is why he is starting. His caught stealing % isn't a result of arm strength or pop - it has gone ever year, that has more to with coaching an prioritizing than anything else. The Astros have a poor manager - and they have been and are a bat short - couple that with poor coaching and injuries and we are basically a .500% team.
Diaz hasn't had a good year - in fact he started very slow with an OPS of around 400 at one point. He now has it up over 600 and he is going to end up somewhere between 750-850 most likely. He is handling a staff with lots of injuries and new pitchers - and he isn't entirely responsible for the Astros inability to hold runners. He is like 6-7th down the list of problems.
I agree. And we all agree that his plate discipline is horrendous. We all know where the improvement will have to come from. He will probably never have great plate discipline but it definitely needs to improve. He’s obviously pressing.
I am not a baseball expert, duh. BUT, I am a longstanding fan. I think the Astros have been managed better than they are now. Yes, there are obvious talent deficits, BUT something is not quite right in River City.
Maldy was grossly overrated at handling the pitching staff and I cannot believe you just put that guy in the same sentence with Carlton Fisk. My god the grift ran deep with old Maldy.
Brandon Hyde was AL Manager of the year in 2023 and was fired because his team has no pitching and little hitting this year. He couldn't be worse than Espada.
The solution to this is to ignore free agents that require more than a year or two to sign. A free agent filling a hole should not be part of a long range plan. You develop or trade for those guys. Free agents are the highest cost/lowest return on investment players you can acquire.
I did not mention Abreu and have no issues with him at all. Walker should never have been signed for more than one season with a mutual option for a second. He may indeed be capable of turning it around but he is equally capable of falling the rest of the way off a cliff. The Astros are a .500 team as constructed. Alvarez is wasted with a 500 team around him. Furthermore he is made of glass and will miss more time with every season that goes by. If he can stay healthy from next week till the deadline he should be traded for all we can get for him and not look back for even a moment. Trading him along with Valdez could put this team back into contention for years. I would also have McCormick, McCullers, and Dubon on the trading block and would be happy to get a new first basemans glove to fit one of our catchers for Walker. None of this matters more than a tinkers damn unless we get a decent manager and that should be the priority between now and the deadline.
