I think a lot of these issues could be addressed if the Astros just gave Miller/Murphy each a long stick, and they could whack Espada every time he did something stupid.
I don't disagree long term with the idea of Smith playing CF, and that's one of what I believe are the only 2 holes in the Astros lineup (pending more information coming in on Altuve), but with Meyers playing it decently right now... the bigger hole is at 2b. Fix that hole with Cam at 3B or trading for someone else. Let CF wait for the offseason.
Our manager doesn't have the foresight to do that. He can move heaven and earth to get Dubon plenty of AB's but trying to work Dezenzo or Smith around to make sure they are both in the lineup is a bridge too far. He's absurd.
3-D chess unsubstantiated hypothesis: Dana Brown is showcasing Dezenzo and Gusto to market them for a 2B while letting Smith spend a lot of time on game prep and observation. Once Dezenzo is traded, Smith will finally get everyday run and bust out to win ROY; he’ll start to get some time in CF next spring.
I typically ignore any of that kind of thinking. I think they are doing what they think is best to win games in the here and now, I usually prefer the simplest explanation on that kind of stuff. I'd hate to lose Dezenzo- I think he's a solution for 6 years that will give you playability, but if the right package with, say the Cards existed I'd be fine.
Yeah, because I'm sure death threats against your kid would provoke perfectly rational, well-thought out "what is the ideal way to deal with this" responses from most dads - especially after a very frustrating professional moment in your life followed by having a bunch of microphones in your face. It's easy to say you wouldn't talki to the media about it when you're not in a position to do so anyway and it's not a part of your life.
You don’t know me and I don’t think speculation from you about my potential reaction in a similar situation does anything to further your point. Also, you are not the moral authority. I don’t really fault McCullers purely because he talked about the threats, even though I don’t think it was a productive way to deal with that situation. It was that those comments were paired with a conspicuous lack of accountability about his performance. He even made the comment to the affect of “you fail and there’s nowhere to hide”, as if, he would hide if he could. It was a bad look. Nobody’s perfect. Like I said, I’m a fan of his and hope he gets some redemption.
If I'm Lance - I go to war against this ass and use every bullet in my gun to do it, especially turning the public against him/her by speaking about it publicly. And until its over, screw talking or worrying about work. Regardless of what that work is. What exactly does Lance owe us? Even fans, season ticket holders, and people who spend tons of money on merchandise. Or follow on social media. Why is it some kind of issue that he didn't take accountability to a bunch of people watching and listening who have no impact in his life? And why is it bad that his priority is the safety of his family instead?
@IdStrosfan My responses to your questions: If I'm Lance - I go to war against this ass and use every bullet in my gun to do it, especially turning the public against him/her by speaking about it publicly. I agree about going to war if there was a credible threat made against him or his family. And speaking about it publicly might be part of an effective response. But speaking about it publicly immediately after finding out about it (and immediately after the on-field failure) was not an effective way of responding. And until its over, screw talking or worrying about work. Regardless of what that work is. What exactly does Lance owe us? Any public figure, especially those in an industry reliant on fans for its livelihood, has some measure of obligation to its fans. To what degree is certainly debatable, but taking accountability for a poor performance falls within the bounds of reason imo. Even fans, season ticket holders, and people who spend tons of money on merchandise. Or follow on social media. Why is it some kind of issue that he didn't take accountability to a bunch of people watching and listening who have no impact in his life? kind of a repeat question, but yes, players do owe fans some measure of accountability. Fans have a huge impact on players’ lives; without fans, there’s no game, at least not in the form these guys play it in (that pays money). And why is it bad that his priority is the safety of his family instead? I disagree that his reaction was based on prioritizing the safety of his family, and that’s a big part of my point. If I find out someone has threatened my kids, I’m not taking time to do an interview; I’m immediately dropping everything and going where my kids are, personally making sure they are ok. Again, my issue with McCullers wasn’t solely about him speaking about the threat; it was part of a larger context where he (and the manager) made that the entire topic of conversation immediately after the game, without taking accountability for the performance (and alluding to the idea that he wished he didn’t have to take accountability at all). If Lance had disappeared immediately after the game, and the Astros PR team announced he had to go deal with a family emergency, then thru later reporting we find out he took off to make sure his kids were safe, that would have been a much better way of dealing with it. I empathize with McCullers. He’s had a tough road with things largely beyond his control, and he’s now faced with the possibility that his career (and potentially entire identity) is evaporating before his eyes despite his best efforts. I’m sure that was a very emotional experience to go out and lay an egg when he wanted so badly and worked so hard to have a magical homecoming. Then to read sick **** like some pos threatening your kids immediately after that, it’s understandable that he would be prone to a poor/emotional reaction. But his reaction (to immediately paint himself as a victim and not face the topic of his poor performance) was not good. I also dont think Espada helped matters. That was all I was pointing out. Like I said, nobody is perfect. I am a fan of McCullers and hope he gets some redemption, but I stand by my opinion that he handled that postgame interview poorly.
Nook - you clearly have some FO sources. Do you have any insight on why such a smart group would let a SECOND manager make blatantly stupid decisions repeatedly. It seemed like last year he was managing more consistently and analytically (not perfectly, but not as random). But he’s gone pure Dusty this year. I simply cannot imagine Dana & co don’t see it. Please give us hope something might happen at some point to clean it up…
I can respect your answers and view. I think we are about 95% in agreement and that's fine because we are totally different humans. Thanks for the response.
