I'm getting excited about the season but I have to ask again... Why isn't the Astros page in Astros colors like the Texans have?
I hate the Texans page. nothing more jarring then going from the dark theme of every other section over to the bright white Texans page. Don't do that here.
Just have a dark Astros theme, dark blue with some orange highlights. Don’t know why clutch hasn’t done the same thing for the Texans, making a theme isn’t that hard.
49-7 with Peña in the 2 spot. Two postseason MVP's in the 2 spot. Brantley is coming back from a major injury and it's reasonable to expect with a combination of age and coming back from major injury he may not be the .300 hitter we've seen before, at least not the first half of the season. Dusty didn't mind having a veteran who just came off a batting championship bat further back in the lineup last year and that was a good decision.
I think Tucker is going to have a monster year at some point, and I would like to see him bat 5th behind some order of Altuve, Alex, Alvarez, and Abreu.
Watching MLB network while waiting for the UH hoops to start and they've interviewed several Astros...my favorite was Pena. He was asked how he's dealt with "all of this [national stage, instant fame, etc] happening for you so fast"...and he said "I tell myself the main thing is the main thing, and the main thing is playing baseball."
Exactly. No matter how much we love Peña and his post-season heroics, it is not a terrible decision batting a professional hitter with a .370 OBP over a second year player who put up a .289 OBP his rookie season. Especially, when going R,L,R,L,R,L,R in the order.
Pump your breaks bro. We’ll see how it plays out. Dusty plugged Peña in the 2 hole repeatedly last year against his GM’s wishes. He’s aware of what Peña did and can do. Also, show some respect to our reigning World Series Champ manager, who happens to be a living legend and future HOFer.
Also, things that happen in the first month+ of the season are not necessarily the things that will be happening later in the season.
How concerned should we be that Alverez isn't swinging a bat yet after the offseason? Personal opinion, very concerning. Hand didn't heal over the break. 4 months and the hand didn't heal? So, best case scenario is Alverez is monitored all season and when the hand flares up he rests like last year. Worst case is he has surgery. If Alverez can't hold the bat because his hand hurts, he will have zero power. Looking like next offseason, he will have surgery if Hand keeps flaring up.
Sparky with some observations I never thought of. Why is it that Fred Flintstone never suffered any heel injuries while braking his car.
@Chandler_Rome | Chandler Rome: Dana Brown, speaking on the Astros' radio broadcast, says Yordan Alvarez will take some swings "maybe by next weekend." Dana Brown, speaking on the Astros' radio broadcast, said Michael Brantley will be ready "maybe opening day, a week into the season at the worst." On the Astros' radio broadcast, Dana Brown said negotiations with Kyle Tucker regarding a contract extension would "most likely" be tabled in the regular season, if nothing gets done in spring training. More from Dana Brown: "We are still in communication with Casey Close (Kyle Tucker's agent). We're optimistic. We think something can get done. We've also started talking to (Framber) Valdez and his agent."
Until/unless Brantley falls off like Gurriel did he is a much much better #2 hitter than Pena. The 2 most important aspects for a #2 hitter are getting on base and not striking out. Even during his best last year - September/October Pena had .303 OB% and struck out 21.5% of the time. Brantley had .370 OB% and struck out 10.8% last year in a down season ( lowest OPS since 2013) I love Pena and what he brings but Brantley is by far the best #2 hitter for this team. And don't forget Dusty DID hit Gurriel 2nd when Brantley got hurt. - just until he proved he was done.
Pena was a rookie last year and his post season was worth over 10% of his plate appearances. Pena might be a better hitter this year. He might revert back to how he was in the regular season this year. I would not pigeon hole that the only way Pena becomes a better hitter than Brantley is that Brantley shows aging. I would not bat Pena 2nd right now. I would not bat Brantley 2nd either as I think he's the third best LHB on the team and I would not want 3 lefties batting 2 through 5.
