No way we can welcome Jeff back to the Rockets now. Thanks, Stan! And, for the last f-ing time, Jose didn't cheat. His teammates did.
This season was was a massive disappointment. The injuries played a huge part, of course, but some of the the individual performances from guys like Altuve are really unfortunate because it gives ammunition to the whole “you only won because you cheated” crowd. It’s an admittedly BAD look. The team underachieved, especially with a pathetic 9-21 road record. I’m not expecting much from them against the Twins, but if they can find a way to put something together right now it would sure be nice. Unfortunately, these guys haven’t really shown a lot of fight on the road, and I get the feeling some of them just want it to be over at this point.
Altuve is likely one of those people... and this abortion of a season has likely played a huge role on his performance that is thus far so outside of an outlier... it re-defines outlier. The only really unfortunate thing is guys like Springer possibly getting judged or receiving contract offers while taking into account performance during this curtailed season. He has turned it on as of late, so its likely most forward-thinking teams won’t be too concerned that he’s somehow regressing or not worth a 4-6 year deal.
Regarding the curtailed season, it probably has dramatically improved the number of free agent contracts that will be signed this offseason versus not having one. Even with this season and a dramatic drop in baseball revenues, I expect the whining about the horrible owners trying to make money to be in full force as this is going to be a horrible season to be a non-star free agent, and even guys that would have gotten a decent arbitration raise.
You're speaking in code again... but agreed that if you're not a star, you're SOL in what could also be a curtailed/shortened 2021.
I'm not speaking in code. Owners own teams to make money despite your whimsical fantasy that they shouldn't or at least much less than they currently do. This season has shown that they can play games and not get a player killed (small sample size though). While a lot/most teams will be cutting salary due to the drop in revenue, knowing that a baseball season won't kill players should help about 5-10 teams spend more than they would have. This should help some good ball players to get some deals that wouldn't have, though will likely still be career enders for guys like Marisnick unless they sign dirt cheap. PS. I do think owners overall make more than they should in a normal year...I just think it is the ones making a ton of money relative to the other teams that are the problem. Squeezing 5-10 extra million out of Tampa (or Pittsburgh) would barely raise overall MLB payroll 0.05%-0.1%.
The abbreviated season with tons of injuries makes it impossible to really know what is wrong. Obviously our biggest weakness is our bullpen (our starting staff was surprisingly very good). We really needed Devenski, Peacock, & James to step up, but they've been hurt or ineffective. The offense has been a big disappointment, but that is mostly on the shoulders of Jose Altuve.
Its not really a "whimsical" fantasy. Sports owners largely should look at these investments as secondary to a primary income source. The ones that rely on the business to sustain their lifestyles are the ones who probably shouldn't be sports owners to begin with. But in the end, I do think owners cry about losses while mitigating the gains. I've yet to see an owner go bankrupt by owning a team... and even if they do, the re-sale value inevitably will be more than what they paid for it and they can recoup losses then.
This is the case for many teams. It is clear that some players around the league are more comfortable playing than others. I tend to write this season off for players that have been productive and haven't been this season. I think that the bullpen will need to be addressed in part in free agency, but a lot of the pieces are already there. I think we will see either Javier or McCullers out of the bullpen, with Joe Smith coming back, a more healthy Pressly and Taylor and Paredes. I still expect them to target someone to add to the group.... but it has the chance to be good, and there are always wildcards like James and Abreu that clearly have the stuff to emerge. I am more concerned about the top of the rotation with Verlander out all of next season. The Astros still have a #2-2B type starter in Greinke; and Urquidy, Valdez and Javier all are long term middle of the rotation pitchers at limited cost. I don't see the Astros getting into a bidding war with the top teams for an ace, but I could see a trade for someone that is an ace with a couple years left, or possibly the Astros target Charlie Morton at a reasonable cost. The offense wasn't going to be special after Alvarez was out for the season. Altuve obviously has been a disappointment, but I would add that Gurriel and Correa really are not much better. Gurriel is a 1st baseman with an OPS under .700 and Correa has been horrible after a hot start and has an OPS about to fall under .700.... Gurriel, Springer, Reddick and Brantley all are free agents...... losing Reddick isn't much of a loss at this point, but an Astros line up without Springer, Brantley and Gurriel isn't scary at all. I know there is talk of the Brewers trying to move Lorenzo Cain to free up money, and he could play center for the Astros but his bat isn't as good as Springers. I suspect, if the Astros are able to keep Brantley and Gurriel, and spend wisely on someone..... this team, next year will look a lot like the Rays have looked.....
152 and 176.... that is Stan Van Gundy's record in Detroit where he coached and was essentially the GM. Basketball is a hard game, especially when you screw up the team you are coaching.
I didn't list Gurriel or Correa because it seemed like they were just in slumps, whereas Altuve hasn't looked himself all year.
