The 2023 Astros had JP France, Brandon Bielak, and Jose Urquidy pitch 280 innings with a combined FIP of over 5. None of those guys would be pitching for the Astros this season. Two of them are unemployed right now. Rafael Montero, Ryne Stanek were key bullpen pieces who covered over 100 innings and look what they’ve done since. Another 130 innings were covered by a declining Pressly and Nerris (who way over-performed his underlying advanced stats). Less than 2 years later, neither is employed. The options at 1B were Abreu and Singleton. Dusty made a lot of bad in game decisions and mishandled the Maldy/Diaz situation. However, let’s not re-write history to act like the 2023 team that made the ALCS and won the division was a stacked team. It was highly flawed and had a ton of injuries.
Some folks have no problem denying Espada credit for having this team in 1st place, but they wanna heap praise on Dusty for his wins with a far more talented club that he inherited. Dusty was never a champion until the Astros made him one, and he squandered some very good opportunities with some very talented teams, including one with the best hitter the game has ever seen in a roided up Barry Bonds.
What Dusty did or did not do two decades before he was with the Astros doesn’t seem all that relevant to the 2020-2025 Astros. I pointed out the 2023 team was as flawed as the current one and had plenty of injuries and issues with pitching depth. I’m not trying to compare Dusty and Espada, nor does it make a lot of sense to compare a guy who managed for 30 years for a guy who has only managed for 1 full season. My view (and I’ve been consistent in it) is that in game decisions by managers have little impact on the overall season compared to everything else. The Astros pitching coaches and development pipeline have had a much bigger impact on the Astros staying competitive than Dusty or Espada.
that’s just ridiculous. To use an analogy, Barry Switzer won a championship by inheriting a championship caliber team from Jimmy Johnson. Baker inherited a loaded team. They are similar quality coaches/managers. Perhaps you thought Switzer was brilliant too?
Crane is a f**** moron if he’s the manager next year. And Dana Brown should have made getting pitching a priority instead of letting trash Arrighetti hold up a trade.
It’s becoming embarrassing how bad Espada is. He really should not be back next year nor should the hitting coaches
I'm sure it was discussed ad nauseam in the game thread, which I have not and will not look at until the game starts today, but PH for your entire OF in one inning was certainly a head-scratcher.
What is this team's... personality? Is that a sincere question? They have too many injuries; too many players underperforming. They are playing without their best hitter from last year and their best hitter from this year. On any given night, their line-up consists of 4-5 players with sub 700 OPS. Their best SP is melting down. Their third-best SP is a 32-year old journeyman who spent most of the 90s hanging out at a coffee shop with his three friends. Their closer is done for the regular season. AND THEY HAVE A 1.5-GAME LEAD IN THEIR DIVISION! Joe Espada is NOT the issue here. He's not close to the issue. They are trying to wring every ounce they can out of this rapidly-closing era - and doing a pretty damn good job. If Yordan, Meyers, Javier & Hader are all healthy and performing by October; this team will be a problem in the postseason. But the consequences of trying to put band-aids over gaping wounds in their line-up, rotation and bullpen is starting to rear its ugly head. Hopefully, they're due better health. But that this team is even in contention is a small miracle.
