When your two pitches look exactly the same and they end up almost 3 feet away from each other, you really don't need a third pitch.
They have pitched relief and started. The flip flopping does not appear to have hurt them. They are much more relevant than pitchers that were tried as starters nearly a decade ago without the aid of the Astros pitching development team.
That is one filthy slider, Jesus. Add in the fact that his fastball has tremendous arm side run, you can easily see why he ended the season with 37 of his 39 outings being scoreless.
I was mostly joking, he actually has a curveball that he throws 10 percent of the time that has the highest whiff rate. If anything, he should throw less fastballs and more sliders and curveballs.
Just a sampling of not a third pitches.... https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=ba5ade66-2c42-43ab-91a7-4a316bb509af https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=7c41b897-3a85-409a-b47b-97ddf96a47ad https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=22c2d73a-ac0c-4ce2-9a54-4e9ea0f1eae4 https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=970ab19f-f16b-4687-97d6-e8d229f0c5a0 https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=b11aed85-14e6-4dcf-aaf6-3d7fef85267b
Yeah. I will just agree to disagree. Perhaps he would be successful as a starter. That would be great. I just hate to get him all off of his routine and then have him get injured or something. I will trust whatever it is they want to do with him.(not that I have a vote anyways)
Being a relief pitcher is about the crappiest thing that can be done to an arm outside of putting it into a wood chipper.
The funny thing is Luhnow actually offered him an executive job and he turned it down! Law didn't last long with the Blue Jays and I don't think he would have lasted long with the Astros either. He is a very bright man and gracious in person, but over the last 15 years, he has become set in his ways and has gone from a progressive baseball guy to a guy that is really set in his dated mindset. He isn't lazy, he still does research and looks at things, but ends up looking for things to support his positions. His handling of the Astros is a joke. He didn't want to talk about the sign stealing because he said he knew other teams did it to, so instead he just doesn't mention the Astros at all unless he has no choice, like an Astros prospect is brought up.
Astros get: C/OF Daulton Varsho 1B Christian Walker Diamondbacks get: RHP Luis Garcia RHP Phil Maton RHP Alex Santos II IF Joe Perez PTBNL if necessary Re-sign Verlander - 3yrs, $36M annually, 4th year option ($12M buyout). In essence it's $40M annually or 3 years. It's a chance to stay here for more deep postseason runs and a chance for 300 wins. Infield: Walker, Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Hensley, Dubon (also backup OF) Outfield: Alvarez, McCormick, Tucker, Meyers, Varsho (also 3rd C) Catchers: Maldonado, Lee Rotation: Verlander, Valdez, McCullers, Javier, Brown, Urquidy Pen: Pressly, Montero, Abreu, Neris. Stanek, Martinez, Mushinski
Being any sort of pitcher is about the worst thing that can be done to the human arm. All arms will give out at some point... some are genetically blessed to withstand the trauma better than others. There are a finite amount of innings for all.
Spoiler Who is negotiating with Verlander? How quickly does the process play out? That’s all Jim Crane and that would’ve been the situation even if James Click got a 10-year extension. Jim Crane and Justin Verlander are very close. Jim enjoys telling people he employs Verlander. Verlander enjoys his relationship with Jim Crane. No matter the GM, Jim Crane was going to take the lead. It does sound like he’s instituted some limits. Sounds like he’s pretty firm on something in the framework of 2 years, $60M—2 years, $70M. Jim Crane did tell MLB.com that Verlander is seeking something similar to Max Scherzer. Scherzer signed that at age 37. Verlander will turn 40. I think the world of Verlander. He is a unicorn. It’s hard for me to justify giving him 3 guaranteed years. Will some team do it? There could be a team or two desperate enough to do it. There are teams with deeper pockets and teams desperate for starting pitching. If they let Verlander walk, they still have Valdez, McCullers, Javier, Garcia, Urquidy and Brown. It sounds odd to say but they don’t need Verlander. They’d take him back but they don’t need to act with desperation to get him. The Dodgers lost Tyler Anderson. They probably need a number one ace. The Mets may lose Jacob De Grom. They love to spend money. Does he go with a Scherzer type deal? The Yankees, it’s not sitting well with many in New York that they looked outclassed in the ALCS. They have Aaron Judge top of mind but Verlander was offered last year. The Blue Jays were in deep negotiations last year. They could use another top arm. There will be teams desperate for his services. Desperation could lead to overspending or to go to that third year. As far as I know, Jim Crane will stick to those parameters. Verlander acknowledged he has a lot of suitors. He didn’t rule the Astros out but did not sound like a guy that’s gonna run back to MMP and put back on the Astros jersey for the love of orange and blue. This is a business. … As long as Jim Crane is involved, never rule anything out with Verlander. I think other teams will be more aggressive and desperate for his services. (Montero deal) Reading what Jim Crane told MLB.com, it sounds like he wanted to run it back. He just said “Oh, our bullpen was really good, why not bring everyone back?” There could be some danger in that. As we explore what they’ll do at 1B, there’s some danger in that too. It’s clear everyone loves Yuli Gurriel but if that’s Jim Crane’s thought to just run it back, get the old group back together, I wonder how sustainable that is. They have a big question to answer at 1B and I don’t know if Gurriel is the guy to answer. Winters meetings…any activity on the 1B front soon or sit back and wait? I don’t know because I don’t know who’s doing what in the front office. I don’t know who is driving these decisions. There’s been talk, I’ve talked to people in the front office that are just around the Astros, they think they’ll roll this way through the winter meetings, through January maybe. Is Jim Crane gonna go to the Winter Meetings and start negotiating with agents? Who is making trades? Is Jim Crane calling other GMs to make trades? I don’t know how this hierarchy is working. It’s pretty clear Crane has the ultimate authority. … Rizzo would’ve addressed a lot of what they need. They need a LHB. They need some balance. They need a 1B. He would’ve fit what they needed perfectly. He wanted to go back to New York and New York gave him a deal. Jose Abreu is a sexy name, right-handed hitter. He is older so maybe you can get him on a short-term deal. Josh Bell is out there. He would help the balance but did not play well after being traded to San Diego. Brandon Belt? I keep going back to what Jim Crane said and the run it back mentality. Are they just going to re-sign Yuli Gurriel? They can upgrade and get younger there. There’s still probably a place for him on this team, even if they find a full-time, younger 1B. They can bring him back as a platoon guy, timeshare guy, bench guy, provide some versatility and depth but I wonder if his days as an everyday player are dwindling. Maybe if the Astros strikeout on all those guys, maybe they turn back to Gurriel. I do have my concerns if he’s an everyday player going forward.
he's been pretty mediocre the last three years. His avg hovers around .200-.220 and power numbers are down significantly. I vote no
sign bellinger for what. he sucks now at the plate. his injury derailed his production with the bat The depth of the dodgers allows him to be the #9 hitter. If they weren't so deep, folks would be seeing much more how abysmal he is now
yeah i forgot about the interview he did about the Astros. I just rewatched it….I shouldn’t have brought it up lol I don’t want that dude on this team!