2023 Houston Astros Thread

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Just now, WBT said:

significantly?  

Remember the Nico Goodrum experience last Apr-May?  Good times.

Is he available ??

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Right now?  sure. If fully healthy?  Nah. We will be good. Probably. Unless everything stays against us. 
we were 11-11 last year and everyone was freaking out too. 

We’ll see. Replacing Verlander with a rookie is a bigger deal than anyone seems to acknowledge. 

[WBT 20561]

Gattis's 11 triple season is one of the craziest baseball things

[David Dennison 18850]

Just now, Hank Chinaski said:

We’ll see. Replacing Verlander with a rookie is a bigger deal than anyone seems to acknowledge. 

Maybe. 

[WBT 20561]

Fucking bullshit, Dubon earned that error.  Don't take it away after the fact.

[WBT 20561]

Framber going 7 is a nice change.  Hopefully the rest of the guys are ready to follow suit.

[closetojumping 62565]

22 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

And with your statement about Julks (while true) there are at least 3 guys in tonight’s lineup worse than him and arguably a 4th. They really really pussed out at Catcher and LF. 

Baker and the Astros are living under the hubris-related illusion that they can hide dead spots who can play defense, just like last year. That’s great and all when you have 6 elite offensive players or 4-5 and then another guy or two that are damned good. Altuve going down altered the equation and they don’t seem to see it. Dubon has pictures on Crane, clearly. Julks has never been a prospect and they kept him over better options. Maldy was bad offensively last year but this will be his Gurriel-esque fall off. If he hits above .170, knock me over with a feather. It was idiotic to let him be the main guy this year. He’s fat and slow and has cost Valdez two runs tonight alone. The obsession with Meyers is nothing short of a joke. Hitting Pena in the one hole is fucking dumb. Maybe realize at some point in the future that Bregman needs more ABs in the spring than Baker is giving him. 

If someone doesn’t intervene before Altuve and Brantley are back, this is the 2016 season. 

[David Dennison 18850]

1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

Baker and the Astros are living under the hubris-related illusion that they can hide dead spots who can play defense, just like last year. That’s great and all when you have 6 elite offensive players or 4-5 and then another guy or two that are damned good. Altuve going down altered the equation and they don’t seem to see it. Dubon has pictures on Crane, clearly. Julks has never been a prospect and they kept him over better options. Maldy was bad offensively last year but this will be his Gurriel-esque fall off. If he hits above .170, knock me over with a feather. It was idiotic to let him be the main guy this year. He’s fat and slow and has cost Valdez two runs tonight alone. The obsession with Meyers is nothing short of a joke. Hitting Pena in the one hole is fucking dumb. Maybe realize at some point in the future that Bregman needs more ABs in the spring than Baker is giving him. 

If someone doesn’t intervene before Altuve and Brantley are back, this is the 2016 season. 

Gold.

[WBT 20561]

So embarrassing that we lead mlb in the fucking wave

[Rip76 4925]

Altuve is so needed.

WS hangover.

[David Dennison 18850]

1 minute ago, Rip76 said:

Altuve is so needed.

WS hangover.

It's probably time to try a new lead off hitter.

[Tommy Nobis 905]

It's probably time to try a new lead off hitter.

You think that’s the real problem? Lol.

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Baker and the Astros are living under the hubris-related illusion that they can hide dead spots who can play defense, just like last year. That’s great and all when you have 6 elite offensive players or 4-5 and then another guy or two that are damned good. Altuve going down altered the equation and they don’t seem to see it. Dubon has pictures on Crane, clearly. Julks has never been a prospect and they kept him over better options. Maldy was bad offensively last year but this will be his Gurriel-esque fall off. If he hits above .170, knock me over with a feather. It was idiotic to let him be the main guy this year. He’s fat and slow and has cost Valdez two runs tonight alone. The obsession with Meyers is nothing short of a joke. Hitting Pena in the one hole is fucking dumb. Maybe realize at some point in the future that Bregman needs more ABs in the spring than Baker is giving him. 

If someone doesn’t intervene before Altuve and Brantley are back, this is the 2016 season. 

I was pissed basically the entire off season and told I was a beating throughout. Everything you said is true. I still think we win a shitload of games this year. Hopefully the next two injuries are to Maldonado and Dubon. 
Be careful about talking about St Maldy though. He’s the only catcher who can call a game competently (pitchers call their games but let’s ignore that) and the fact that no numbers demonstrate any defensive or offensive value should be casually brushed aside. 
Still, this team has power that it hasn’t shown, the bullpen will probably be much worse than last year and still top 5 in the league, and there’s not a bad starter in the rotation. That’s the recipe for a lot of wins even with a manager that hates math. 
Also- be glad Crane has an extra $25M in profit  he chooses, again, to not invest in the team.
 

That’s much smarter than giving Tucker 10/250 right now for “reasons”

 

But- this is the 2008 or 2009 longhorns. Bad decision making and sloth is going to play a part but the institutional memory and brilliance of some individual players will keep us right on track for most of our goals. 

[David Dennison 18850]

1 minute ago, Tommy Nobis said:

You think that’s the real problem? Lol.

I think it's a problem.

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

3 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

It's probably time to try a new lead off hitter.

He should have never ever ever hit there. He had a sub 300 OBP. It was always asinine. 

[Tommy Nobis 905]

I think it's a problem.

When I see names like Dubon, Julks, and Meyers getting starts on a championship team that’s a bigger problem

[Mo Horn 8831]

Fuck 

[perfectchaos007 6626]

Ballgame

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Damn. That was a bomb

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Home Run #5 off our bullpen 

[David Dennison 18850]

'Member when the Tigers strolled in here a couple of years ago and swept us in April?

I 'member.

[rvm96 1643]

19 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Baker and the Astros are living under the hubris-related illusion that they can hide dead spots who can play defense, just like last year. That’s great and all when you have 6 elite offensive players or 4-5 and then another guy or two that are damned good. Altuve going down altered the equation and they don’t seem to see it. Dubon has pictures on Crane, clearly. Julks has never been a prospect and they kept him over better options. Maldy was bad offensively last year but this will be his Gurriel-esque fall off. If he hits above .170, knock me over with a feather. It was idiotic to let him be the main guy this year. He’s fat and slow and has cost Valdez two runs tonight alone. The obsession with Meyers is nothing short of a joke. Hitting Pena in the one hole is fucking dumb. Maybe realize at some point in the future that Bregman needs more ABs in the spring than Baker is giving him. 

If someone doesn’t intervene before Altuve and Brantley are back, this is the 2016 season. 

Who should the Astros have kept over Julks? 

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

22 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Maybe. 

JV threw 175 innings with a 1.75 ERA. The probability that Brown matches that is astronomically low.

We’d all be thrilled if he threw that many inning with a 3.50 ERA. that’s giving up twice as many runs. That equates to more losses. 

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Don’t call it a comeback !

[tx 3 putt 76873]

8 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I think it's a problem.

if it goes much further than early May, it’s a huge problem 

[David Dennison 18850]

2 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

JV threw 175 innings with a 1.75 ERA. The probability that Brown matches that is astronomically low.

We’d all be thrilled if he threw that many inning with a 3.50 ERA. that’s giving up twice as many runs. That equates to more losses. 

I'll start to worry if we're still below .500 in June.

Maybe.

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

29 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Right now?  sure. If fully healthy?  Nah. We will be good. Probably. Unless everything stays against us. 
we were 11-11 last year and everyone was freaking out too. 

The problem is that the season has started. These games count. These are part of this year’s team.

So yeah, it’ll be nice when Altuve, Brantley and McCullers play. But the 2023 Astros don’t have Altuve, they have (Altuve * 0.6).

And I’ll be stunned if either Brantley or McCullers contribute anything if significance this year.

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

3 minutes ago, rvm96 said:

Who should the Astros have kept over Julks? 

My vote would be for Michael Conforto. With Wilson Contreras playing there occasionally when he doesn’t catch. Oh wait. 

[rvm96 1643]

2 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

My vote would be for Michael Conforto. With Wilson Contreras playing there occasionally when he doesn’t catch. Oh wait. 

See that's a whole different argument. 

[Jshep34 2308]

Trade everyone
Complete rebuild

[David Dennison 18850]

1 minute ago, Hank Chinaski said:

The problem is that the season has started. These games count. These are part of this year’s team.

So yeah, it’ll be nice when Altuve, Brantley and McCullers play. But the 2023 Astros don’t have Altuve, they have (Altuve * 0.6).

And I’ll be stunned if either Brantley or McCullers contribute anything if significance this year.

I am going to enjoy this all season.

[huge 3793]

Just came in to check the temperature


Chilly!

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

Just now, David Dennison said:

I am going to enjoy this all season.

Which part?

[tx 3 putt 76873]

1 minute ago, huge said:

Just came in to check the temperature


Chilly!

[David Dennison 18850]

2 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Which part?

Your pessimism.

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

8 minutes ago, rvm96 said:

See that's a whole different argument. 

I know. I was just being cheeky. That’s where the mistake was made- not in who was on the 26 man roster imo. 

[Storm the Field 5294]

With the caveat that the season is only 6 days old, this is just bad team baseball right now:

Starting pitching has been average.

Bullpen has faltered at exactly the wrong moments. When we've been tied late, we've been the ones to break so far this season.

Offense is AWOL outside of the 3-5 spots in the lineup. With the exception of Tuck and Alvarez, we're a slap-hitting singles team so far (when not striking out).  In the bottom quarter of the league in 2B (3), HR (4), SLG (.307). Clutch hits just ain't coming, as we're averaging 9 LOB/game (tied for 2nd to worst in MLB). 

The AAA replacement players were using at 2B and OF aren't just failing to contribute with their bats, they're fielding poorly too.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Storm the Field

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

letting JV go at $43 mill was the right choice obviously.  Signing Brantley for $12 was a big risk, but letting Vasquez go was the dumbest decision this franchise has made in years. 

The pitchers are getting smashed, that's the Hakeem-Drexler core, if that fails the team is 0.500.  

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

2 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Your pessimism.

Oh. Well yeah, that’s not going anywhere.

But seriously, look at the lineup again. 

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Good job Julks 

[IDIOTsavant 8483]

2 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

With the caveat that the season is only 6 days old, this is just bad team baseball right now:

Starting pitching has been average.

Bullpen has faltered at exactly the wrong moments. When we've been tied late, we've been the ones to break so far.

Offense is AWOL outside of the 3-5 spots in the lineup. With the exception of Tuck and Alvarez, we're a slap-hitting singles team so far (when not striking out).  In the bottom 1/3 of the league in 2B, HR, SLG and OPS. Clutch hits just ain't coming, as we're averaging 9 LOB/game (tied for 2nd to worst in MLB). 

The AAA replacement players were using at 2B and OF aren't just failing to contribute with their bats, they're fielding poorly too.

 

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

1 minute ago, Storm the Field said:

With the caveat that the season is only 6 days old, this is just bad team baseball right now:

Starting pitching has been average.

Bullpen has faltered at exactly the wrong moments. When we've been tied late, we've been the ones to break so far.

Offense is AWOL outside of the 3-5 spots in the lineup. With the exception of Tuck and Alvarez, we're a slap-hitting singles team so far (when not striking out).  In the bottom 1/3 of the league in 2B, HR, SLG and OPS. Clutch hits just ain't coming, as we're averaging 9 LOB/game (tied for 2nd to worst in MLB). 

The AAA replacement players were using at 2B and OF aren't just failing to contribute with their bats, they're fielding poorly too.

Theo one guy who has been decent- He slept- has played in 2 of 6 Games at 2B because of Dusty’s Dubon infatuation. The guy that could move the needle at catcher, offensively, has played in 1 game. A win!  Where we gave up fewer runs than any other game!  
the bottom of the roster isn’t great but it’s also being managed horribly. 

[perfectchaos007 6626]

1 minute ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

letting JV go at $43 mill was the right choice obviously.  Signing Brantley for $12 was a big risk, but letting Vasquez go was the dumbest decision this franchise has made in years. 

The pitchers are getting smashed, that's the Hakeem-Drexler core, if that fails the team is 0.500.  

Clearly we need to add Charles Barkley to win championships. 

[Hank Chinaski 6314]

1 minute ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

The pitchers are getting smashed, that's the Hakeem-Drexler core, if that fails the team is 0.500.  

Yes…and the odds of the exact same pitchers matching their historically good results last year were very low. Then we lost the best one.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have punted on the off-season?

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Take it for the team Jake !!!

[David Dennison 18850]

Will Dusty pinch hit for Maldy?

Let's watch!

Edited April 5, 2023 by David Dennison
Nope.

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Y’all keep talking shit about dubon !!!

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

Just now, Hank Chinaski said:

Yes…and the odds of the exact same pitchers matching their historically good results last year were very low. Then we lost the best one.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have punted on the off-season?

most people on this thread had over 98 wins right?  How is that even possible when losing JV? 

[tx 3 putt 76873]

Lucky bounce on that hit

Just now, David Dennison said:

Will Dusty pinch hit for Maldy?

Let's watch!

he’s hitting .214 !

[rvm96 1643]

3 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Theo one guy who has been decent- He slept- has played in 2 of 6 Games at 2B because of Dusty’s Dubon infatuation. The guy that could move the needle at catcher, offensively, has played in 1 game. A win!  Where we gave up fewer runs than any other game!  
the bottom of the roster isn’t great but it’s also being managed horribly. 

Are you saying 1 game when playing catcher for Diaz?