It tickles me to no end that all the genius future managers in this thread, and throughout Astros fandom, think Justin Verlander, one of the 50 greatest pitchers in the entire history of baseball, is just full of **** when he raves about Maldonado, and that these genius future managers know better than a future Hall of Famer.
To me, there is no doubt that Maldy brings extensive intangibles. Nearly all the pitchers prefer to pitch to him. There is no doubt about that. The questions are: 1) How much of an impact does that make vs a much better hitter who also blocks and throws better. 2) How much sway should the pitchers have when choosing the starter. My opinion is that Diaz should have caught more this year, if nothing else then to be prepared for a bigger role without Maldy next year. I think they each have strengths and equal each other out. No advantage either way. However, Dusty should be not renewed simply for mismanaging Julks and Chas and I am thoroughly convinced that if Julks played significantly less and was replaced by Chas it would account for 2-3 more wins and less stress the last week of the season. Apparently it all worked out DESPITE Dusty. But his use of Julks and frequent benching of Chas is management malpractice.
Exactly!!!, I get the armchair analysis but damn we really going to go against one of the pitching GOATS!?!?
Did you also trust Verlander in thinking short-rest in Game 4 vs Rays was a good idea? THAT'S the game which "ultimately" costed the 2019 championship. It took 2 years for Verlander to recovery from a long season, that featured extra added stress on his arm in the playoffs. _____ I'm quite sure Framber had confidence every he pitched every after ASB this season. But guess what? He had an injured ankle and needed rest. Rest never happened for him or other pitchers who most likely needed it. Management has been a failure. Fortunately, the historical juggernaut that is the ASTROS has succeeded in overcoming the madness.
Yes, I'm a fan not a baseball expert. It's difficult to say that's exactly and the only reason why we lost 2019 in 7 games.
Don't forget the fact Maldonaldo can school Diaz in the dugout without actually GPing. Posters are trying to be cerebral when it fits their narrative but they don't use the same energy when narrative fails. 1.000 OPS vs .600 OPS for a player who also has a better pitcher ERA and defensive skills. My sentiment isn't necessarily f*** Maldy. It is Maldy 40 GP > 120 GP.
Let's see what happens against Texas. I will say this - Baker has been as good in the playoffs as any manager in Astros history. Maldonado caught all four games in the playoffs so far and the Astros have given up 25 hits in 36 innings and the team ERA is around 3.00 against the Twins. The Astros struck out 53 batters in those 36 innings.
Cool.. respect for saying YES Are you saying you've never made a revisionistic post on this website?? Forgot one time, it's probably 100x
Yep. Multiple pitchers - and players - have repeatedly stated what an asset he is behind the plate. I remain at a loss why fans are so quick to dismiss that. 100% if it matters to them. Again, I'm at a loss why making your starting pitcher comfortable is something fans are so ready to dismiss as non-essential - it's incredible essential! The problem with this is that it ignores reality. First things first: the Astros absolutely, positively expected Brantley back as early as May. They did not, as a consequence, have a plan B when his injury unexpectedly kept him out until late September. Then, the following things actually happened that fans have either forgotten or they're conveniently choosing to ignore: 1) Corey Julks was good in April - not great but good (.735 OPS on May 1). For a brief stretch, Julks was *really good* (.837 OPS between April 12-29); 2) McCormick got hurt mid-April and missed ~four weeks; 3) when McCormick returned, he was *awful* (.552 OPS in 49 PAs in May); Julks had an awful May, too (.597 OPS). So on June 1, those two, along with Meyers, were Baker's options. No one - not a soul - was arguing Baker should be playing McCormick more *at that time*. Without Brantley, they were stuck. 4) Chas then got hot to start June (1.044 OPS in his first five games); 5) on June 8, Alvarez got hurt. And still no Michael Brantley. So over the next ~six weeks, Julks (130 PA) and McCormick (127 PAs) played equally. And they played Meyers, too - but over this stretch, he was awful (.503 OPS). This was Dusty doing damage control. I challenge anyone to give the alternative solution because there wasn't one - not with Alvarez and Brantley out. 6) over that Alvarez-less stretch is when McCormick went bananas (Julks was merely... meh) - and you're never going to guess what happened after Alvarez returned... Plate appearances after July 26 (the day Alavarez returned to the line-up): Julks, 28; McCormick, 212. *That* is why Corey Julks played so much: because the team was desperate. 80% of his plate appearances came when McCormick or Alvarez were out. Also, the Astros were 48-29 in games Julks started - that's a 101-win pace. This idea that Julks was somehow costing them games... there is LITERALLY no evidence to support that. I hope Dusty retires for any number of reasons. But I will maintain - and argue - fans have overblown the daily line-ups. They should be mad at the front office - and not Dustry Baker - for Julks playing so much. I'm not sure what else Baker was supposed to do?
Having him behind the plate is not the same as having him in the dugout, man. It's just not. Also, Diaz was 0-6 with 4 Ks in this series and looked utterly lost at the plate. It feels like all the PLAY DIAZ people are just conveniently ignoring that. They won the division. They won the ALDS. Can we all agree that - it wasn't easy but they seemed to make it work somehow, and get excited about what's coming rather than arguing what's happened?...
So Justin Verlander trying to step up for his team four years ago should discredit his perspective? You don't find that remarkably silly? Of course he wanted the ball in 2019 - EVERY GREAT PITCHER WANTS THE BALL! It doesn't in ANY way negate how he feels with Maldy behind the plate. Goodness......
You sure you wanna stand on this? This season has already happened before yesterday. I'm very excited about the playoffs -- like most posters are. I just think we're handicapping ourselves by choosing to play inferior players. Management has been highly questionable. What are your thoughts on Framber's performance past 3 months and going forward this season? He looks shot, and has looked similarly overall for a few months. He got injured before ASB but hasn't missed a start when he seemingly needed it. He's not the only rotation guy in similar position.
Probably hundreds yea lol The Dusty and Maldy hill doesn't seem worth it when considering all the damn success.
I appreciate the respectful debate and interaction here. The issues I have are: 1) Chas sat the first 2 games of the season while Julks was given a start in game 2. Chas was a proven commodity even if not a star while Julks was a rookie who projected to be an average (at best) AAAA player with no track record. Giving him a start before Chas was a slap in the face. There was absolutely no legitimate reason. 2) even when Julks was hitting well, his metrics were bad. He was bottom of MLB hitters in areas like quality of contact and exit velicity. He was lucky. Every bit of evidence said that the next game Chas is likely to be better- but Dusty kept playing Julks and sitting Chas. If Dusty was playing Julks nearly everyday, or at the very least equal to Chas' playing time because he was "hot" despite terrible secondary numbers then why didn't he do the same for Chas when Chas' secondary numbers proved he was no fluke like Julks? There is no legitimate reason besides it being personal.
Managers get too much credit when a team wins and too much blame when they lose. Looking at the last 4 years, the Astros have had some significant turn over in the roster losing multiple core players and getting new ones. They've had teams with different strengths, weaknesses, and injuries. They've won the division in every full season, played in the ALCS every year and gone to at least 2 WS. The team and the bullpen in particular has been nails in multiple playoff runs. While most of that is on the players, collectively they have been in a position to perform. Those results alone don't make Dusty a great manager, and it's a fair criticism he makes sub-optimal lineup decisions (at least during the regular season) and does a bad job of explaining them (whether intentionally or because he can't). However, the idea that the Astros are somehow having all this success despite him or that he's a terrible manager who the players checked out on seems absurd to me as well as the comments that go beyond criticism of his decisions. No Astros manager has had more success and whether his process is good or bad, he's pushed the right buttons when needed. As for Maldy - Diaz should have been playing more during the regular season even though I don't think he'd be able to maintain his 1.000 OPS as a catcher over a full season as a starting catcher. However, it's not just Dusty that thinks Maldy brings something that can't easily be measured to the team. If the Astros front office really thought WAR accurately measured his value to the team, they wouldn't have kept him on the roster. By definition, it's not hard to find a replacement level catcher. For me, Diaz or Maldy starting in any particular game isn't something to get bent out of shape about.
We all need to remember again why Dusty is the manager of this team. He was brought in in the wake of the scandal and backlash from the rest of the league to the Astros. In 2020 this was a broken dispirited team hated by fans and even players on other teams. Dusty has always been a player's manager and he's very well respected in Baseball. He's not an analytics guy and goes by gut and game feel. One of the local sportscasters made that point that it felt like Joe Ryan was an opener who no matter what was only going to go at most one time through the lineup. Urquidy was a starter and Dusty was going to go with him as long as he felt he could continue to go. Baseball is a sport of numbers and as fans it's easier to analyze things by numbers. Dusty doesn't do that. He's going by what he thinks about the players. That's something that doesn't translate to outside of the dugout and the locker room. What we've seen though in the last few years though is that Dusty succeeded in bringing this team back from the dark times of late 2019 and 2020 and the players believe in Dusty.
