Seems like Correa can't really move back to shortstop full-time if the team wants to keep him healthy.
This will be a very unpopular opinion but a Dubon/Urias platoon would probably put up ~2.5 war at SS. That largely defeats a major benefit of trading Pena (to make room for Paredes at 3B), but if Correa wasn’t able to handle everyday SS duties, those 2 provide very good insurance.
Isaac Paredes just posted a “story” on his instagram that shows him “powering up”. It’s a short video of him hi fiving teammates in the dugout in a scene that looks like it was after he homered. In the bottom right corner it shows his battery icon charging up to full. Our lineup is ****. Let him DH when ready. No running beyond a trot. Hit him second in front of Yordan, who hits third. https://www.instagram.com/stories/i...rce=ig_story_item_share&igsh=ODhveHllYmgydzB0
If Altuve can help the team win then I want him on the team. If not then let him finish out his career elsewhere.
Chandler Rome on newest Crush City Territory revealed how he got to ask couple questions from Correa. Apparently whole clubhouse is in agreement that there is nothing to fix in aproach because "agressive hitter does't become better by being more passive". Rome said couple of words after this about maybe atleast planning for each oppo individual oppo SP weaknesses and what to look for but as I understood he did't have time/courage/chance to ask this part from Correa. So they are all on the same page and only problem is that somehow bat has missed the ball lately. Maybe it's time to me stop accusing hitting coaches when there seems to be little for them to do. Players already know everything they need to. Explains others not being frustrated with Diaz or Altuve. Actually we could fire hitting coaches, not being bad but being irrelevant. No hitters meetings needed, just being agressive will do.
It’s Sept. 1st and time to recognize that this has been a very mediocre team for most of the season. Any success from here on out should be viewed as a pleasant surprise
I feel like the Astros record is where it should be considering their current talent level and injuries. Overall the offense has performed worse than the sum of its parts, and they’re not gang hitting like they did in their golden years. However they do have a talented 1-6 hitters in the lineup, and 2 frontline pitchers. A consistent 3rd starter and leverage bullpen arms are current holes that could feasibly be solved if Javier is a legit third starter, and Hader comes back or Arrighetti/Garcia can fill the role. If the offense can hit enough, that’s still a team that can win in October. But definitely not the favorites like we’ve been in the past.
If the Astros even make the playoffs it will be a surprise. And if they do, it will likely be a short stay like last year. This team needs some major work at all levels. Does any team in the majors have more injuries? Management needs to take a hard look at the conditioning program, the medical staff, the hitting coaches and themselves.
I know the offense is in a slump, but what’s with all the rampant pessimism? The Astros are in 1st place in their division with an 89% chance of making the playoffs. They have 7 hitters who project to be average or better, 3 of whom (Altuve, Correa, Alvarez) are among the most accomplished playoff hitters of all time, plus another who was a World Series mvp (Pena). Paredes coming back would represent an 8th average or better hitter. They have 2 SP who will finish top 6 in the AL in the Cy Young award voting, and 2 other pitchers who just posted quality starts. 5 current members of their bullpen have an era under 3. This is a good team. The offense is slumping. That probably won’t last. Yall chill.
Meh. The projections aren’t biased, they’re math. But yes, the Astros offense has fallen short of expectations overall, although their wRC+ as a team is a perfectly average 100. That said, they still have 4 healthy players who’ve hit above average for them (Correa, Urias, Altuve, Pena), plus another 4 who’ve been merely average to slightly below average (Sanchez, Yordan, Walker, Diaz). Meyers and Paredes represent 2 potential additions who’ve been above average. I just think the picture is being painted overly dark; this is a very talented, deep, experienced team.
"Average" isn't good for a team looking to compete for a WS title though. Stats can be misleading and people can pick and choose to craft a narrative but my understanding is overall the Astros are poor in most offensive metrics, especially when you consider this is a team with WS ambitions, which, a lot of teams are not. We're last in RS in the AL West. We're 24th in RS. The only teams who have scored fewer runs are the Royals, Guardians, White So, Pirates and Rockies. Not great company and now what you want to see from a team with WS ambitions. IMO that's really ugly.
Yes, but the playoff lineup has the potential to be very different from the average lineup throughout the year which scored so few runs, especially if Parades comes back. Similarly the starting pitching could be much better if Javier and Arrighetti really are back. This really is a team where prior performance hopefully doesn’t match future expectations (and even with that disclaimer, they are only a few games back of a 1st round bye)
We are spoiled... we have 5.5 game lead over the last team out from the wild card. We are also 14 games over .500... we are not a super team but let's not pretend that we are the Rockies/Angels/White Sox. And flawed teams have won it all before namely... the 2022 Atlanta Braves.
