Javier, Arrighetti and Alvarez returning to form is encouraging, but the bullpen and manager puts a ceiling on them, imo.
Brown b****ed about holding down the running game a couple of months ago...yet nothing noticeable happened. Winter and the offseason through Spring is a great time to work on things I suppose?
Pretty much exactly what I'm saying about making sure we keep Paredes (working the count and having professional ABs). We've got 4 guys in the lineup tonight (Pena, Altuve, Diaz and Dubon) that are in the bottom 11% percentile in chase rate. They don't work ABs and when they are struggling you get a lot of quick outs because they swing at everything.
I like Brown but here is the thing - he wanted Espada because he felt he could have a good working relationship with Espada after Baker. Well now we have lots of avoidable issues like our positioning, situational hitting, holding and throwing out runners. These are all connected to coaching - so Brown needs to eat a little crow and do something about it this winter.
Does Joe realize Abreu shouldn't throw 35 pitches in a 4-1 deficit? As soon as this became 3-1 it was a wrap. Any sane manager walks out right away to pull their closer.
Was only a matter of time until the wheels came off. The offense has repeatedly let this team down. Terrible, unclutch as humanly possible Astros
Coaching and arguably player development. I see a lack of attention to detail with this staff. It’s an issue - and a good manager fixes it of replaces his assistants. I’m not sure Espada really knows it is as bad as it is.
You can play Big Boy Ball for sure all you can, but you still need the ability to be able to play a little small ball as required. Sometimes 1 run is all you need.
