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2023 Houston Astros Thread

Planet Houston

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Hank Chinaski

Hank Chinaski 6320

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This is the result, as has been discussed, of sitting on the sidelines for the entire off-season without a GM (and thus, without any coherent plan).

If you are going to lose Verlander and his 1.75 ERA, maybe you shouldn’t assume that the pitching results will be consistent in ‘23. And if you accept that, perhaps you should (1) bolster the rotation, at least in terms of depth, via free agency, to mitigate risk; (2) bolster the lineup and position player depth to mitigate the effect of the pitchers almost inevitably allowing more runs; or preferably (3) some combination of both.

Signing Abreu was a fine move and represents an upgrade at 1B. But nothing was done to address issues related to depth (particularly utility, OF, DH) or on the pitching side. So you’re left in a situation in which you’re depending on guys every day who are unlikely to be good. Altuve’s injury is exposing the lack of quality depth.

@Wulaw Horn was alluding to this all offseason. The way that the GM thing was handled never made sense; the result is a roster that is pretty flawed and didn’t really have to be.

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henrygandorf
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Am I the only one that can't stand the sight of Altuve, Bregman or Tucker?  Something about each one of them just pisses me off.  

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uoftorange

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I'm not sure what the Astros could have done to address depth in pitching other than sign someone to a long term deal that didn't make sense economically, like Verlander or DeGrom.  One on the DL, one that will be soon and was terrible this season so far.  

The Astros quite clearly upgraded at the GM spot IMO, so a few off season issues here and there long term are likely worth it.

The move that should have 100% been made is Contreras or at the very least bringing back Vazquez and thanking Maldy for his service.  Honestly should have been upgraded before last year but he was the only real hole so keeping him for continuity was fine.  

The problem with Dubon is that he's actually a really good utility player.  He can't hit, and always puts the ball in play, which leads to lots of double plays.  But he plays quality D pretty much over the whole diamond.  He just gets massively exposed because Dusty has a hard on for defense and Altuve is hurt.  

I don't blame them for not giving Conforto a long term deal (also been garbage so far).

I still think the Brantley signing was a good one.  Time will tell.  But the "he's done" stuff is silly.  The docs cleared him and we've known pretty much all along that he wouldn't be ready at the beginning of the season.  His contract didn't stop us from doing anything else.  

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Hank Chinaski

Hank Chinaski 6320

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16 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

I'm not sure what the Astros could have done to address depth in pitching other than sign someone to a long term deal that didn't make sense economically, like Verlander or DeGrom.  One on the DL, one that will be soon and was terrible this season so far.   

Oh I don’t think signing either of those guys made sense. I’m talking about a guy like Syndergaard or Heaney or someone like that, who could have been had for cheap, to add depth to the rotation. We have exactly 5 starters now, one of whom is a totally unproven rookie. There’s no room for error there.

18 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

The Astros quite clearly upgraded at the GM spot IMO, so a few off season issues here and there long term are likely worth it. 

Even if he is an upgrade, is there a reason that it took the entire off-season to make the hire? I’ve no problem with Brown (agree he should be good), but the timing felt like an unforced error.

19 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

The move that should have 100% been made is Contreras or at the very least bringing back Vazquez and thanking Maldy for his service.  Honestly should have been upgraded before last year but he was the only real hole so keeping him for continuity was fine.   

Agreed. We decided to roll with Maldy, probably with the idea that Lee and Diaz are capable too. I think that’s OK, but not if you’re also accepting subpar offense at so many other positions…

22 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

The problem with Dubon is that he's actually a really good utility player.  He can't hit, and always puts the ball in play, which leads to lots of double plays.  But he plays quality D pretty much over the whole diamond.  He just gets massively exposed because Dusty has a hard on for defense and Altuve is hurt.  

I don't blame them for not giving Conforto a long term deal (also been garbage so far).

I still think the Brantley signing was a good one.  Time will tell.  But the "he's done" stuff is silly.  The docs cleared him and we've known pretty much all along that he wouldn't be ready at the beginning of the season.  His contract didn't stop us from doing anything else.  

The problem with Dubon is that he’s an atrocious offensive player. He’s fine as the last guy in the roster. But nothing was done to prevent from having to depend on him most days.

Brantley is fine but you knew going in that you weren’t getting a full season from him. So the problem isn’t Brantley per se, it is that you signed him to fill a role that he’ll be unable to fill for an undefined amount of time, with no other plan.

Again, any individual off-season move (or non-move) in a vacuum is defensible. But the moves need to make sense taken together, and these didn’t…which is unsurprising given that, again, we decided it was fine to not have a GM.

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Hank Chinaski

Hank Chinaski 6320

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Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

What would you have done?

I would have rather brought back Diaz or signed Profar to have a defensively versatile guy on the roster who is also a competent offensive player. Or upgraded elsewhere (C, OF, etc).

Edited by Hank Chinaski
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RGBIII

RGBIII 22840

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2 hours ago, Jshep34 said:

If anyone goes today and gets a extra yordan ring, I'll be glad to buy it

Yes same

2 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

It should be Profar over Dubon.

Ya that was my point

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

With the Astros? No. I call it as a I see it. I love their org, but no one is infallible. The opening to this season has shown us Dusty Baker pulling the bookshelf on top of himself repeatedly.

I will always love dusty for last year…I have NO idea how he was legitimately damn near perfect last post season

1 hour ago, uoftorange said:

I mean, Profar's hitting .091 through 11 ABs and a .258 OPS and he's had a negative dWAR pretty much his entire career.  

In 15 ABs Dubon (who sucks shit through a straw to be fair) is hitting .200 in 15 ABs with a .450 OPS and has had a positive dWAR every year of his career.

This is the smallest sample size ever lol I get the negative dWAR but also they have played entirely different positions throughout their careers

1 hour ago, Hank Chinaski said:

This is the result, as has been discussed, of sitting on the sidelines for the entire off-season without a GM (and thus, without any coherent plan).

If you are going to lose Verlander and his 1.75 ERA, maybe you shouldn’t assume that the pitching results will be consistent in ‘23. And if you accept that, perhaps you should (1) bolster the rotation, at least in terms of depth, via free agency, to mitigate risk; (2) bolster the lineup and position player depth to mitigate the effect of the pitchers almost inevitably allowing more runs; or preferably (3) some combination of both.

Signing Abreu was a fine move and represents an upgrade at 1B. But nothing was done to address issues related to depth (particularly utility, OF, DH) or on the pitching side. So you’re left in a situation in which you’re depending on guys every day who are unlikely to be good. Altuve’s injury is exposing the lack of quality depth.

@Wulaw Horn was alluding to this all offseason. The way that the GM thing was handled never made sense; the result is a roster that is pretty flawed and didn’t really have to be.

I think the depth thing has been one of the biggest things that has been overlooked. Abreu was a great signing and filled a good need. Bringing Brantley back on a one year deal was fine. I like Montero and he was overpaid but so was the reliever market this year surprisingly so I get it. The one big thing missing this offseason was adding a Marwin/Aledmys type dude that can give you veteran and proven ABs instead of relying on some of these young dudes without the experience and especially someone that could have capably filled in at the plate with Altuve out, Profar was the last remaining that would make sense hence my suggestion.

I won’t keep ranting but either way Hensley Diaz and Chas need to get every day ABs without question

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tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 77426

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3 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

Yes same

Ya that was my point

I will always love dusty for last year…I have NO idea how he was legitimately damn near perfect last post season

This is the smallest sample size ever lol I get the negative dWAR but also they have played entirely different positions throughout their careers

I think the depth thing has been one of the biggest things that has been overlooked. Abreu was a great signing and filled a good need. Bringing Brantley back on a one year deal was fine. I like Montero and he was overpaid but so was the reliever market this year surprisingly so I get it. The one big thing missing this offseason was adding a Marwin/Aledmys type dude that can give you veteran and proven ABs instead of relying on some of these young dudes without the experience and especially someone that could have capably filled in at the plate with Altuve out, Profar was the last remaining that would make sense hence my suggestion.

I won’t keep ranting but either way Hensley Diaz and Chas need to get every day ABs without question


don’t discount the locker room 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19152

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2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

With the Astros? No. I call it as a I see it. I love their org, but no one is infallible. The opening to this season has shown us Dusty Baker pulling the bookshelf on top of himself repeatedly.

I think I get branded a hater for the same reason- I'm grading the Astros on a curve b/c I think they always have been an incredibly smart organization (at least when JL and his merry band of corporate raiders and Rocket Scientists were in charge of shit) and when I see them do something as dumb as they did this past offseason (not signing obvious hole at Catcher- giving stupid money to Montero- giving stupid money to Brantley- not cutting ties with Dubon) I'm way more harsh with them than I would be with the merry band of dipshits and fuckwits that populate say, the UT AD apparatus.  Some people don't get that though. 

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tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 77426

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I’m in this camp - let the young guys get at bats. Make a move at the deadline if needed. I think there will be plenty of options at the deadline. Signing a profar type before the season, ties your hands up at the deadline + you don’t get to see your young guys get a shot 

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uoftorange

uoftorange 1388

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Diaz should be starting at catcher 2 of 3 games and DH the other game.  That's not going to happen anytime soon unless Maldy gets hurt.

Hensley should be the everyday 2B.  He's a competent defender and will get better the more reps there he has (unless Leon is healed up all the way and looks like he is)  No one else on the roster should be playing there.

Chas should be the everyday CF.  If you need a late defensive sub, fine.  But I really think Meyers takes bad routes way too often and uses speed to cover it up.  

LF I don't know what's best there when Yordan doesn't start in the field.  Maybe Hensley if Leon is at 2B.  Julks certainly looked good last year, and also looks to be seeing the ball a bit better today.  So maybe that's the route.

But I agree with everyone else that it makes no sense to keep running Dubon, Meyers and Maldy in the same lineup EVER


Oh, and Dusty's "confidence thing" is super dumb.  He's trying to install confidence in guys that shouldn't be playing.  Makes no sense

Edited by uoftorange
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Hank Chinaski

Hank Chinaski 6320

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Posted (edited)
14 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

So you would have paid close to $8 million for a bench player?

On a 1-year deal, for a top-tier team? Yes. Going rate for free agents is generally about $8mm per win. Profar with about 200-300 PAs is almost certainly at least a 1-win player.

Edited by Hank Chinaski
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