2019 Houston Astros Thread

[Scraps 13531]

Every single writer on The Athletic that did predictions(9) predicted the Astros winning it all over either LA or St Louis 

[Scraps 13531]

4 minutes ago, jkates said:

Do you want the A's or Rays in the ALDS? Why?

Rays cause my flight to game 3 would be $300 cheaper round trip 

[kevwun 15595]

Urquidy has better stuff than Miley and I'd much rather give him a start in the playoffs right now.  He can miss bats which is something Miley doesn't do even when he's at his best.

Edited September 30, 2019 by kevwun

[henrygandorf 29174]

if we like urquidy over miley as potential sp4 (and i can't see how we couldn't) then i don't think miley should be on the roster for the alds.  i just can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to bring him in.  if it's "long relief" and we're losing 8-1 then who gives a shit.  bring in peacock or james or whomever isn't in the grouping of relievers that come in when we're winning (which i assume is osuna, pressly, harris, and one more). 

[tx 3 putt 76159]

urquidy will be on the team next season, he needs to be on the playoff roster 

[elguapo 4583]

16 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

if we like urquidy over miley as potential sp4 (and i can't see how we couldn't) then i don't think miley should be on the roster for the alds.  i just can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to bring him in.  if it's "long relief" and we're losing 8-1 then who gives a shit.  bring in peacock or james or whomever isn't in the grouping of relievers that come in when we're winning (which i assume is osuna, pressly, harris, and one more). 

If Urquidy is the #4 I think the last spot would be down to Miley vs Rondon. If that's the choice I'd rather have Miley.

[henrygandorf 29174]

also i'm assuming devo will make the postseason roster.  i had noticed after a brutal august that he had settled in some in sept (10ip, 2er, whip under 1.00).  both those er were during an outing vs oak.

in fact, his last 4 outings vs oak/tb = 4.1ip, 9er (all in aug/sept).  if it comes down to miley vs devo, then maybe call mez.

[henrygandorf 29174]

1 minute ago, henrygandorf said:

also i'm assuming devo will make the postseason roster.  i had noticed after a brutal august that he had settled in some in sept (10ip, 2er, whip under 1.00).  both those er were during an outing vs oak.

in fact, his last 4 outings vs oak/tb = 4.1ip, 9er (all in aug/sept).  if it comes down to miley vs devo, then maybe call mez.

in response to the rondon option - i just did a similar look at his numbers vs oak/tb.  in his last 7.1ip vs oak/tb (mostly oak) he's gone scoreless.  he hasn't given up a run vs one of them since april 7th.

[Fudge Nuggets 19118]

44 minutes ago, elguapo said:

Can we talk ALDS roster?

I'm curious how many pitchers we carry and who gets the last couple spots. Will the #4 spot in the rotation be Miley or Urquidy, and do they both make the roster regardless? With Miley's disastrous September I'm kind of leaning Urquidy as the #4 to start the postseason with Miley as a long relief option.

As far as position players, I'm thinking Straw makes it and Toro doesn't.

Don’t forget Stubbs as the 3rd catcher since we carried three catchers the last two years. And before anyone loses their shit, yes I’m totally being sarcastic.

But I think Toro makes it unless Glass Pussy is currently pulling a John Madden and busing it back from Anaheim. We are going to have to win it without him. 

[TonyTexas 10478]

I think you have to have Toro as insurance for Correa. That will probably cost Tucker his spot.

Rondon is making it.

[Sbbruin 21697]

ESPN.com expert October rankings

1. Astros (No. 1 lineup | No. 1 pitching staff)

2. Dodgers (No. 3 lineup | No. 2 pitching)

That's gonna be tough.

[Mez2 4020]

42 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

also i'm assuming devo will make the postseason roster.  i had noticed after a brutal august that he had settled in some in sept (10ip, 2er, whip under 1.00).  both those er were during an outing vs oak.

in fact, his last 4 outings vs oak/tb = 4.1ip, 9er (all in aug/sept).  if it comes down to miley vs devo, then maybe call mez.

I'm ready

[Scraps 13531]

I think you have to have Toro as insurance for Correa. That will probably cost Tucker his spot.
Rondon is making it.

Toro doesn't need to be on the roster. He can be added if Correa gets hurt with only penalty being Correa cannot play in that current series or the following one

[UTexasFight 9369]

Do you want the A's or Rays in the ALDS? Why?

I’ve posted the following thoughts before, but A’s.
-I’m confident we’ll win either series but Rays I see going 4 or 5 games and A’s only 3 or 4…that’s especially true if Manaea starts the WC game.

-Would you rather: Glasnow, Snell, CFM, Chirinos or Fiers, Anderson, Manaea, Bailey?

-Also, I think the Rays bullpen is better (A’s are way overworked…Petit (80), Diekman (76), Hendriks (75) are the top 3 in appearances in the AL this year).

-Tropicana Field seems to be our little house of horrors over the years

-Rays are one of three AL teams that won the season series over us (Twins, White Sox are the other two. All three were 4-3)…and yes, this comes with a HUGE grain of salt as we’ve played the Rays a whopping 3 times in the final 158 games of the year.

[TonyTexas 10478]

Ausmus fired from Angels. Espada was a candidate last go round. Would rather not lose yet another bench coach.

[kevwun 15595]

They can take our assistant coaches, but they can never have our Luhnow.

[TonyTexas 10478]

Toro doesn't need to be on the roster. He can be added if Correa gets hurt with only penalty being Correa cannot play in that current series or the following one

True but that isn’t an ideal scenario for a “day to day” injury.

[kevwun 15595]

If Correa tweaks something again, he's not playing for the rest of the year so the next series penalty doesn't really matter.

Edited September 30, 2019 by kevwun

[Scraps 13531]

True but that isn’t an ideal scenario for a “day to day” injury.

Then Correa shouldn't be on the roster at all. You don't put Toro on unless you leave Correa completely off

[henrygandorf 29174]

the next 4 days will tell us all we need to know about correa, and in turn, the other needs on the alds roster.

he'll either start g1, or he won't be on the roster and we'll figure out what combination of diaz/toro/whomever will fill the need.

[HtownHorn 14446]

C -> Chirinos

1B -> Gurriel

2B -> Altuve

3B -> Bregman

SS -> Correa

LF -> Brantley

CF -> Springer

RF -> Reddick

DH -> Alvarez

Bench -> Maldonado, Diaz, Straw, Marisnick

SP -> Verlander, Cole, Greinke

CL -> Osuna

SU -> Pressly, Harris, Smith, Abreu

LR -> Peacock, James

That leaves 3 spots for Tucker, Toro, Miley, Urquidy, Rondon, and Devenski.

[runthebone 7929]

Here in the Bay Area, the A's fans are saying bring on the Astros.

 

It don't make a shit.

[tx 3 putt 76159]

20 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Ausmus fired from Angels. Espada was a candidate last go round. Would rather not lose yet another bench coach.

Maddon is going home 

[UTexasFight 9369]

Kaplan on the roster
Pretty much what has already been said. I don’t see the need to carry Miley if his only role is to eat innings a blowout but ILWT. (And presumably a blowout deficit... even if up 8, do you really go to Miley and let him turn it in to a 4 run game in an inning?

How do Correa’s back issues and (Wade) Miley’s continued struggles impact Houston’s ALDS roster, if at all? Do they keep (Abraham) Toro over (Myles) Straw or (Kyle) Tucker so that they have another infielder? (Bryan) Abreu or (Héctor) Rondón over Miley? What is the likelihood they use an opener in Game 4 and try to bring Miley or (Jose) Urquidy in for the middle innings? — Brian H.

Lots to unpack here. At least for now, I’m going to stick with my last ALDS roster projection, which we published on the day the Astros clinched the AL West.

Starting pitchers (4)
RHP Justin Verlander
RHP Gerrit Cole
RHP Zack Greinke
RHP Jose Urquidy

Relief pitchers (7)
RHP Roberto Osuna
RHP Ryan Pressly
RHP Will Harris
RHP Joe Smith
RHP Brad Peacock
RHP Josh James
LHP Wade Miley

Lineup
CF George Springer
2B José Altuve
LF Michael Brantley (L)
3B Alex Bregman
DH Yordan Alvarez (L)
1B Yuli Gurriel
SS Carlos Correa
C Robinson Chirinos
RF Josh Reddick (L)

Bench
3B/1B Aledmys Díaz
C Martín Maldonado
LF/RF Kyle Tucker (L)
CF Jake Marisnick
OF/SS Myles Straw

I probably would’ve left Miley off in favor of Rondón had general manager Jeff Luhnow not made it sound like the Astros will carry Urquidy and Miley to ensure they are protected on long-relief options during his Sunday pregame hit on the team’s radio broadcast.

Miley pitched so poorly down the stretch that he can’t be trusted to start a playoff game, and outside of eating innings in a blowout, I’m not sure he will have much of an actual role in the bullpen for a short series against the A’s or the Rays. The A’s Matt Olson is the only dangerous left-handed hitter between the two teams. And if Olson came up in a big situation late in a game, the Astros would surely turn to Pressly or Harris.

I still have Toro off the roster, though the Astros have to seriously consider him as infielder insurance, be it at the expense of Straw, Tucker or even Marisnick. Whether Toro is included will tell us a lot about how the Astros really feel about Correa’s status and their confidence in him contributing this October.

As for a potential Game 4 starter, I wrote more in depth about this situation last week, but the Astros’ three options are to (1) start Urquidy, (2) bring back Verlander on three days’ rest or (3) go with a bullpen game. Starting Urquidy is the most likely scenario. But if they were to go with a bullpen game, it wouldn’t necessarily have to be an opener to a long reliever. They could piece things together with their best relievers throwing an inning or two at a time and keep Verlander available on short rest to fill in the rest like in Game 4 of the 2017 ALDS in Boston.

 

[Jshep34 2303]

If CC cant man up for the postseason, then its time to say bye.

[Fudge Nuggets 19118]

3 minutes ago, Jshep34 said:

If CC cant man up for the postseason, then its time to say bye.

He couldn't man up for Opening Day, but yeah... this would be worse.

[Guadaloopy 10903]

1 minute ago, Jshep34 said:

If CC cant man up for the postseason, then its time to say bye.

I think he will.  That’s his brand.   Perform on the big stage.  If he can’t do it, he’s going to lose even more $$$ when free agency comes.   

[UTexasFight 9369]

If CC cant man up for the postseason, then its time to say bye.

 

 

...after 2021.

 

You rake him over the coals in arbitration. Pay him ~$10M next year and hope this back nonsense is a thing of the past by February.

That is unless someone comes knocking with a trade offer you can’t turn down.

 

Completely off the wall but would the Mets be willing to work a deal involving Thor?

 

 

[Ichabod 184]

Honestly, what will the Astros arbitration offer be for Correa, postseason results excluded?

[UTexasFight 9369]

And I know we all realize it indirectly, but can we again acknowledge what a ridiculous franchise Luhnow has developed?
Correa has participated in 60% of the Astros’ regular season games back to the start of 2017.
No biggie
Just averaging 103.7 wins per season in that span

[UTexasFight 9369]

Honestly, what will the Astros arbitration offer be for Correa, postseason results excluded?

From the same Kaplan Q&A referenced above...

He suspects $8-9M. I have no idea if that is realistic or not. Correa got $5M this year.

I wish I could not show up for work 54% of the time and double my salary next year

 

 

 

What do you make of Carlos Correa and his injury history? When he is NOT injured he has shown flashes of brilliance, especially defensively. What do the Astros do in the future with him? — Richard M.

 

It’s obviously a concerning trend for a former Rookie of the Year Award winner and All-Star Game starting shortstop who’s viewed as a generational talent. It’s reached the point where even when he is playing regularly and producing at an elite level, you just never know when the next thing is going to crop up with him. Even if he had played these final few regular-season games in Anaheim, I think there would have been skepticism about his ability to stay healthy throughout the playoffs.

 

If Correa gets through Wednesday’s and Thursday’s workouts at Minute Maid Park without issue, he should start at shortstop and bat seventh in Game 1 of the ALDS on Friday. If not, they have to at least consider omitting him from the roster completely. But for the Astros, the potential value Correa could add is worth exhausting every chance he’s available for any part of the five-game series.

 

If he’s active and his back issue flares up again during the series, they could probably afford to stash him on their bench, which is likely to have five players on it in the ALDS as opposed to four in the best-of-seven ALCS or World Series. Players who are injured during a postseason series can be replaced on the roster, but they are then also ruled out of participating in the following series. The Astros obviously don’t want that outcome.

 

The future beyond October is a different conversation. Will Correa’s persistent injury issues lead the Astros to move on in the offseason? I doubt it, though I don’t think anyone would be surprised if they at least explored the market. But do the Astros want to risk being the team that traded Correa and saw him put it all together for two full seasons elsewhere? I think it would be difficult for them to get back full value in such a blockbuster.

 

It’s natural to fixate on the future — the playoffs begin this week, and many of the questions submitted for this mailbag pertain to the offseason and beyond — but the reality is Correa isn’t making a huge dent in the team’s payroll. By missing so much time these last two seasons, he has cost himself a lot of money through the arbitration process. The Astros have relievers who make more than Correa right now. He made $5 million this season and could come in around $8 or $9 million next year.

 

All that is to say I’m not sure the Astros really have to do anything with Correa other than try to extract as much as they can from him in ’20 and ’21. Their best chance to win in the next two seasons will come with him as their shortstop. If he continues on this trajectory of playing 110 games or fewer on an annual basis, it would make a post-2021 free-agency decision pretty obvious for their front office. But Correa still has two seasons left before he hits the open market. That’s a long time for his career arc to change again.

 

 

 

[TonyTexas 10478]

Cole wins the AL Pitcher of the Month for the 3rd time this season.

Also, Correa deservedly catches a lot of grief but we can all concede that he is a good community guy.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13391]

3 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Cole wins the AL Pitcher of the Month for the 3rd time this season.

Also, Correa deservedly catches a lot of grief but we can all concede that he is a good community guy.

 

 

 

I know some people that have dealt with CC when he visits local hospitals. They all say that he is over the top friendly and will give everyone a picture or autograph even when he could easily slip away.

[tx 3 putt 76159]

im going to be talking shit when Correa is Alcs and World Series mvp !!!!

[tx 3 putt 76159]

1 minute ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I know some people that have dealt with CC when he visits local hospitals. They all say that he is over the top friendly and will give everyone a picture or autograph even when he could easily slip away.

He has a big drive every year to donate mattresses to needy families 

[rvm96 1643]

Feels bad man

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by rvm96

[UTexasFight 9369]

Nothing says “don’t let the door hit you...” like a cookie sheet cake, half eaten...

[Scraps 13531]

Dumb move by her.  She could have plenty of dudes and keep her career.  Dude must have a cock of gold.  

[Ichabod 184]

ALDS Game 1 1:05 first pitch

ALDS Game 2 8:05 first pitch

[tx 3 putt 76159]

whoa @ game 2 8:05 am 

wow 

[Scraps 13531]

ALDS Game 1 1:05 first pitch

Fucking imbeciles

 

[Amos Moses 795]

8 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Dumb move by her.  She could have plenty of dudes and keep her career.  Dude must have a cock of gold.  

She sucks.  And I don’t mean that in a good way.  Probably told (politely) to GTFO along with Stanton’s baseball.

[Scraps 13531]

ALDS Game 1 1:05 first pitch
ALDS Game 2 8:05 first pitch

Better question is where are you seeing this?

[Ichabod 184]

1 minute ago, Scraps said:

11 minutes ago, Ichabod said:

ALDS Game 1 1:05 first pitch
ALDS Game 2 8:05 first pitch

Better question is where are you seeing this?

Houston Astros Nation Facebook group (ducks)

[Scraps 13531]

Houston Astros Nation Facebook group (ducks)

Oh get the fuck out of here!

[UTexasFight 9369]

I can’t fathom they would have a playoff game potentially starting at 11am in the local time zone of one of the participating teams (Oakland).
Not believing this until I see a link

[Guadaloopy 10903]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

im going to be talking shit when Correa is Alcs and World Series mvp !!!!

This is going to happen.  

[cabowabo 4449]

Michelle was really starting to encroach on Julia's territory if you know what I mean....so it's probably best for all of us that she gone.

[TonyTexas 10478]

Give Atlanta the early slot, Astros the mid afternoon, Yankees early evening and LA the late game.

But I can see Fox wanting to alternate start times to eliminate the chance that the Astros game bleeds into the start of the Yankee game

 

[BornOrange 1441]

34 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

I can’t fathom they would have a playoff game potentially starting at 11am in the local time zone of one of the participating teams (Oakland).
Not believing this until I see a link

Maybe they know Tampa is going to win. 

Let's see if Joe West is the umpire.