2023 Houston Astros Thread

[Gourmand 7778]

We really need a win again today because there's no chance Oakland is taking a series against Seattle after going 1-7 against them so far this season.

[UTPhil2006 3930]

12 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

We really need a win again today because there's no chance Oakland is taking a series against Seattle after going 1-7 against them so far this season.

Brantley 3/3 confirmed 

[UTexasFight 9819]

Really like our schedule from here out. We’ve seen the standings and that we’ve played two more games than the M’s and Rangers. So we get two more off days than they do the rest of way

We get 6 off days total. Every Thursday the rest of the way. That means, after today, we have 6 games and an off day every week.

Should be able to line up the rotation pretty well and hide whoever is sucking with that while also making sure guys are getting plenty of rest. 

(my apologies to Wulaw who I’m sure covered all of this in the podcast)

 

 

[UTexasFight 9819]

And also hopefully start our best players/hottest hitters more often since there is already a built in off day for everyone each week 

[WBT 20997]

5 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

And also hopefully start our best players/hottest hitters more often since there is already a built in off day for everyone each week 

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

13 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

Really like our schedule from here out. We’ve seen the standings and that we’ve played two more games than the M’s and Rangers. So we get two more off days than they do the rest of way

We get 6 off days total. Every Thursday the rest of the way. That means, after today, we have 6 games and an off day every week.

Should be able to line up the rotation pretty well and hide whoever is sucking with that while also making sure guys are getting plenty of rest. 

(my apologies to Wulaw who I’m sure covered all of this in the podcast)

 

 

Once we clear the rangers series our schedule is by far the easiest coming in. We will probably lose games to Toronto and Seattle over the next 2 weeks though. Toronto, especially, is playing utter trash. 
but yeah- our schedule, in terms of both teams we are playing and off days, sets us up to rape and pillage during the first 3 weeks of the month. 

[HtownHorn 15231]

It's sad that we might see our best lineup once or twice a week.

Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, Tucker, McCormick, Diaz, Brantley, Abreu, Pena

 

It's sad I have to root for injuries to Maldonado and Dubon to ensure that Dusty Baker plays the best team possible to make the playoffs.

Edited August 30, 2023 by HtownHorn

[n64ra 1150]

2 hours ago, Gourmand said:

We really need a win again today because there's no chance Oakland is taking a series against Seattle after going 1-7 against them so far this season.

We know. Also, no reason to think the Mets are beating Texas.

[TonyTexas 10785]

Waiting for a mea culpa from those that were so certain that Brantley would never play again. Probably won’t happen, particularly from the two who were most vocal, as those two are very quick with the “I told you so” but extremely slow admitting when they are wrong. 

[henrygandorf 29229]

senga is getting pushed to friday vs seattle, which is probably better.  cole goes today, so we will miss him.  again.  this is turning into a fiers situation.

[Chuckie Finster 23095]

6 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Waiting for a mea culpa from those that were so certain that Brantley would never play again. Probably won’t happen, particularly from the two who were most vocal, as those two are very quick with the “I told you so” but extremely slow admitting when they are wrong. 

Don't remember if I vocalized it on here, but I was absolutely convinced he was done.  Stoked to be wrong, and even more excited that he appears to not have lost a step.

[HtownHorn 15231]

11 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Waiting for a mea culpa from those that were so certain that Brantley would never play again. Probably won’t happen, particularly from the two who were most vocal, as those two are very quick with the “I told you so” but extremely slow admitting when they are wrong. 

Happy he's back, glad I am wrong. Looked good yesterday. Hopefully he can play more than not.

[WBT 20997]

Comments asked for pics of the balloons but McTaggart said that pictures aren't allowed in the clubhouse

[hornmpa96 2671]

54 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Waiting for a mea culpa from those that were so certain that Brantley would never play again. Probably won’t happen, particularly from the two who were most vocal, as those two are very quick with the “I told you so” but extremely slow admitting when they are wrong. 

It was one game and he didn’t even get a hit. Let’s not start patting ourselves on the back just yet.

[Scraps 13811]

Hearing that the Gold Rush jerseys are down to $40 at the team store 

[henrygandorf 29229]

2 minutes ago, hornmpa96 said:

It was one game and he didn’t even get a hit. Let’s not start patting ourselves on the back just yet.

can we suck each other's dicks?

[hornmpa96 2671]

[David Dennison 19569]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Once we clear the rangers series our schedule is by far the easiest coming in. We will probably lose games to Toronto and Seattle over the next 2 weeks though. Toronto, especially, is playing utter trash. 
but yeah- our schedule, in terms of both teams we are playing and off days, sets us up to rape and pillage during the first 3 weeks of the month. 

It seems like the team is already playing like they know it's go time.

[Gut Wagon 8219]

1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

It's sad that we might see our best lineup once or twice a week.

Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, Tucker, McCormick, Diaz, Brantley, Abreu, Pena

 

It's sad I have to root for injuries to Maldonado and Dubon to ensure that Dusty Baker plays the best team possible to make the playoffs.

Don't know about Maldy, but without Dubon I suspect we'd now be about 5 games out. Regardless of WAR or any other metric, he's been a great asset to this point. Just need to use him smartly from here on out (which likely means we won't). 

[perfectchaos007 6780]

17 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

It seems like the team is already playing like they know it's go time.

I think Dusty knows it too. Yeah he’s an idiot for continuing to ride Maldy and only play Diaz in half the games, but the “scheduled rest days” for Altuve, Alvarez, and Tucker haven’t been used in a couple months. Knock on wood but I think scheduled rest days are done for the season. There’s finally a sense of urgency 

Edited August 30, 2023 by perfectchaos007

[TonyTexas 10785]

22 minutes ago, hornmpa96 said:

It was one game and he didn’t even get a hit. Let’s not start patting ourselves on the back just yet.

I was calling out those that said Brantley would never play again. Did he play?

[kevwun 16447]

You're like a wife with the remember that time you were wrong shtick.

Edited August 30, 2023 by kevwun

[TonyTexas 10785]

1 minute ago, kevwun said:

Congrats, your medal is in the mail.  Are you going to Disney World now?

Bad time to be in Florida. 

[henrygandorf 29229]

3 minutes ago, kevwun said:

You're like a wife with the remember that time you were wrong shtick.

do you want to be right or do you want to be married?

[Texas St. Armadillos 1388]

I thinks it's pretty amazing we're going to get 35 or more homeruns from the catcher position.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

11 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

I was calling out those that said Brantley would never play again. Did he play?

I don’t know if you are talking about me because I feel like I’ve changed my mind about 50 times on if Brantley was going to play or not, but I haven’t changed my mind on “it was an incredibly stupid signing” and I was right to criticize it from the second he signed that deal, and I also don’t think I ever meant- he’s done forever in a literal sense more in a “he’s washed and not going to be a key cog in a WS contending team” sense which, well, I’d argue we’d be better off if he never came back if the result is Diaz plays 2X a week because Diaz is a better bat then Brantley. 
so, congrats on taking a victory lap for the 7th best bat (at best) on the team coming back in time to squeeze out 23 games, probably to the teams detriment, because our manager isn’t able to optimize a 26 man roster, I guess?  
hell, maybe you weren’t talking about me. I know scraps was pretty adamant about him never playing again. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Wulaw Horn

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

2 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

It's sad that we might see our best lineup once or twice a week.

Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, Tucker, McCormick, Diaz, Brantley, Abreu, Pena

 

It's sad I have to root for injuries to Maldonado and Dubon to ensure that Dusty Baker plays the best team possible to make the playoffs.

It’s only possible to see our best lineup of it’s a day Brown or France start, and then only against a RHP. So- 2 chances per week, probably 1 time actualize. I bet we see this lineup like 5 times the rest of the year, tops. 

[tx 3 putt 78739]

This thread so wrong about 98% of the time, so of course brantley playing one game proves them wrong 

I still believe he’ll hit .305 in sept 

[tx 3 putt 78739]

These last four weeks are about to be a hell of a ride 

[Pablo 500]

5 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

These last four weeks are about to be a hell of a ride 

I am pretty excited about this month as well.  Our last few years end of season baseball were anti-climactic.

[tx 3 putt 78739]

3 minutes ago, Pablo said:

I am pretty excited about this month as well.  Our last few years end of season baseball were anti-climactic.

this is all going down to the last game 

[Pablo 500]

Just now, tx 3 putt said:

this is all going down to the last game 

it really could, with the last 10 games SEA playing are 7 against TEX and 3 against HOU.

[henrygandorf 29229]

20 minutes ago, Pablo said:

I am pretty excited about this month as well.  Our last few years end of season baseball were anti-climactic.

it's not a sept run to the world series unless we get swept by oakland in embarrassing fashion.  

[Gut Wagon 8219]

40 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I don’t know if you are talking about me because I feel like I’ve changed my mind about 50 times on if Brantley was going to play or not, but I haven’t changed my mind on “it was an incredibly stupid signing” and I was right to criticize it from the second he signed that deal, and I also don’t think I ever meant- he’s done forever in a literal sense more in a “he’s washed and not going to be a key cog in a WS contending team” sense which, well, I’d argue we’d be better off if he never came back if the result is Diaz plays 2X a week because Diaz is a better bat then Brantley. 
so, congrats on taking a victory lap for the 7th best bat (at best) on the team coming back in time to squeeze out 23 games, probably to the teams detriment, because our manager isn’t able to optimize a 26 man roster, I guess?  
hell, maybe you weren’t talking about me. I know scraps was pretty adamant about him never playing again. 

Honestly, this whole team (ownership on down to the bench) has had me alternating my mood between happy and sad this whole season. But player and manager performances that resemble an EKG readout can do that to a fan. Our underlying talent and health, bolstered by the recent additions of JV, Diaz and now a professional hitter from the past, have me smiling at the moment. Check back an inning, week or month from now. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Gut Wagon

[perfectchaos007 6780]

Jon Singleton playing first base today. No Diaz in the lineup 

[henrygandorf 29229]

42 minutes ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

I thinks it's pretty amazing we're going to get 35 or more homeruns from the catcher position.

i think it's pretty amazing that we have a 24 year old rookie catcher who's on pace to go .280 with 22 homers (pro-rate to 30+ with a full season of pa) with an .825+ ops (.525+ slg) who also has a cannon for an arm and seems generally athletic - faster than you think 1st to 3rd, and has a bagwellion ability to slide into home.  you can count the number of mlb catchers who tick those boxes on one hand and have fingers leftover.

how was every team not trying to swipe him from us at the deadline? 

[Hank Chinaski 6363]

5 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

Jon Singleton playing first base today. No Diaz in the lineup 

Sense of urgency indeed.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

13 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

Jon Singleton playing first base today. No Diaz in the lineup 

Diaz is now a once or twice a week player with Abreu and Brantley back. That’s just the way it is in the regular season. 
if we can make the postseason I’d hope that the FO sets the lineups again and we can see Diaz catching every game but Framber, and playing DH or 1B when Framber pitches, but I’m not going to hold my breath. 

[LebongJames 1921]

15 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

i think it's pretty amazing that we have a 24 year old rookie catcher who's on pace to go .280 with 22 homers (pro-rate to 30+ with a full season of pa) with an .825+ ops (.525+ slg) who also has a cannon for an arm and seems generally athletic - faster than you think 1st to 3rd, and has a bagwellion ability to slide into home.  you can count the number of mlb catchers who tick those boxes on one hand and have fingers leftover.

how was every team not trying to swipe him from us at the deadline? 

Because we would never trade him?

[tx 3 putt 78739]

[WBT 20997]

21 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

Jon Singleton playing first base today. No Diaz in the lineup 

But, but, urgency?

[hornmpa96 2671]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Diaz is now a once or twice a week player with Abreu and Brantley back. That’s just the way it is in the regular season. 
if we can make the postseason I’d hope that the FO sets the lineups again and we can see Diaz catching every game but Framber, and playing DH or 1B when Framber pitches, but I’m not going to hold my breath. 

You’re assuming JV loses his personal catcher in the playoffs. I guess between the 2 of them it likely makes more sense to let Framber keep Linus’ security blanket as compared to JV.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

Just now, hornmpa96 said:

You’re assuming JV loses his personal catcher in the playoffs. I guess between the 2 of them it likely makes more sense to let Framber keep Linus’ security blanket as compared to JV.

Oh I’m not assuming. That’s why I said I’m not going to hold my breath. But yeah- JV rarely threw to maldy when he was here last go round. Until Castro was hurt for good. Last year JV lost his personal CF in the playoffs. Hopefully both those absurdities go by the way said if we make the playoffs this year. 

[UTHornFan014 755]

26 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

Jon Singleton playing first base today. No Diaz in the lineup 

Singleton gonna go yard today. I feel it down in my plums!

[henrygandorf 29229]

10 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Diaz is now a once or twice a week player with Abreu and Brantley back. That’s just the way it is in the regular season. 
if we can make the postseason I’d hope that the FO sets the lineups again and we can see Diaz catching every game but Framber, and playing DH or 1B when Framber pitches, but I’m not going to hold my breath. 

there's no way this is true.

he may only catch 2/6 but if that's the case, he'll dh/1b at least 2 more.  i think he's a 4.5/6 type, though it should be higher.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

3 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

there's no way this is true.

he may only catch 2/6 but if that's the case, he'll dh/1b at least 2 more.  i think he's a 4.5/6 type, though it should be higher.

Fact- Dusty absolutely hates playing him at 1B and basically did it as an emergency last time Abreu was down- now Abreu is back and Diaz clearly eats third (witness today’s lineup) so there’s no AB’s for him there. 
brantley and Yordan will get the vast majority of DH time. 
my bet is that Diaz plays when he catches 1 or 2 times a week and might get an occasional dh start for Brantley against a LHP. 
If that’s not the way it goes down I will be happy, but his lack of playing time this year has been pure lunacy and we now have 2 more bats Dusty seems to like more than him in singleton and Brantley. 

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

my bet is that Diaz plays when he catches 1 or 2 times a week and might get an occasional dh start for Brantley against a LHP. 

Except Dusty thinks he can't hit lefties, so . . .

[henrygandorf 29229]

12 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Fact- Dusty absolutely hates playing him at 1B and basically did it as an emergency last time Abreu was down- now Abreu is back and Diaz clearly eats third (witness today’s lineup) so there’s no AB’s for him there. 
brantley and Yordan will get the vast majority of DH time. 
my bet is that Diaz plays when he catches 1 or 2 times a week and might get an occasional dh start for Brantley against a LHP. 
If that’s not the way it goes down I will be happy, but his lack of playing time this year has been pure lunacy and we now have 2 more bats Dusty seems to like more than him in singleton and Brantley. 

when he plays 3-4x per week this month i'm gonna go all tonytexas up in this bitch.

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

8 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Except Dusty thinks he can't hit lefties, so . . .

I know. But Brantley is a lefty so he’s on the horns of a dilemma. 

3 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

when he plays 3-4x per week this month i'm gonna go all tonytexas up in this bitch.

Hey man- I hope you are right. I’m talking about starting btw- not pinch hitting or defensive replacement. 

[henrygandorf 29229]

3 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Hey man- I hope you are right. I’m talking about starting btw- not pinch hitting or defensive replacement.