2023 Houston Astros Thread

[huge 3793]

Also is tomorrows game already scratched?

[Scraps 13561]

Also is tomorrows game already scratched?

Yes pushed to friday....i will post pics from mall of america for yall lmao

F off days

[closetojumping 62655]

4 hours ago, rvm96 said:

What's up Julks haters?

 

3 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

LoL your boy AAAA player Corey Julks hitting .316 so far.

Yes, this 6 game sample size really has me questioning my position. You guys are savants. 

[Planet Houston 4930]

Go find you some good walleye. My old man (RIP) and I went to Minneapolis for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in 2016 and I remember some pretty good joints. 

1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

 

Yes, this 6 game sample size really has me questioning my position. You guys are savants. 

What makes you the fuckin expert?

[tx 3 putt 76928]

12 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

 

Yes, this 6 game sample size really has me questioning my position. You guys are savants. 

you left off one word 😂😂

 

 

😂

16 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Yes pushed to friday....i will post pics from mall of america for yall lmao

F off days

Corn dog 7, with a lemonade 

Edited April 6, 2023 by tx 3 putt

[Scraps 13561]

Shit they got corn dog 7 there? That was my jam at San Jacinto Mall circa 1988.....gave me a half chub

[closetojumping 62655]

42 minutes ago, Planet Houston said:

Go find you some good walleye. My old man (RIP) and I went to Minneapolis for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in 2016 and I remember some pretty good joints. 

What makes you the fuckin expert?

Who said I was an expert? I’m a poster with an opinion, same as you. 

[tx 3 putt 76928]

That was an epic Ryder Cup

[HtownHorn 14678]

4 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Who said I was an expert? I’m a poster with an opinion, same as you. 

If Julks goes Meyers after April, you have a solid point.

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

If Julks is your 9 hitter that’s great. As your 6 hitter that’s a problem. 

[billfromlaketravis 11466]

I’m warming on Julks in the 8 or 9 hole. He’s never going to hit for power, but singles/getting on base will work in that part of the order. Homeless man’s Brantley. 

[tx 3 putt 76928]

4 postponed games tomorrow 

[tx 3 putt 76928]

[UTHornFan014 710]

6 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Hmmm ……

 

I blame all bad things that have occured this season on that eye sore Oxy patch

[formermav43 4606]

3 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I’m warming on Julks in the 8 or 9 hole. He’s never going to hit for power, but singles/getting on base will work in that part of the order. Homeless man’s Brantley. 

Which is still better than actual Brantley at this point.

[WBT 20564]

8 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I’m warming on Julks in the 8 or 9 hole. He’s never going to hit for power, but singles/getting on base will work in that part of the order. Homeless man’s Brantley. 

No power?  He just hit 30 HR in AAA.  I expect the problem is he isn't going to hit, period, at this level.

[UTexasFight 9432]

8 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

But won’t someone think of Meyers’ confidence come July!!!

 

thankfully Dusty is!

 

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

10 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

1) Yes, Chas is under appreciated. As we’ve discussed here,  he shown to be a good player over about a full season’s worth of PAs. He should be the everyday CF.

2) The comparison is dumb, considering Acuna was coming off ACL surgery last year and it was clearly the worst season of his career (and likely to be an aberration when all is said and done), not his normal season. He is a “generational talent.”

A better set of comparisons would be to simply point out that in 2021-2022, Chas was in the same wRC+ neighborhood as Castellanos, Haniger, Joc Pederson, Benintendi, Austin Meadows, Hunter Renfroe…guys who aren’t competing for playing time on their teams, who’ve been all-stars, and who aren’t better than Chas. 

[billfromlaketravis 11466]

I openly wonder how hot Chas has to get before Dusty will sit Meyers down. Probably needs to hit at least AL Player of the Week like clip. I still hate his arm CF, but Meyers' arm strength isn't any better. The only think Meyers can do better than Chas is track fly balls. That's it. 

I didn't realize Julks changed his swing to improve his power. Pretty good/free piece from The Athletic about it : https://theathletic.com/3150354/2022/02/28/with-improved-power-corey-julks-could-be-the-astros-latest-late-blooming-outfielder-prospect/

I'd play Chas everyday for the rest of April to see what we have. Work Meyers in as a defensive replacement/pinch runner/RF and LF to give some guys a day off. 

The lineup yesterday was the best of the season, and it showed. The catchers are all interchangeable, so the 9 spot doesn't matter. 

Pena 

Bregs 

Yordan 

Hermano Cubano

Tucker 

Hensley 

Chas 

Julks 

Catcher 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by billfromlaketravis

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

4 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I openly wonder how hot Chas has to get before Dusty will sit Meyers down. Probably needs to hit at least AL Player of the Week like clip. I still hate his arm CF, but Meyers' arm strength isn't any better. The only think Meyers can do better than Chas is track fly balls. That's it. 

I didn't realize Julks changed his swing to improve his power. Pretty good/free piece from The Athletic about it : https://theathletic.com/3150354/2022/02/28/with-improved-power-corey-julks-could-be-the-astros-latest-late-blooming-outfielder-prospect/

I'd play Chas everyday for the rest of April to see what we have. Work Meyers in as a defensive replacement/pinch runner/RF and LF to give some guys a day off. 

The lineup yesterday was the best of the season, and it showed. The catchers are all interchangeable, so the 9 spot doesn't matter. 

Pena 

Bregs 

Yordan 

Cubano Hermano 

Tucker 

Hensley 

Chas 

Julks 

Catcher 

 

Agree, though I’d still take Pena out of #1 and place him behind Tucker. Bregman should be #1.

We all liked George at leadoff, right?

Springer: .269/.357/.492

Bregman: .276/.374/.494

[formermav43 4606]

18 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Agree, though I’d still take Pena out of #1 and place him behind Tucker. Bregman should be #1.

We all liked George at leadoff, right?

Springer: .269/.357/.492

Bregman: .276/.374/.494

Sure, but that’s never going happen. You could even continue with the fascination of alternating handedness at the top right now and have pretty much the ideal lineup by the book:

Bregman

Alvarez

Abreu

Tucker

But even if the numbers dictate it, gut instinct finely tuned c. 1975 says you want speed at the top more than anything.

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

37 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I openly wonder how hot Chas has to get before Dusty will sit Meyers down. Probably needs to hit at least AL Player of the Week like clip. I still hate his arm CF, but Meyers' arm strength isn't any better. The only think Meyers can do better than Chas is track fly balls. That's it. 

I didn't realize Julks changed his swing to improve his power. Pretty good/free piece from The Athletic about it : https://theathletic.com/3150354/2022/02/28/with-improved-power-corey-julks-could-be-the-astros-latest-late-blooming-outfielder-prospect/

I'd play Chas everyday for the rest of April to see what we have. Work Meyers in as a defensive replacement/pinch runner/RF and LF to give some guys a day off. 

The lineup yesterday was the best of the season, and it showed. The catchers are all interchangeable, so the 9 spot doesn't matter. 

Pena 

Bregs 

Yordan 

Hermano Cubano

Tucker 

Hensley 

Chas 

Julks 

Catcher 

 

I strongly suspect that you are wrong and that Diaz is not interchangeable with scrubby mcscrubenstein and St. Maldy as far as the bat goes.  The best lineup of the year was the one that had Diaz catching in game 2 I think?  All that said- if Wednesday's lineup was our lineup every day until Brantley and Altuve get back I'd be happy to see it happen for sure. 

[formermav43 4606]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I strongly suspect that you are wrong and that Diaz is not interchangeable with scrubby mcscrubenstein and St. Maldy as far as the bat goes.  The best lineup of the year was the one that had Diaz catching in game 2 I think?  All that said- if Wednesday's lineup was our lineup every day until Brantley and Altuve get back I'd be happy to see it happen for sure. 

Yeah, if Diaz is not significantly better as a bat, he’s not going to last. That’s the reason he’s here.

Edit: And for a bat first prospect who hit well through the minors to then be interchangeable with literally one of the worst hitting everyday players in baseball history would be a pretty disappointing outcome to say the least.

Edited April 6, 2023 by formermav43

[Ojo Rojo 1964]

1. Like many of you, I don't understand why Chas is not our regular CF.  I get wanting to test Meyers because he is/was considered to have a higher ceiling.  At what point to you make that decision?  Never? Given last season, that decision should have already been made. Now we're seeing what we have in Julks too.  My guess is that Chas is the postseason starter unless he just gets flat beat out during the season, where these other guys are going to get some PT.
2. Many people on this board only seem to appreciate offense for position players.  Maldonado is not a good offensive player.  This is known.  His defense is just okay.  Where he excels, and obviously what the organization and the pitching staff values, is his ability to call a game and handle pitchers.  We won the fucking World Series last year, had a Cy Young winner and the best bullpen in the league with him as the primary catcher.  He had something to do with all that.
3. I also don't understand how some people can be so certain that Brantley is washed.  He was doing well before he got injured last year.  I realize the decline due to age can happen fast, but what are y'all looking at to see such a decline?
4. I don't like the 3-4 start, at home, to the White Sox and fucking Tigers.  But, it's only seven games and we're currently without our most important player.  We're a different team with Altuve and Brantley.
5. Offseason.  Our roster has some holes; every roster in MLB does.  We could have used a LF, C and SP.  We signed Brantley to split LF and DH with Yordan.  I'm okay with it.  If he is what he has been then it was a great move.  If he has seriously declined then I think it was a gamble worth taking.  I'm okay with rolling with Maldy at C.  Yes, he sucks offensively.  But with our lineup (assuming our regulars are healthy) we can bear a hole in the 9 spot. I think he brings a lot of value to the team with what he does well.  We came into the season with six legit starters.  One being a fairly unproven rookie, but still.  LMJ goes down and we're down to 5.  So now we're looking a little thin.  Should the FO have gone out and signed a SP instead?  In my opinion, no.  We've got some money left to spend this year.  I expect the plan is to wait and see how the season shakes out.  See what our record is at the deadline and who is doing well and who is not and plug the holes accordingly. I'd be good with that.

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

The Chas thing only makes sense if (1) they just don’t like him that much from a personal/clubhouse perspective, or (2) the org still just really thinks it has reason to believe in Meyers. Or I guess if it could be a combo of those.

I had an indirect connection to the team for a while until this past winter. (Not saying this makes me any sort of “insider” or anything like that, or that it validates my opinions in any way.) I did hear that Chas was kind of a weirdo and rubbed some guys the wrong way when he came up as a rookie. No idea if that has anything to do with anything. I’d hope that by now it’s a non-issue, and I assume it is. But from where I sit, not giving him the everyday job just doesn’t really compute.

[kevwun 15777]

The think that really confuses me about Meyers is he doesn't look natural doing anything.  He looks uncomfortable in the field at all times.  I swear to God his first reaction when a ball is hit is please don't be towards me.  You can see it on his face.  He looks over-matched at the plate.  What is it about him that screams this guy has potential?  If he was witch in center field like Siri, I could at least understand the reasoning behind all of this.

Edited April 6, 2023 by kevwun

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

38 minutes ago, Ojo Rojo said:

1. Like many of you, I don't understand why Chas is not our regular CF.  I get wanting to test Meyers because he is/was considered to have a higher ceiling.  At what point to you make that decision?  Never? Given last season, that decision should have already been made. Now we're seeing what we have in Julks too.  My guess is that Chas is the postseason starter unless he just gets flat beat out during the season, where these other guys are going to get some PT.
2. Many people on this board only seem to appreciate offense for position players.  Maldonado is not a good offensive player.  This is known.  His defense is just okay.  Where he excels, and obviously what the organization and the pitching staff values, is his ability to call a game and handle pitchers.  We won the fucking World Series last year, had a Cy Young winner and the best bullpen in the league with him as the primary catcher.  He had something to do with all that.
3. I also don't understand how some people can be so certain that Brantley is washed.  He was doing well before he got injured last year.  I realize the decline due to age can happen fast, but what are y'all looking at to see such a decline?
4. I don't like the 3-4 start, at home, to the White Sox and fucking Tigers.  But, it's only seven games and we're currently without our most important player.  We're a different team with Altuve and Brantley.
5. Offseason.  Our roster has some holes; every roster in MLB does.  We could have used a LF, C and SP.  We signed Brantley to split LF and DH with Yordan.  I'm okay with it.  If he is what he has been then it was a great move.  If he has seriously declined then I think it was a gamble worth taking.  I'm okay with rolling with Maldy at C.  Yes, he sucks offensively.  But with our lineup (assuming our regulars are healthy) we can bear a hole in the 9 spot. I think he brings a lot of value to the team with what he does well.  We came into the season with six legit starters.  One being a fairly unproven rookie, but still.  LMJ goes down and we're down to 5.  So now we're looking a little thin.  Should the FO have gone out and signed a SP instead?  In my opinion, no.  We've got some money left to spend this year.  I expect the plan is to wait and see how the season shakes out.  See what our record is at the deadline and who is doing well and who is not and plug the holes accordingly. I'd be good with that.

Yordan is the team MVP easily.  Altuve didn't do anything in the playoffs, Yordan won a few with his bat and so far this year too. 

[YChang 3443]

14 minutes ago, kevwun said:

The think that really confuses me about Meyers is he doesn't look natural doing anything.  

They need to introduce him to Framber’s sports psychologist. 

[Mitch Hedberg 2090]

33 minutes ago, YChang said:

They need to introduce him to Framber’s sports psychologist. 

And send him back to his AAA comfort zone.

[Guadaloopy 10964]

20 hours ago, rvm96 said:

What's up Julks haters?

 

19 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

LoL your boy AAAA player Corey Julks hitting .316 so far.

Cool ya jets...

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

2 hours ago, Ojo Rojo said:

1. Like many of you, I don't understand why Chas is not our regular CF.  I get wanting to test Meyers because he is/was considered to have a higher ceiling.  At what point to you make that decision?  Never? Given last season, that decision should have already been made. Now we're seeing what we have in Julks too.  My guess is that Chas is the postseason starter unless he just gets flat beat out during the season, where these other guys are going to get some PT.
2. Many people on this board only seem to appreciate offense for position players.  Maldonado is not a good offensive player.  This is known.  His defense is just okay.  Where he excels, and obviously what the organization and the pitching staff values, is his ability to call a game and handle pitchers.  We won the fucking World Series last year, had a Cy Young winner and the best bullpen in the league with him as the primary catcher.  He had something to do with all that.
3. I also don't understand how some people can be so certain that Brantley is washed.  He was doing well before he got injured last year.  I realize the decline due to age can happen fast, but what are y'all looking at to see such a decline?
4. I don't like the 3-4 start, at home, to the White Sox and fucking Tigers.  But, it's only seven games and we're currently without our most important player.  We're a different team with Altuve and Brantley.
5. Offseason.  Our roster has some holes; every roster in MLB does.  We could have used a LF, C and SP.  We signed Brantley to split LF and DH with Yordan.  I'm okay with it.  If he is what he has been then it was a great move.  If he has seriously declined then I think it was a gamble worth taking.  I'm okay with rolling with Maldy at C.  Yes, he sucks offensively.  But with our lineup (assuming our regulars are healthy) we can bear a hole in the 9 spot. I think he brings a lot of value to the team with what he does well.  We came into the season with six legit starters.  One being a fairly unproven rookie, but still.  LMJ goes down and we're down to 5.  So now we're looking a little thin.  Should the FO have gone out and signed a SP instead?  In my opinion, no.  We've got some money left to spend this year.  I expect the plan is to wait and see how the season shakes out.  See what our record is at the deadline and who is doing well and who is not and plug the holes accordingly. I'd be good with that.

1 Agree completely

2- Don't ask a tree he thinks of the forest- he doesn't know.  Same shit with pitchers trying to deduce the value of catchers (or personal CF'ers or whatever). It's witchcraft and hokum.  

3- his power numbers were in serious decline- he absolutely has no business ever hitting against a LHP as he has zero pop against them- he's a liability to major liability in the field he's 36 years old and coming off major shoulder surgery.  What's to like about paying that guy 12M and holding down a roster spot?

4- Agreed- it's early. If the theoretical version of Brantley in your mind shows up great. Altuve getting back will help. Pena and Bregman not being a combined 0-9 seemingly every day will help more.

5- ITw as a terrible and unjustifiable offseason that happened b/c nobody was steering the car. I like the new guy.  I think Crane has a lot of shit he's not good at overly cheep, big talker yada yada yada, but I think he's nailed the GM hire (again) and if that's the case none of what I'm talking about will matter.  I think you are ascribing a plan where there was none b/c we didn't have an architect and we were going hodgepodge whatever Bagwell Crane and Jackson landed on at the time.  That's over, now, thankfully.  We can make up for some bad offseason at the deadline if nobody runs away with it (I can't imagine that we get left in the dust), but it's irritating that we didn't just deal with what we needed in the offseason b/c it would only cost money and not prospects.

[Ojo Rojo 1964]

29 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

3- his power numbers were in serious decline- he absolutely has no business ever hitting against a LHP as he has zero pop against them- he's a liability to major liability in the field he's 36 years old and coming off major shoulder surgery.  What's to like about paying that guy 12M and holding down a roster spot?

Brantley's stat line in 64 games last season:  

.288

.370

.416

.786

He also had 5 home runs.  Projected out for an entire season, he hits 12.  Power is nice, but hitting for average and getting on base is good too.

29 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

5- ITw as a terrible and unjustifiable offseason that happened b/c nobody was steering the car. I like the new guy.  I think Crane has a lot of shit he's not good at overly cheep, big talker yada yada yada, but I think he's nailed the GM hire (again) and if that's the case none of what I'm talking about will matter.  I think you are ascribing a plan where there was none b/c we didn't have an architect and we were going hodgepodge whatever Bagwell Crane and Jackson landed on at the time.  That's over, now, thankfully.  We can make up for some bad offseason at the deadline if nobody runs away with it (I can't imagine that we get left in the dust), but it's irritating that we didn't just deal with what we needed in the offseason b/c it would only cost money and not prospects.

I don't know.  Just because we didn't have someone with the GM title doesn't mean there was no plan.  I think they did exactly what they wanted to do. They signed  a first baseman, re-signed one of our best relievers and held tight on pretty much everything else.  They passed on some opportunities, but I think those decisions were deliberate, not because there was no one doing the job.

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

2 minutes ago, Ojo Rojo said:

Brantley's stat line in 64 games last season:  

.288

.370

.416

.786

He also had 5 home runs.  Projected out for an entire season, he hits 12.  Power is nice, but hitting for average and getting on base is good too.

I don't know.  Just because we didn't have someone with the GM title doesn't mean there was no plan.  I think they did exactly what they wanted to do. They signed  a first baseman, re-signed one of our best relievers and held tight on pretty much everything else.  They passed on some opportunities, but I think those decisions were deliberate, not because there was no one doing the job.

Ok- maybe it wasn't because nobody was doing the job- maybe it was because a moron was doing the job.  The Brantley thing just smacks of Bagwell being an ex player and valuing old guys, contact and all sort of stupid shit that doesn't win games but is conventional wisdom in baseball, while Crane gets off on the idea of signing 1 year contracts.  I'm 100% convinced that's how we ended up where we did as far as that goes and I hope that a dead cat bounce outplays a poor process in decision making. It could certainly happen. God knows I'm financially and emotionally invested in that happening and hope I'm wrong.  Nothing makes me happier than when the Astros are good for a solid 7 months. It really passes the time and enhances the rythnm of my life. 

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

3 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

The only think Meyers can do better than Chas is track fly balls. That's it. 

 

 

 

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

ITw as a terrible and unjustifiable offseason that happened b/c nobody was steering the car. I like the new guy.  I think Crane has a lot of shit he's not good at overly cheep, big talker yada yada yada, but I think he's nailed the GM hire (again) and if that's the case none of what I'm talking about will matter.  I think you are ascribing a plan where there was none b/c we didn't have an architect and we were going hodgepodge whatever Bagwell Crane and Jackson landed on at the time.  That's over, now, thankfully.  We can make up for some bad offseason at the deadline if nobody runs away with it (I can't imagine that we get left in the dust), but it's irritating that we didn't just deal with what we needed in the offseason b/c it would only cost money and not prospects.

This is pretty much the root of all my annoying and long-winded rants of the past week. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I agree here that there just didn’t seem to be any sort of cohesive plan to construct the roster for 2023. I’m not suggesting any sort of major overhaul, but signing a 1B, bringing back an injured, 1-dimensional vet, and overpaying to retain a reliever and calling it an off-season seemed somewhat negligent, and taking our sweet-ass time to hire a GM reeked of problematic hubris.

But you knew you were losing the pitcher who had the best season in MLB. You knew the McCullers was an injury wild card. You let your only offensively-competent utility guy walk. You sign Brantley, who is also an injury wild card. The depth suffered.

I think they hired a good GM and agree that long-term, things are in good hands. The problem is that it feels like they failed to maximize a championship-caliber team’s odds of adding another title this year, again, due to their hubris. That’s frustrating because, great as this team has been for a long time now, you don’t always have these opportunities.

(And yes, I’m willing to allow for the possibility that I’m wrong and the org did have a plan that included Hensley and Meyers and Julks and Diaz and Brown at the depth I’m saying is missing. I hope this is true. I’d still question the rotation depth even if I assume Brown will be a good pitcher across 150 innings, which I don’t. There’s still no margin for error.)

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

Good lord, guess we should just get it over with and start the rebuild now. 
 

Note to rvm:  this was sarcasm and not a serious post. 

[Ojo Rojo 1964]

1 hour ago, Hank Chinaski said:

This is pretty much the root of all my annoying and long-winded rants of the past week. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I agree here that there just didn’t seem to be any sort of cohesive plan to construct the roster for 2023. I’m not suggesting any sort of major overhaul, but signing a 1B, bringing back an injured, 1-dimensional vet, and overpaying to retain a reliever and calling it an off-season seemed somewhat negligent, and taking our sweet-ass time to hire a GM reeked of problematic hubris.

But you knew you were losing the pitcher who had the best season in MLB. You knew the McCullers was an injury wild card. You let your only offensively-competent utility guy walk. You sign Brantley, who is also an injury wild card. The depth suffered.

I think they hired a good GM and agree that long-term, things are in good hands. The problem is that it feels like they failed to maximize a championship-caliber team’s odds of adding another title this year, again, due to their hubris. That’s frustrating because, great as this team has been for a long time now, you don’t always have these opportunities.

(And yes, I’m willing to allow for the possibility that I’m wrong and the org did have a plan that included Hensley and Meyers and Julks and Diaz and Brown at the depth I’m saying is missing. I hope this is true. I’d still question the rotation depth even if I assume Brown will be a good pitcher across 150 innings, which I don’t. There’s still no margin for error.)

I think it boiled down to two choices: 1) Spend all of the money available during the offseason to get the LF, C and maybe additional SP you think you need, or 2) Sign the biggest need of them all - 1B - re-sign your best reliever, re-sign Brantley and take the risk that he's the same guy he was in 2022 before injury, save the money you have to spend for the deadline, when you might be able to get someone with some team control at one of these positions of need.  We probably have a playoff team as-is, so it's not like you have to spend everything you have just to get to the playoffs. Waiting until the deadline lets you know where you really need to commit your resources to make a WS run after all the variables play out - Brantley, injuries, Brown, all of our new dudes.

[TejasPedro 1858]

That oxy patch!

What’s  next Miami with a Yeyo Patch?

[HtownHorn 14678]

My biggest fear is Bagwell and Jackson overruling Brown, and Crane siding with them. They need to know their lanes and fucking stay in them. I love Brown, his experience in building both Toronto and Atlanta shows me he is a fucking home run hire and he needs to bring in his people to remake the front office in his image. I like that he was on the building side of things instead of being an established GM, just like Luhnow was before he got the promotion.

Bagwell's fear on analytics is crazy considering he was one of the early analytical darlings. He just considered those things playing the game the right way. Granted there are some things beyond analytics, like his ability to run the bases that made him special over his peers. Those things might not be learned, they are innate in great players. Comparing his ability to run the bases to Altuve makes me believe that ability was innate. 

Diaz needs more ABs in place of Maldonado, calling games is not an innate trait, and gets better with more reps. Hensley, Diaz, and Julks should be the bottom of the lineup more often than not. I would also give McCormick a shot in #1, considering he's leading the team in steals.

McCormick, Bregman, Alvarez, Abreu, Tucker, Pena, Diaz, Hensley, Julks. That's my nine until June.

 

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

26 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

My biggest fear is Bagwell and Jackson overruling Brown, and Crane siding with them. They need to know their lanes and fucking stay in them. I love Brown, his experience in building both Toronto and Atlanta shows me he is a fucking home run hire and he needs to bring in his people to remake the front office in his image. I like that he was on the building side of things instead of being an established GM, just like Luhnow was before he got the promotion.

Bagwell's fear on analytics is crazy considering he was one of the early analytical darlings. He just considered those things playing the game the right way. Granted there are some things beyond analytics, like his ability to run the bases that made him special over his peers. Those things might not be learned, they are innate in great players. Comparing his ability to run the bases to Altuve makes me believe that ability was innate. 

Diaz needs more ABs in place of Maldonado, calling games is not an innate trait, and gets better with more reps. Hensley, Diaz, and Julks should be the bottom of the lineup more often than not. I would also give McCormick a shot in #1, considering he's leading the team in steals.

McCormick, Bregman, Alvarez, Abreu, Tucker, Pena, Diaz, Hensley, Julks. That's my nine until June.

 

Move Chas behind Tucker and that’s the best lineup you can go with. 

[tx 3 putt 76928]

If you can catch a game at Whataburger field, I highly recommend. Yes there’s a Whataburger stand behind home plate, slams and goes hard

 

[tx 3 putt 76928]

 

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

Believe me when you will, but Forest Whitley is going to dominate. 

[uoftorange 1386]

I'm still firmly in the: Brantley is going to still be able to hit camp

I'm also still firmly in the : I like Maldy as a person and as a teammate but don't think he had a damn thing to do with how good the pitching staff is. 

Catching is more about having a good conversation and game plan for players.  And at the MLB level a catcher being super involved is great, but the pitching coaches and the analytics team in 2023 have way more to do with the game plan.  He has way too many pitches that have been getting away from him lately as well.  Stuff he used to catch.  I will say his arm strength and pop time are still up there.

Diaz has a lower pop time and just as strong an arm.  And he has double the upside as a hitter. 

Having a rapport with someone is why the guys love Maldy.  But it's not possible to create a rapport if Dusty doesn't play someone else.  I'm still dumbfounded we chose Maldonado over Vazquez.  And even more so over Contreras 

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

Whitley went 4 IP, 0 walks, 4k’s. 1 hit on a HR. 72 pitches. 
there’s a decent chance he might finally be ready. 

[tx 3 putt 76928]

4 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Whitley went 4 IP, 0 walks, 4k’s. 1 hit on a HR. 72 pitches. 
there’s a decent chance he might finally be ready. 

I Could see him getting a spot start. This is a tough roster to make 

if its at mmp, I’ll be there 

[Scraps 13561]

I'm still firmly in the: Brantley is going to still be able to hit camp

I don't think anyones concern with Brantley is that he won't be able to slap hit singles.

The concern is will he even be healthy to do it? I doubt it. He will probably be a revolving door on the DL....hopefully he is active in Sept/Oct then it won't really fucking matter

[ChickenSandwich 9834]

12 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

I'm still firmly in the: Brantley is going to still be able to hit camp

I'm also still firmly in the : I like Maldy as a person and as a teammate but don't think he had a damn thing to do with how good the pitching staff is. 

Catching is more about having a good conversation and game plan for players.  And at the MLB level a catcher being super involved is great, but the pitching coaches and the analytics team in 2023 have way more to do with the game plan.  He has way too many pitches that have been getting away from him lately as well.  Stuff he used to catch.  I will say his arm strength and pop time are still up there.

Diaz has a lower pop time and just as strong an arm.  And he has double the upside as a hitter. 

Having a rapport with someone is why the guys love Maldy.  But it's not possible to create a rapport if Dusty doesn't play someone else.  I'm still dumbfounded we chose Maldonado over Vazquez.  And even more so over Contreras 

Publicly the pitchers seem to disagree with you on Maldy. Even if factually correct, the mental/placebo effect could be just as powerful for the staff if they believe it. 

[IDIOTsavant 8483]

9 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Whitley went 4 IP, 0 walks, 4k’s. 1 hit on a HR. 72 pitches. 
there’s a decent chance he might finally be ready. 

 

[runthebone 7981]

I'm fine with reinforcing what we need at the deadline--if the rumors are true, then Crane wants to also and was pissed at Click last year.

I think Crane is smart enough to know Bagwell can't have any actual authority or power other than yelling at clouds and such. 

Whitley is totally going to be the centerpiece of the Ohtani deal in July.