Free Blog Weekend: Astros’ needs and not needs for September

It’s the first Friday of the stretch run and the Astros have plenty of needs and “needs not”. Let’s take a look at a few.

The needs.

George Springer.

Houston need another Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the lineup. Springer could be activated Friday and needs to spring out of the gate to provide extra punch and a spark. Assuming manager A.J. Hinch slots him into the two-hole, a front-end lineup of Altuve, Springer and Correa could set the table for an assortment of middle order guys and jump-start the Astros’ offense.

Offense.

The aforementioned offense must get jump started. Duh. Pitching has carried the team for most of the season but the offense is what could put away the division title for Houston. Springer at the top, but Evan Gattis, Jed Lowrie and Carlos Gomez need to pick up their games over the next 28 games if Houston is to stay in the battle.

Home and Away.

The Astros need to make hay in the remaining 12 home games. Minute Maid has been a haven of sorts for the Astros, where they are 46-23. With 16 road games (27-38), all against West Division teams, the home and away schedule is not in the Astros’ favor.

 

The needs not.

Pitching.

Dallas Keuchel and company must keep the streak going. Yes, starting pitching is the difference in the season and the rotation cannot crash and burn now. Hinch has several options if one is hurt or fails, but Keuchel, Collin McHugh and Scott Kazmir must be playoff level down the stretch.

Injuries.

Springer’s injury-prone status is legendary, even at his young age. Correa has already been down this year for a few games and missed the last part of 2013 with a freak injury. Altuve, Springer and Correa are vital to the team, but so are Gattis, Lowrie, Gomez and a few others. The Astros are still thin in depth — at least valuable depth — and can ill afford a major injury this month.

Luck.

Every division has some luck along the way. The Rangers are hot and the Angels are, well, the Angels. Many onlookers might suggest the Astros have already had plenty of luck. But good teams tend to get lucky at the right time. Jeff Luhnow, Hinch and the staff are counting on their share of it in September.

What else do you see on the Astros’ needs and not needs list, if they are expected to win the division or even back into the playoffs through the Wild Card?

 

 

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86 responses to “Free Blog Weekend: Astros’ needs and not needs for September”

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  1. Needs
    – They need Jason Castro back – complain as we may about his anemic offense, but his handling of the pitchers and his defense is missed (badly).
    – Bullpen consistency – especially from the left side. The bullpen has been good to great most of the season. Neshek has had a few struggles lately, Sipp has been up and down all year and Oliver Perez pitches batting practice if the hitter is a righty.
    – A couple “other” guys to get hot (beyond the top of the lineup). Gattis has heated up lately, but they really need one or two others to get on a roll.

    Not needs
    – No more injuries. They are not a deep club and cannot afford to get hit in the jaw anymore this season
    – Any of the young guys to wake up and realize they are in a tight pennant race
    – They don’t need the Rangers to keep playing over their heads. They are 23-10 since late July. On top of that their Pythagorean record is 64-68 – which means through luck, serendipity or whatever they are playing at a 64-68 level, but their record is actually 70-62. They need Lady Luck to spit on the Arlington team down the stretch.

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  2. I am personally not counting on Carlos Gomez for anything but occasional flashy defense and the instigation – along with Conger – of a few bench-clearing brawls. Go-Go has not stepped up to the plate for us so far. He has let us down when we desperately needed a big bat in the middle of the order to step up in Springer’s absence. I was skeptical when he was brought in, but I was willing to be wowed. I haven’t been. It appears it just not in him to carry this team – or even be of any substantial assistance in this stretch run. At least Fiers has been good.

    What I am counting on at this point is a big offensive push from Jed Lowrie and Preston Tucker – to go with what we have come to expect from Altuve, Correa and Springer. I am counting on occasional contribution from Gattis and Marwin Gonzales. And I am counting on Hinch putting Hank Conger back on the bench where he belongs. If Castro is not ready, give Stassi a shot. If Stassi can’t cut it, call up Heineman. But to have a chance the rest of the way we simply have to get out from underneath our two albatrosses – Carter and Conger. And we need one more bat. Rethink Tyler White, Jeff.

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  3. Needs:
    SPRINGER to do the things he was doing offensively when he was first called up last season.
    The bullpen needs to be better. We need those guys to pitch like they did earlier in the season.
    Kazmir needs to step up and be the pitcher we thought we were trading for.
    Gomez also needs to justify the steep price in prospects we paid for him.

    The next 3-4 weeks are going to be so fun to watch. Hopefully we will take the division. Really don’t want to have to hear all the Arlington fans talk all offseason if they somehow win the division.
    Keep up the great work Chip, Dan, and Brian. It’s always great to daily read the blog and all the comments!

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    • Robert, I don’t know if fun is the appropriate word for the next few weeks.
      April – August was fun. Watching the Astros in a pennant race is like watching the ninth inning of a no-hitter.

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  4. Ok Ill be a broken record, Conger my God is he really in the majors and we gave up who for him, He, Crater, Villerrror, need to stay on the Pine,, I still think Gomez will break out, Bullpen pretty much sucked against Seattle UGH, we cant afford that right now. Who ever we need 3 dudes to get hot for 2 weeks, get us some breathing room here. Also what 8 million people in the Houston area and we get 50,000 to 3 games in a pennant race, That socked the Hell out of me, a full MM would help a bit.

    We need to sweep the twinkies and the angels sweep the rangers!!

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  5. And il be the second broken record. Jeez, how stupid can Hinch/ Luhnow be?
    Conger and Carter are the weights pulling this sinking ship down.

    The pitching went south when Castro got hurt. Coincidence?

    And as for as attendance, I’m not surprised. We lost a lot of fans over the last few years. It will take a while to win them back.

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    • Really 3 100 loss seasons and were in first in September what the heck do they need a WS handed to them. Sad sad, get of your ass Houston and root the boys on. If I was still living there I would be at every home game, nose bleed seats I don’t care . It’s meaningful Sept baseball, not since 2005.

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  6. * Needs *

    We don’t just need Keuchel, McHugh and Kazmir to be top-of-the-order good – we also need Fiers to be every bit as good as he has been and for McCullers to be every bit as top-of-the-order dominating as he has the potential to be. We need Perez and Thatcher to get 95% of the lefties and 85% of the righties they face out. And we need Velasquez, Fields, Neshek, Qualls, and Gregorson to be lights out every time they go out the rest of the year. We need all our pitchers to limit bases on balls to the strategic, planned ones. And we need a catcher who they can trust to block the ball or die trying when they throw a two-strike slider in the dirt on purpose for the K.

    Either that or we need six position players in the line-up to increase their BA by at least 15 points, their OBP by at least 25 points, and their RBI/game ratio by at least half a run per game the rest of the way.

    No pressure, right? Welcome to a pennant race, gentlemen.

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  8. I agree that we must end the Hank Conger experiment right away. I don’t care if Stassi goes 0-fer the rest of the season. His upgrade defensively is worth not seeing Conger in there and he probably can hit a SF when needed. I also think it is imperative that we get the Scott Kazmir we thought we were getting when we traded for him. He has been decent, but not great and we need great right now. I am sure there will be an adjustment for Springer so i am not expecting him to return tonight and hit like he was before the injury, but his presence in the dugout will help.

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  9. The championship surge needs to begin tonight. Colin McHugh, you are up, and the bagpipes are playing. Jose, Carlos, George, Jed, Preston [or Colby], Evan, and Marwin – take no prisoners, and leave no team-mate on base. Nothing personal, Minnesota Twins, but it’s either you or us, and it ain’t goin’ to be us.

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  10. I needed that non-stressful day yesterday. No Astros or Rangers to raise my BP.
    Today I’m ready for the games to began.
    It’s kinda like being bipolar. On top of the world one day and ready to jump off a cliff the next. Right Tim?

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  12. An emotional day here in Houston. They will play the funeral in its entirety on ABC 13.Com if you want to see it. I’ve been in officer Goforth wife’s shoes. My children were 5 and 10 yr0s old when I lost my first husband, who was the BIGGEST Astros fan in Houston!! We had season tickets for about 8yrs. In the Dome! I’m kinda a control freak, and it really gets to me when these guys make stupid mistakes…..getting picked off, and throwing the ball away ( Hank Conger!!). What we need is a lot of good luck to come our way, and play mistake free baseball…..NO Villerror! Let’s say a prayer of healing for our GREAT Country and our communities. There will always be baseball….the sun will always shine….time will still go on. Becky♡

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    • Amen. Becky, I’m sorry to hear of your loss My next door neighbor is a police officer. He and his wife attended the funeral this morning I worry about him every minute he’s on the job. Such a horrible senseless thing.

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  16. Well, I need y’all to keep commenting on our favorite team. This is still the first site I check in the morning and the last one before I go to bed.

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  17. On paper tonight’s lineup looks loaded, for the exception of Conger behind the dish!!
    Springer is back leading off……man I’ve missed that guy!! Pelfry is gonna be tough tonight, he gives up VERY few homeruns, and since this team lives and dies by the long ball it will probably be a low scoring game.

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    • Ok, Hank we take back what we said today….but you really ARE a rally killer most of the time!! And yeah Nance he does look like a kid coming out of his crouch. Castro makes us crazy because he can’t hit..but I’ll take Castro over Conger everyday!#

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  24. 7-0 in the 8th, so a good night. Rough day though. Our son-in-law is a Harris County Deputy Sheriff. He shared with us today the sheriff dispatcher called the ID of the slain officer. (Pause). Called his ID again. (Pause). Called the numbers again and then declared the officer “Off Duty.” I cried.

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  25. Probably a good thing Hinch played Conger tonight! He is woeful defensively but as a left handed hitter (.916 OPS) he is better than Castro. We absolutely need Castro back but at least Conger pulled his weight at the dish tonight and actually made a nice tag in the first to end the inning and the Twins best shot at a score.

    I try to watch game highlights of other teams and what I’ve noted is how bad some outfielders are and how good ours are. It is a delight to watch Rasmus, Gomez, Springer and Marisnick patrol the outfield. The down side to their excellence is that it will leave very little playing time for Tucker and with Gattis heating up I don’t see him getting any DH time.

    I’m trying to have faith in our pitching and defense. McHugh came through and it was good to see Feliz come in and immediately handle Sano. Wonder how many times those two will face off in the future?

    Angels lead the Rangers 2-0 after 4 with Richards on the mound for the Halo’s. Hang in there LAA.

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  27. Alright, Gorgeous George came back, Uncle Jed had a 3 hit night, and Captain Correa drove in the winning run – i.e. the first one we scored, and the only one we wound up needing – with the elusive ‘productive out’. Conger’s ;ate-inning slam and RBI single were nice add-on luxuries – though they still do not make up for his frustrating lack of defense. Colby was Colby. Colin McHugh was one fine laddie, Joe Thatcher came in and got his lefty, and Michael Feliz turned out the lights and declared the party was over. Meanwhile, the Rangers lost to the Angels.

    Now lets go out and do it again tonight. Lance McCullers, Preston Tucker, Luis Valbuena, Marwin Gonzales, and Carlos Gomez – come join the parade!

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    • well let me tell you a story about a man named jed
      if he isn’t injured he’ll help you keep ahead
      some of the fans like to gripe and scoff
      but here goes the team right to the playoffs
      division title that is
      playoff wins
      series appearance

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  28. So last night was babysit grandkids all night for me.
    The kids are nestled, all snug in their beds
    The Astros have won, the Angels ahead.
    A glass of wine, a Louis L’Amour short story book
    the Rangers’ broadcast with the sound off.
    Not bad.
    Not Nevis, but not too shabby, either!
    Thinkin’ about ya UncleK!
    These are the good times.

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    • Regardless of the setting 1OP, if the loved ones are safe and nestled close, a shutout win and a Rangers loss is just gravy! But I sure did enjoy that late glass of rum and the Cuban cigar out on the screened in porch. Those Friday night wins are my excuse! Be well my friend.

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      • The first thing the doctor asked me after my stroke was: Do you smoke?
        I said: I smoke one cigar a day.
        He said: Not anymore, you don’t.
        He was right.
        I don’t.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Well, for now, I’m still smoking a couple of those Cohiba’s a week. Hopefully my effort at moderation won’t get me in too much trouble!

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  29. Thanks everyone you all make me laugh everyday, which we all need with the sadness and hate out there today. Here is hoping everyone can have their wine, rum, and cigars on a Saturday night.

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    • I’m sure that was a quiet move to send Karter through waivers, but it didn’t matter no one is gonna pick him up……sooo we are stuck with him. And….the only chance he had to hit last night, he struck out.

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    • Sandy, It just means that they put him on waivers and nobody was willing to pay his salary for the rest of the year and put him on their roster.. So he remains on our roster.
      Looking up his WAR for the year he is the 49th most valuable first baseman in the major leagues at a -0.3 wins above replacement. We have a 1B/3B in AAA who was named MVP of the 16-team Pacific Coast League, who must be protected in this Winter’s Rule 5 draft, and has never had a chance to play at the major league level at age 26. And he bats from the right side.
      Matt Duffy.

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  32. A little late but my thanks and appreciation to the ladies on this blog. You all bring a certain class to this so all of us crusty old farts don’t get carried away.
    And secondly my sympathies to the family, friends, and others who share in the grief over the senseless shooting of Deputy Goforth. I’ll leave the politics for another day.

    On another note, how about that Hank Conger? Is he a keeper or what? (just a little sarcasm). Do you think we could pay somebody to take “K”arter?

    Glad to see the bats come alive. Let’s keep it up guys. Need to sweep the Twins.

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  34. Fortunately, it is all about the next game. If we win, one of the teams chasing us is going to fall one game further back, unless they are rained out.
    As always, when you have a three game lead, you make your own fate by winning, and the other team is on their knees praying for your demise. We, on the other hand, must man up and make Mr. Santana pay for what happened last weak and show LMJ that we won’t just go quietly into the night while he is pitching.

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    • I will be quite surprised tonight if McCullers does not produce a big game. I do not often make predictions, but if I were in Vegas, or St. Kitts for that matter, I would bet Astros. If he gets the ball down early, we are good.

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  35. I took my son (5yo) to his first Astros game last night (since he was an infant, anyway, so first he’ll remember). The Conger grand slam was outstanding and he was so excited. The Friday Night Fireworks were icing on the cake. It was a memorable night.

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  36. I also wanted to add that everyone’s kind words about the deputy were touching. The fact that this blog goes deeper than ‘just baseball’ is why I come here everyday. Y’all are awesome.

    Lets go Astros!!

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    • Every time my son goes on duty, I say a silent prayer. When I pray with his children, we always pray for his safety.
      When a cop is taken from us, a piece of my heart is taken. When that heals, my heart is a little bigger, with more to give, but so much scarring.
      In my situation, this is very hard to talk about.
      As a man, and a big man, this is what scares me more than my own death.
      You may never know how much you are appreciated. But we can try to tell you, if that helps. THIS MUCH!

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  37. We appreciate everything that is done for us by those who stand between us and the bad guys whether it is our fine police officers or our dedicated military.
    It is bad enough when an officer is killed when confronting a criminal during a crime, but the idea of them being targets is more than I can comprehend.
    God, please bless all the men and women who form that line of defense we often take for granted.

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  39. Justacop108….just like we pray for our young sons who are in harms way in the Middle East, we will remember ALL who are serving in our communities and we will hold you close in prayer that you will continue to take your little boy to Astros games.
    Life is sooo fragile, so hug that little boy extra hard for us….we will continue to pray you and oldpro’S son home safe to your families. Please don’t be a stranger, join in the conversation with us!! Becky⚾

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  40. My wife DVR’d the funeral and we are watching his best friend talk about him. He is talking about their boyhood in Spring Branch (where I grew up). Talking about working at Saccos on Kempwood just down from my old church. Must have passed that store ten thousand times. It makes the loss even more real.

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  42. Just found out Gene Elston passed away this evening. ” Now you’re chunk’n Astros”! When I get to heaven I want to know all about the Colt 45’s!! The man brought the game alive! Rest in peace Gene.

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  45. Wow…..talk about a tough loss. Mccullars pitched an outstanding game, just tough to see the guys fall a couple of runs down. Gregerson was flirting with fire tonight, and that triple just put us out of it. Tough, tough loss ((((sigh))))

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  46. I am late to reply tonight, but just want to express how much I appreciate all our uniformed men and women, including law enforcement, military and firefighters. I teach my boys to respect these true heroes. I have been praying for the family of Deputy Goforth and will continue praying for all our men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the citizens of this great country.

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  47. Being married to a retired Marine who served 24 years and was wounded in Vietnam, I can truly say the one thing that brings tears to his eyes are the kind folks who take the time to stop and thank him for his service.
    Those Vietnam vets were not treated kindly after the war. Current members of law inforcement are going through extremely tough times in today’s world. So now I’m returning the kindness that folks have given my husband. I stop and thank every police officer or deputy see. I also pray each day each of them and their families.

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  48. Tough day for old Astro fans. Gene Elston was my tie to the team back in the day when few games were on TV ( no I’m not talking two seasons ago)
    Great professional broadcaster and the man whose voice will always be in my head when I think of the team.

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  50. Greeneville won their division series championship tonight and start a best of three Appy League Championship series tomorrow against Princeton. No breaks. No off days. Just baseball and the first team with two wins takes home the rings.

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