The idea is that if it's a guy like Hensley, or Salazar then Julks gets all the DH starts. If it's a top prospect he will play (at least more)
Korey Lee albeit in limited playing time has played at every single position.... from C to SS to CF to P...
Only if Brown insists. Unfortunately, Gilbert is in a slump of sorts. I don’t trust Dirden much more than Julks but I guess it would be worth a try.
Thankfully we botched some winnable games playing like maggots and reduced our margin for error. Let Martín DH. More drama for your mama
I have to disagree with this. Lance has produced nothing for the past couple of years and is unlikely to do so next year.
Yea Lance is my favorite Astro, so in no way do I want this to come across as dogging him But after being great in the postseason in 17 and 18 it's been a mixed bag Obviously he missed 19 Was 0-2 with a couple bad starts in 20 Was good in 21 Was bad last year I want Lance to be healthy and dominant as much as anyone, not only is he a great competitor he also comes across as being Houston through and through
Stupidly frustrating losses the last few weeks, but losing a bunch of one run games make things feel worse than they actually are.
He wasn't just good in 2021... he was great. Most starts of his career, most innings pitched, and was dominant in his only post-season appearances... which led to his injury. Last year was likely pitching hurt, but was very effective with his new arsenal... that got touched up in the World Series. With an actual repair/rehab, there's no reason why he can't get back to 2021 form. Just a shame that they wasted the last 1.5 years trying to rehab it, regardless of his contribution last post-season.
The more I look at it the more it seems like the poor results this season are a result of bad management and bad luck rather than bad roster construction. Bad luck in that Abreu fell off a cliff and Brantley has been hurt and Altuve missed 44 games and now Alvarez is hurt. Bad management in that Baker has regularly worked against fielding the best lineup and has prevented players from establishing a rhythm. Abreu’s ineffectiveness in the middle of the everyday lineup has been a demoralizing momentum killer that has likely had a material impact on the performance of Tucker. I firmly believe Bregman and Pena would have much better numbers had Altuve and/or Brantley been fully healthy all season. And lack of consistent playing time has likely had a material impact on Meyers, McCormick, and Diaz.
I agree that Baker has done a poor job of managing so far. Using Montero instead of Maton in the 7th yesterday is a perfect example. There is 0 excuse for that choice. However, this roster has at least 7 players that do not belong on a World Series level MLB team. It's not Brown's fault that McCullers, Garcia, Urquidy, Yordan, and Brantley are injured which would only leave 2 players over their shoes. I would not say that roster construction is blameless. For example, if Diaz is going to get playing time at 1b and DH, then they should have backup catcher that brings more than Salazar. A respected (even glove only) veteran would increase Dusty's willingness to PH for Maldy late in games.
Other than Diaz, not sure about this. Jake was awful to start the year... then has rebounded and played better in this rotational system. Chas also. Dubon has been pretty consistent as well. So that leaves Tucker/Bregman/Yordan/Pena who have played almost every game... and I don't necessarily see their micro-position changes in the lineup really impacting their rhythm. Also, you go on to say this: Agreed, although demoralizing is a bit dramatic. Tucker was in the same position last year with Yuli putting up even worse numbers. Brantley is swinging a bat. There is a glimmer of hope there. Bregman/Tucker will likely get better numbers based on their track records. Pena is going to be streaky... just gotta hope the good streaks coincide with the rest of the lineup performing. Abreu hitting balls at 105+ more frequently as of late also means something... but he's still got some ways to go to solidify that he's not truly over the hill.
I think the mishandling of Diaz is fairly significant. He’s someone who could be have helped offset the suck that has been Abreu and Maldy. Instead Julks, a AAAA player, has gotten more playing time. The GM even added a AAAA caliber player in Salazar to the 26 man to give Dusty no excuses for not playing him regularly, and that simply didn’t happen. You know things are pretty bad when a new GM is openly critical of the manager a few months into the job.
THIS To me the biggest mistakes Dusty has made managing the position players are: 1) Playing a AAAA player as the primary LF while better players sit the bench. 2) Sitting Diaz rather than using him at DH or 1B, stunting his development when there was a 3rd C on the bench specifically for that reason. 2B) Catch Diaz over Maldy regularly 2 games each and every week, with every SP. Every pitcher lives Maldy, but they don't know Diaz and the team is better if they do. 3) Moving Pena all over the lineup instead of giving him a place and letting him settle in. He is still a young player and developing his offense. 4) Giving Abreu too much slack. Despite what he wanted, once 30+ games went by Abreu needed (needs?) to be replaced at 1b at least 2-3 times per week until he snaps out of this slump. 5) Stick with a lineup !! And that's not even addressing the pitching. I realize that you can't fire a World Series winning manager in the season you are defending Champs, but Dusty has done a terrible job and deserves forced retirement after this year, regardless of how it ends.
He is stating the obvious but has not acknowledged that he is responsible for the manager. He needs to step up and force the issue. Give Dusty clear direction to follow then make a change if Dusty is not doing what is asked of him.