Speaking out of both sides of my mouth: Why (why not) the Astros are OK

Watching the first 10 games of the season for the Astros dark thoughts intertwine with optimism in looking at the 2016 team. The following is a smorgasbord of why the Astros are OK or Not OK going forward.

Ok. Tyler White is a brilliant hitter and a huge upgrade at first base.

Not OK. Even Ted Williams cooled off to hit .406 in 1941.

OK. The Houston Astros were a playoff team last season and on paper have a better team all the way around this season.

Not OK. That and a nickel will only get you about 1/100th of a Starbucks coffee today. Last year is dead and gone like Jimmy Hoffa.

OK. Everyone knew the early season would be a struggle with the schedule they were facing.

Not OK. It is not that they are losing, but how they are losing – not pitching when hitting well, not hitting when pitching well, losing a gross of runners on the base paths, the bullpen giving up dingers like a Home Run Derby, etc.

OK. George Springer has 5 tools and the only thing holding him back has been freak injuries. Let him play 150 games and watch the stats mount.

Not OK. Hitting and hitting with power are supposed to be two of those tools, but those tools both seem to be circular ceiling fans so far this season.

OK. Carlos Gomez was one of the very best players in 2013 and 2014 and was down in 2015 because of injuries.

Not OK. 2013 and 2014 feel as far away as 2003 and 2004 when watching him play this season.

OK. Jason Castro, Luis Valbuena, Scott Feldman and Carlos Gomez will be playing for new contracts and should be doing their best to make big bucks in the future.

Not OK. The operative phrase is “doing their best”.

OK. As long as the Astros have Kid Keuchel leading the rotation they will be fine.

Not OK. The Kid’s beard may turn all grey from trying to lead this pitching staff.

OK. Lance McCullers Jr. will return and give this team a shot in the arm.

Not OK. Some people think the kind thing would be for Lance to help the team with euthanasia.

OK. Ken Giles will figure things out – he has great stats the last two years.

Not OK.  Vince Velasquez seems to have figured things out in the City of Brotherly Hate.

OK. A.J. Hinch showed himself to be a steady hand on the tiller last season.

Not OK. Captain Smith was well thought of until the Titanic was sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

OK. In Luhnow We Trust

Not OK. What have you done for us lately, Jeff?

So where are you on the OK / Not OK scale?

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204 responses to “Speaking out of both sides of my mouth: Why (why not) the Astros are OK”

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  1. Carlos Rodon lasted one-third of an inning against the Angels tonight at home. He gave up six singles and two walks, five runs. Santiago and LA shut out the White Sox, 7-0
    Bregman was 1 for 3 with two BBs and a steal today in a 6-0 shutout of Springfield. His BA actually dropped to .395. Teoscar hit his first HR of the season and Yuhl(5 innings) and Frias combined for the shutout.
    Bregman was named Texas League Player of the Week.

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    • I apologize, that was Cy Sneed who pitched 5 scoreless innings for CC and got the win. Lefty Keegan Yuhl pitches tomorrow for the Hooks.
      Sneed is the player we received in the Jonathan Villar trade from Milwaukee. He looked very good in his first start. He pitched four innings of shutout relief 8 days ago. I guess CC is using some kind of tandem again.

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  2. Lyles and Straily both pitched very well tonight. Lyles won it with seven strong innings and Cincy’s bullpen lost it after Straily threw five strong innings.
    Trevor Storey hit his eighth HR tonight for the Rockies.

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  3. Good to see Jordan Lyles pitching well. I always loved that kid….they just called him up too soon. I hope Dan Straily…pitches well too. As far as Fister is concerned……he USED to be good, but was a while ago. Father time is catching up with him, and we all know it.

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  5. This morning I was awakened by the sound of small panicked voices. It had rained all night and three little raincoat-clad girls could not get the swollen feed bin door to close. In the midst of waving flashlights and whining little girls appears a giant clothed in camo shorts, black rain boots with a Breathe-Rite strip across his nose.
    In shock, the oldest girlie says “We can’t get it shut” while the two little ones stare at a sight they’ve never seen, Grampa at 6:30 am! I calmly close the door and hear the youngest one say “morning, Grampa” as I sludge back to my door to disappear with a big grin on my face.
    Life in the country. I’m going to get my coffee.

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  6. I’m not going to worry about the starting pitching because it can’t really be fixed. Sure, getting LMJ back next month would give us a boost if they can stay afloat until then. I also would like to see what Devenski facing MLB hitters multiple times per game. Luhnow blew our best trade chips last year and didn’t land the players we needed. He went out and gave up a lot to get Giles which might fix the bullpen issues we ran into…but only if the starting rotation can get into the 6th/7th inning without melting down. Basically, our offense better find consistency and the defense better improve or the season will be over before the trade deadline.

    I didn’t read the fangraphs link, but do have a concern on Keuchel. They are riding him too hard. Look, he should never have been used in game 7 last year in relief, but Hinch was backed into a corner. He threw career high innings during the regular season and pitched a lot in October. The other guys in the rotation need to step up and earn their pay. They need to pitch deeper so that Hinch has the luxury of using his BP strategically rather than trying to get through half the game every game. We can’t rely on Keuchel to go 8+ innings every time out or he’ll be done before we hit the dog days of summer.

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    • Sorry to hear that diagnosis, OP1. Kick it in the face, and power on!

      Meanwhile, Houston, we finally have a line-up to face a lefty. White is at clean-up, followed by Gattis at DH and Gomez in CF. Rasmus and Tucker, the lefties, are the odd-men out. Only lefty in the line-up is Castro.

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  8. It’s “Jake Day”…….as Hinch says “what ever that means”!! Since Rasmus has his little quirks, I guess Marisnick can have a Jake Day! Gotta jump on the Rangers fast tonight, because you can bet your bippy the Rangers will jump all over Feldman tonight!
    OldPro……type 2 diabetes is just an inconvenience, my husband has it and he has managed quite well for the last 10 yrs. Just keep a pk of cheese crackers with you, if your sugar goes low. The drugs they have for it work very well..”IF” you remember to take them!! My husband has to be reminded to take his lunch meds. I know. …he’s a big baby!

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  10. Our Theme song tonight: “Don’t Fear the Rangers”
    [to the tune of the classic ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’, by Blue Oyster Cult]

    Tyler White has come
    Chris and Jon are gone
    These Astros don’t fear the Rangers
    We’ve got the Captain, George, and Jose
    We can beat those old guys
    Come on Go-Go now [Don’t fear the Rangers]
    Gattis take your stand [Don’t fear the Rangers]
    Get some RBIs [Don’t fear the Rangers]
    Feldman take command!

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