Glad its over, can't stand Red Sox nation invading MMP anymore. Stros organization treated this weekend as a sideshow attraction and they got what they wanted...lots of Sox fans cheering for their team.
Red Sox were lucky to win today. Y'all had great starting pitching today and on Friday; last night was the only game in which it got ugly on your guys' end. I am just so happy that the Red Sox are DONE playing in these !@#$ NL parks! Now if only the Yankees would start coming down to earth, everything will be alright with the world.
brianmctaggart So we've basically turned Wallace into a platoon player. They guy has struggled over the last 2 weeks and finally gets a two hit game so what do we do...bench him against a lefty. Add to the fact, Maholm isn't great against lefties anyway...just awful.
Don't even get me started about sitting Wallace against lefties. If he is ever going to develop into the everyday player the Astros hope he will be, he is going to have to hit lefties at some point. It would be one thing if the Astros were sitting him in favor of someone who killed lefties or was another up and comer, but we sit him in favor of Lee at first and Jason Michaels in left more often than not.
If it was Bourgeois it would make more sense, but Michaels has not been better against lefties this year, or for his career.
I don't think it's that big of a deal at this stage. LaRussa has handled Rasmus very similarly and Rasmus has more ML experience and is actually hitting well against LHP. Out of 85 games, Rasmus has started in 76 and appeared in 80. Out of 85 games, Wallace has started in 71 and appeared in 81. Both have under 100 PA against LHP. I'm not sure about Rasmus but Wallace got banged up a little and missed a game or two. Wallace has time and the Astros have time. I wouldn't worry much about it at this point. Mills possesses all the knowledge we possess and more. I believe he knows what he's doing in this case.
Why the heck does Jason Michaels still get ABs? The guy is awful. He shouldn't be on the team much less getting ABs. Release Micheals and bring up Luis Durango who you just picked up and lets see what you have in him.
I don't think you can compare the two. St. Louis Cardinals are contenders and trying to make the playoffs. The Astros are not either. Sitting Wallace for a scrub 35 year old journeyman outfielder makes no sense. I wouldn't mind totally if they sitted Wallace for another young player but for Micheals I just don't get it.
I considered that but it's not like they're replacing Rasmus with a better option when they do sit him. My guess is that LaRussa would handle Rasmus roughly the same way whether or not they were contenders. Regardless, I don't think this is a big deal and it won't hurt Wallace's development. Managers of contenders and non-contenders commonly handle young players this way. Just poke around BR and you'll see that.
I agree. Unfortunately for us as fans, Brad Mills and the front office are still doing everything they can to put a competitive product on the field and they feel that Michaels as a known entity (even if what is known is that he isn't really any good) gives the team a better chance to win than a younger, more unproven player.
Timely article: http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...-want-to-know-why-bench-wallace-for-michaels/ Sorry, Brad, I don’t get this one. Maybe you can help me and a passel of fans. Replacing lefty Brett Wallace in the lineup with righty Jason Michaels doesn’t make sense to the average fan. For that matter, baseball folk are also a little perplexed. Yes, there is an unwritten baseball rule that you play the veterans down the stretch and you bow to those players who supposedly have “put in their time”. But when the season is over before the All-Star break — and, yes, this one is well-done, thank you — it’s time to throw the handbook out the window. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still solidly and completely in the Brad Mills’ camp, but Wallace will be here in 2013. Lee, Michaels and a handful of others will not. Wallace will not be platooning then (hopefully) and shouldn’t be platooning now. Be respectful of Lee and Michaels and give them their due. But not every time a lefty pitches. Here are the facts. Against left-handed starters: Lee is hitting .309 with a .338 OBP. Michaels is hitting .250 with a .278 OBP. Wallace is hitting .224 with a .309 OBP. Lee and Michaels are both 35, Wallace is 24. If these stats are dictating the benching of Wallace versus lefties, perhaps the Astros should find an alternative for Lee when right-handers are on the mound. Against right-handed pitchers, Lee has been to the plate 260 times, hitting .241 with a .293 OBP and .666 OPS. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with running Brian Bogusevic out there a game or two while Lee takes a break. Granted, Bogu may be one of those AAAA players who may be out of baseball in a few years, but it’s a lot better to find that out in 2011 than keep wondering — er, wandering — into 2013, if you know what I mean. At the very least, perhaps moving Wallace into the cleanup spot and shifting Lee to fifth or sixth against righties might be productive. Wallace is seeing the ball well out of the right hand, hitting .312 to go along with that .399 OBP and .853 OPS in those situations. This is perhaps even more true when the Astros play at Minute Maid Park, where Wallace turns in a .341/.437/.902 line against all pitchers. Management can make a case for playing Lee because of his seniority, his salary or because of that unwritten veteran rule, but it’s time to call it what it is and at least recognize that it’s a team game. What’s good for Wallace (sitting against lefties, spot start for Michaels, etc.) is good for Lee. Help me out, Brad, whassup with that?
Perhaps im seeing a parallel where one is not, but these kinds of gripes remind me of what folks were saying about Adelman. RA had this tendency to play vets too much also. Brad also seems to put the players out there that on any given night, give us the best chance to win. So did RA. Brad also seems reluctant to lose a few a games in order to play the young guys more. Ditto for RA.
To be fair to Brad, he has no obligation towards "player development". Why would he care how a young guy turns out, when he may not have a job much longer to watch him play? I agree, however, that a mandate to play the young players should come from upper management.
except this article points out that Jason Michaels really isn't giving us a better shot at winning when he's in against left-handed starters. mills has lost me on this one, really. the rockets were fighting for a playoff spot. the astros are on pace for the worst season in franchise history and the worst by any franchise since 2007.
If your looking at offense, I agree. But Michaels in LF has to be better defensively than Lee in LF. That has to be Brad's thinking here.
Winning is everything when you have a shot, however slim, to make a run at the playoffs. Nobody in there right mind would say that of the Astros. If Brad is as selfish as to put his personal feelings ahead of the team needs, then he needs to be gone tomorrow. He shouldnt need a mandate to see that a couple more wins wont make one bit of difference this season. It wont help his team or his employment status to win 68 games this year instead of 62.
