Crane told Click what was coming if Meyers had a bad year. One thing you can count on when it comes to his team, Crane is a man of his word.
Keep Yanier as the emergency catcher and backup 1st/3rd/LF. all positions he's played somewhat in the minors. Lee has played these positions as well. Although I dont know for sure that he's played 1B.
I understand if teams want to use a 6th starter combined with off days to utilize a lot of 5 day rest starts like we did last season, particularly if you have depth to avoid dropoff. It has a ton of benefits and likely only costs a few starts over the course of the year. Gong to a full time 6 man rotation seems counter productive. Most teams don't have 5 good starters, when you include the likelihood of injury you would routinely be seeing a teams 7th or 8th best starter, who are almost universally terrible. And then when you get to October pitchers arms start to become adjusted to getting 5 or 6 days rest for every start. Obviously smarter people than me study this stuff, but it seems like a good idea for 22/23 Astros, but bad for most teams.
As Maldy ages, I dont think this will be the case. Plus at some point Maldy will breakdown. He's already having surgery this offseason.
Lets see, despite the numbers you put up. He's started for 2 WS winners, hit well in the WS and caught the 2nd no hitter in WS history. So there are those little things.
Difference is if Crane told Luhnow to do something Luhnow did it. It's called being the boss. How guys hit in the playoffs is all that matters. Yuli was the Stros 2nd best hitter throughout the playoffs.
Vazquez has a career OPS+ of 85. He is 15% worse than MLB average as a hitter. A DH has no defensive responsibility so should be above average at the very least.
I know he started for the 2018 Red Sox. What other team did he start for? Because he has specifically stated he wants to play more than Houston was willing to play him. Literally dozens of players have hit well in the WS and had mediocre careers. I don't suddenly see his free agency popularity grow out of control because he caught the no-hitter. Vazquez is a perfectly good catcher. I just don't understand the fascination with him. There are probably 20 better catchers in MLB and likely more.
How many have rings with 2 different orgs? We see Vazquez quite differently. I see him as a guy that's been a starter on teams that consistently win and despite the numbers you posted he's been a big part of that. Kinda like a better Maldy with a better bat/glove/arm. I dont think playing Vazquez 40-50 games a year at 1st and DH would hurt the team at all. How many games did J.J. Matakewvich how ever you spell his name play at 1st/DH last year? Vazquez would be an upgrade.
I like his BB:SO ratio better than any other person mentioned. His D numbers aren't too good, but they are mostly from 3B shortcomings. It actually depresses his WAR numbers. I'm not sure how they adjust the line-up to an OBP guy, but he definitely makes an interesting possibility and fits the organizational model. Plus being from Cuba might make a transition from Yuli less traumatic. I still prefer Gurriel in a coaching/community outreach role.
That's cool and all, and I love Crane, but that just strikes me as being way too emotional when it comes to decision making. There's way more to why Click is gone than just Meyers though.
Agreed about there being way more. Fact is Crane is an analytical risk taker. Click isn't and that's where the problems lied.
I suppose. Just rubs me the wrong way that Crane would be that adamant about Starling ****ing Marte. In the same way that Click was dug in on Meyers. All of this just screams too damn emotional. I love Crane, he's been awesome, but it doesn't mean he does no wrong. The stories here are weird on both sides of the aisle. Just hoping Crane's head doesn't blow up and he gets someone in here pronto that he respects and can work with. I don't need him running the show like a defacto GM.
Put it in context though... this was the 2nd offseason in a row Click wouldn't do what Crane wanted (signing Liam Hendricks the offseason before) and they were coming off losing the World Series to the Braves when Crane wanted Marte. Eventually if you don't do what the boss wants it is going to end badly.
Why does Crane's involvement bother so many? He has shown he is not demanding bad decisions. Just mutual respect for those above and below from people on HIS team.
