Seriously how many other teams have had 4 consecutive 100 loss seasons? I don't see how this is going to get any better. Rockets were a playoff dissapointment, Texans are gonna be trash unless they draft the right player, and the Aeros moved away and we aren't getting a NHL franchise any time soon. Sigh
I've tried to be positive about the whole rebuild . .and I still understand that it had to be done But damn, not only will we draft first again this year, we will be drafting first again in 2015. While i'm not as pessimistic as some about Appel, and still think he will likely be a good pick . . . he certainly hasn't done anything to make us say "damn, we hit that one big" At the major league level what do we really have?? My favorite one of them all is probably Cosart, many people still predict a big implosion, but he has been really consistently very good. In 17 career starts, he has allowed 3 or less runs 14 of those 17 times, and 12 of them 2 or less. That is outstanding! There isn't a single other major league player who makes me say "he is the real deal" though Castro? Had a great year last year, but has been horrible this year. He is barely a .250 hitter in almost a thousand at bats. I want him to be good, but . . . . Altuve? Very good start this year. But he hit .324 last April and .360 the April before, so it's not crazy to think a drop is coming. And his baserunning is horrendous Villar? Had a pretty good year so far, no doubt. Barely turned 23, so very young, very young. But still a .246 hitter so far in the big leagues, he may be doing good for "us" but he is far, far from a guy we can count on long term I don't have the heart to keep going . . . If Crane doesn't put a LOT of money into payroll, we will continue to suck for many years . . .if the TV deal doesn't get done, he won't put money into payroll My God this is depressing
Even though they weren't all 100 loss years, the Rays were horrible their first TEN years of existence. What the Astros are doing is basically akin to starting like an expansion team... with zero farm and zero viable MLB talent. The best case scenario is that they turn out like the Rays. They really need one of these high draft picks to not only make it to the big leagues, but be a real star. What is unsettling is a team like the Marlins has seemingly rebuilt its roster and farm in less time, with less top picks, and the same low MLB payroll.
Yea and the Rays have hit it big with draft picks . . .I think best case is better than the Rays, because if we ever do start winning, this city will support them big time, where Tampa will never ever support a local baseball team in a big way, too many northeastern folks with baseball allegiances already living there But even using that plan as a model, we are 5-6 years away. Crane either starts spending money, or what we see is what we get This is some depressing **** for a lifelong baseball fan. Not sure why I thought this year was gonna be any better, but I did . . .and I was wrong
FWIW, he's still providing value as a catcher. My big concern is that he is striking out a lot more this year.
We have to give Nolan time to do his thing. I'll give it two more years before I start getting worried.
Extremely early returns, but if Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes have big years in Colorado while Dexter Fowler takes a step backward, you have to start wondering about organizational culture. I thought the Astros stole Fowler and I am certainly not giving up on him, but holy crap Jordan Lyles at Coors Canaveral?!?! How the hell is that possible?
Lyles is still only 23. This organization seems enamored with the culture of players possibly succeeding right away at the MLB level, and if they don't, they possibly weren't "developed" right. Some guys are late bloomers (or in Lyles case, "bloomers"). Some guys do develop/learn more at the MLB level than in the minors. Some guys do fail in their initial stints and require more time and or demotions. I still think its early... but they gotta start winning some of these trades (Lowrie trade also) or I'll also have doubts whether or not this front office is capable of making major league talent acquisitions/evaluations vs. their proven ability to build a minor league system only.
There might be other teams who have had worst spans but I doubt any team has been this bad in two different leagues.
Remember at the start of the 2013 season, Lyles got sent to AAA to get straightened out? Porter at the time make the ominous quote "Lyles has too many voices telling him what to do". Lyles did get straightened out in AAA, which leads me to believe that the AAA staff might be better at player development than the MLB staff (which was giving its players too many "voices"?). The bright side of the Lyles season is that the PTBN the Rockies owe the Astros could be improving dramatically.
To be fair, Lyles hasn't necessarily gotten that much better. He's currently posting: The highest strand rate of his career (75.8%) The lowest HR/FB ratio (7.8%) The lowest K-rate (4.84/9) The lowest BABIP (.254) The lowest HR/9 (.40) Not sure he can keep up great numbers. Dexter Fowler is the player he always has been outside of Coors Field.
You do know he worked with us before and he didn't find us ****! Nolan Ryan is what Bum was to the Texans for years. Just a face to help sell tickets.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Quite simply, the Astros now officially on the clock. Jeff Luhnow has shown he's the best in baseball history at tearing down a MLB club.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/statuses/464061184912531457">May 7, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Next step is for Jeff Luhnow, whom I respect, to show he can build a competitive MLB club without John Mozeliak making decisions. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Astros&src=hash">#Astros</a></p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/statuses/464061677357371393">May 7, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
