Wow... maybe we should fire Bagwell as well... my classmate wrote this... https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2023/...wRzpwwLAyYexdT0iVFy29c9pEH1Qwp_UedTQ-f9z_HCtM There's a likely culprit, methinks: quality data. Specifically, its lack The majority of these players largely met success in the first place thanks to a data-intensive approach to baseball employed in the Luhnow regime and, perhaps slightly less efficaciously, in the Click regime. But, thanks to last offseason, these same players now find themselves in one of the least data-intensive organizations (at least as far as teams who are generally on the winning side of the ledger) across the sport. [...] Astros defense is actually worse, not only thanks to the absence of shifts, but because their positioning data (or lack thereof, it sometimes seems) is so, so much worse this year than it was under the previous two front office regimes
I mean this week is basically the playoffs now. How will Dusty justify continuing trotting out a meh lineup or leaving in starters too long this week?
I don't know. I agree with the data that shows this team has taken major step backs in pitching and defense, but it is a big hypothesis to suggest is mostly due to lack of data that other teams are now doing. There defense ratings are pretty close to where they were in 2017 and 2020. Both of which were in the Luhnow and Click eras. So I don't know if it is as cleanly correlated has he wants it to be. Plus, he doesn't actually point to any source in organization saying there is less analytics this year than prior years. He is just extrapolating that hypothesis from the data. We have to remember that making 6 consecutive ALCS in a row in the 2nd most ever, only behind a team with multiple HOF Cy-Young pitchers in their prime and arguably a weak NL. Winning 4 pennants and 2 WS in that time makes this stretch one of the greatest in recent modern MLB history. I get that we wish it could be more, and get annoyed at the missed opportunities. But for most teams their windows with similar groups of talent don't get those heights. They make 1 or 2 WS and win a title. Baseball and sports are not predictable. Sometimes a team gets hot. Sometimes your entire team gets the yips. Sometimes the balls bounce your way. That is baseball.
Everyone should Thank Dusty Baker for Benching Yainer Diaz supposed 45 HR 145 RBI Season but it didn't happen. The Catcher is the Quarterback Position. The Worst Catcher in Baseball plays that Position Martin Maldonado. Benching Chas McCormick really has put more on Chas to perform even more.
Everyone on the Astros had a Down Year, Injured Year Surprise Batters Mauricio Dubon, Chas McCormick, Yainer Diaz Need More Youth in Pitching and 1B, CF
I think we overachieved this year. Considering we had Altuver out for months Alvarez out for weeks/ months McCullers out for the year Luis Garcia out for the year Urquidy out for months montero sabotaging games 3-4 rookie pitchers thrown into the lions den new rules, long off seasons for some pitchers ( WCB) I’m surprised we managed to even have a chance to make play offs.. Hoping out luck turns around starting today! I still believe!
I absolutely agree with this. Everything that could have gone wrong, did. Yet we are still there with 6 games to play. That said, you left out "Dusty sabotaging games" ... because the two largest "things that went right" were the emergence of all-star level hitters at two premium defensive positions (C and CF). Yet, we generally chose to either play them elsewhere or sit them. But to revert to positivity, next year the injury luck almost has to be better, and the lineup decisions cannot possibly be worse. There will be a million "end of the dynasty" articles written this winter, and they will all be wrong.
Yes Baker should be fired...too old school and Jeff Bagwell should not be allowed to GM. The Montero contract and signing Jose Abreu were bad. I wanted us to outbid for Juan Soto. Astros would be killing it with Soto
Dusty left 10 wins or more by not starting optimal lineups and stupid pitching decisions. That's underachieving.
Soto would look great on this team, but it would mean no money for extensions and this team would slip into even more of "a few stars and a bunch of scrubs" composition. Also with Soto on this team Chas very likely doesn't break out. He has started 48g in CF but with both Soto and Yordan on the team, his 43 starts in LF go away and Soto becomes the b/u in RF so his 9 starts in RF go away too. They don't trade for Soto then not make him a huge offer to stay, so there is no money for Framber, Tucker, or Bregman. Altuve likely stays.
