Astros 2022 Season General Discussion Thread

It's been reported that, as of now, Brown is in the bullpen.

 

It is annoyingly EXPECTED.

 

Brown is in the Bull Pen like Garcia was in the Bull Pen before he was scheduled to START TODAY. Everything is MURKY from here on out. They are working on a playoff rotation and trying to balance rest and sharpness for those they settle on.

()usty gets a long leash here because so much cannot be known from outside the clubhouse. But if he settles on Urquidy or Garcia over Javier absent some unreported injury, I will remain on the Fire/Don't Rehire ()usty bandwagon.

 

To add to the arbitrary nature of quality start definition, I remember Geoff Blum talking about his own definition of a SUPER quality start (or maybe it was extra), which was 7+ innings pitched and 2 ER or less. I mean, it is better but still arbitrary. Meanwhile Judge is nearing what I think will be widely considered the new, true HR record for all of baseball, even if the ESPN pundits don't come out and say it. It's a big deal and I totally get that being the headline over Framber's accomplishments.

 

Thanks to the media magnet NYC, Judge gets heard about a lot whether he is having a good season or not.

At least this year, he deserves it.

Meanwhile, there are probably more articles written about the last place Red Sox than the 1st place Astros where it comes to the New York Baseball media. Probably the whole northeast.

 

So far so good out of the bullpen. Good prep for the playoffs.

 

Have you heard the Astros cheated in 2017 and 2018 using electronic means to transmit signs to the clubhouse and then via trashcan to the batter the year after the Yankees cheated in 2016 using electronic means (via phone lines as documented in the letter to the Yankees) to transmit signs to the dugout in which the Yankees then relayed to the batter?

 

I imagine there are more articles about the Rangers in Dallas media than the Yankees too.

 

So you think Dusty has been a terrible manager for 30 years, but if he starts Javier in the playoffs, you might be fine with him? Amazing logic.

 

This should prob wait until the offseason thread pops up...but with Brown's emergence, would yall be more open to trading Garcia/Urquidy or both for a controllable bat like Cedric Mullins?

 

One yes, both no. Even adding a middle of the road bat like Mullins, our offense isn't going to consistently carry us. The pitching, with the depth we have, certainly can. I would do very little to mess with that depth

 

That goes into my next question...if we were to trade both, are there any FA pitchers that we could unlock ala Charlie Morton style? I always felt like Taillon should be better than he has been and has some untapped potential, but I haven't done a deep dive into his pitch stats and spin rates

 

Keep all the pitching as long as its affordable. Trade for more elite pitching if you need it.

 

Yep. Astros are going to maul people with their pitching depth. If one takes away that depth, it doesn't take much before Bielak, France, and Dubin* are in the rotation.

*I think he'll be a reliever, but heard he's looking better after a rough start to the season.

 

Late in the season some things I've begun to take note of:

1) Pena has had trouble all season long laying off the slider down and away, he seems to strike out on that pitch a lot, BUT last night he took a slider down and away for ball 4, and he ended up scoring a run that same inning. That is the type of rookie progression and adjustments I like to see!!

2) Not to be lost on Yordan's greatness is his magnificent baserunning. He gets excellent reads off the bat while on base and always seems to be able to get an extra base. At the risk of exaggerating, he is the best Astro on the base paths I've seen since Jeff Bagwell (whose baserunning was also underappreciated.)

 

Yordan 1st to 3rd and 2nd to home is a sight. He's definitely an underrated baserunner and isn't a base clogger for his size.

 

While I don't think Yordan is quick by any measure, I think his top speed is much better than you would expect from a man his size. And since he gets good reads and makes good decisions on the base paths, he's able to use those extra half seconds to get up to that top speed so that he is able to do more damage on the base paths. It really is fun to watch.

 

Yes but I am not convinced an outfielder is the greatest need to fill. I see Yordan as the primary left fielder next season and with Tucker at the other corner center field could be filled by a competition among players already on the roster. There is room to bring in a another player or two to compete for the spot but the big holes to fill are at 1st base and DH. I also feel like Maldonado could surprise everyone by opting out to retire and take on a role on the coaching staff this off-season. At first base I do not see a strong enough candidate in the organization to replace Yuli's glove. They do have one chance in Bregman but he would need a lot of incentive to make that move. An offer to extend him again in return for moving to first would not surprise me completely but that only moves the problem to third base. I could see bringing in a couple of corner infielders with filling 1st or 3rd in mind and leaving DH open for the other. I think we could do a lot worse than bringing Brantley back to DH and maybe even having him to fill in for Yordan once in a while. I will have a good time watching as I enjoy the off season almost as much as the regular season and this looks like it will be an interesting one.

 

Have you watched Brown? If so, and you're talking about including him in a potential trade?