Astros get swept: Four things after that awful mess

Wow.

Just wow.

The Rangers come to town and suddenly the 2013 Astros come out to play. I half expected to see Carlos Pena, Ronny Cedeno and Matt Pagnozzi in the lineup. I mean that was ugly.

So, did anything good come of losing three straight to the Rangers? Anything at all? Well, I think so. But maybe I haven’t taken off my rose-colored glasses yet. So I’ll let each of you decide.

1. The Astros are .500 for the month of May.

Yeah, it’s a plus. Look, going 15-7 in April was great, but if you thought the Astros would win more than two-thirds of their games each month you are insane. Now don’t get me wrong, the Astros can’t keep playing like they have over the last few days. But that team that was sweeping everyone wasn’t the real Astros either.

So May is probably the month where we find out if the Astros are for real. The opponents for the rest of the month include the Angels (currently 13-15), the Giants (14-14), A’s (12-17), Tigers (17-11), Orioles (12-13) and White Sox (10-14).

Now the optimist would say, “Hey, only one team above .500!” I, on the other hand, say, “Here’s a bunch of teams that are better than their records indicate. The Astros might just be the course correction these teams need.”

Finish the season month at .500, and this is a good sign.

2. Remaining .500 can happen with this rotation. No, really!

The Astros have lost one start by Dallas Keuchel this month. How many more times do you think that’ll happen? At worst, I’d say once. He’s got five more starts this month. Collin McHugh has five starts this month. McHugh isn’t quite as invincible as Keuchel, but let’s just say the Astros win three of this starts. That’d be a bad month for McHugh. There’s a minimum of seven wins. Scott Feldman is probably good for a couple of more decent games this month. Let’s say the Astros win two of his starts. Now Houston has nine more wins to go with the three it already has on the month.

That’s 12 wins I think the Astros can put in the bank. That’s out of 29 games. To finish the month without falling below .500 for May, the Astros will need to win 15 of the month’s 29 games. That means three wins from games started by games not named Keuchel, McHugh or Feldman. I think that’s doable. Heck, I think the Astros win four of McHugh’s starts. That means just two other wins are needed.

3. Rock bottom means there’s nowhere to go but up.

Over three games, Jose Altuve went 1-for-10. Marwin Gonzalez went 2-for-10. The Astros had seven extra-base hits over three games. Heck, that’s ridiculously low. Basically, that offense that took a break against the Rangers won’t be taking the day off every game. I’m pretty sure the bats have rested enough to start hitting again. And I’m sure whatever overconfidence was going to the Astros’ heads is long gone.

4. Changes are about to come.

This goes back a few starts, but I think Sam Deduno‘s time in the rotation will shortly come to an end. Does that mean Brett Oberholtzer or Mark Appel? Maybe Tommy Shirley finally gets that chance he deserves. And I don’t think the changes stop at the back-end of the rotation.

Jonathan Villar has to go. Maybe Ronald Torreyes comes up. Maybe it’s time to see Nolan Fontana. If a roster move needs to be made, I think the Astros could do without Luis Cruz. Besides, when Preston Tucker catches fire over the next week, I think Luhnow will decide it’s time to harvest the farm.

Some Questions:

  • Do you take anything positive out of getting swept by the Rangers?
  • What is the biggest negative from the last three games?
  • Now that Preston Tucker is about to take the world be storm, what other farmhand do you want to see? And you can’t say “Carlos Correa” because that’s cheating. Plus, Luhnow has indicated that’s not going to happen this month.
  • If a spot needs to be opened up on the 40-man roster to move a player up, who do you waive?
  • If a spot needs to be opened up because Preston Tucker is awesome, who do you move off the 25-man roster once Springer is back?
  • Is .500 for May possible?  Probable?

 

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102 responses to “Astros get swept: Four things after that awful mess”

  1. Brian, I just typed a semi long winded, pre coffee post about the present state of things on yesterdays page. Wish I knew how to slide it over!

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    • I read it, but didn’t comment thinking we’ve moved on and those comments are lost to the ether. What I wanted to say, however, is my only concern on Keuchel is overuse. We had two games (against TEX no less) where the offense didn’t support him and Hinch ran him out for inning #8 where the lead was lost. I’m not suggesting he can’t pitch that deep or even complete games, but frequently doing so in high stress situations may wear him down a bit. Taking the long view, especially while our bullpen is effective, I want to keep him fresh and get the whole season of good Keuchel. In other words, wake up offense and support him more!

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  3. From DAVEB
    So the cat is out of the bag. I know I’m not the only one who was suspect about the rotation. Let’s face it, there is no way Keuchel can remain quite as effective as he has been. McHugh? Let’s hope. But I expect that Feldman and Hernandez will give us about career average. That’s a 4.50 plus ERA. Back of rotation stuff, if they both remain healthy. Thankfully, Oberholtzer had an excellent outing last night, but we’re going to need someone in town this weekend. I hope we’re not moving into a revolving door type situation. I’m sure not looking forward to Dan Straily. And is Oberholtzer really the answer long term?

    I continue to be chagrined in another respect. Foltynewciz won his second start in as many tries last night. He remains a work in progress, but he did get into the 6th with just two runs on the board before leaving a couple of guys behind that eventually scored. And yes of course, Gattis has given us six dingers and a batch of RBI’s along with his .226 OBP. But again, we gave up on yet another live young arm after just 18.2 major league innings in 2014 with us, for a DH, a guy who can’t ever pinch run or be given a glove to play out in the field. And of course we also gave up on a pretty good pitching prospect in A+ ball and a talented 20 year old third baseman.

    That Gattis guy might help for now, but is he really part of the plan? There’s that Tucker kid coming in tonight. Couldn’t we have kept Foltynewicz et al and just used Preston, that talented lefty hitter who can play a bit of outfield as our DH? That’s why this plan thing keeps getting me flummoxed.

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    • Can’t worry about that now. Just focus on what’s here. Proverbial crying over spilled milk. Plus, still not a bad deal – Gattis has won a few games for us, and will over the season plus. He can still be trade bait as needed.

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      • Welcome Syd,

        We don’t worry here about what has already happened, but we’re certainly still allowed to discuss it. Hopefully you caught my larger point. Do you think there really is a plan in place, or do you think it changes as opportunities/disasters become present themselves?

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      • Indeed. Gattis kept that 10-game streak alive by driving in runs. Sometimes by grounding out or flying out.

        And no, Gattis isn’t a long-term solution, but no one knew Tucker would look this awesome. And, frankly, he still hasn’t hit any major league pitching. Without Gattis we probably start the season with Carter at DH and Singleton at first base. And Villar looks more like our best answer for the last spot on the roster rather than the mistake he is.

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    • I am going to agree with Devin that Gattis could be our long-term answer at DH. Between Gattis and Carter I think it is much more likely that Carter goes. Also, Folty is a work in progress still and one that may not work. Chip has mentioned the 40-man bottleneck several times so some players had to be moved. I am in the minority, but I still don’t see Folty becoming more than a decent #3. I think Cosart has much more upside, but I won’t lament his loss as it got us quite a haul.

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    • Don’t know how to reply to Daveb in response to your question on the board, so I’ll put it here.
      One can have a plan in place, which of course we do, but plans can change as ours did. Not an either/or situation. I didn’t like trade more so because of Ruiz rather than Folty. But it is what it is – I just don’t like to rehash things that cannot be affected by discussion other than “woe are we”. Generally just pushes out negativity.

      On go forward, it’s been shown over the last three nights that we aren’t what we were in April, but we are also not as bad as we’ve seen against Rangers. I’m more concerned with our batting coach and what he seems to have done to our hitters. Even Marisnick notes how Mallee changed him – following what he did for JD. While we can’t go back and undo that, we can changed that on go forward. Hope it happens.

      Hope I answered your question. Been following Chip for long time, since the _ _ _ _ days. I read this every day, and understand opinions etc. Just frustrates me when folks talk about the ones we let get away, rather than what we hope for in the future. While both illusory, the future bodes better than the past.

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  4. Thoughts
    – OK, raise your hand if you thought the Astros would have the best record in the AL at 18-10 and a 5 game lead in the division at this point. It is all perspective.
    – No I don’t think they are / were an 18-7 team and I don’t think they are a 70-92 team either.
    – Certainly, they will have some stinker starts – like they had with Feldman and Deduno – but they do not need to over-use the relievers.I guess that is why Hinch let Deduno take 10 runs against the old ERA.
    – It hurts to not have one of their more consistent batters out of the lineup in Lowrie. Having Villar here just weakens them – period.

    ■Do you take anything positive out of getting swept by the Rangers?
    Well – nobody died…. To me it would have been positive if after 2 losses they pulled themselves together and won the get-away game.
    ■What is the biggest negative from the last three games?
    Bad bad pitching on the back end of the rotation is the biggest negative followed closely by the up/down offense going legs up on them.
    ■Now that Preston Tucker is about to take the world be storm, what other farmhand do you want to see?
    OK – even though he has not been very good – I’d like to see Appel up here. Heck it is a pipe dream but I’d love to see McCullers up here. But I think we will get Obie, which might help stop the bleeding from the 5th spot.
    ■If a spot needs to be opened up on the 40-man roster to move a player up, who do you waive?
    Villar or Dominguez
    ■If a spot needs to be opened up because Preston Tucker is awesome, who do you move off the 25-man roster once Springer is back?
    I think then you have to cut back on the 9 man bullpen, because you need an infielder on the bench – but that gets tough – Deduno if Obie is ready? I mean everyone else has been pitching well out of the pen – Deduno has been good out of the pen – not good as a 5th starter.
    ■Is .500 for May possible? Probable?
    I think they will end up May a game or two under .500 for the month. Water finding its level

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  5. 1. Actually game #1 was winnable except for a senior moment by Conger. 2. Everyone swinging for a game winning HR when down by 4+ runs. 3. 9 K’s/game is 1458 in a season. 3. Come on, BT. That is like saying what is your favorite meat in a hamburger and you can’t say “Beef.” 4. See DanP above,, but I would insert “Both.” 5. That “flexibility” is getting down to MarGo. I would hope that Villar is gone prior to Springer’s return. 6. This still looks like a .500 +/- team to me. But those solo HRs don’t help unless at home in extra innings. Extra: Many wrote back in ST that we had a decent team but if injuries happened, we were thin on replacements. We lost a SS and a couple of “maybe” 4th or 5th SPs and that lack of depth showed up quick. And the worst thing I saw in the past two games was the “pitch pattern.” When you see the catcher’s mitt move 12-18 inches on most pitches – there is no “command.” That was showing up more times than not.

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  6. Biggest negative is Springer getting hurt. Close behind is that we saw the consequences of trading away so many young pitchers. Hopefully they are not seriously planning on calling up Tucker and not playing him as a starter. Until Springer is back, I would like to see JFSF, Rasmus, and Tucker in the outfield every night. I’m tired of watching Robbie watch. And yes, it will take Tucker time to adjust even though he is on a hot streak. I want to see Correa up now, not later. Money be damned. If the secret plan works and Astros are consistent playoff team starting this year or next, there will be plenty of revenue to pay players by the time they are in arbitration.

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  7. Obie’s start last night was encouraging. With the off day on Monday we don’t need a 5th starter this time through the rotation so he could get another rehab start to prove he is for real. If he displaces Deduno in the rotation simply send Chapman back down. No compelling need for three lefties in the bullpen. The intriguing decision will be what to do when Springer comes back. If Tucker is good send Grossman to Fresno. Tucker is probably as good an outfielder as Grossman and almost certainly a better hitter. But then what to do with Tucker. I would rather try to find a way to give him Carter’s at bats. Perhaps now is the time for Gattis to start breaking in a first baseman’s mitt.

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    • I really wish they had given Tucker some work at 1B in Fresno. That would have solved all our problems once Springer is back and healthy.

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  8. On the worst night of the Astros’ season, all four Astros minor league teams just crush their opponents, and Tucker didn’t play and Correa went 0 for 4. Baseball is as predictable as the weather.
    I mean Lancaster and Reed have been comatose for about two weeks. So last night they score 18 runs and he hits three home runs.
    Ober must have been floating around in heaven for two months because last night he shows up on earth and pitches like an angel. Tucker gets called up to the majors and suddenly Singleton decides to show up and actually hit the ball.
    Baseball is weird.

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      • Lots of things:
        Hitting at sea level vs Lancaster
        Terrible hitting slump with no contact.
        Bad luck when he does make contact(tiny BABIP)
        A bad hitting tool( it was always his lowest prospective grade) running into much better pitching in the Texas league.
        But most of all, he might be in the middle of making some swing adjustments that he isn’t capable of making or that he should have tried in A ball.. AA may be his brick wall.
        Maybe he breaks out of it and goes on a tear. Ovando never broke out of it. We’ll just have to see.

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    • It is bizarre Kevin – Teoscar hit pretty well at AA at the end of last season and then he starts off this season in a death spiral

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    • To add to 1OP note about “weird baseball.” We traded Lowrie because he was brittle and got three top prospects. We reversed the trade by spending $22 Mill. And after two years of (154 & 136 games), he gets hurt back here. Roseanne Roseannadanna: “It just goes to show that you never know.”

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  9. Pitching, pitching pitching whatever it takes trade, moving people up, sound like a broken record. That was just Horrible/ugly 3 games. As Ashby said last night,”have we somehow crossed into another dimension, where did the Astros go” ? To which Brownie said I thought i saw Rod Serling in the hot dog line. It made me laugh.

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  10. *The positive I take out of the Ranger’s series is that it was three games instead of four. The Astros head for the road, where the streak got going in the first place.
    *The biggest negative from the last three games is that other teams have seen how to get Altuve and Marisnick out.
    *Tony Kemp
    *I’m sorry to say this but if they have to bring a player up and waive someone, I look at the 40-man and think they activate Ober and waive Deduno. Weighing age, salary, the fact that he was a waiver claim, and that 88 mph fastball, I just think you have to sacrifice what he provides versus getting a starting pitcher back.
    * If you need a spot opened up for Tucker when Springer returns, you pretty much have to option out your fifth outfielder, Robbie Grossman, whose batting line is .159 BA, .245 OBP, 273 SLG. Then Robbie can go to AAA and wreak havoc like he does when he gets sent down every spring, and he will be available to do his second half thing later.
    *Is .500 possible for May? Yes. Probable? No, because of percentages involving April.

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  11. OP, I like Kemp, but he can’t play SS. We need someone who can slide in at short when MarGo needs a break or heads over to first base.

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    • I never said Kemp could play SS! The question says “forget Correa, what other player do you want to see?
      I want players who can help us win. Kemp has helped his teams win everywhere he has played. He makes things happen. I want to see things happen for the Astros, other than long walks back to the dugout.

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      • I would personally love to see us trade Evan Gattis for upper level pitching [better than we gave up for him????], and Carter and Conger for a good-looking catching prospect and two lower level, high potential, power pitchers. I would eventually like to see Kemp [LHB] and Altuve alternate at DH and 2B (maybe next year). The game plan for the future is OBP and hustle for me. We will still have Springer [when he returns], Valbuena, Marisnick, Tucker and Rasmus/Lowrie, and Correa to provide the pop.

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      • Bill, obviously I’d trade Gattis for pitching, but how much are we going to get for him? As far as Altuve goes, I think he’d go nuts DH’ing even part time.

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  12. Brian, I don’t think there was anything positive about the series, but Springer could have been hurt much worse. He’s fearless, but he’s got to learn to back off some of those plays for game savers in October.

    Already discussed…..the biggest negative is our rotation. That’s a tough thing to fix overnight. On the bright side of things, we might get a chance to see what Appel can do, sooner than later. I think he needs more work though.

    Okay, I won’t say that I want to see Correa. But I will say that I want to see Fontana, Sclafani and Torreyes playing everyday in Fresno. Let’s find out what these guys can do and have the best of them ready if needed.

    I have no problem in moving Hoes or Villar off the 40. And even Grossman if need be. I think Deduno gets to stay for now simply because we do not have enough long arms.

    If Tucker hits, then Grossman has to go. Hopefully, Villar will be making room for our new shortstop.

    Is .500 possible for May? Sure, if everyone pitches like they were during the streak. But lets face it, Keuchel and McHugh, if they are blessed with good health and get 30 plus starts each, will win about half of them, give or take a couple. We’ll be finding out how good the pen is pretty soon. Qualls concerns me. But we’ve also got three other rotation slots that are at least somewhat of a question mark. That’s not a good position to be in so early.

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  13. Areas on the 40-man we need to update sooner or later, in my order of priorities:

    1. Matt Dominguez – does anybody still see Matty coming back – under any circumstances?
    2. Jonathan Villar – that ship has sailed – and sunk, and cannot be redeemed
    3. L.J. Hoes – an emergency injury OF fill-in maybe; otherwise, not going to cut it
    4. Ronald Torreyes – With Correa, Fontana, Sclafani and Kemp in the stable, really?
    5. Possibly Luis Cruz [he’s a lefty pitcher, it is true, but so far he’s hit a wall at AAA]
    6. Asher Wojo – almost exclusively a fly ball pitcher; he could be a decent pitcher for someone with a pitcher’s park, but is just not a fit for MMP; he needs to be traded to a team with a park that maximizes his talent

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  17. I don’t watch MiLB so I am only looking at stats. However, Stassi is not hitting well. Heineman is having a better AA ball year two, and so is Pena in just a few games. So right now, all of that “trade Castro” has to be put aside. And we get to see Carlos Perez but wearing the wrong uniform. The lesson here is you never have too many catcher prospects and you certainly NEVER have too many pitching prospects.

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    • Just for the record, I would not trade Castro. I would, however, trade Hank [or is it now ‘Matt’?] Conger if someone wanted him.

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      • Hey in my mind I thought he was a Matt not a Hank – I have my AARP card – I have earned my senior moment.

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    • There is a silver lining. Heineman and Pena are both throwing out would-be-stealers at a great rate. They are both hitting well and one hits better against lefties and one hits better against righties. They are both young and they are both currently hitting better in CC than they did in Lancaster.
      How about we just wait and pray and hope that they work out our future catcher problems for us.
      I feel better already. 1oldpro, just focus on the positive, just look at the bright side, just look at that half full glass.
      Starry, Starry Night……..

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      • I want to affirm you in your new, more positive persona, OP1. But I need to warn you, it is rumored that Jacques Clouseau will be at tonight’s game – after all, the game is in L.A.]. If you see him appear on your television screen, promise you will not go all Former Inspector Dreyfus on Mrs Old Pro, okay? If you have forgotten what I mean, this is your game prep film:

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  18. The immediate need isn’t about Tucker. He won’t outperform Springer anyway.

    The immediate problem is finding pitchers that won’t put us out of a game by the 4th. Deduno, Wojo, are not getting it done. Feldman has added two awful starts of his own in there. We simply can’t find ourselves 5 runs down in the 5th inning this often. We know the offense will be streaky, but I’ll argue that even when it’s slumpy, like they started the year, the team can play .500 ball and wait for the bats to warm back up, but we can’t even play .500 with a slumpy offense if Deduno is going to give up 10 runs in 4 innings.

    The Conger trade looks worse and worse everyday. Perez was probably a very competent guy to keep as your back up catcher. Tropeano would be outperforming anything else we have tried in the second half of the rotation. As good as our record is it maybe a game or two better if Trop had made those starts from Wojo or Deduno – and I am very concerned with where this rotation goes if Feldman continues to jekyll and hyde it. I could very well see us finishing May 5 games under .500 given the schedule and some of the pitching matchups we will face.

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    • I’m less concerned about the Conger trade being a bad one, than I am that the Astros brass might not think it was a bad one. Luhnow has a habit of surrounding himself with bobbleheads who might think that the Conger deal is a good one simply because Luhnow is the guy who made the deal. Luhnow is the guy who serves an Oreo at an office party and all his employees rave about his “Downsized Chocolate Cake”.

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  22. Nothing ever surprises me totally, though I’ve given up on Matt Dominguez at his age as compared to Torreyes at his age.
    I guess that signals that Correa is coming to AAA?

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  23. Well, if Valbuena was to go down with a significant injury, I guess the experts still think Dominguez has more value than a Torreyes. I’d have almost been pleased if they had let Sclafani go.

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    • I’m still unclear – doesn’t Torreyes get 72 hours to clear waivers and stay in our system but off the 40? Why promote Moon from A+ to AA to AAA… Or was that a joke?

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      • Nope, Moon is in the transactions as going to Fresno. Hey, could be a temporary move since Springer is on the 7-day DL. Corpus, Fresno and Astros’ rosters are in flux right now with all the injury issues.

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  28. I’m sitting here wondering why Valbuena who is hopeless against lefties is batting 2nd and he grounds into abdouble play.

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  30. We have 4 LH batters in our lineup against LH Santiago. I am assuming the numbers show Santiago doesn’t dominate LH batters.

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  31. Astros are 8-8 at home and 10-2 on the road. Are our streaky power hitters vulnerable at MM? Or are our pitchers?

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  35. Correa finished the night with 2 for 3, a double, a home run, a walk, and all three of CC’s rbis in a 3-1 win. He stole his 14th base in 14 tries tonight.
    Couldn’t we use a guy like that in our lineup. Correa finishes the night hitting .390 and leading the league in everything except OBP and he’s close in that.
    John Kemmer had a night to forget for CC as he had two Ks and 2 GIDP in 4 ABs.

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  39. Great rally in the ninth. Marisnick gets a huge hit, Tucker gets a huge hit and Altuve knocks in the lead run by flying to first base and beating the throw. Gregerson was perfect in the ninth and Houston’s lead in the AL West is six games.
    Let’s get another prospect up here who can hit.

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  42. I went to bed right after Calhoun got the hit to make it 2-0. I am pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning and see the Astros rallied in the 9th. That is a very nice win to stop the bleeding and keep the losing streak from spiraling out of control.

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    • I did the same and agree! This is why the team is worth following in 2015 – they actually play hard until the last out is in the books.

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  43. Good morning.
    Coffee – check.
    Storm damage investigation (all is well) – check.
    Astros boxscore [after going to bed with Astros being 1-hit and shut-out] – YES!

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  44. Good to see we had some good pitching last night in the lower to mid minors. McCullers was lights out once again for Corpus – 5 IP, O Runs 3 Hits, 3 BB and 9 Ks. And Brian Holmes was absolutely nails for Lancaster – 6IP O Runs 2H 1BB 10 Ks

    Meanwhile Quad City is now 22-6. Yes, you read that correctly.

    Alas, Fresno’s starters continue to stumble, but at least last night the offense covered them.

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    • Quad Cities had a 2-0 shutout, so they had good pitching, too. Kevin Comer’s last 11 batters faced were nine strikeouts a HBP and a BB. He gave up two bunt singles and a double in four shutout innings.

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  45. I don’t think there is much of anything etched in stone for the Astros’ picks in this year’s draft. I went to a mock draft database and the first 13 mock drafts listed had thirteen different combinations of the Astros top 2 picks, and they must have included at least a dozen different players.

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  46. We just can’t say enough good things about our minor league system – especially AA and below. If we take care of these guys, and keep them in the stable, this team should be really good for a long time.

    As far as the major league team goes, Jose Altuve is an absolute delight to watch. I just call him ‘Stands With Fist. It has been a long time since the ‘Stros had a position player who has the kind of positive energy and game-changing impact as he does. Biggio and Bagwell had something like it when they played together, but Jose right now has to pretty much do it alone. Perhaps one day soon he and Correa and/or Marisnick and Springer can team up together with dynamic synergy and once again provide ‘Stros fans the kind of combo of which baseball legends are made.

    And finally, welcome to the Big Leagues, #20. You are a sight for sore eyes! Way to stay under control and pick up your team! May you wear that number for the Astros a long, long time, young man!

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  47. Laying in bed last night with my wife , we were out so we just watched the 8th and 9th inning, and when Tucker got his first hit and RBI, I yelled out OP must be dancing in the street, my wife whats an OP. WHAT (-:

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    • Kevin, it was so weird. I reacted like his father did. After following his career so close since he was drafted, I had this sense of joy for him but it was not euphoria. It felt like another piece of the puzzle we have been working on for the future had fallen into it’s place.
      Tucker is the first Luhnow/Astro draftee to make it to the bigs and he did everyone proud. I’m sure he was more nervous standing out in the outfield than he was in the batter’s box. He got a bird’s eye view of a Mike Trout home run in his very first inning in the majors. He must have had a wonderful day on the first day of his new job.

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      • Yupper it was a great moment for him, his dad did crack me up and he didn’t K did he? So lets say je has a sold week, Springer is back, what in The Wide World of Sports do we do? Him and Ramus are both lefties.

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      • Well, that is an interesting question. Every season of his professional career Preston Tucker has hit LH pitchers better than RH pitchers. That is a very rare commodity, which adds greatly to his value as a DH. Now, that could change in the majors but is a lot less likely to happen based upon his consistent history.
        That gives the Astros some flexibility that other LH batters don’t provide, so we will have to see how this plays out.
        I always thought that if Rasmus played well and Tucker had a good year in Fresno, that Rasmus could be moved and Tucker brought up to take his place, but now I guess I would like to see them both here and Grossman sent down because he is not hitting very well, which limits him as a legit bat off the bench.
        But somehow, some way, the Astros need to figure out how to get the .200 and below hitters out of their lineup! By the way, the Astros have four regulars in their lineup who are hitting below .150 w/RISP, and they are Springer, Carter, Castro and Valbuena. They had better find a way to fix that because those guys are being used in the meat of the order and are not getting the job done.

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