I agree, but to be honest the whole team is like that Back when the run started Correa and Altuve used to kind of feed off each other. I remember Correa hitting a walk off and Altuve chasing him into centerfield after it. Then Springer was always up to something with that group Then we had the HR stares in the dugout after a HR, the Conger Robot, so many other things where they showed emotion and how much they were having fun playing the game Now even when winning, it's like they just kind of show up and do their job. No one is feeding off anyone else emotion. This team is broken
Suddenly what was supposed to be a powerhouse division is looking like cream puffs.... 7-16.... brutal.
I'm not saying we should have paid Correa that big contract he wanted, but he certainly isn't earning it, and his replacement had one of the greatest runs in MLB postseason history leading us to our second ring But he brought a lot of leadership to this team.
Trashcan then the boo's took the fun out of the game for them. Then it was all business. From media darling to villain...
1 RBI combined for Astros first basemen. Season is 1/7th over. They wind up with no homers and 7 RBI’s on the season at that pace.
Still early... but 7-16.... starting first baseman batting .068.... so many injured pitchers..... Only hope is that the AL West continues to suck along with us...
Another bad Crane trade: Ryan for Jackson/Bagwell. Once Nolan Ryan and his son got shown the door things started to go downhill.
Young players are usually the catalyst. Springer/Correa/Bregman/Altuve and so on just had the raw energy to generate excitement which translated into swagger/mojo. Not just that, but those guys lead the team. Now, two of those guys are older and two are gone. So who leads the team now? JV/Altuve/Bregman/Alvarez? 1 dinosaur, 2 older players and Alvarez? Where is the youth with that unassailable passion? Its largely absent. The team has transformed from a youthful passionate team to an older veteran team. While in of itself, not a terrible thing, it depends more on solid management and high level contributions from the older guys given the young players no longer represent the future or lead the team. Given that management hasn't been solid lately and some of the older guys are playing badly, the team is in disarray. Add to that the injuries and a rookie head coach and well, we can see what that recipe looks like.
I was critical of James Click, but honestly he was the closest thing we had to another Lunhow. Don't blame him for leaving, as I'm sure he clashed with Bagwell/Crane/Dusty over stupid decisions.
Giving those who swore Maldy moved mountains more ammo... while the Dusty supporters have already taken their rhetorical victory lap... They're a team that has little room for withstanding injuries to key players (Framber) and there's major questions as to whether Pressly and Abreu have much left in the tank they can unlock, or they're just grasping for it (probably a better chance for the former to still make an impact vs the latter). But other than playing anybody else at 1B (and not including AAAA players like Singleton)... the team needs to play as they're capable of. Even those who are wishing to sell (usually the same people who said it was "done" in 2016, 2020, and 2023 after Yordan went out).... Tucker is the only real asset and they could possible extract more in the off-season with more potential teams in the hunt. Unless people think they'd be willing to sell all assets (Yordan, Altuve, JV, etc.).
May schedule: CLEV, SEA, @ NYY, @ DET, OAK, MILW, LAA, @OAK, @SEA. Really not brutal at all, especially compared to the April schedule