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2019 Houston Astros Thread

Planet Houston

By Planet Houston
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My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 weeks ago. Tomorrow she starts her treatment. She's been a wreck ever since the diagnosis. I mentioned a few pages back how a friend of the family manage

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Newest Astro fan was born earlier today at 12:09 am Mez3, holla!

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Lat22

Lat22 4,010

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Johnny Sack said:

I was sitting 5 feet from the visitor on deck circle when Sammy Sosa fucking launched one into the lights off Scott Elarton in 2000 or 2001.  That shot by Alvarez was the only thing I have seen close to that at MMP.

I was sitting down the left field line. That freaking ball was still on the way up when it hit the “glass” above the train track.

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Wishbone

Wishbone 4,759

Posted
Posted (edited)
44 minutes ago, Lat22 said:

I was sitting down the left field line. That freaking ball was still on the way up when it hit the “glass” above the train track.

Are you talking about the Alvarez blast tonight? Because his was to right field. Altuve hit a huge  one to the tracks tonight, but it was’t scorched like Alvarez’s. Pretty sure you and Sack are referring to different homers tonight.

Nevermind. You were talking about Sosa’s.

Edited by Wishbone
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Fudge Nuggets

Fudge Nuggets 19,190

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8 hours ago, runthebone said:

Honestly, the fact he even lasted this long is pretty amazing, he was always that guy whose tools sucked but produced consistently at AAA.  He had more of an Astros career than anyone ever thought he would.

If not for all the injuries, he would have been shit canned a month ago.

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9,431

Posted
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So....who takes over as no.1 on the bitch about list now? Stassi? Rondon? 

Chirinos is climbing up there.
Hilarious that we reportedly were looking at Maldonado again

ANAHEIM, Calif. — On the whole, the offensive season Robinson Chirinos has put together is nothing out of the ordinary. He will enter Friday night’s series opener against the Rangers with a .767 OPS, which aligns with his career average (.762) and his 2018 season (.757).

But it’s how he’s reached his .767 — which equates to a 104 OPS+, meaning he’s been four percent better than the major-league average — that’s interesting. He was one of the best offensive catchers through the first two and a half months, only to crater more recently to a point where his extended slump has prompted speculation as to whether the Astros will target a catcher before the July 31 trade deadline.

Chirinos, a 35-year-old playing on a one-year, $5.75 million deal, hasn’t homered in more than a month. In his last 22 games (19 starts) dating to June 15, he’s batted a dismal .149 with a .463 OPS in 81 plate appearances. It’s a stark contrast from his first 53 games (50 starts), when he batted .243 with an .888 OPS.

The strikeouts have mounted. Since June 16, the game after his last homer, he’s struck out in 37 percent of his plate appearances. Before that date, his rate was down to 26.3.

What’s going on? Chirinos explained on Thursday at Angel Stadium that he’s been struggling to repeat the mechanics that the Astros worked with him to implement in spring training — the same mechanics that worked so well for him in the first half of the season. Losing a feel for his rhythm has led to him often not being in a good position to hit and being late on pitches.

“This year, I tried something new hitting with the guys here, especially (Alex) Cintrón and Troy (Snitker),” Chirinos said, referring to the Astros’ two hitting coaches. “I was a guy before who would sit on my back leg and wait for the ball to get to me and (then) use my hands. When I got to spring training, they were preaching to me about attacking the ball. Staying back and using my hands more, making the move and attacking the ball.

“And it’s been hard, man. I mean, I like it. I like the feel of attacking the ball. But it’s been something new that’s been hard to repeat. If you see my year, there have been some good weeks, some OK weeks, and I feel like that’s been the reason why.”

Sometimes, this swing feels natural to Chirinos. Other times, he loses the feel for it.

Dating to when he was with the Rangers, pitchers have attacked Chirinos with elevated fastballs in the middle of the plate and away and breaking balls away. Earlier this season, when he was in rhythm with his mechanics, he was able to more efficiently recognize the high heat and lay off. Pitchers would then have to come into the zone and he would do his damage.

“That’s what I need to get back to doing, to be able to be in a good position to recognize those kind of pitches and get the pitch I can do damage on and hit it hard,” Chirinos said.

Chirinos has been working daily in the batting cage with Cintrón to rediscover his previous form. He felt he has made progress in recent days, beginning with Sunday’s series finale in Arlington. After getting a day off Thursday, Chirinos will be back behind the plate to catch Justin Verlander on Friday night.

But particularly since Chirinos is a bat-first catcher to begin with, his recent struggles could give Houston’s front office more to think about before the trade deadline. It’s perhaps telling that, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Astros had interest in acquiring Martín Maldonado for a second consecutive July before the Royals traded him to the Cubs. Maybe another alternative will emerge as more teams declare themselves deadline buyers or sellers.

Otherwise, the Astros will be counting on a bounce-back from Chirinos.

 

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Gut Wagon

Gut Wagon 8,065

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33 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Feel like Mrs. Reddick is subtweeting this thread:

 

Quite a few people in my division of our corporate giant recently lost their jobs. It was all due to downsizing and "restructuring," not poor individual performance by those folks. So let's not confuse that with what just happened to your buds, lady. There's been no headcount reduction here. There's still a job to fill, and it would still be Tyler's if he were good enough at it. He isn't, so someone potentially more productive is going to take it. Just deal with it.    

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TexArcher

TexArcher 37,774

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

 

I mean, I get it.  Your friend's moving away and you has a sad.  But I'm not celebrating Tyler White losing his job; I'm celebrating the Astros having a better player on the roster than Tyler White.  And he was given every chance to succeed here.  Sometimes things don't work out.  Are we supposed to hold our applause for a week out of respect for all the trophy wives who just lost a member of their wine club?  Nah.  

Edited by TexArcher
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