2022 Houston Astros Thread

[Ojo Rojo 1892]

If Dusty is doing all the things he's doing while trying to win every game, then you Dusty haters have a valid point and he should be let go after the season.

If, however, there are other reasons for doing what he's doing with the lineup, such as trying give Yuli as many ABs as possible hitting in front of Yordan to fix himself, giving Jake Meyers as many ABs and defensive plays as possible to see where he is truly at after the injury, and on and on and on, then Dusty isn't an idiot and there isn't a good reason to let him go.

None of us can know the answer to this question. I tend to think it's the latter, because it doesn't make sense otherwise. Regardless, I'm waiting until the playoffs.  Every single one of those games matter a whole lot so you are trying to win every one.  If he is still running Jake out to CF and not playing McCormick and shit like that, then I will agree that Dusty is an idiot and needs to go. Until then, I'm going to enjoy this great fucking season.

[Wulaw Horn 18979]

3 minutes ago, Ojo Rojo said:

If Dusty is doing all the things he's doing while trying to win every game, then you Dusty haters have a valid point and he should be let go after the season.

If, however, there are other reasons for doing what he's doing with the lineup, such as trying give Yuli as many ABs as possible hitting in front of Yordan to fix himself, giving Jake Meyers as many ABs and defensive plays as possible to see where he is truly at after the injury, and on and on and on, then Dusty isn't an idiot and there isn't a good reason to let him go.

None of us can know the answer to this question. I tend to think it's the latter, because it doesn't make sense otherwise. Regardless, I'm waiting until the playoffs.  Every single one of those games matter a whole lot so you are trying to win every one.  If he is still running Jake out to CF and not playing McCormick and shit like that, then I will agree that Dusty is an idiot and needs to go. Until then, I'm going to enjoy this great fucking season.

I’m all for rest days, keeping guys engaged, trying new things and not trying to win every game possible when you have the division wrapped up on 6/1. It’s a looooooong season. Health is paramount. When you have an ass kicking team and don’t have to worry about qualifying for October you have to do it that way. All that said- when you listen to rationale like 1st to 3 rd on an arm, or Chas starts 1 game in a series against a RHP while sitting twice against a LHP, or Mancini hits 3 HR in 2 games and Dusty acts like he’s unplayable at 1B or LF, or We are a month into Vazquez being here and he still hasn’t caught any of the likely playoff starters it’s really really really frustrating. But nothing tops- Dubon is playing for Jose so he must bat 1st level of pointless and stupid antagonization of logic and common sense that has none of the very real justifications that you talked about (you are right imo). 
really what it is that’s driving the angst, imo, is the idea that we are going to see Dubon playing CF in game 1 of the playoffs and going to make strategic blunders that reduce our odds of winning in the playoffs. He managed just fine in the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 but the lineup was just so set as to be dummy proof. We will see if he optimized the lineup. The fact that we still haven’t seen what the best lineup is yo just take for a test drive is sad. 

Altuve

Alvarez

Bregman

Tucker

Mancini 

Pena

Diaz

Vasquez

McCormick  

That is your optimum lineup for the playoffs with everyone healthy  it would be really nice to see that a half dozen times in the regular season and see what it looks like.  I believe someone posted this lineup would have a 130 wRC+  for context the best wRC+ for a team, ever, is like 120  that lineup is 10% better than the 27 Yankees.  And it’s a perfectly reasonable defensive lineup that would play out to above league average.  It’s incredibly doable.  

 

[Ojo Rojo 1892]

18 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I’m all for rest days, keeping guys engaged, trying new things and not trying to win every game possible when you have the division wrapped up on 6/1. It’s a looooooong season. Health is paramount. When you have an ass kicking team and don’t have to worry about qualifying for October you have to do it that way. All that said- when you listen to rationale like 1st to 3 rd on an arm, or Chas starts 1 game in a series against a RHP while sitting twice against a LHP, or Mancini hits 3 HR in 2 games and Dusty acts like he’s unplayable at 1B or LF, or We are a month into Vazquez being here and he still hasn’t caught any of the likely playoff starters it’s really really really frustrating. But nothing tops- Dubon is playing for Jose so he must bat 1st level of pointless and stupid antagonization of logic and common sense that has none of the very real justifications that you talked about (you are right imo). 
really what it is that’s driving the angst, imo, is the idea that we are going to see Dubon playing CF in game 1 of the playoffs and going to make strategic blunders that reduce our odds of winning in the playoffs. He managed just fine in the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 but the lineup was just so set as to be dummy proof. We will see if he optimized the lineup. The fact that we still haven’t seen what the best lineup is yo just take for a test drive is sad. 

Altuve

Alvarez

Bregman

Tucker

Mancini 

Pena

Diaz

Vasquez

McCormick  

That is your optimum lineup for the playoffs with everyone healthy  it would be really nice to see that a half dozen times in the regular season and see what it looks like.  I believe someone posted this lineup would have a 130 wRC+  for context the best wRC+ for a team, ever, is like 120  that lineup is 10% better than the 27 Yankees.  And it’s a perfectly reasonable defensive lineup that would play out to above league average.  It’s incredibly doable.  

 

Yeah, I don't know why Dubon hits first when he spells Altuve or why McCormick doesn't play against LHP. That doesn't mean there are no reasons or only bad reasons. We still have, what, 36 games left? That's plenty of games to play our best lineup for a final tuneup before the start of the postseason. They could just nearing the end of this "get yourself right/experimentation" period.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4750]

Maldonado has achieved cult status for reasons I can’t discern from my faraway perch.  So, I wonder …Did Vasquez piss off Astros management for taking too long to switch clubhouses the day he was acquired?  Did he make fun of Dusty’s sweat bands or rubber gloves?  Did he pilfer Dusty’s personal toothpick stash?  Vasquez needs to play … starting Monday.

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

Good to see Tucker back:

Edited August 26, 2022 by Seasick Sailor

[tx 3 putt 76332]

Let’s get it !

time to put the oriole’s playoff dreams to sleep

[Pimphand 5595]

4 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Let’s get it !

time to put the oriole’s playoff dreams to sleep

 

[UTPhil2006 3790]

10 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Let’s get it !

time to put the oriole’s playoff dreams to sleep

[Ojo Rojo 1892]

33 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Maldonado has achieved cult status for reasons I can’t discern from my faraway perch.  So, I wonder …Did Vasquez piss off Astros management for taking too long to switch clubhouses the day he was acquired?  Did he make fun of Dusty’s sweat bands or rubber gloves?  Did he pilfer Dusty’s personal toothpick stash?  Vasquez needs to play … starting Monday.

Maldonado's biggest asset is his ability to call games.  Pitchers love him for that ability and rave about him.  There are no stats for that.

[tx 3 putt 76332]

Framber will likely get cy young votes, maldy has helped him greatly this season 

[WBT 20416]

3 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

I know it’s hard to fathom but, at this point, the Astros won that trade. 

I mean, they won it the moment it was made by dumping Odo's option year

2 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

I know you said “at this point”, but the only way we win that trade is if Smith is left off the postseason roster so Dusty doesnt use him against, say, Rizzo /Benintendi or all of the lefthanded bats in the Dodgers lineup 

This is a point I hadn't considered, or maybe am just in denial about

[tx 3 putt 76332]

1 minute ago, WBT said:

I mean, they won it the moment it was made by dumping Odo's option year

This is a point I hadn't considered, or maybe am just in denial about

 Brown celebrated that trade 

[Pimphand 5595]

Maldy should catch every 3rd game that way he gets through all the pitchers 2 more times before the postseason starts now that we are on a 5 man rotation.

[Wulaw Horn 18979]

Anyone want 4 tickets?  4 free tickets today. Good seats in our season ticket package. First come first served to my PM. 

[tx 3 putt 76332]

Blum’r - is hunter brown a possibility of making the post season roster ?? He’d be in the starting rotation for 29 other teams. 
 

Blummer reads the surly thread ?

[kevwun 15634]

Brown has thrown 102 innings which is the most in his minor league career.  I don't know how high they will let him go this year.  I would have liked to have seen him get his feet wet this year at least.

Edited August 26, 2022 by kevwun

[TonyTexas 10482]

Lots of unnecessary angst. 

 

[HtownHorn 14477]

1 hour ago, Ojo Rojo said:

Maldonado's biggest asset is his ability to call games.  Pitchers love him for that ability and rave about him.  There are no stats for that.

and Vazquez has won a championship as the primary catcher for the Red Sox. Please point me to the year Maldonado did the same. It's just utter stupidity to take Gurriel and Maldonado's only asset to the club and pretend other players can't replicate it when the evidence is clear that they can, then add in the fact the massive improvement you will get on offense.

Edited August 26, 2022 by HtownHorn

[tx 3 putt 76332]

Blum’s weekly visit on 790 ….

https://sportstalk790.iheart.com/featured/the-a-team/content/2022-08-26-geoff-blum-talks-stros-sweeping-twins-5-man-rotation-correa-return-more/

[billfromlaketravis 11359]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

Brown has thrown 102 innings which is the most in his minor league career.  I don't know how high they will let him go this year.  I would have liked to have seen him get his feet wet this year at least.

Astros radio has thrown out the idea out they’re pumping up Hunter Brown’s trade value by keeping him at AAA. If he’s not called up in September we’ll have our answer. 

[billfromlaketravis 11359]

2 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Good to see Tucker back:

Vasquez has to be counting the minutes in Houston. I understand Maldy is Verlander and Framer’s personal catcher, but Vasquez should be catching 3-5 in the rotation. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by billfromlaketravis

[tx 3 putt 76332]

5 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Vasquez has to be counting the minutes in Houston. I understand Maldy is Verlander and Framer’s personal catcher, but Vasquez should be catching 3-5 in the rotation. 

I doubt it, him and maldy are tight and this is a damn good clubhouse, heavy on the Latin

we’re good 

[huge 3788]

2 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

I doubt it, him and maldy are tight and this is a damn good clubhouse, heavy on the Latin

we’re good 

Whatever dude, bill has his finger on that goblin looking dude's pulse

[Wulaw Horn 18979]

24 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Astros radio has thrown out the idea out they’re pumping up Hunter Brown’s trade value by keeping him at AAA. If he’s not called up in September we’ll have our answer. 

I don’t think that’s necessarily dispositive. They could be playing games with his service clock and manipulating prospect ratings for draft pick purposes next year if he’s a ROY type. 

[billfromlaketravis 11359]

4 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I don’t think that’s necessarily dispositive. They could be playing games with his service clock and manipulating prospect ratings for draft pick purposes next year if he’s a ROY type. 

We trying to win a championship sir. The window can close at any time. We need Brown’s wipe out stuff in the pen. 

[Wulaw Horn 18979]

2 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

We trying to win a championship sir. The window can close at any time. We need Brown’s wipe out stuff in the pen. 

I agree completely and would have had him up directly after the trade deadline. I’m just saying it’s not either or as far as calling him up or he’s trade bait. There are other things that could weigh on this. 

[tx 3 putt 76332]

 

[runthebone 7932]

9 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

Kind of a C- injury update

[HtownHorn 14477]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

I doubt it, him and maldy are tight and this is a damn good clubhouse, heavy on the Latin

we’re good 

Yep. Both are from Puerto Rico. Their cities were both on the eastern side of the island. They probably knew each other growing up playing baseball.

[UTexasFight 9376]

Correa goes 1 for 11 in Houston.

gets out of town and hits a 2 run home run in his first AB 

[TonyTexas 10482]

Looks like a good night for the LMJ/Javier combo game. 

 

[Wulaw Horn 18979]

8 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

Correa goes 1 for 11 in Houston.

gets out of town and hits a 2 run home run in his first AB 

Respect. 

[tx 3 putt 76332]

30 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Yep. Both are from Puerto Rico. Their cities were both on the eastern side of the island. They probably knew each other growing up playing baseball.

They’re close friends 

[Ojo Rojo 1892]

2 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

and Vazquez has won a championship as the primary catcher for the Red Sox. Please point me to the year Maldonado did the same. It's just utter stupidity to take Gurriel and Maldonado's only asset to the club and pretend other players can't replicate it when the evidence is clear that they can, then add in the fact the massive improvement you will get on offense.

So previously winning a championship is the only criteria that should be considered when making the lineup? And Maldy is worthless because he's never won a world series? Nah, man.  This teams' strength this year has been pitching; specifically starting pitching. Maldy has been the primary catcher and the pitchers we have are very comfortable with him and want him catching. He makes our pitchers better.  We've gotten the best record in the AL with Maldy catching. We shouldn't fuck with that recipe too much. We can afford a couple of below average hitters in the lineup if it means our SPs keep doing what they've been doing.

[cabowabo 4452]

Lance ain’t gonna be on the playoff roster. 

[tx 3 putt 76332]

4 minutes ago, cabowabo said:

Lance ain’t gonna be on the playoff roster. 

 

looooooooooooooot of balls

[tx 3 putt 76332]

damn that DP was beautiful !

[UTexasFight 9376]

9 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

looooooooooooooot of balls

101 balls, 134 strikes since he’s been back is not the ideal ratio.

[Wulaw Horn 18979]

14 minutes ago, cabowabo said:

Lance ain’t gonna be on the playoff roster. 

I love the fact that this got posted and no runs have been given up. 

[rvm96 1643]

Just now, Wulaw Horn said:

I love the fact that this got posted and no runs have been given up. 

Don't quote that bs please

[dr99 551]

14 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

damn that DP was beautiful !

[henrygandorf 29174]

 

[Mitch Hedberg 2090]

No hitter no hitter no hitter.

I don’t know if the jinx works if the team being no hit says it but what the hell.

[Tommy Nobis 905]

Anyone been having issues with the att sports net broadcast lately? Was just glitchy as fuck and was like this a couple other nights recently.

[tx 3 putt 76332]

get yordan home 

[HtownHorn 14477]

47 minutes ago, Ojo Rojo said:

So previously winning a championship is the only criteria that should be considered when making the lineup? And Maldy is worthless because he's never won a world series? Nah, man.  This teams' strength this year has been pitching; specifically starting pitching. Maldy has been the primary catcher and the pitchers we have are very comfortable with him and want him catching. He makes our pitchers better.  We've gotten the best record in the AL with Maldy catching. We shouldn't fuck with that recipe too much. We can afford a couple of below average hitters in the lineup if it means our SPs keep doing what they've been doing.

That's not at all what I said.

[tx 3 putt 76332]

did anyone else get the feel that LMJ was just working on a certain pitch, inning to inning ?

[cabowabo 4452]

Those runs are on Tucker. 

[perfectchaos007 6596]

Javier not making a good case to earn his way back into the starting rotation. 

[runthebone 7932]

Horrid AB