Yep. Meyers needs two things. 1) Jesus and 2) AAA at bats. But doesn't Meyers always tear it up when demoted? So I don't know if that would be a good indicator if he's ready for the majors at any point. I hear they throw it underhand in AAA ball.
On Meyers, someone has to be the 4th OF. Leon and Dirden need PAs in AAA as well. I'd be fine with Tucker as the backup CF if the Astros had two other good healthy corner OFs, but I don't see the benefit in an Alvarez, Tucker, Julks OF.
This new GM Brown is terrible. We are 1 game below .500 and 1.5 games out with 155 games left. This season is over and he needs to focus on rebuilding.
Last year first 14 games: 6-8 with 46 runs and 55 runs given up. That's a differential of -0.64 runs per game. And McCullers was the only major injury. This year after 7 games 3-4. 31 runs and 34 runs against. That's a differential of -0.43 runs per game. And McCullers, Altuve, and Brantley are hurt but should be back for more than half the season. It's a long season. All will be fine.
What do you want him to say? He and his team are smart. They know the issue, but they also know there is no way to talk about it publicly. So he says “I don’t know.” If he made up some “expected batting average on sinkers” or “fan stats” quote, that is when you should be worried.
I want him to say that they have done a vast and thorough study of MMP and determined that by moving the field dimensions around they could take fuller advantage of the staff they currently have. or he could say The matter is being looked into or he could say That is a question for Mr. Crane (I would like to hear him answer this myself)
Well, blaming or pointing to the boss is not a great career move, and I guarantee that “the matter is being looked into” even if he didn’t say so. But, I agree he could have said that and it would be a better answer. But in the interest of harmony and not creating a distraction with a month to go, “I don’t know” is fine. I certainly wouldn’t correlate that response to any actual thinking being done in the FO.
It was a bad response, but not because there is an actual reason. He should have said the truth, that's it's just random season to season variance and we have no reason to be concerned moving forward. This isn't some long multi year trend of the Astros hitting worse at MMP.
I actually think the correct answer is: "Baseball is an unpredictable game. We have won at home before and we will win at home again hopefully soon. Some things have no explanation "
David Stearns hired by the Mets so Brown is safe which makes me happy for now. I'd like to see him get at least one full off season before making any judgement.
Dana Brown has really shown this season why he was hired by Crane. He nailed the Tucker trade especially with Cam. It looks like he may have nailed his first draft as a GM with Brice. In hindsight, the Kikuchi trade was really good. He traded away 3 guys that weren't in the team's long-term plans for a pitcher that got us to the playoffs. If Cam, Brice, and Melton work out, the future is bright for the Astros. On the pitching side, he's smart enough to listen to Murphy and Miller and let them do their thing. I sure hope Crane and Brown made those guys the highest paid pitching coaches in the MLB because they deserve it. On a side note: Crane is really good at identifying GM talent. You have to remember that Luhnow, Click, and Brown were not proven guys when he hired. In Crane I trust.
I do not think Dana Brown has received enough credit for the job he has done this year. ( or since hired) Since the end of last season: Purchased Taylor Trammell from the Yankees Signed Steven Okert as FA Traded Tucker for 3 contributors Signed Zach Short Picked up Jason Alexander on waivers He also brought back Hummel, Singleton, and Neris as FA, who are currently on the roster. In addition: 2024 Signed Victor Caratini as FA Signed Tayler Scott as FA Signed Josh Hader as FA Selected Kaleb Ort off waivers Purchased Nick Hernandez from SD Signed Brandon Walter as a FA 2023 Drafted Brice Matthews Selected Bennett Sousa off waivers Those are the moves that I see effected this year.
I think Astros fans including myself have come to take for granted excellent GM work and making great moves around the margins.
I think this BP is just as good as our 2022 BP if not better. It's pretty shocking when we lose if we have the lead going into the 7th.
