I know, it's going to be one of those things where we could've just fired him sooner and hire someone new from this current manager cycle, instead of having to go with an interim during the season.
Why hasn't Espada been fired? Why was he hired? Jim, Jim, Jim.... You've got a lot of goodwill in the bank...gonna play us for all its worth, eh?
Because the 2025 Astros set an MLB record for the most IL stints, yet they finished the season with the same record as a team that made the playoffs due to tiebreaker. He isn't anything special, but a manager wasn't getting fired after that. 2 or 3 more wins and he probably wins manager of the year. The hitting coach and athletic trainer were fired so you have that.
That pitching staff wasnt healthy coming in. Guys constantly torquing out arms due to high spin rates...At this point, it's a house of cards that isn't sustainable over the course of 162 games. We can't simply "reload" and expect to compete for a WS Title now. It's like plugging holes in a dam...and will become more evident with time. It's pseudo contention. *Espada makes so many tactical errors ingame, and those cost you close games...the kind of baseball that's played in the post season. The use of the pen..esp. Hader... And, his lineups...granted there were a ton of inuries in the field...but, damn...he must have plugged everyone into the 2 hole. How about the matter of a team with no chemistry, quitting on him? There's a laundry list. It's ridiculous.
