How critical is a mid-April rendezvous in Arlington?

The Astros had Monday off and before a three game series with their in-state nemesis the Texas Rangers. It is early. It is very, very, very early in the season. But there are arguments for why this might be an important series for the Astros. Consider the following:

  • The Astros won the 2015 season series with 13 teams last season and the only significant series loss was to the Rangers as they only won 6 of 19 games.
  • The season series loss to the Rangers was the main reason the Astros ended up as the Wild Card team and not the AL West champion they might have been.
  • On August 2 they had a 4 game lead on the division. Between then and September 25 they went 20-31 and lost 8 straight to the Rangers in that time period. They went from 4 games ahead to 4.5 behind in the division and the Rangers were the ones who drove the stake in their collective hearts.
  • After finally winning a series against the Tigers, the Astros are 5-8 and 2 games behind the division leading Rangers in the AL West in 2016.

It was obvious that the Astros melted during the hottest portion of the pennant race last season and that the Rangers were holding the biggest blow torch. They have the potential after this 3 game series of ending up anywhere from 1 game ahead of the Rangers to 5 games behind the Rangers.

So, some questions to ponder:

  1. How important is this series to the team or is it just the next 3 of 149 more games this season?
  2. Are the Astros any better set-up to play the Rangers this season than last?
  3. What are the most important areas for the Astros in slowing the Rangers down in 2016?
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192 responses to “How critical is a mid-April rendezvous in Arlington?”

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  5. Yup The rangers look like a really good team , not so much the stros right now. Not sure what’s up with CC. He hasn’t looked the same since the left NY. Looks like NCIS reruns tonight darn it

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  6. Our fielders have not been helping the pitchers, but the pitchers have not been bull dogging it to pitch thru the errors.
    40+ pitches for Feldman. Devenski get loose?

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  7. Feldman ain’t fooling anyone tonight……and look for them to steal every inning.
    FINALLY!!! 4 pitches for Feldman. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

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  10. 1.) It’s important only because the Rangers are a division rival. Otherwise it’s just another series way early on.

    2.) No.

    3.) Hmm. Well, I think these apply to every team, but keeping down the GIDP and getting better with RISP would be helpful. It’d also be nice not to give up a bunch of runs in the 1st inning (oops, too late); whenever that happened last season it usually meant a loss.

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  12. 1. It’s not important. Regardless of what they do this week they will have plenty of opportunities to win or lose to the Rangers throughout the year.
    2. Yes? No Conger = better odds…and he beat them early in the year with an extra inning HR I believe.
    3. Pitching and defense. You can’t give them extra outs.

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  15. Thanks again Dan for steering me in the right direction. Seemed odd that nobody was posting tonight! I think it’s important to be competitive against the Rangers out of the gate. We don’t want to lose 13 of 19 again. Feldman has been around long enough not to let an early error ruin the night. He’s got to suck it up. I agree Tim, I’ve seen enough of Fields. And is Jake going to hit? He can’t
    keep a roster spot being a defensive specialist. Good to see some bats tonight, still not when we really need it with PISP.

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  17. We are a bad baseball team 14 games in. Gomez looked last in his last at bat. Have to be able to win games where we score 5 or more runs. Very frustrating to see us stumble out of the gate this year. Hopefully we can come back tomorrow and get a W. Really need 2 of 3 in this series to help set the tone against that team from Arlington. Keep up the great work everybody. Really enjoy reading this blog!

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    • Thanks Robert. Glad to see your post.
      Totally agree that we need to win when we score 5. That would have won a ton of games last season.

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  18. A storm came in and wiped out the satellite feed of the four hits in the bottom of the sixth. I thought Hinch had left Feldman in. It wasn’t until the game was over that I realized Fields had come in and stunk it up.
    Astros are going to have a rough time with five starters whose fastball is 89 MPH or below.
    White is looking like Springer was a week ago.
    Springer is looking like White was a week ago.
    Castro looks worse than last year.
    The Astros hit a ton of fly balls tonight.
    Carlos Correa is in a slump.
    Hopefully, Gattis and Gomez are heating up. Gomez has hit several balls hard the last two games.
    The Astros look like a losing ballclub, even when they win.
    Devenski really helped out our bullpen tonight. He threw one bad pitch and Moreland crushed it, but Devenski kept the Astros in the game.
    Hard to believe we’re only three games behind, as terrible as we’ve played.

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  19. Fresno beat first place Salt lake tonight, 3-0. Tommy Shirley pitched 6.2 innings of shutout ball, giving up 6 hits and walking one. In the biggest threat for Salt Lake. Shirley picked off a runner at first base with two on and two out.
    Tyler Heineman, Catcher, led off the fourth with a walk and went from first to third on Kemmer’s single to right. He’s a catcher. Then Kemmer stole second base and Heineman stole home. Heineman is a catcher. That was the Astros first run and it was the winning run.
    Gustave pitched a perfect eighth and Hoyt pitched a perfect ninth for the save.
    Tommy Shirley had TJ Surgery last April. This was only his second appearance since then. He has thrown 10.2 scoreless innings since his return.
    Singleton had a hit tonight. BA jumped to .139.
    Moran had two hits tonight. BA jumped to .342.

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    • Sounds like Singleton could use a change of scenery.

      Also of note, 1-for-10 w/RISP. They copy their elders a bit too well.

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  20. I thought perhaps some of our players need to read this:

    “Bryce Harper with runners on base this season: 7-for-12, with three doubles and four homers, six walks and one strikeout.”

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  21. I don’t have a good feeling about this season, but I still like our chances in 2017 and beyond. The big difference between the Astros and Rangers is that Arlington has an ownership that is willing to spend money to improve the team. Our ownership would rather trade away top prospects in hoping to improve the team, but weakening a farm system, albeit still a fairly strong farm system. Crane will eventually have to get off his wallet and spend some money in free agency if this team is going to get over the hump. I am not suggesting spending like the Dodgers or the Yankees from the Boss’ years, but adding free agents like Doug Fister and Pat Neshek, while nice, isn’t going to cut it.

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    • I do NOT like their chances in 2017 and beyond. Every year that goes by increases the payroll SIGNIFICANTLY for our superstars. See, after three years of service time in The Bigs, the players actually start getting paid what they are worth.

      Take Dallas Kuechel for example: this year he is the biggest bargain in baseball at $7.25mil. However, next year will be his ARB2 year, and his negotiated price tag will spike up. Right now his current market value is north of $23mil a year!! (source: http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/houston-astros/dallas-keuchel/market-value/).

      Soon enough, Jim Crane’s paltry payroll will sink the team back into mediocrity.

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      • You didn’t like their chances last year so I have to take your comments with a grain of salt. You have an unsavory opinion of the current Astros ownership and management team and I think that, to some extent, clouds your judgment. The farm system is still rife with good, young talent and we have team control for several more years of Altuve, Springer, Correa and Keuchel. We’ll be alright, but in order to get over the top Crane will have to expand the payroll, in my opinion.

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      • According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, opening day payroll was nearly $97 million.

        The last time it was higher was 2009. What was the Astros record in 2009, you might ask?

        74-88.

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      • I have an unsavory opinion of the ownership too. I’m on the fence about the management, more specifically the GM.

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      • Good point Tim! But the difference was in 2009 we had a bunch of bloated contracts for over-the-hill players. This year is the golden year for a Championship because there are a slew of underpriced superstars with lean contracts. Get it while the getting is good!…. if winning a Championship is truly the goal.

        Look, this team is NOT complete. I strongly suspect that Crane/Luhnow need one more solid starting pitcher and/or a corner IF with legit power. THEN THERE WILL BE A TEAM!

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      • “But the difference was in 2009 we had a bunch of bloated contracts for over-the-hill players”.

        Thus proving that spending for the sake of it doesn’t correlate to winning, Bogart.

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      • Andrew you are missing the point. This team is not complete. They need to spend not for the sake of it, but because that is what will be needed. Something is definitely amiss. This team is not complete.

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      • I’ll concede that spending in the bottom-five probably won’t get it done. That said, spending in the top-five is no guarantee either.

        The other consideration that cannot be ignored is WHO is doing the spending. Our buddy Luhnow thought we needed more starting pitching…which led to him signing Fister.

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      • Andrew,

        I am just going to pose a question, and this can be to everyone here. Would you rather win 1 World Series, but then have to reload or rebuild in 3-4 years or would you rather have a competitive team that remains a playoff caliber team, but probably just isn’t enough to win all the marbles? In my first scenario, you might have to overpay for present day value, but future decline in order to get that World Series. Take the 2009 Yankees who dished out over $400M in the prior offseason to guys like Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Now, they won the W.S. in 2009 and have been in a steady decline since then, but they did win the W.S. Now, take the 2012 Cardinals who have been steadily competitive, but just seem to be lacking that extra piece to bring home a championship. It’s a dice roll as there are no guarantees spending will turn the Astros into the 2009 Yankees. They could become the 2014-2015 Royals or the 2012-present Cardinals.

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      • Tim, that’s a great Toss Up question.

        I think I would go with the latter; not just because emulating the Cardinals seems to be a better option long-term, but because getting into the playoffs with a solid team can be enough if you get the requisite breaks.

        It’s also worth noting that the Yankees haven’t made it to the World Series since their last win, while the Cardinals have been in it twice (and won in 2011) and have been seen as strong contenders each season.

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  22. The biggest difference between the Rangers and the Astros is that Arlington has an ownership willing to spend money and improve the team.

    Oh wait, that’s already been said before….

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  23. If Jim Crane upped the spend by $36mil, THEN the Lastros would break into the top 15 in team payroll. It’s sad that Houston is a top 4 market, yet is 22nd in spend. It’s especially telling that now, after subjecting the fans to years of 100-loss seasons, that he can’t open his wallet. After all, he’s got Altuve, Correa, Springer, McCullers, and Keuchel — all superstars — ON THE SUPER-CHEAP! Now is the time to open the wallet, as clearly this team is not complete.

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    • While I agree with you that Crane needs to spend more money I need to correct you that Houston is not ‘a top 4 market’. They are the 4th largest city in the U.S., but as a media market they are behind many other large cities, including the DFW Metroplex. Don’t base the population of a city on its media market size.

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      • True. Even more central to the point is what percentage of the population are still fans? How long can a fanbase be abused before they bail??

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      • My last sentence should have been worded in reverse. I should have said don’t base the media market size on a city’s population.

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      • Abused? I think that playoff appearance and near upset of the World Champions invigorated the fan base. Crane just needs to do his part to get us over the hump.

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      • Hard core fans are still fans but the general population seems to be drifting away. I was at the game last Sunday and at least a quarter of the attendance was rooting for the Tigers.
        How long is the fan base expected to support a losing team. If Crane can’t afford to add some quality players he has no business being an owner. Period.

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      • I agree Tim, and that’s the point. Crane needs to open his wallet and get this team over the hump while the getting-is-good. There is no better time, as payroll flexibility will be greatly diminished as our superstars start getting paid what they are worth.

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  24. Yes it look like Crane & Co. like to shop at Filene’s bargain basement. They seem to have some great sales on returned merchandise but there was a reason it was returned in the first place. Remember, you usually get what you pay for. And they aren’t doing so well in the barter economy either.

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  25. Well where do we go from here. Pitching all The F’s suck, McHugh will be ok I think, LMJ, so will have a 1.2 an 3 that’s it , The Bullpen, I feel good about Devenski. Neshek, Giles, Gregerson, and Harris, Fields no, and Sipp looks lost.
    Castro and Lurch won’t hit ever,. Gomez we could really use him, JFSM looks like he really needs to be in Fresno for a while. Valbuena please there is no Designated Fielder.

    We are sadly sort of a mess. where can we get help?

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      • I would like to see Devenski moved to the rotation, dump Fields and bring up Hoyt. Move one of the F’s to the bullpen as the long man. This would be a start as we need better starting pitching. Once McCullers comes back you can look to trade one of the F’s and have a starting 5 of Keuchel, McHugh, McCullers, Devenski and Fiers or Fister. With a bullpen of Gregerson, Giles, Harris, Hoyt, Sipp (not giving up on him as he started slow last year and improved greatly), Neshek and Feldman I think this team is ready to compete. I am still holding out hope Gomez gets on track and by June you might see Moran over Valbuena at 3B. If Worth continues his hot hitting we need to find a way to get him on the bench.

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  26. Well Kevin, I’m struggling too. I don’t see anything from Gomez. Jake is much better defensively, so I’d put him in center. He doesn’t hit but neither does Gomez. Tucker at DH against righties and White against Lefties. When White is DH put Gonzo on first. Sipp and Fields sit until they can get it together. Third is another problem.
    If things don’t get better bring up some kids.
    Gattis, Valbuena, Gomez, Feldman, Fister, Fields, Sipp, and ( I guess Fiers ) need to be replaced. Castro probably too.
    I have to agree Crane needs to step up and do what he said he was gonna do.

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  27. I guess I keep thinking is it Crane or Uncle Jeffs plan that seems to have gone south a bit. Is it organizational problem? It is our coaching philosophies? We have dumped some bad players the last few years, however we have traded a lot and realesed a lot, that seem to be doing well once they left us, or are young and could be really good.

    Something just seems off!

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  28. I’m going to go against the grain and blame the coaching staff for our poor start. Many of our fielding errors, players getting picked off repeatedly, and poor lineup decisions are all mental mistakes that stem from lack of preparation. Do we have a hitting coach? Gomez looked like he was starting to get it last year when he would slap a line drive single between the first and second basemen. This year he’s trying to drive everything. Loud outs are just outs. Preston Tucker needs to read that too.

    As far as ownership being cheap…of course they are…but will you please tell me which players SHOULD have been signed this year? Did Houston have a chance at David Price (2-0, 4.50 ERA, 27K in 18 IP) or Zack Greinke (0-2, 6.75 ERA, 15K in 17.1 IP? Jordan Zimmermann, Jeff Smardzija, Mike Leake, Scott Kasmiz? I wanted Kenta Maeda, but it sounds like he wanted the Dodgers badly and Luhnow would have messed it up once the medicals were revealed anyway. Let me also remind you that many (including bopert) badly wanted Pablo Sandoval for the 2015 team.

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    • Why didn’t we have a chance with Jordan Zimmerman or David Price? Price would have come here if we gave him the best offer. The same goes for Zimmerman.

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    • Price, Smardzija and Greinke were probably too much to absorb. But there were, and will be, plenty of reasonable options to bolster the staff as this season progresses.

      They need to focus on a Kazmir-like trade/pickup ASAP. Even if McCullers has a strong season, they are going to need some help. I smell a flop year from Collin McHugh.

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  30. With Houston AND Dallas under the gun again today with thunderstorms, Fister might get scratched tonight. I certainly hope so. There is something missing on this team this year……and I don’t know what it is. You can see it in their eyes when they come to bat…..they aren’t having fun and they are so unsure of the pitching staff, except for Keuchel. I think we thought they would pick right up where they left off last year, but they don’t look like the same bunch we saw last year. I’m as confused as anyone about it. I don’t know if Fields has any options left, but he might have to have a hang nail and go on the DL and bring Hoyt up. DANG….this rotation is just horrible! We saw Devenski come in and give Hinch some breathing room last night.
    Hinch owes it to him to give him at least one start. He’s not intimidated by major league hitters, and at this point he’s a better option than Fister or Feldman right now.
    GIVE. THE. KID. A. CHANCE.

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    • Wow just saw where Appel is staring to pitch well. I’m with you Becky. I have been saying all along, when the left ST they left the team and guys I knew from last year there. As I said above something is just off!

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  31. Devin_ I’ve been jumping up and down since last year about this coaching staff!
    Hitting coach SHOULD have been let go as soon as the last game was played last year…..and getting picked off base is completely stupid. Something ain’t right with that. Situational hitting killed these guys LAST year, but most of us blamed Carter and Gattis for it…..but Carter is gone and Gattis just got back. Two innings over the weekend they left the bases loaded and got NOTHING. The Rangers were in last place most of last year, but came roaring back…..maybe these guys can do the same this year. Good thing I refilled my blood pressure medicine yesterday!

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  32. I just wish I knew what happen to the strong rotation all the experts were saying that we had before the season started. It would be nice if we could consistently get at least 6 inning from a starter.
    It sure is nice to see Springer turn it around at the plate the last few games, if we could get White and Correa hitting like they did the first week and combine that with the way Altuve and Springer are hitting now we would be able to build a nice lead and hopefully hold on to it.

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  33. Broken record here. Expectations and pressure can kill joy. I suspect they are not having fun like last year, among the many technical snafus.

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  34. Today’s Peanuts: Franklin calls Charlie Brown to say five of his guys can’t show up, so they’ll have to forfeit. Charlie Brown hangs up the phone: “I can’t believe it. A two-game winning streak.”

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  35. Astrofan57 I was just thinking the same thing a lot more fun to have low expectations and over achieve vs High expectations and under achieve.
    Even AJ looks like someone gave him a wedgie in the dugout , Yikes

    Dot it du “Under Pressure.”

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  36. Oh – so much to munch on here
    – Yeah, Diane, does that mean we could use a bad PED test to come back on Fielder and Moreland – so we could get a one game win streak going?
    – We can talk about the payroll problems discouraging the fan base – but it is all about winning. Last year the Astros had their 15th best season at the turnstiles – because they were winning not because of what they were or were not spending on payroll. Back in the early 90’s they were struggling to win and the attendance hovered between 1.2 and 1.3 million. When they went on the long run of mostly winning in the late 90’s to the 00’s the attendance was over 2 million and climbing to 3 million. They went on this forced losing and it dove. When they played better it rose.
    – The Astros do look tighter – they are making more mistakes that you would expect from a team feeling a little pressure. I think it is why sometimes teams that are improving do take a step back. They have to find their balance and learn how to handle the expectations.
    – The front office is confusing when it comes to $$$ vs. play the best guy. They certainly are playing the best guy when it comes to White vs. Singleton. They have not really been doing that when it comes to say Moran vs. Valbuena. But it may just be as simple as giving the young guy a little time at AAA. If I could wave a magic wand – I would be looking at something like…..

    Lineup
    Altuve 2B
    Springer CF
    Correa SS
    Reed / White 1B
    White / Tucker DH
    Rasmus RF
    Moran 3B
    Bregman LF
    Castro C

    Bench
    MarGo
    Heineman or Stassi
    Marisnick

    Rotation
    Keuchel, McHugh, LMJ, Fiers, Devinski

    Bullpen
    Gregerson, Giles, Harris, Neshek, Hoyt, Sipp, Feldman or Fister

    Hey, I know I’m stretching, but what the heck?

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    • Does “Uncle Jeff” keep putting Valbuena and Gomez out there because he got ’em via trade?

      While it seems like he (and the rest of the front office) could use a lesson on “sunk costs”, I do understand the angle that as a team, they want most of these guys under team control as long as possible. And if the guys we grouse about were producing, we’d be looking at the kids down in Fresno with the attitude of “they’re gonna help out a lot in a year or two” rather than “boy, we sure could use them now”!

      Ultimately, the thing I wonder the most is whether they want to have a solid farm system to serve as a pipeline to the big league club…or just to have it.

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    • Hey Dan,

      You got my lineup. But, I’d give Bregman at least until the All Star break along with a month in Fresno. And he’s ultimately my number two guy, or, Tyler White. But more and more, as much as I like what Jake does on the field, I just can’t justify having him on the bench if he can’t hit.

      The stretch part of it has something to do with the reality of Gomz and 9 million, Valbuena and 6.5 million and Gattis with his millions. If these guys all stay cold, who else will want them?

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  37. bopert – I agree this team will need more help just like last year. I am just struggling on when to pull the trigger and what to make the judgment on.
    Part of me says that every game matters, which is true. However, the other side of me is that you have to wait 6 -8 weeks for water to find its level.
    You could trade for a big hitting corner infielder now or you might decided in a month or so that you are bringing up Reed and/or Moran.
    You could trade for a starting pitcher (though at this point nobody is unloading an ace – everyone believes they have a chance) and then figure out that a Devenski might be the answer like LMJ was last season.
    I don’t want them to fall way behind, but I also don’t want them to have 7 year $200 million contracts with guys who will be 34 when the contract is half done and have them blocking young controllable players and pitchers.

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    • I have much more confidence in our youngsters than any trade possibility. Trades almost never make a positive difference for us. Free agency decisions are more likely to yield results, but must be made one player and one circumstance at a time. It is not enough just to say ‘spend more money’ or ‘loosen up the purse strings’; spending money and making trades can go south just as easily as – and usually end much more disastrously than – waiting on young players in the system who are showing major promise [Musgrove, Hoyt, Reed, Shirley, Kemp, Bregman, KTuck, etc.]. When we’ll need the money released is when the Altuves and Correas and Springers and Keuchels and Whites come up for arbitration and/or FA

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    • Totally agree. A trade deadline acquisition for an ace pitcher, ala Randy Johnson in ’98, to complete the team and make a push for a Championship could be warranted. But I fear that we will not be in position to do such. And even if we were, I sense that Crane won’t open up his wallet.

      Regardless, something is definitely missing. And if we wait until the trade deadline, it could be too late!

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  38. Since we had such bad news on VV in his first two starts – I would like to point out that Vince Velasquez gave up 5 R (2 earned) and 2 HR in 4.1 innings last night. Obie was even more efficient as he gave up 4 ER in 2 IP with an impressive 3 HRs.

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    • The two ERs were in the first inning – in both situations, VV had a hitter 0-2 and tried for the 3-pitch K instead of teasing. Both wound up being 0-2 solo HRs. He will learn.

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    • Agree, I don’t think VV has a season that frustrates us THIS year, I think he has a year that is full of those kind of starts. As he learns though, and the big if, if he stays healthy, he becomes a TOR pitcher.

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    • Nor should it be. Hamels would completely overmatch him and at least Gomez has a history of facing him in the NL. Jake really needs some steady AAA at bats so that if Gomez continues to stink it up and gets traded/released/DL (Can a guy be put on the DL for brain damage?) Jake will be able to step in and make a positive offensive contribution. He’s a great baserunner but he needs to be able to put himself on base and not just fill in for others who do it for him.

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  40. I’m not super concerned just yet because no one in the division is running away with things and I don’t see any that will. By mid-May decisions ought to be clearer. Fields looks like a lost cause. If he has options then send him down but I would actually prefer a trade or even DFA to clear a roster spot for Hoyt.

    As for Crane loosening the purse strings, what he could do that would show his commitment to the team is jettison Valbuena, Gattis, and Gomez and their dead weight contracts and bring up kids who at least have the likely prospect of improving and who would profit from the experience. To me the only reason for those three guys to be on the roster is for us to win now and they are not producing. I might consider keeping Gattis but only as the backup catcher so that Kratz can go. Jake needs to go to Fresno and learn to hit so that when he comes back he can be a credible partial platoon/defensive replacement with/for Tucker in LF.

    When we hit the quarter point of the season there will still be plenty of time to right the ship and claim the division but only if we get rid of the utter non-producers. Please give me Moran at third, Reed at first, White at DH, Hoyt in the bullpen, Devenski in the rotation, Springer in Center (no tough lights there) Rasmus in right and Tucker in left. Then give me Valbuena, Gomez, Fields, Fister, Kratz on the waiver wire.

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  41. What has been proven, so far, is that Luhnow is just as susceptible to making mistakes as any GM. He has made quite a few mistakes trading prospects for established veterans, and he’s made some signing veteran free agents.
    He’s human and this is a tough tough game. I don’t want him pouring mistake upon mistake by jettisoning valuable players early in the season. This is what we have, we have to live with it. If we dump players every time they slump, we won’t have any left because everybody slumps.
    What we need to do is make better decisions in the off season.
    What need to recognize is that bullpen situations fluctuate with year to year.performance and not just payroll.Guys like Fields are good sometimes and lousy other times because some nights their 1.5 major league pitches work well and other times they suck. That’s why they need to have more than 1.5 pitches.
    That’s also why you need to take minor league pitchers with great stuff and make relievers out of them. If you have 8 starting pitchers on each minor league team because they have the best stuff in the system, you will NOT, NOT develop good relief pitchers because you won’t have relievers with good stuff.
    Finally, if you somehow coddle eight relief pitchers on every minor league team, by the time they get to AAA they all think they should be starters and won’t want to go to the bullpen. That’s why we lose so many starting pitchers at the AAA level, because they shouldn’t have been starters to begin with! We’re now stuck with a bunch of AAA pitchers who aren’t good enough to start at the major league level and have never relieved and then we try to make relievers out of them at the major league level. Then we end up trading them for backup catchers who hit .000.
    The best relief pitchers in the game have great stuff. The rest of the relievers have one good pitch and meh secondary pitchers.
    Giles will not be a great reliever until he has that fastball, that deadly slider and a change up that has the same arm action as his fastball. That is Strom’s job, to get him to the next level with that change up. Then, nobody can sit on his fastball.
    Gregerson has that sinker, and the best slider in the game. They move opposite directions and look the same when they come out of his hand. Giles has to learn that and so do about eight other guys in our system, because we don’t need to be spending $35 million a year on relievers. We need to grow them ourselves.

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    • In paragraph 5, I meant if you somehow coddle 8 starting pitchers on each minor league team, by the time they get to AAA they all think they should be starters.

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      • We won’t know that for a while. What we do know is they traded Fowler’s salary and OBP for Straily and Valbuena. They got nothing out of Straily and Valbuena hit home runs played a decent third base. If they can flip Valbuena for a prospect they come out ahead moneywise because the whole deal was about money to begin with.
        The absolute worst thing that came out of the signing of Fowler is that he forced them to move their future center fielder, Springer, to RF thus diminishing his value to the team and to himself. They let Fowler decide who would play where and, if it made Springer mad enough, it may cost us years of his service in CF.
        What I do know about Straily is that they wasted time with him because they had ten starting pitching prospects in the minors in the spring of 2015 and they put him down there and added him to the list instead of making him into a reliever in AAA, which they needed so very badly last year.
        This Astros front office is lost when figuring out what to do with pitchers and catchers. Tyler Heineman managed to wrangle a championship performance out of a very mediocre staff at Fresno last year and was rewarded with not being even considered for a backup spot this season. And if you don’t believe me, look at that pitching staff that Fresno had last year and tell me where they are now. Not one of them is pitching for the major league club, and that includes Devenski, who didn’t pitch at Fresno until the very last game of the year. He was a CC Hook. The pitchers who were at Fresno are still there, or they are gone. Tell me Heineman can’t get the most out of a staff.

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      • I looked up the guys who had the most starts for Fresno last year; among them, Straily is the only one with a start in the majors this season.

        The interesting thing about Heineman is that he’s not on the 40-man roster. Maybe that has something to do with his bat? Either way, it supports your assertion about the FO not having a clue about pitchers/catchers.

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  42. We have 4 positions that are under-performing for us on offense: C, 3B, CF, and DH. That means that our 5th hitter gets nada to hit, as other teams would rather walk him and pitch to our under-performers. To break out of this cycle, we not only need McCullers back starting in place of one F-Bomb and Devenski starting in place of another, we also need two of the following to go on an absolute tear: Gomez, Gattis/Tucker, or Valbuena/Gonzales. I would add Castro in to that list, but though I am optimistic, I am not totally unrealistic.

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  43. Well I’m off to the game tonight, hopefully the rain will stay away and we come away with a blowout victory to get our confidence up and turn this season around

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  45. Well lets see 2 on no one out CC K’s on 3 straight change ups and strike em out throw em out double play
    Ground Hog Day

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  46. Back to back innings…..Astros do not score. Bases loaded =0
    SITUATIONAL HITTING…SITUATIONAL HITTING …SITUATIONAL HITTING.

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  50. I hate to say this about my own team, but these guys are playing like idiots. They are doing everything possible to hand over the game. Clubhouse meetings are overrated, but in this case, this group of unfocused professionals needs a real wake up call.

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