First off, Pressly needs to be traded. Love and respect the guy for his previous contributions -- he's the Astros greatest postseason closer and one of MLB's best ever -- but the demotion to 8th inning has mentally screwed him. Demoting him again to non-leverage might make him even worse. He was almost perfect in a recent 9th inning save situation. Trade him, or just give him 9th innings again and let Hader pitch the 8th -- and re-adjust whatever save-count clause in Josh's contract. Will Hader be mentally screwed though? _____ My main point is the lack of multi-inning execution by Espada. We have Dubin, Martinez, and Scott -- all of whom have showed they're capable of 2 innings. Considering arm-stress... is 3 innings/week in 3 appearances equal to 4 innings/week in 2 appearances? Seems equivalent to me, and if it is. you're maximizing the bullpen by being efficient. If guys KNOW they're expected to go multi-inning, their mindframe entering games will adjust accordingly. This will save 2-3 appearances/week by other members of the bullpen, thus, keeping the entire bullpen more fresh. Hell, once Garcia and Troy return, those 2 innings might become 3+ plus a 6-man rotation. Guys like old man JV, young Hunter/Spaghetti, and late-bloomer Blanco can get more rest. We all witnessed Hunter and France deteriorate late last season. Multi-innings might also allow one less pitcher on the roster IF more batters would be positive difference. Keep the position-players fresh too.
