Yes, they have; a serious injury to a teams hall of fame DH or losing 2 SP for the season in a span of a week, or having a guy who hasn’t pitched in 2 years post back to back quality starts do actually change a team’s projections. And those things have happened in more frequency this season than in previous seasons. My attitude about this year’s team has been pretty unstable relative to prior years, for the reasons I’ve laid out. I don’t think anyone reacted to actual changes in performance should have their opinion discounted. I do go out of my way to avoid speaking in absolutes, and agree that it’s annoying when posters make comments of their opinions as fact.
Well.... I think if McCullers comes back to 22' form. Then the Astros could beat any team in the AL in the playoffs. Then its a 7 game series against the NL and just hope/pray that they get hot. The Astros for whatever reason haven't seemed to hit much when they have made their postseason runs.
So Javier and Garcia on track for late August. France will be back on the mound in late July (in AAA).
IMO JP France is a better version of Gordon (or gusto) than they are. I’d welcome him back over either of them and still be counting the days to Javier’s return
I almost always speak in absolutes, it's just how I speak. Nobody that is familiar with me seems offended by my surety or my teasing nature about it. A stranger might disagree. Truth is I do not have a mean bone in my body. I would stand with any of the posters here to defend their right to say what they think without regard to my agreement with what they think or the lack thereof.
JP France has a #5 SP ceiling and a AAAA SP floor. Gusto and Gordon have #4 SP ceiling and independent ball floor.
What are we going to do with Altuve in the long run? In any other reality, we would convert him to DH or 1B. However, we have the second best DH in the league that just signed an extension, and he is way too short to play 1B.
Thru the rest of his contract provided he is a viable hitter, he can be deployed as such: 40 games at 2B when the Astros feature a fly ball SP 40 games in LF when the Astros feature a ground ball pitcher 40 games at DH when Yordan has a day off or takes a rare day in LF 120 games/season is plenty to keep a player sharp but also enough days off to help prevent a guy in his late 30s from wearing down. And by hiding him on defense even if he is terrible, the impact of those plays should be minimal. I bet over the rest of his career Altuve will lead the league in fewest fielding opportunities per inning played in the field.
I heard that the issue with Garcia is that he doesn't want to put down the chili dog and slurpee in order to throw his bullpens, so it has been tough treading. They have had some success putting blinders on him and lowering a trough of cheese from over his head every time he throws a strike .... it is progress, but Whitley is b****ing he slipped on Garcia's sweat when he replaced him on the mound and is out another 18 months.
JP pitched like he was a 2 for a while, then like he was a 5. Netted out for his one full season to a BOR guy- but a pretty good 5th starter. Now, stuffwise I don't think he has enough to really succeed. I don't see Gordon having a higher ceiling than what we saw France do. Gusto probably not either- but maybe they are actually the same guy, I don't know and can't say for sure. All of them pale in comparison to Blueballs (who has multiple swing and miss pitches) and Ullola (who has the most important thing in my opinion- and that is for a pitcher to win with the fastball in the zone). I welcome brining that in and jettisoning the flotsam. Those guys are good spot starters (or two starts) in holding in AAA for short term needs (Bielak) or long reliever mop up guys in the bullpen- not guys that should get 2 months worth of starts.
Scott Boras stated getting an opportunity for 3000 hits as a huge motivation for Altuve and reason for the 5 year contract. I doubt Altuve ( via Boras) will be happy sitting 25% of the games. Over the course of 4 years, that is an entire season, and possibly 150-175 hits. They can preach that resting is better, but that's a tough sell to a ball player who's used to playing everyday and thinks he can hit tired or rested. Obviously, its not his call, but could become a huge distraction, especially if he starts leaking a few hits short of the pace he needs.
Play the best team 80-85% of your games. right now, Altuve is rightfully playing full time. He is one of the best 9 hitters on the team. When he isn’t, he isn’t. He still gets his money. Can’t trade wins for an aging players personal stat count.
