Loved how blum had a dig at fiers too last night...pretty much said fiers is waiting until the Astros are through to get activated..lol
Liked seeing Javier settle down and fight through some control issues. Despite this he goes five scoreless innings in his second start of the season.
Taylor is my top choice for fireman. He should come in to put out fires or face the meat of order in 7th or 8th. Though, I would like to see him try to get more whiffs than depend entirely on weak contact if he's going to continue coming in with guys on. Stanek, Abreu have looked the next best, though Abreu has been used for longer stints. Smith should be used against three RHBs. Paredes and Raley look like IL possible. Bielak is long guy. Garcia could be a long guy, too with Odorizzi coming back. I could see Bielak as first out of pen tonight with Garcia being first out of pen tomorrow with off day Sunday.
They're all great... till they screw up. That being said, Stanek is on a direct trajectory to be the "guy" before the guy.
I should clarify that I think Raley's issues are likely short term provided he's just working through something. He'll probably be fine in a week or 2.
just me or is pitching all of a sudden a hidden gem? Yeah I know its early, but I had a bad feeling prior to the season about the pitching staff especially after the Valdez injury and they have really surprised me sans Raley. Starters have been solid and the pen has been way above expectation for me. I dont know man - getting 2017 vibes again with the way this offense is just destroying everything in its path. Feels good to root for a winner again hope they can block out all the negativity and just grind.
I know it’s early. But I’m getting the same vibes. Maybe it’s just because everything else is a shitshow and this is a breath of fresh air, but I don’t even care lol
Altuve looks locked in again. Correa is out to get paid. Alvarez is healthy. Bregman bulked up. Tucker has figured out how to hit the balls to all parts of the field. And we can't underestimate how big it was to retain Brantley when after we all thought he was following Springer to Toronto.
I think Astros fans would like to move on but on the road we see our team get bombarded with boos, screams, trashcans being thrown on the field, and then media stories that riles up people even more (on both sides). So the Astros finally play at home in front of fans and this is how they "fight back." The rest of the leagues fans aren't getting over it. When the Astros play at the Yankees/Dodgers the threats may be so severe that I could see MLB saying those games have to be played without fans in attendance. Nothing that Astros fans do will compare with what's already happened and what's to come in road games.
Our offense and SP are masking lack of quality and depth in our pen. We have a bunch of guys and a decent but not elite option in Pressly to close. Clearly Stanek is on track to be part of the 7th and 8th inning bridge. This is a long season and we're going to need Click to have hit on Baez. Gotta keep bashing our way to wins as long as we can, but its a long season and the offense is going to hit lulls, even if infrequently. Fortunately, I think bullpen is probably an area of strength for Click having come from TB. I'll be very interested to see what arms he brings in and brings up as the season rolls along. I want to see dudes that most folks have never heard of, coming in here and throwing some gas and wicked offspeed. Gimme some chaz roe, peter fairbanks etc outta nowhere. Let's go Click.
Don't forget about Baez and Scrubb. Those two could really turn us into the best team in baseball. Baez could easily be the 8th inning guy and Scrubb is a Strom fav. We have a bunch of really good arms but no closer IMO. The Astros need to target a top 5 closer or pray Pressly holds up. I always thought Stanek was underappreciated as an opener. Love what he's brought, maybe he's the closer... been lights out.
For the most part, all of our projected starters have been good in what time they have had. The shortcoming is length and health, but they should all be good to great for 4-5 innings when they do pitch. Javier in particular is completely dominant for 2-3 innings, and falls off hard when his velocity starts to drop even a little. The pen has a lot of talent. Stanek,Paredes and Abreu all have the stuff to be dominant, but haven't put it together consistently. Pressly and Smith are proven quality relievers. We still have Baez on the IL, and he's another proven quality pen arm. This pitching staff could be extremely good, but there are a lot of contributors without extensive track records.
It's mostly about Altuve for me. I'm fine with everyone else "paying the price" but the one guy who gets it the worst didn't even use the system. It has clearly affected his mental health and it is just plain bullshit when you consider the number of teams who 'cheated' in a similar way.
Javier has been pitching great as a starter for 2 seasons. He went 5-2 last season with a 3.5 ERA. I don't know why we would want him in the bullpen.
