"Dusty Baker: "Tomorrow is a really big game. A third of the season is over tomorrow and we’d love to go 10-10 and in the next 20, really make some hay.""
They have a lot interesting decisions coming up. Semien, Hendriks, Soria, Petit, and Fiers will all be free agents. Chapman, Olson, Trivino, and Montas will all be entering arbitration for the first time next season, and guys like Manaea, Canha, and Pinder will be in their 2nd or 3rd year of arbitration.
Really? Astros with all their injuries, late game tom foolery and hitting woes were right there to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in 2 out of those 3 games. .
Altuve most definitely has the skills to turn things around...at this point does he need a sports psychologist to clear his mind?
Well, I'd even assume he's probably seeing one already. It just hasn't worked. If not, he needs to get his ass to one asap and stop being a black hole in the lineup.
Does anybody else think paredes reminds them of Octavio Dotel? This guy has plus stuff and seems like he will thrive in an 8th inning/set up role
The last time Altuve had a 19-game stretch as bad as this (2019..long time ago I know in a simpler, mask-free, time)...he followed it up by being a destroyer of worlds for his next 200 or so ABs.
“I felt really good. I felt really comfortable,” Alvarez said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a batter’s box, but I felt confident in there. Obviously I’d seen some live pitching in Corpus, but it’s not the same as being in a major league game, so for it being the first time being in the box in a long time, I felt really good.” Alvarez estimated he took only 15 live at-bats at the team’s alternate training site in Corpus Christi before his call-up. Baker acknowledged after Friday’s game that Alvarez may not have his ideal timing — and it may not arrive for a while. Baker saw Alvarez running gingerly, too, and wondered about the state of his fragile knees. Alvarez reiterated he feels “really good” and the soft running was “precautionary” in his first game back. Still, Baker may move Alvarez down in Saturday’s batting order to make it easier for a pinch runner to enter late in a close game. Alvarez must still be treated cautiously. His knees are apparently still an issue and his lack of a real summer camp made Baker question whether the “full strength” Alvarez would appear on Friday.
Someone needs to challenge him to a race to get to .300. Tuve will probably go out and get 6 straight hits or something. Step up, team leaders!!
I'm okay with putting him down to 6 or so in the order. He should still get a lot of opportunities with RSP. And for what it's worth if his knees are fragile I'll take fragile every day. He's too dangerous to keep out of the lineup. I'm 100% down for keeping Reddick at #2 for now. He's been on fire since the change, and he looks more engaged. It would be interesting to look at his stats throughout his career when batting at different spots in the lineup. I don't know this to be fact, but I want to say he routinely batted closer to the top of the order when he was in Oakland.
can someone explain why Correa is consistently hitting 6th or 7th in the lineup? I'm not against it, but I'm just trying to understand the thought process. Personally, I don't trust correa in big spots, but I'm admittedly not the biggest fan and I realize he has come up big in spots, particularly in the playoffs. Correa certainly has more "star profile" than Yuli, and I wonder whether he might chafe at hitting so low and behind Yuli. I personally think Yuli is the better hitter and regularly puts up great AB's, but Correa seems to be the kind of person who would take umbrage at not batting in the heart of the order. I get that our lineup is deep when healthy. But next year, when some combo of Springer, Brantley and Yuli are gone, Correa certainly will rise to the 3/4/5 spot. Separately, amidst the team's struggles prior to yesterday, I've wondered what Correa might look like in the 2 spot. I get that Reddick is doing well and he is a lefty, but with the struggles of our lineup, I don't see why we wouldn't try something like that.
Bailey hasn’t been one of my favorites, but I he was decent yesterday and didn’t even give the Mariners a chance to come back. I’d have brought down Sneed or James instead, though the Astros likely wanted to stick with experience. The bad rookies have all already been sent down IIRC.
