Give it up already, there was nothing to suggest he was going to become a productive major league. He was a full on space cadet while here. Good for him he's got it going but let's see what the new wave of prospects do. And if these prospects fail? Then it'll be another new leadership team in place and the cycle will start over again, just hope that doesn't happen. There are plenty of things to fault Luhnow for when it has come to draft and trades, letting guys go that didn't contribute at the major league is not one of them. Unfortunately this happens to every team and some guys needed a change in scenery more than others.
54 games? This seems a little arbitrary. After a fantastic 1.000+ OPS in April in his 2nd year, Harper had a 0.687 OPS in May and 0.786 in June. It happens during a season - there are ebbs and flows, and young players probably have even more of them. Taking arbitrary chunks of time seems kind of pointless to me unless there's a specific reason to assume a performance change (injury, etc). I think the problem may simply be unreasonable expectations if you think any player anywhere has a 95% - or even 80% - chance to be a transcendent once-in-a-generation player based on a half-season of work. Certainly - but again, even someone like Harper didn't have a 0.900 OPS his first 3 years. It would be great if it happened, but it's not something anyone should be expecting in the near term.
I was surprised as anyone that Neil deGrasse verified that a part of Carlos Correa was there at the big bang and that his part was responsible for atomic nuclei formation. Just wow! I believe.
Taking the family into Houston to see our first game this season, Saturday's game (Faith and Family, Rasmus giving testimony and Brandon Heath performing). Short of any unexpected changes or injuries... are we likely seeing Fiers start?
Ironic that Rasmus is doing the "faith and family" night... Dude says the "F" word more than a Tarantino character.
Apparently he was sitting next to Berkman (while on Card's) along with Pujols, Wainright, and Holliday. Hopefully the game will good as the concert afterwards... and sorry for the OT question about the next series.
Looks like folks in the game thread weren't the only to notice to "new" carlos Gomez last night: http://houston.cbslocal.com/2016/06/15/a-new-carlos-gomez-boosts-the-astros/ As someone that struggled with glasses in sweaty/humid conditions, interesting that cargo chose this series to wear them, but kudos to making a change that seems to have helped.
54 games = 82% of the season. And yes, any stretch will be arbitrary - picking and choosing is a component of confirming the bias. (Also: just for the record - Harper had +~200 PAs than Correa when he hit his first bump. He was also two years younger.) I'm working to not overreact; to keep perspective. But his season has been disappointing - do you not agree? He looks like a decidedly different player - less sure, more overwhelmed. And we haven't even mentioned his defense, which has been poor. No one should be surprised that a 21-year old in his first full ML season is struggling. But the degree of his struggle has caught me off guard - and I was the guy accused of being Debbie Downer during the winter when I hedged on a lot of bets many other posters in here were sure were going to pay out. No; it was .834 his first two. And then he suffered a significant injury his third year.
I love that attitude by Lance and always appreciate Law getting blasted, but I think there may have been a bit of an overreaction here. Law said McCullers could be an elite closer, which frankly is not that outlandish of a statement given that McCullers has already had fairly significant arm issues less than a year into the bigs. He wasn't insulting McCullers, only commenting that he may not be built for being a starter in the long-term... which has been a wide-spread opinion since day 1.
you must not know law's history with the Astros. if im McCullers I would have been pissed too at his comment. McCullers can still be a number 2 starter.
No I absolutely know that Law can be a douche, I just do not think he was insulting McCullers in any way here. McCullers missed two months less than a year into his pro career after being on a strict innings limit, and has seen his BB/9 double since his return. Questioning if his arm can last as a starter is a very legitimate question, as unfortunate as that may be to hear.
I disagree. Last year Villar helped, and i said we should use him more than Lowrie. Last year Villar hit .284 for us with a decent .752 OPS. The problem with Villar was errors at SS on easy plays, but at 3b he did a very nice job. Yes, with Marwin needed to trade him, the problem is like Straily, WE GAVE THEM AWAY.
