FREE BLOG WEEKEND!!!

One of our most loyal bloggers, Becky, requested a free blog weekend and we are nothing if not responsive to our loyal friends.

This is a Chip Bailey tradition started as a blog version of open line Friday on the radio.  The normal post has a theme – not this time.

Do you think Bo Porter should already be gone? Make your case. You want to hark back to a better Astros’ times (wait – that would be any year in their history)? Be my guest. You think that hangings too good for Jim Crane? Let it rip.

I will gladly throw out a couple ideas – but this is not a time to limit the conversation – this is a time to expand it fully.

The Free Agent signings have gotten really quiet out there, but according to baseball-reference.com there are tons of FAs still unsigned. Some still have a pulse.

(Note if you go to this site – the FA batters that have signed are shown first – followed by the FA pitchers that have signed – you have to scroll down to find the FA batters and pitchers still available)

Are the Astros done? If not who should they be chasing?

Second idea – who is the Astro most likely to start the season in the starting lineup and not end the season in the starting lineup? Brett Wallace? Jonathan Villar?

Or write about anything your heart desires. Just keep it clean and do not attack each other (or me) in a nasty way no matter how tempting it may be.

It is your turn – Lights, Camera, Action!

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25 responses to “FREE BLOG WEEKEND!!!”

  1. Michael Young is still unsigned…interesting. Okay, not really.

    You know what? Not really anybody I’m ga ga over in Free Agent land. We do need to get a backup SS, though.

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    • It is interesting to see the FA list – it shows that post – steroids – the league no longer values the “aged”.
      So Billy C – anything you want to vent about at this time?

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    • The market for backup catchers is likely not as strong as we would like. I suspect the Astros would rather wait to see if Stassi is really ready to make the jump from AA to MLB. They may prefer to get him more at-bats at OKC than have him platoon with Castro.

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    • Maybe there will be an opportunity to trade Corporan during spring training if someone goes down on another team.
      I’m sure they really did not want to bring up Stassi last year – just an emergency situation – but he sure was playing well in the minors.

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  3. Just want to add that the 2014 edition should win more games than last year. However, how many team lose almost all of the September games? That being said, I don’t see how the Astros compete without money, which means without a decent TV deal. Don’t want to sound like Bopert Jr. – but it takes cash to compete in MLB. In the absence, we are cellar dwellers. As to the FAs left – really hard to get too excited about any of them.

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    • Astro45 – I will go back to my well – the Rays and the A’s have shown that you don’t have to spend a ton to compete – but you do have to spend more than the Astros.

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  4. Bo is in the midst of a 15 game losing streak. If the 2014 version of our Astros settles in on a pace to lose 100 again, Bo will be gone by the All Star break.

    If his shoulder is not shot, I’d like to see Tommy Hanson get signed. At 27, he’s just a couple of year away from some pretty good stats.

    I would not move Corporan. If Castro goes down, it’s Corporan and Stassi. No other readily available options in the system. Perez is solid behind the plate, but he hit a very soft .269 in OKC.

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    • The end of 2013 was discouraging because the last few years there was at least some spark happening at the end of each season. This was just a mess.
      The other thing they can do is move Castro to 1B, give C to Stassi and Corporan and trade Wallace….

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    • Oh – I am also in favor of Hanson – you had mentioned him before and he fits the definition of a decent risk if there is any cartilage left there. Good age and good background coming from the Braves organization.

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    • i agree we need to hold on to corporan. stassi could use some more seasoning and if there is an injury we will need the depth.

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  5. OK, Dan, since you asked, yes Bo should already be gone.
    I’m waiting to see if ” the base – running- amuck” continues with new coaches. I still believe a lot of the blame for that goes to Bo and not the individual players. We will soon see.

    I don’t see any FAs out there worth spending the money on. Would rather see them start bringing on the kids.

    ….and yes, Bo is right about the TV deal. They must get one in place or they are doomed.

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    • I don’t think a modern stats guy like Luhnow is going to have patience with Porter with running guys off of the bases. Of course that is just one problem with the team and talent / experience is the first problem which is not Porter’s fault.
      There might be a FA or two worth picking up if just in case they bounce back from injury like Hanson (see daveb above).
      TV deal needs to get settled.

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  6. I don’t mind aggressive base-running; hell, I grew up as a fan of the Astros and Cardinals in the 80s. It’s when the guys doing the running are bad at it (see: Barnes, Brandon) that I have an issue with it.

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    • The problem we had Billy is that some guys were so bad – Barnes and Grossman were particularly bad around 50% that they made guys who did not have an acceptable % (like Altuve and Villar) look good. You have to be at 75% or higher and they were bad as a team.

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      • Dan, on a normal team, I think 82% success rate is the mark where stealing bases becomes fully efficient. On a terribad team like the 2012/2013 Astros that would have struggled to reach base against the Juniors USA team the caught stealings were magnified. My concern is that Porter thought they needed to be aggressive and therefore was willing to gamble when the deck was stacked against him. To take it a step further, playing solid, fundamental baseball will keep any team close to .500. Giving away games with bone-headed mental mistakes, record setting strikeout totals, and bad base running will keep you around a 33% win percentage. If those areas don’t all show improvement by the end of May I’d be shocked to see Porter make it past the All Star break.

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  8. Mistake-free baseball…would be nice, wouldn’t it? Last year’s Astros were much like this year’s Texans..stupid, boneheaded mistakes that cost more games than should be humanly possible. Complete lack of discipline and ability to follow the simple fundamentals that should be ingrained long before the pros. This team HAS to be better than last year. Payroll or not, there’s no way that could happen again, right?

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    • Well at least the Astros had an excuse that the Texans did not have – not a lot of talent and hardly any experience. I bet going into the 2013 season the average Astro who played may have been right at 1 year experience (most of which were players who were sent packing).

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  9. DAAANG…….I gave up after Friday, and we took off to the casino!
    Sorry I’m so late to the party! Yeah…….the base running has GOT to improve, and like Dave, I’d like to see Tommy Hanson get a shot to
    return to his old self. As for the catching situation……I don’t see
    Luhnow moving Corporan any time soon. Will Bo keep his job? I think
    his “rah-rah-ree” is wearing thin on these guys. So unless this team gets a good start to the season…….(something they have not done in 10yrs.)
    Bo will be skating on thin ice. The Astros are getting a bad reputation around baseball, as a team who fires their managers more than most people take a bath. NOT a good example of how to keep your players
    motivated. Crane has been out of the “news” lately, and I’ve heard NADA about a new T.V. deal. Personally, I think Villar AND Wallace will
    be in the line-up on opening day………Wallace *IS* going to get traded
    sooner, rather than later. Free agent market has been quiet because of the Tanaka circus, and when he gets signed, the rest of the remaining
    guys will get moved. Steven Drew *sigh*……….

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