I'm shocked there's even an argument here. Sure if Gomez hit like he did in Milwaukee, it'd be awesome. But Gomez was already having a down year, by his standards he set in 2012-2014, and showed nowhere near the speed he had in previous seasons. For a guy that doesn't appear to be the sharpest tool in the shed, his game is predicated on his athleticism. When that goes, he's done as a superstar, or anywhere near, player. Once again, New York caught it. They examined him, saw the writing on the wall, and vetoed the trade. We came in our pants the moment the pretty girl walked in the room before even seeing what she looked like with her clothes off. I'm not arguing that. Gomez was great. But without his second to none athleticism, he's a shell of himself. Hell, he's still an athletic guy but without the ridiculous speed he previously possessed, he's just not the same player. I really hope I'm wrong, and he eventually turns it around. Farm systems are a numbers game. Given the rate of attrition with minor league to major league talent, it's important that you keep your farm system stacked. Get as many guys with potential as you can, coach them up to the best of your abilities, and hopefully 1 or 2 of them will become something in the majors. I'm not referencing just the trade for Gomez/Fiers. We made two trades at/near the deadline last year. One of which involved our ONLY minor league prospect that's a catcher, and the other involved our #1 ranked minor league player and one of our top pitching prospects as well. If you don't think that hurts an organization, then I really don't know what to tell you. I've watched the Astros my entire life. I've seen them build up a great minor league system only to trade them all away hoping to strike it rich and win a series or two. It never happened, and it resulted in years of pain and misery for baseball fans. I don't care to see that happen again all because of dumb trades for injured players. You're more dense than I thought you were if you think not spending money with the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers equals cheap. I don't think we'll remain the 24th ranked team in payroll forever, which is what cheap owners do, but I'm not convinced we'll ever be in the top 5-7. Maybe we will, and maybe we won't. But right now a low payroll is justified in order to save money when we inevitably sign Correa to his monster deal, Altuve re-ups, and maybe Springer as well. No, we don't know for certain, but when taking the evidence we have just from watching him play along with the vetoed trade by the Mets due to concerns over his hip, it's not a ridiculous conclusion to jump to. Look, I'm not hating on Luhnow. I think he's a great GM and if he improves a little on his trades for major league talent, he'd be one of the best in baseball. I can't imagine anyone could look at his trade history and see them as large successes. Gattis is decent, but the Kazmir and Gomez trades were completely and utterly pointless. You're free to disagree. But for me there's a few factors at play. 1. We were/are a very young team (3rd youngest in baseball according to this list http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rosters) with a hopefully large window of time to compete. Given our youth and lack of postseason experience, it was silly, IN MY OPINION, to swing for the fences last year with a team this young. Let them grow into it. 2. Gomez was enough of a concern to one major league organization that they vetoed the trade. After their doctors examined him, they concluded his hip would be a long-term problem. No, we don't KNOW that this is 100% the reason for his decline, but you simply can't ignore it or excuse it. I feel like that's what you and others did when the trade was made and are doing now. 3. If we traded for any kind of elite player, it needed to be for a pitcher. McHugh will never be more than a #3 or #4, McCullers may be better suited for a bullpen role, Feldman is an injury waiting to happen, and now look what's happened to Keuchel. Last year, we were #6 in team ERA, but I'm pretty certain we were #1 through the first 3 months or so of the season. Looking at the rotation, I don't see how anyone could believe that was sustainable. The Astros needed to hold onto all the minor league arms with potential that they could. If Hader becomes something in the majors like he has the skill set to be, we'll be kicking ourselves for years. It's a big IF, but it's a risk that shouldn't have been taken at the current time, in my opinion. I want Gomez to succeed. But while he's sucking, I think the guy should tone it down. I'm entitled to my opinion regardless of how upset it makes you, and you're entitled to yours even if I think your perspective is overly simplistic. He was loved by his Brewers teammates, but you're ignoring the quality of his play with the Brewers as well. It's not just me as others have commented. I actually played the sport and almost had a scholarship to a D1 school before I was injured in my senior year. And one thing we were always taught is you act professional, keep your mouth shut, and focus on the game. If you were good enough, you had more leeway. If you sucked and were still yapping your mouth, your ass was going to end up glued to the bench. Yeah, there's a GIANT gulf between high school baseball and the major leagues. But people remain the same and the same types of personalities you have in high school also exist in every level of the sport. Call it asinine all you two want, but it's reality whether you like it or not. When you perform, celebrate and act however the hell you want to. But when you're sucking balls, keep your mouth shut and work on your game.
Yeah, I think. It's asinine to even make your comment given the reality that not one of us are sitting in that clubhouse. So what we're left with is watching the players when we attend games and on the tv screen. No need to be a dick, as I get your point to an extent. Where I will agree with you is I find it just as dumb with all the people that claim to know how much energy James Harden is putting out on the basketball court and how badly the guy wants to win. People watch him on tv and at the games and somehow think they know what's going on in his head. So yeah, I think the team has suffered with the addition of Gomez. I also think Marisnick is insanely popular in the clubhouse, was the guy that started the tradition of splashing water in the face of players when they hit homeruns, and he exudes the fun-loving attitude that made this team such a blast last year. Attitudes are contagious. In my opinion, Marisnick's attitude improves the team's psyche, while Gomez's attitude hurts the team to an extent. But yeah, it's just what I think.
True, but afterwards, they were widely criticized for it. A lot of people thought they just decided they didn't want him / found a different deal they liked more (kinda like what people think about Detroit and Motiejunas). If Gomez came back to form, that angle might have been played up more. The fact that he hasn't either lends more credibility to the Mets public statement...or is just a lucky outcome for them. Hard to know at this point.
Lastly, as I better actually get some work done, is baseball is probably the most cerebral sport there is. More mind games go on in baseball than in any other sport. When your mind is right, you play your best ball. When you let yourself get rattled or distracted, your play is going to suffer. I think that's what's happening with this team right now. I don't know how else to explain the train wreck this season has been up until recently.
I find it absolutely staggering that in a year that is (likely) going to go down as one of the franchise's more disappointing, you're advocating the team should have passively nursed a near year-long division lead because future success is so obviously guaranteed. I mean, seriously: give that line of thought a few moments of reflection and lets reconvene, OK? First of all, keep in mind: the Mets wanted Gomez, OK? Over Cespedes; critical detail. In terms of what happened medically... we'll never know. Given Gomez has been bad, it's easy to assume the Mets potentially saw something longer-term. If so, sucks that the Astros didn't see the same thing. But there's no indication the Astros medical staff is an issue; again, this is the same group that correctly predicted a 17-year old would blow his arm out without ever actually examining the kid. Wait, wait, wait.... you, earlier: Kazmir was leading the AL in ERA at the time of the trade. Kazmir is a pitcher; at the time, an elite pitcher. And you termed the deal "pointless." You're clearly incapable of recognizing hindsight. Oh! OTHERS have commented?! Well, that settles it...
Here's to hoping the bold happens, and soon. I'd definitely much rather be wrong and the team be successful than be right and get to win the internet...
Or quit being dense and realize that maybe last year was an aberration. Keuchel will probably never have another season like that. The starting rotation was ridiculously good to start the season. The winning streak we had towards the beginning of the year basically carried us the entire season. And I'm pretty sure for the last 4 or 5 months of the season, we were a below .500 team. While talented, this team still needs more talent, specifically at 3B, CF, C, and SP. I'm not saying the medical staff is pitiful. I'm saying it should have been an immediate red flag, something to immediately make the team stop and really take their time considering their actions, when the Mets backed out due to injury concerns. Cut the attitude, boy. I don't think I've said an offensive thing to you in this entire exchange yet every response sounds like your panties are riding up your vag. If you think Kazmir is an elite pitcher, then there's really no need to continue this pointless conversation as you obviously have the baseball acumen of a stack of bricks.
Boy? You've called me dense twice previously, FYI, including in the very post in which you claim to have never said an offensive thing to me. Also, that I was clueless. And then you follow-up your holier-than-thou finger wag by calling me a woman (which, I might very well be, for all you know). Nice. Whatever - tell us more about playing baseball in high school! BTW, I did, too - basketball, as well - and in the 20+ years I've been posting on this forum, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever mentioned either because, frankly, who cares? 100% irrelevant. But please, tell us how much more qualified it makes you to comment on baseball... But at least you haven't said anything offensive... At the time of the trade, through 18 starts, Kazmir had a higher ERA+ (166) and better overall ERA (2.32) than, well, everybody else in the AL, including Dallas Keuchel. Hindsight - which you have absolutely mastered - is the only variable that knocks Kazmir's credentials down at the time of the trade.
I love Gomez, besides Future (Correa) he's my favorite on the team. This team is not playing very well as a whole and Gomez is unfairly getting a whole share of the blame. I love the passion, fun-loving style he plays with. He's obviously injured and doesn't want to operate on his hip because it would kill whatever open market value he had this winter but Gomez hasn't been the same since his foul ball hit that kid in Atlanta. He's always been a plus centerfielder but its obvious this season he's laboring and that its affecting his decision making, I've never seen a guy bunt with clear bases and that has been his signature this season. I think once he deals with the hip, if it can be fix, he'll be back to the guy we all love and if not then it was cool to have him on this squad for that run last year, the team took on his personality and it was fun to watch. Get well Go-Go, this line-up can use your bat.
Fair enough. Can we cut the crap now? It's not getting either of us anywhere in this discussion. If this back and forth continues, I'll do my best to keep it to the actual subject and would appreciate if you did as well. As for Kazmir, look at the package he got traded for. If anyone believed he was an elite pitcher, we certainly wouldn't have gotten him for what we paid. He had a nice first half of the season last year but by August, he was back to the pitcher he's always been: a decent #3 starter. He's never had a full season with more than 75 innings pitched with an ERA under 3. Like so much of last year with this team, I'm increasingly convinced it was more the exception than the rule.
One more note. Maybe read back through our first exchange and see who decided to get snippy. Your meme of the boy celebrating behind his computer is what started this ****, and now you want to whine like you're the victim. Changing your initial approach might help keep you out of these little confrontations.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A refreshed Carlos Gomez says he's ready to prove he's the player the Astros traded for. <a href="https://t.co/Lz8J9yseq3">pic.twitter.com/Lz8J9yseq3</a></p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/735590473956483076">May 25, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Carlos Gomez with a 422-foot homer to left field. He crushed it. 104 mph off the bat.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/735643687376543744">May 26, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
saw this on rotoworld Carlos Gomez (ribs) is expected to be activated from the disabled list on Tuesday, the first day he's eligible. Gomez will play his fifth and likely final rehab game on Sunday. He's 5-for-17 with one homer in his first four contests as he works his way back from a bruised left rib cage. "I think he's feeling a lot better, which is the number one priority," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of Gomez. "Getting production out of him is the second phase of this."
