This is so unbelievably and astoundingly stupid from Dusty. He’ll forever be a huge part of Astros history, but this is inexcusable.
Hope is not a strategy. Hope Urquidy comes back and no one else gets hurt or continues to struggle. Hope Brantley comes back and stays healthy Hope Maldonado doesn’t **** his pants … Spoiler You miss James Click. I miss GOAT Luhnow. (Just look at what his buddy Mike Elias is doing in Baltimore.) Jeff Luhnow David Stearns Mike Elias Sig Mejdal Oz Ocampo Pete Putila Mike Fast Kevin Goldstein Brandon Taubman Quinton McCracken (Manager AJ Hinch) Good lord… “But but but the media hated us!” “But but but Brandon Taubman!” “But but but but Mark Appel/Brady Aiken!” “But but but but Mike Fiers/Carlos Gomez!” “But but but but….!”
Texas possibly losing Heim for the season is beyond huge. That would offset any moves they made at the deadline. Their offense will still be decent but will miss the 110+ RBI pace he was on.
pReTtY ClOsE As fAr aS PrOdUcTiOn Is CoNcErNeD https://stathead.com/tiny/NRQFU https://theathletic.com/4734144/2023/07/30/yainer-diaz-astros-future-catcher/ “He is the future. It’s just that you have to prepare him in the present for the future. You don’t want to overwhelm him, but he’s learning from Maldy and Maldy is still the guy,” Baker said before Sunday’s game. Diaz started at catcher on Saturday for just the 11th time since June 1, a division of playing time that doesn’t seem likely to change. Baker’s comments underscore a commitment to Maldonado that has stretched back to last season and has little to do with statistics. Yet, on Wednesday, Baker attempted to use them in rationalizing the playing time moving forward. “Him and (Maldonado) have about the same amount of at-bats. I think Maldy has eight home runs, Diaz has 11. One has 28 RBIs, I think the other has 18. Other than the batting average, they’ve done pretty close as far as production is concerned. (Diaz) is going to catch,” Baker said that day. The question to which Baker responded had not even mentioned Maldonado — just what Alvarez’s return meant for Diaz, given he served as the team’s primary designated hitter during Alvarez’s absence. At the time, none of Baker’s statistics were out of place: Maldonado awoke that day with 234 at-bats and 18 RBI. Diaz had 206 at-bats and 26 RBI, but has driven in five more runs and struck two more home runs since, amplifying calls for more at-bats. Comparing the two catchers’ offensive outputs, however, seems like a moot point. The Astros have always believed Maldonado’s value transcends any statistics, slash lines and — this season — some declining defensive metrics. They play him daily for his pregame preparation, game calling and game management and do so with the blessing of the team’s pitchers. That will not change. Maldonado played 113 games last season despite slashing .186/.248/.352. At the trade deadline, the Astros parted with two prospects for another team’s starting catcher — Boston’s Christian Vázquez — and, still, Maldonado took most of the playing time. It should surprise no one that he remains the starter this season, especially with a rookie backup behind him. “Everything changes and everybody is going to pass the torch at some point in time to the next generation,” Baker said on Sunday. “In the meantime, you teach them as you’re exiting and as another is coming. Everyone is looking for the new, right now and just pushing the old out of there. That’s the way of the world, but that’s the way that’s wrong, I think.” But there are ways the Astros can keep getting Diaz regular at-bats even while committing to Maldonado as the everyday catcher — if they actually want to. Twice this week, Baker mentioned — without prompt — Diaz’s struggles against left-handed pitching. The right-handed hitter does have a .440 OPS against southpaws, and he hit righties better in the minors. At the same time, the 59 plate appearances he’s taken against them in the majors don’t seem like a sample size large enough to draw drastic conclusions. Presuming he can get past the left-handed pitching plight, Baker could get creative with his lineup construction to give one of his best hitters more at-bats, or perhaps general manager Dana Brown could alter his roster construction and make Baker more comfortable playing Maldonado and Diaz on the same day. One option is bringing César Salazar back from Triple A and carrying three catchers, much like the team did during the first two months of the season. Salazar joined the team on Friday night as part of its taxi squad — Maldonado felt ill before the game and the Astros wanted some insurance close by in case he could not play — but Salazar has not been activated onto the major-league roster. Carrying Salazar would give Baker more flexibility to use Diaz and Maldonado in the same lineup, but he also had that luxury in April and May — and largely ignored it. Diaz received just 75 plate appearances while the Astros carried three catchers, prompting Brown to wonder publicly why he didn’t get more. Even if the team carries just two catchers, Baker has shown a willingness to play Diaz and Maldonado together, even if it means losing the designated hitter. Twenty-two of Diaz’s past 35 starts came at designated hitter — an obvious fit while Alvarez nursed his strained oblique — but that has not been a boon for Diaz’s numbers. Diaz is slashing .210/.299/.370 in 105 plate appearances this season as a designated hitter. He is just 1-for-8 in pinch-hit opportunities, too. In 116 plate appearances at either catcher or first base, Diaz boasts a .330/.345/.661 slash line. His plight is not uncommon — many young hitters are better suited to play both ways and struggle to sustain any momentum while not playing defense. The dramatic dropoff in Diaz’s numbers suggests Houston should at least try to use him as much as it can defensively. Last season, Diaz started two minor-league games in left field, but there does not appear to be interest in exposing him there at the major-league level. First base is the only other defensive position Diaz can play — and he’s out-performing the everyday starter there, too. Diaz has 26 extra-base hits in his first 227 plate appearances this season. José Abreu has 26 across his first 429, another abysmal stat in a season full of them. Abreu entered Sunday’s game worth negative-0.6 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. No qualified first baseman has been worse. Playing Diaz at first base in place of Abreu, even if just once or twice a week, would allow Baker to construct an even more potent lineup and keep Maldonado at catcher. It’s difficult to envision Baker abandoning Abreu entirely — and he could slot Abreu at designated hitter on days he does not play first base — but the 36-year-old first baseman with the .667 OPS is giving the club no reason to keep playing him daily at first base. For most of this week, though, Diaz’s role has been what Baker described as a pinch hitter, and as someone who he will catch with “designated” pitchers. Diaz caught fellow rookie Hunter Brown on Saturday, guiding him through six innings of two-run ball. After the game, Baker intimated the battery will stay intact for the foreseeable future. Sunday, Maldonado went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while his OPS fell to .541. Diaz did not appear in the 8-2 loss. “I’m just trying to find a way to win as many games as I can and not having to answer questions as to why every day,” Baker said.
Dusty is so full of ****. He's very prideful which is a sign of insecurity. He wants to be right so bad. I was happy for the guy when he finally won that first championship but can't wait until he is gone.
They’ll probably miss him more as to how he handled the pitching staff… if you believe that’s a thing (at least his manager, former catcher, does…)
