I know better than to overreact over the 15th of a 162 game schedule, but they need to get it together. One day it's the pitching then the offense the next day.
It's like reliving the nightmare all over again! From one massive disappointment of a team to another! Wonder if/when Hinch will get the McHale treatment....
I would not either BUT, i don't see much improvement from Hinch and this has gone a long time now. If we take the start on april, 15 and 7, this team is ONLY 2 games over .500. In the playoffs, 3 wins 3 loses, also .500. This team has the talent to be much better and we are underachieving, and the problem is that we are seeing THE SAME mistakes we saw last year. Not winning road series, last year, well, this year so far we have not won one. Guys, remember, we played the Brewers, they are 7 and 8. Also, we lost to the Yankees, they are 5 and 8. We lost a 4 game series AT HOME. Yes, is early but we are seeing the same mistakes form last year, that is what worries me.
I really wish Hinch had pinch-hit for Castro after Gomez stole 3rd with one out in the 7th. Castro had Hamels 3-0, swung at ball four on 3-1, and of course cut right through strike three. I felt like that was a big moment, and a great spot to pinch hit with someone more likely to simply put the ball in play.
Plenty of talent waiting in the minors and McCullers due back soon. As long as the minor league talent continues to be successful like White when they hit the majors then the wins will eventually come.
Hamels should never have gotten that far.... He had crap tonight, and still managed to smoke and mirror his way to a win. They blew a golden opportunity to knock out a quality pitcher early... Astros actually haven't really knocked out a pitcher at all this year (I suppose the home opener against Young would be the closest thing... Although he was able to go long enough to somewhat save the bullpen). Things will get better from an offensive standpoint. They'll score enough runs to win games, especially when the starting pitcher has crap stuff. But will they lead the league in overall ERA again?
This is why, of all the professional coaching jobs out there, being a major league manager is the worst. Baseball is such a mental sport. Hunch did a pretty dang good job last year. The team was having fun, the fans were having fun, and everybody was enjoying the season. Now those same guys "need to be more professional" and "need to take things more seriously." Pretty soon people are going to be calling for a manager/dictator. Then when he begins losing, everyone will want a player coach again. I certainly agree that Hinch makes mistakes, I mean if this team scores in the 9th to tie it up then White has to play 3rd and Tucker has to play 1st in the bottom of the inning... That's bad, but it wasn't Hinch that made those guys go brain dead with the bases loaded. Hinch can't make these guys hit the ball with runners in scoring position. At some point the players have to start executing. And I imagine that if he had a better option at Catcher than Jason Castro, then Hinch would play that person. Katz sure as heck isn't that guy. Gattis has looked like crap at the plate too. This team might be talented, but they aren't playing worth a dang right now. I think they will turn it around, but they need to start showing signs of it quick.
Talk about picking the poison. Lean Carter because.. more potential walks, jacks, "making pitchers work", and clutch-ability. Even after all that, not much difference. The real question/fear doesn't really regard hitting... Will Gattis (C) be worse than Carter (1B)?
Ya'll might feel a tad bit better after listening to this..the podcast gets into the Astros "situational hitting" problems and solution to this madness: MLB Network host: The Astros are 'very scary' in two-horse AL West race against Rangers This Story is About... RANGERS PODCASTS http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/tex...n-astros-scary-two-horse-al-west-race-rangers
Good point, and being unable to knock the opposing SP out seems to be a recurring theme early in the season. Should've knocked out Pelfrey in that 1st game of Tigers series and given Keuchel a nice cushion. Had to squeak out the 1-0 victory. It does seem offense comes and goes, particularly with our approach to at-bats. Definitely need to see improvement on the bases, but also SP needs to stop giving up early runs. Always feels like we're trailing after the 1st inning, especially in South Oklahoma.
Barely out of the gate and we've already spotted the rangers a 4-game lead. Most likely 5 after tonight, since we can't win on the road. It's early, but these head-to-head games are so important. Doesn't matter if they're in April or September. This series could really end up haunting us at the end of the season.
This team will never go very far with Gattis at DH and Castro and catcher. Bring up AJ Reed for 1B. Put Tyler White at DH. Platoon Castro/Gattis at C depending on LHP or RHP. Bring Lance back and replace Feldman with Devenski in the rotation.
On May 1 last year, the Astros led the Rangers by 8.5 games. The Astros are the same team, offensively, that they were last year: a boom/bust team built on power that is susceptible to long stretches of power-less baseball. It was driving my "meh" reaction to them resigning Colby Rasmus; they essentially have four interchangeable offensive players. Unfortunately, Gomez is proving that his Astro tenure last year was no fluke and Castro remains completely lost at the plate. When the Rasmus-Gattis-Tucker-Valbuena are all slumping, the Astros essentially have no offense 5-9 with a rookie tenuously thrown into the mix who is .219/.286 in his last nine games. Speaking of... anyone else think Hinch over-accelerated White's role? Generally, you don't want to overburden your young guys - small sample size, and all - but White was hitting ~.700 6th/7th in the line-up; ~.200 4th/5th. Curious why he moved him. White was going to cool off, anyway, obviously. But why mess around with him 3, 4 games into his career? Or am I overthinking it?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Documents<br> └<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a><br> └ Base Running Reminders <br> └⚠️ This folder is empty</p>— PDS (@PatDStat) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatDStat/status/722950635054698496">April 21, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
