Houston Astros off-season thread

[tx 3 putt 77345]

From today …

From #Astros Josh Hader introductory press conference: 

“Signing someone like Josh, it shows the willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”- Astros manager Joe Espada

“We have some internal candidates to look at for innings 5 and 6” - Astros GM Dana Brown
 

The Astros are starting to work out at Minute Maid Park to get ready for spring training. Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Yainer Diaz and Joey Loperfido were among the guys in attendance today.

 

Josh Hader is an Astro.

“Among pitchers with at least 350.0 career innings pitched, Hader’s career strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched ratio (15.01) and career opponent batting average (.156) are each the best in MLB history while his career WHIP (0.94) ranks second.”

-Astros

[tx 3 putt 77345]

1 minute ago, Scraps said:

13 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

he was a GREAT Astro
he’ll have coaching opportunities of he wants to go that route 

Na....broadcasting

yeah, I’d think he’d crush it. he’s already better than smoltz 

[tx 3 putt 77345]

That suit 🔥🔥🔥🔥

 

[Planet Houston 4930]

Probably because his performances lately have been rated Arrrrrr by Yankee and Ranger fans. /ducks/

[kevwun 15856]

Damn, there's goes his shot a blowing more games in the playoffs.  Maybe a contender will trade for him at the deadline.

[Scraps 13570]

Yeah they were talking on mlb radio earlier today some mid/lower team needed to take him and then flip him

Basically like royals did....so he will prob be on a playoff team come the trade deadline

[tx 3 putt 77345]

3 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Yeah they were talking on mlb radio earlier today some mid/lower team needed to take him and then flip him

Basically like royals did....so he will prob be on a playoff team come the trade deadline
 

all of this, good investment by the pirates 

[texashorne 1178]

31 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

That suit 🔥🔥🔥🔥

 

Sark's wife dresses Hader too? 

[WBT 20655]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

“We have some internal candidates to look at for innings 5 and 6” - Astros GM Dana Brown

Yeah they're called starters

[WBT 20655]

8 hours ago, Scraps said:

9 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

Thanks for the greatest Astros sports gif in history
always loved this guy…and his crazy wife 
 
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2aFOZ8uezZ/?igsh=ZDE1MWVjZGVmZQ==

They divorced and hes with some other chick now womp womp

Buzzy?  Say it ain't so

[Scraps 13570]

Buzzy?  Say it ain't so

Yep they been done

[tx 3 putt 77345]

 

[UTexasFight 9523]

3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

“We have some internal candidates to look at for innings 5 and 6” - Astros GM Dana Brown
 

 

Yeah they’re named Verlander, Valdez, Brown, etc

 

Edited January 23 by UTexasFight
…aaand WBT beat me to it

[UTexasFight 9523]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

He for sure goes in with an Astros hat, right?

His 124 Ks in ‘99 over 74.2 IP is insane. 
but not as insane as the math on that working out to be 14.9 K/9…meaning Hader’s average for his career has been better than Wagner’s best season (I know different different style of game, but damn)

[Scraps 13570]

From today …
From #Astros Josh Hader introductory press conference: 
“Signing someone like Josh, it shows the willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”- Astros manager Joe Espada
“We have some internal candidates to look at for innings 5 and 6” - Astros GM Dana Brown
 

Typical media post lol

The quote was "we have some internal candidates to look at for innings 5 and 6 IF OUR STARTERS GET INTO SOME TROUBLE"

[Scraps 13570]

He for sure goes in with an Astros hat, right?

I don't see how he doesn't, but then again he has to make it. Not looking good for this year(he is like 3% over on public ballots so far, but history shows him dip on the final result) so he will have one more left.


Hopefully he sneaks in tomorrow

[Dennis Taylor 18854]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

Wags not in the hall is a fucking joke. That shit needs to be fixed now 

[tx 3 putt 77345]

Baseball HoF voting needs a massive overhaul / purge

[Guest]

Too many fart sniffers and "unwritten" rules.

[Fudge Nuggets 19213]

13 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

FYI

Bagwell had a say in the Hader signing 

Brown:  Hey Jeff, wanted to let you know we’re about to sign Hader.

Bagsell:  Cool.

That’s about the extent of Bagwell’s say in the deal. 

[Wulaw Horn 19147]

Latest episode of breathing orange fire is up. We talk Collin McHugh and of course, Josh Haders return and what that means. 
 

Spotify 

 

[Scraps 13570]

Mlb radio guys are speculating Travis Jankowski is who Astros are targeting based on what Dana said he was looking for yesterday


Meh

[UTPhil2006 3809]

Just now, Scraps said:

Mlb radio guys are speculating Travis Jankowski is who Astros are targeting based on what Dana said he was looking for yesterday


Meh

Cheapest option

[tx 3 putt 77345]

Kemp’n Ain’t Easy ….

 

Edited January 23 by tx 3 putt

[HtownHorn 14763]

1 hour ago, Scraps said:

Mlb radio guys are speculating Travis Jankowski is who Astros are targeting based on what Dana said he was looking for yesterday


Meh

He's better than Meyers.

[formermav43 4606]

34 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

He's better than Meyers.

Lower career wRC+, inferior defender, they both have between 3-4 career WAR on both baseball reference and fangraphs-except Meyers has done that in 3 seasons vs being up since 2015.

[uoftorange 1387]

5 minutes ago, formermav43 said:

Lower career wRC+, inferior defender, they both have between 3-4 career WAR on both baseball reference and fangraphs-except Meyers has done that in 3 seasons vs being up since 2015.

Yep.  The problem with Meyers is that Dusty was starting him intentionally over Chas.  It's not that he's not a reasonable OF on a good team as a back up or spot fill.  He's actually likely upper echelon in the league as a bench player.  
 

We need some depth, but a LF just to have a LF is a bit silly.  Meyers in CF and Chas in LF is pretty solid with Yordan at DH.   Same goes if we DH Chas on a day with Yordan in LF.  Chas or Yordan out of the lineup in favor of Meyers is just dumb AF though.  

[HtownHorn 14763]

Yet Meyers has no trade value in the league. He sucks and everyone in baseball agrees, it is ok to give up on Meyers. Just like we did with Hoes, and many other OFs that Luhnow deemed better than JD Martinez.

[uoftorange 1387]

1 minute ago, HtownHorn said:

Yet Meyers has no trade value in the league. He sucks and everyone in baseball agrees, it is ok to give up on Meyers. Just like we did with Hoes, and many other OFs that Luhnow deemed better than JD Martinez.

I don't think that's even close to true on Meyers.  He doesn't have enough value to bring back a piece we would deem better because that's not usually how trades work.  And we don't have the talent to package with him.  He has talent and he has value, just not quite enough.  

[Scraps 13570]

He's better than Meyers.

Yeahhh...no

[formermav43 4606]

15 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Yet Meyers has no trade value in the league. He sucks and everyone in baseball agrees, it is ok to give up on Meyers. Just like we did with Hoes, and many other OFs that Luhnow deemed better than JD Martinez.

None of that has anything to do with whether or not Jankowski is better, though. He's not.

[tx 3 putt 77345]

We have YA, CM, JM, MD to cover LF, that’s plenty to start the season. Wait until July and see what’s needed / who’s available. 

[Scraps 13570]

Gallo to Nats so mark him off lol

[tx 3 putt 77345]

24 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Gallo to Nats so mark him off lol

He’ll be prime trade bait 

Edited January 23 by tx 3 putt

[Scraps 13570]

For when you need a K or what?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Scraps said:

Gallo to Nats so mark him off lol

Thank you.

 

Loved watching him on other teams' lineups.  Didn't want to see him in the H.

[Scraps 13570]

Wagner didnt make it

[tx 3 putt 77345]

Just now, Scraps said:

Wagner didnt make it

lame 

 

 

[Scraps 13570]

73.8%


5 votes short

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Wagner didnt make it

I hate the baseball hall of fame.

[Guadaloopy 11012]

3 hours ago, slorch said:

I hate the baseball hall of fame.

I've always wanted to make a pilgrimage, but shit like this really sours me on it.  

[LCHorn 2630]

4 hours ago, Scraps said:

73.8%


5 votes short

That's got to make him a shoo-in for next year. 

[Scraps 13570]

That's got to make him a shoo-in for next year. 

One would think....and I bet Beltran gets in 2026

[uoftorange 1387]

10 hours ago, LCHorn said:

That's got to make him a shoo-in for next year. 

See that's the problem with the idiotic system we have.  If he's a hall of famer he's a hall of famer.  Blocking how many people you can vote for, this dumb ass "he's not a first balloter" and the most idiotic "he used steroids even though it wasn't tested for and we also know everyone was doing it" are just stupid.  The baseball writers of old are basically the umpires, stuck in their ways and abusing their power

If the ten best players at a position aren't in the hall, what the fuck is going on?  And Billy is inarguably one of the ten best closers of all time.  That may change, but of retired guys it's not arguable.  

[texashorne 1178]

8 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

See that's the problem with the idiotic system we have.  If he's a hall of famer he's a hall of famer.  Blocking how many people you can vote for, this dumb ass "he's not a first balloter" and the most idiotic "he used steroids even though it wasn't tested for and we also know everyone was doing it" are just stupid.  The baseball writers of old are basically the umpires, stuck in their ways and abusing their power

If the ten best players at a position aren't in the hall, what the fuck is going on?  And Billy is inarguably one of the ten best closers of all time.  That may change, but of retired guys it's not arguable.  

Had Billy spent any part of his career with NYY, he would have been in years ago. 

[tx 3 putt 77345]

Soon baby !

 

[henrygandorf 29194]

the hall of fame has such a weird relationship with closers/relievers.  there are only 8 currently in, and a few have gotten in ~recently, as saves have only been an official stat since 1969.

here's something i came across i found interesting.  consider this season:

6-6, 37 saves.  101ip, 110k, 32bb.

2.22 era, 1.89 fip, 0.977 whip, 188 era+

this was hall-of-famer bruce sutter's 1979 season.  he won the nl cy young and finished 7th in the mvp.  he had five top 6 cy young finishes and five top 10 mvp finishes, all with seasons like ^^ that.  it wasn't his best season by any available metric.  that's just what baseball was like then.  he only played 12 seasons, and a couple at the end were pretty shitty.

he only played in one postseason, for the 1982 cardinals.  notched 2 wins and 3 saves in the nlcs/ws.  yes, playoffs were much different then.  getting in was extremely difficult.

he was only the 4th reliever elected at the time, and finally got over 75% (76.3) on his 13th try.  didn't get in on some weird veterans committee bullshit.

they've got to figure this shit out.  part of me says you can't let everyone in, but the other part of me is perfectly ok with letting anyone with wagner's career stats in.  bring 'em on.

[TonyTexas 10524]

5 hours ago, texashorne said:

Had Billy spent any part of his career with NYY, he would have been in years ago. 

None of the 5 NY Post BBWAA members voted for Billy 

[henrygandorf 29194]

2 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

the hall of fame has such a weird relationship with closers/relievers.  there are only 8 currently in, and a few have gotten in ~recently, as saves have only been an official stat since 1969.

here's something i came across i found interesting.  consider this season:

6-6, 37 saves.  101ip, 110k, 32bb.

2.22 era, 1.89 fip, 0.977 whip, 188 era+

this was hall-of-famer bruce sutter's 1979 season.  he won the nl cy young and finished 7th in the mvp.  he had five top 6 cy young finishes and five top 10 mvp finishes, all with seasons like ^^ that.  it wasn't his best season by any available metric.  that's just what baseball was like then.  he only played 12 seasons, and a couple at the end were pretty shitty.

he only played in one postseason, for the 1982 cardinals.  notched 2 wins and 3 saves in the nlcs/ws.  yes, playoffs were much different then.  getting in was extremely difficult.

he was only the 4th reliever elected at the time, and finally got over 75% (76.3) on his 13th try.  didn't get in on some weird veterans committee bullshit.

they've got to figure this shit out.  part of me says you can't let everyone in, but the other part of me is perfectly ok with letting anyone with wagner's career stats in.  bring 'em on.

also after looking at next year's first-time entries, wags will get 90%.  besides ichiro, nobody jumps off the page.

[Js1 85535]

6 hours ago, uoftorange said:

See that's the problem with the idiotic system we have.  If he's a hall of famer he's a hall of famer.  Blocking how many people you can vote for, this dumb ass "he's not a first balloter" and the most idiotic "he used steroids even though it wasn't tested for and we also know everyone was doing it" are just stupid.  The baseball writers of old are basically the umpires, stuck in their ways and abusing their power

If the ten best players at a position aren't in the hall, what the fuck is going on?  And Billy is inarguably one of the ten best closers of all time.  That may change, but of retired guys it's not arguable.  

Never really got why the baseball hall of fame is gatekept so hard.  it needs to be reformed.