What they said, what they meant: ASG Edition

It has been a while since we played WTSWTM. The goal of this exercise is to take an Astros related quote and interpret it by stating what the player, coach, etc. really meant. One change is that quotes will no longer be taken from chron.com (spit!!), since chron.com (spit!!) wants to be paid for what it professes to be content. These quotes are taken from the Astros news section of mlb.com which is as free as the air we breathe.

All Star Will Harris on his long trip from reject and injury to All Star.

  • What he said. “My rehab took a couple of years.  I stayed with it. You just want to give it your best shot, so when I’m done playing, you can look back and say, ‘Well, all right, you did everything you could possibly do, and it just didn’t work out.’ In my case, it happened to work out, and I feel blessed that it did. My journey led me to here, so I’m pretty happy about it.”
  • What he meant. “Out of school I pitched really well for 3 seasons in the minors. I then pitch in one game the next two years, which I lose to TJ surgery and then micro-fracture surgery. I make the majors and get waived 3 times, before being picked up by the worst team in either leabue. Now I am in pennant races and I’m a frigging All-Star. Yes, I am blessed and the happiest guy around!”

Stephen Vogt, A’s catcher on his All-Star teammate, Jose Altuve.

  • What he said. “You’re talking about one of the best players in the world.  I feel like every at-bat is meaningful to him. He doesn’t take any at-bats off. It’s personal. He wants to hit the ball as hard as he can every at-bat. It’s every at-bat, 600 of them in a year. He gets 200 hits a year because he never takes an at-bat off. It’s a hard thing to do.”
  • What he meant. “Rob Dibble is crazy, ignorant and a total has-been and should be shining Jose Altuve’s shoes with his tongue. “

Manager A.J. Hinch on his team.

  • What he said. “We haven’t played our best, but I’ll take my team against any team in the league. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what declaration that is, but I like my team the best.”
  • What he meant. “What other choice do I have? Am I supposed to say I like the Rangers or Giants better?”

Hinch on Dallas Keuchel starting to turn his season around.

  • What he said. “You can tell he had a little bit of swagger. He had a little moxie. He had a little bit of competitiveness in the dugout. He was into it, and he competed as Dallas Keuchel competes.”
  • What he meant. “I don’t know what happened to that other Dallas Keuchel, who kept crashing and burning the first couple months of the season, but I hope he has gone back to the Mother ship, never to return.”

Alex Bregman on where he wants to play.

  • What he said. “I’ll play wherever they want me to play. Anywhere on the field. Do anything to help the team win. Whether that’s playing left field or third base or wherever, I don’t care. That would be a dream come true to be able to play postseason baseball with the Astros this year.”
  • What he meant. “I would hand wash everyone’s jock straps as long as they were major league jock straps and they were worn in a game that I got to play in….”

Bob Melvin, A’s Manager after the A’s scored 5 runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead and gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to lose the game last Friday.

  • What he said. “Any time you lose on a walk-off like that, it’s brutal, but based on the fact we had come back with a guy with a less-than-1 ERA (Will Harris),  we put together good at-bats the whole inning and give ourselves a two-run lead, it’s tough. Ryan Madson‘s been really good for us this year … I feel good whenever he takes the mound when we have the lead. I fully believed we were going to win the game.”
  • What he meant. “How often does a team come from 3 runs behind in the 9th for a two run lead? How many times does that same team then blow that 2 run lead? Are we talking once a season? Once every other season? We are snake bit against these Astros. It doesn’t matter if it is Madson or Huston Street, they love hitting against this bullpen?”

Luis Valbuena after his three run walk off bomb wins the same game.

  • What he said. “It’s so fun. Everybody goes to the field to enjoy the big win.”
  • What he meant. “It’s Lima Time!!”

Crazy stat. Normally we end WTSWTM with a sample quote for the readers to interpret, but the following stat is just so insane that it will wrap up today’s efforts. Friday night Carlos Correa in his 182nd game hit the 35th HR of his Astros career, which ties him with Adam Everett for most HRs by an Astros’ SS in his career!! This demonstrates what an offensive black hole that position has been over the seasons. Nobody hit more HRs at SS for the Astros in their careers. Not Denis Menke, Roger Metzger, Ricky Gutierrez or even Dickie Thon. Nuts!

 

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165 responses to “What they said, what they meant: ASG Edition”

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  1. Your Bregman piece literally made me laugh outloud!!! I’m trying to visualize Alex Bregman washing jock straps! Sooo funny!
    I’m not sure who was more happy about coming to Houston, Will Harris or his wife!
    Her family lives in Slidell La and she is much closer to them now. Loved the Keuchel piece too! You’ve been on a roll lately!

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  2. What Will Harris meant: I am blessed to be here. The Astros gave me a chance and I have been able to repay them. This is a good deal for both of us.
    What Steven Vogt meant: If it were legal I would stick my foot out and trip Altuve every time he hits the ball. Every catcher would. He just kills us, but he kills everybody else, too.
    What Hinch meant: I did not like my team the first six weeks of the season. I have really liked them the last six weeks.
    What Hinch meant to say about Dallas Keuchel: Next spring I think we will let him pitch in spring training.
    Alex Bregman meant to say this about where he would play: Houston!
    What Melvin meant to say about his team and the Astros: We used to be good and they sucked. Now they’re good and we suck.
    What Valbuena meant to say after his homer: I’ve been waiting for this all my life.
    I’m surprised Tejada didn’t hit more homers as a Houston SS. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Houston Astros have never had a good shortstop for any length of time.. Period. Carlos Correa is the first great SS they have ever had. For 53 years they had either a good fielder who couldn’t hit or a bad fielder who couldn’t hit or a good SS who got hit in the face and couldn’t be a good SS any more. Dickie Thon would have been good.

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  3. And now we’ve got a great shortstop we seem to have swapped him for a black hole at first base which used to be such an offensive force for us for so many years ….

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  5. I would like to make it clear that my next comment is one about the complexity and intrigue of following minor league baseball with the hopes and dreams that come with it. It is in no way a criticism of the Astros or their front office.
    I was thinking this morning about how three years ago, in the midst of the worst season one could imagine for their ball club, I had dreams of an Astros pitching staff that was anchored by Cosart, Folty, Wojo, Tropeano, Velasquez and Ober. Remember how we talked about the problems of putting all those long names on the back of the Astros uniforms. It is so strange that none of them are even with the club any longer.
    And today, there is another five or six I look forward to. How many will be around in three years?

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  6. Rodgers, Hauschild and Hoyt all represented the organization well in the PCL vs. ICL All-Star Game last night. And behind a solid though not spectacular effort from Cy Sneed, and thanks to another home run and 4 RBIs from Jack Mayfield, Corpus continued its winning ways, beating arch-rival Frisco 4-2. By the way, with 2 more hits last night, the Hooks’ speedy RF Alejandro Garcia has his BA up to .299. He’s not the typical RF power guy, though, and I think his OBP needs to improve the rest of this year and next for him to have a future with the ‘Stros.

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    • Garcia has to be looked at differently than other prospects because he was signed out of Cuba at age 24. The Astros really took a chance with him, but they must think he has major league ability right now and must only see advanced pitching before he is ready. It’s either that or they made a big mistake spending money on a guy who is already 25. I don’t even bother looking at Garcia’s stats because the Astros are the only one’s who know anything about him or what their hopes are for him.
      The signings of Amador and Heras have hardened my heart to any older prospect the Astros bring out of nowhere, and the high rate of volatility of even the best Cuban players makes me nervous.

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      • Didn’t the Red Sox just release a Cuban guy that they paid big bucks for? I’m not sure what the problem was or even what his name is, but it was kind of hushed up.I’ll dig around and see if I can come up with the name and why they cut him.

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  7. Rusney Castillo……signed a $72.5 million contract in 2014…and I don’t think he’s even in their minor league system anymore.

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  8. You know the crap that Rob Dibble stirred up on twitter about Altuve yesterday?
    Well it hit the paper today. I’m so angry that one guy like Dibble could accuse Altuve of doing PED’S….with NO proof could even get air time much less the newspaper. Smearing a guy like Altuve with NO PROOF, is grounds for a slander lawsuit.
    I’m so angry I could spit fire to save matches.Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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    • Dibble is one of the biggest jerks since I’ve been following baseball this side of Pete Harnisch. In the previous blog post, I had posted the comment Dibble made about Stephen Strasburg (the one that got him fired from his job with Washington ), basically calling him soft for not pitching through the injury that required surgery. Lucky for Altuve, nobody takes him seriously. He’s full of more sh*t than an industrial sized septic tank.

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      • When it hits the paper……it’s serious. If he had not started this on Twitter after the All Star game, this wouldn’t have made the news. If I were Altuve I would slap a lawsuit on him for slander, faster than you could say peanut butter.

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  9. So we start back in 3rd place in the Wild Card race, 2 games back of both Boston and Toronto. We are two games ahead of Detroit, 2 1/2 ahead of KC and the ChiSox, and 3 ahead of Seattle.

    What is ahead?

    This is going to be a wild, woolly race to the finish. We need to do well against everyone – including the Rangers [9 games] and a bunch of other division leaders like Cleveland [4 away], the Cubbies [3 at home], and Baltimore [4 away]. But we get 18 games against the other teams in the wildcard hunt – 9 against the Mariners, 7 against the Blue Jays, and 2 against the Tigers [away] – and it will be pretty unlikely that we make the playoffs if we don’t finish above .500 in those 18 games [only 7 of which are at home]

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  10. I am posting this because I will not change my life of freedom that all the generations of good men and women have fought and died for. I am a lover of this country and it’s people and of all freedom loving people around the world.
    This is what I love to do and I would die fighting those who would try to take freedom from my family, my country, and my friends.
    Go Astros!
    My prayers go out to all of those who fight for freedom against tyranny.

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  11. Sometimes I feel I’ve lived too long – that I can’t believe man’s mindless inhumanity to man.
    But thank God there are so many wonderful people in the world. That keeps me from total despair.
    My heart, thoughts and prayers are focused across the ocean on the people of France. Again.

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  13. Keith Law’s Midseason Top 50 Prospects list is out and Bregman is now #1.
    Bregman jumps for #15 in preseason to #1 midseason.
    Last time Astros had the #1 prospect in baseball?

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  14. Boston traded for Drew Pomerantz yesterday and gave up Anderson Espinosa for him.
    Espinosa was considered the #1 foreign prospect in the July 2nd, 2015 signing period and was the main reason Boston couldn’t participate in this year’s signing period for the big names this year. Espinosa was their #4 prospect and their top pitching prospect. But the kicker is: Espinosa is only 18 years old. But, he was an 18 year old with a high 90’s fastball and three other pitches. He was considered one of the best young pitching prospects in the minors.
    Boston is all in for 2016.
    If the Yankees falter and decide to trade a reliever, don’t be surprised if Boston is right there, waiting to pounce.

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    • Looking ahead to next year I wonder if the Astros will be in play for Aroldis Chapman as a free agent acquisition. I know our bullpen is a strength, but can you imagine a bullpen with Chapman, Harris, Hoyt, Giles and Gregerson? Considering the SP free agent market is extremely weak why not look to upgrade the bullpen and just make it the most dominating bullpen in baseball?

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  15. With the news that Shelby Miller was sent down to AAA yesterday it wouldn’t surprise me that in 5 years we look back at that trade being one of the worst in MLB history. It may even be worse than Larry Andersen for Jeff Bagwell.

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  16. I think it is very interesting that Brian McTaggart would throw out the names of 3 Astros prospects who could be trade bait on the Astros website. He names Paulino, Moran and Fisher in that article, which initially was posted as an article about prospects who could be called up to help the Astros.

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    • Of those three names [Paulino, Moran, and Fisher], the one about which I do not get the reasoning is Fisher. It is not like we have a plethora of outfield prospects of that caliber anymore. When we still had Maverick Phillips tearing up the minors, and still had hopes PTuck could develop into a serviceable though far excellent LF, I could see the FO thinking Fish was expendable. And if we continue next year to see good things from KTuck, Alejandro Garcia, Jason Martin, Ramon Laureano, and maybe Daz Cameron, perhaps this time next year Fish will be expendable again [assuming Bregman or Kemp becomes our full-time left fielder when Carlos Gomez and possibly Colby Rasmus leave]. But right now? Offer Kemmer, Davis, Hyde, Boyd, or Mayfield – all of whom have shown some promise – but let’s hold onto Fisher.

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      • In relation to PTuck, that should of course read ‘far FROM excellent’ instead of ‘far excellent’.

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      • You’re going to get very, very little for Kemmer, Davis, Hyde, Boyd and/or Mayfield. You might get Steve Pearce, who I have been advocating trying to get, but that’s probably the best you can do for those players.

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    • I’d rather not lose Fisher, but if we want talent, it’s going to hurt. Right now we need a righty bat, ideally an outfielder. If Fisher can help us get that, I’m ok with it.

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  17. Jon Heyman is saying that Feldman, Neshek and Fields might be available in trades. Those are three players I named as ones I thought the Astros might trade, due to their contracts and also due to the fact that the Astros have minor league prospects to put into their places.

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  18. When terrorists flew airplanes into buildings on 9-11 my professional and private life changed forever. Since then we have lived under the umbrella of WHEN not if.
    My heart is heavy with sorrow over the last 15yrs of death, and destruction. I have no answers, and it appears neither does anyone else. That’s all I’m going to say, because you don’t want to hear anymore about it, and neither do I. God bless and keep all of you in his arms…….my knees are sore from falling on them in prayer.
    Life is so precious, hug your loved ones a little bit tighter today.
    Wouldn’t you know it…..ANOTHER lefty tonight! The word is out….the Astros Achilles heel is a lefty! Read where Feldman, Neshack, and Fields are available too.
    Who knows what Luhnow is going to do….

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      • I wonder if he will be sent to Corpus to get right to work – or if he will have to go get in shape and acclimated to the Astros’ system in Kissimmee, near his Miami home? Can he be ready to DH for us this year?

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      • My guess is he starts in Corpus and is with the Astros in early August. He’s been playing this year and is hitting .500 in 49 games, albeit in a much less competitive league.

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      • Sorry, those numbers above were from last year. I saw his latest numbers on Baseball Reference and assumed it was 2016, but it was 2015.

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    • Or they trade Gomez and
      CF Springer
      3B Valbuena
      2B Altuve
      SS Correa
      DH Gurriel
      LF Bregman
      RF Rasmus
      1B MarGo or Reed
      C Castro

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      • It will be telling if Bregman gets the start in LF tonight for Fresno.

        Fresno is playing in Round Rock for a 4-game series starting Monday. I’ve got tickets to Monday and Thursday’s games. I doubt Gurriel starts in Fresno, but it would be sweet if I could see him, Bregman and Teoscar together.

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    • From everything I have read it will probably be awhile – at least a month – before Gurriel is anything close to ready. He needs some time at Corpus, then some time at Fresno. But what this acquisition probably does mean is that we need to lose some salary quick so I expect to see two or more of Valbuena, Gomez, either either Castro or Gattis, Rasmus, Feldman and Gonzales gone before the trading deadline for either Teheran [with a couple of high level prospects] or a LH reliever and a few of this year’s draft’s pitching, catching and outfield prospects – guys we won’t have to put on the 40-man to protect them any time soon.

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      • Bill, there’s no way the Braves are going to trade Teheran for any expensive players. They want only prospects or players with a lot of control for him, because they are rebuilding.
        And if what you say about losing some salary is true, then the Astros are going to trade some salaries for prospects from contenders. Then they can trade some prospects for a pitcher or two.

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  24. YAAAA….HOOO!! I’m just glad we didn’t have to give up prospects for this guy!! About TIME Jim Crane opened his wallet!! Now we have some major league players that we can package with a prospect or two, for another lefty out of the pen, and or in the rotation! This signing just tells me Luhnow is all in on this year, and beyond!!
    Oh, and I’m soo glad the Cubs beat that team in arlington! Now…..we gotta start out on the right foot by winning tonight!! 😀😀😀

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  25. His younger brother, Lourdes, will sign somewhere when he turns 23 in October. All along I thought the Astros would try to do a package deal. As soon as I read about his tryout and saw him in that Astros cap and then did not hear another word about him, even though he had at least two more tryouts, I figured the Astros had him.
    The Astros wanted Whitely, and they wanted those young Venezuelans and Dominicans, and they wanted Yunieski Gurriel. They got all of them.
    That’s why they didn’t overslot some of their draft picks and let some walk.
    I wouldn’t be surprised if darn near every pro scout in the organization watched this guy work out. Some teams wanted to offer him three years. It was rumored that he wanted four years and I wonder if he got five years because of his brother.
    This makes the next two weeks mighty interesting, from a trade standpoint.
    I think this could turn out to be a decent deal. I am not worried about this guy because he played in Japan. If he played in Japan he is a solid guy personally.

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  26. Jack Mayfield just got promoted to Fresno. Another infielder to go with Fontana, Kemp, T. White, Colin Moran, Matt Duffy, and Jon Singleton? Something has to give, right?

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    • I wonder if Kemp is going back to the outfield. Fontana and Aplin cannot continue on the 40-man with those batting stats. They just can’t.

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  29. Ladies and gentlemen,

    This is going to be a great time to be an Astros fan, especially if they can sign Lourdes Gourriel. This signing opens up the doors for trades that we wouldn’t want to consider. If definitely makes Davis, Moran and even Fisher expendable, but I wouldn’t be surprised, and don’t shoot the messenger, if Reed is packaged in a deal for a solid pitcher. I wonder if it opens the door for a Freddie Freeman trade. All I know is that I haven’t been this excited to be an Astros fan since 2005 as I’m more excited than I was at this time last year. Let’s go Astros!

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  30. No comment about the Gurriel deal from the Astros…..seems his visa has hit a snag. Several teams offered 3yr deals, but the Astros were the only one with five, and I’m sure that wasn’t really what they wanted to do. He is supposed to spend some time in Corpus, the on the Fresno…..no time table on any of that though. I sure hope our guys come out swinging tonight, don’t let this lefty get too comfortable!

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  34. Lancaster got 10 hits and nine runs off of Matt Cain tonight in 4 innings. That’s about the only way Dean Deetz could give up 7 hits and 7 runs and still win the game.
    Yeah, that Matt Cain!

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  36. We are now within 1 game of the 2nd wildcard.

    Go ‘Stros – beat Seattle.
    And go A’s – beat Toronto.
    And while we are at it, go Cubbies – and beat the Rangers.

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  37. If you see Marwin in the lineup today against a righty, don’t be surprised. He is 10- for 19 against Iwakuma for his career. Castro, Rasmus, and Valbuena have all hit under .200 against the 35 year old righty.

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  38. Last night Paxton threw Springer five straight fastballs and George hit the fifth one over the fence to RF. After that he threw a ton of curves and changeups the rest of the night but the Astros were still jumping on his fastball, which remained between 97 and 99 mph all night. After the game, Paxton said his problems stemmed from not sticking with his fastball more and that’s when I figured out why he’s not mowing down hitters with his stuff. He’s got the arm, but still doesn’t have the brain of a good pitcher.
    Sometimes guys have a thick head to go with a good arm. It was amazing to see a lefty throw that hard for five innings and still get beaten by a pitcher with an 87 MPH fastball, especially with the lineup Seattle brings up there.

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    • I disagree. His problem is location. He can’t put hitters away because the fastball is the only pitch he can keep in the zone. It doesn’t matter what sequence he uses when a hitter can look for one pitch and safely lay off the rest.

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  39. BIG presser today to introduce this new guy from Cuba. He will wear #10, and Luhnow says we can expect to see him by the middle of August if not a little sooner.
    He wants his little brother to get signed by the Astros, as the have always played together. That might stretch Cranes wallet, because his brother is only 2yrs old, and his age will be a plus when he gets here. If my feeble memory serves me, weren’t these the two brothers who had to go through Spain to get here? Getting the little brother would be *awesome*! They DFA’D Matt Duffy to make room for this guy…….now watch him go gangbusters with another team! Rasmus back in the line up today, Reed is DH.

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  41. I feel sorry for Duffy in a way. Player of the year that never got a chance at the major league level. My guess is his drop off in performance this year was all in his head. Hope he catches on with another team and gets a shot. This is probably the best thing for him. I understand that there were stronger options ahead of him. But I wish we had traded him last off season when he might have had more value coming off a good year instead of crushing his hopes (and confidence?) before letting him go for maybe a littl cash at best. I really wonder if this front office has any understanding of the role of psychology of baseball since it can’t be measured with numbers.

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    • Actually, I think they did Duffy a favor. We’ve got a bit of a log jam at the corner infield positions. He’ll get a better look with another organization, assuming someone picks him up. Duffy is a bit long in the tooth at this point. So it’s probably now or never for him.

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  42. You know I’m not a UJ fan, however you can’t keep all these guys. Reality is Duffy is a good kid, will he ever be a difference maker in the Bigs , I would be shocked.
    I wish the best for him and a lot of other baby Astros that will have to get a real job in the real world or be traded.

    Singleton, Alpin, Fontana, Peaock, Chapman, Fields etc, sadly I would put Preston Tucker and Tyler White in that group.

    Doesn’t make Atrsos bad guys it’s baseball

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    • Kevin, I didn’t intend to portray them as “bad guys”. Just trying to figure out how a guy goes from Player of the Year to DFA without getting an opportunity or used as part of a trade. It just seems a bit unusual but that’s why I am a fan, not a GM.

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      • Nance, (very astute commenter) as you know..
        “Its a long way from Super Two to the major leagues.”
        -JJ Cooper

        OP, that would be a “no, I am not surprised that Marwin is in the lineup” and has nearly 50 games at 1B already this year. But you and dave can keep posting it like he’s expendable when he’s not 10 for 19 if you wish. Luhnow Hinch and teammates love him. What is $2M for a player who can replace seven others?! Sight unseen 42M for the Cuban and we still havent locked up Correa, Tuve and Springer? Cmon, live a little😉 the Marwin comments on here are Relentless every game seems like.. He’s hitting 412 and 375 respectively batting R to LF, and batting L to RF. He’s not overly clutch, but thats a pretty impressive piece of hitting stat.

        Devin, yes you could see us laying off Paxton after awhile (Gattis fighting to get under that slider), and I could have swore I saw our 3B coach laughing at him for Not throwing the fastball. MEANWHILE, Fister went right after Cano in the 5th in another masterful pound down outing! Btw, do you still hold to Mets taking the East?

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      • He had a horrid spring. His competition, White, had a torrid spring. Moran probably passed him before games counted. If he hadn’t struggled at Fresno in early games things might be different, but his age worked against him. I’d take him over Matty D, Will Middlebrooks, and a number of guys that keep getting chances, though.

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  43. Ramon Laureano was 4 for 5 last night for Lancaster. Two of his hits were HRs and one was a double. His slash line is now .309/.415/.922. And did I mention he has 58 RBIs?

    I know, Lancaster plays in the thin, dry air and windy world of the High Desert. But this kid is just getting better.

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    • I saw Laureano make an impressive catch in CF in the Spring. Would be awesome if we have an influx of hitting OF’s. Then again, if Jake starts mashing our troubles are history. That would also end the debate of Bregman in Left, which Luhnow has already said they didnt want to add a new position to newer league pitching in Fresno. I rather see him spelling SS, 3B and 2B while the others DH.

      Game time! TIME TO SEE the most impressive curveball on our staff

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    • Kevin, Gomez answer brings more questions … Day by day. He is obviously The Man in the spotlight. All eyes are on Carlos Gomez (he likes that) to prove it — until, quite simply, every team pitches around to get to him, until he proves he will beat them. Meantime, we have the same dilemna all year – we cannot win with Gomez. If he plays well we lose or bad we lose. The only saving grace 1. its not our money, 2. it can only get batter, and… We have him in-house not throwing CF-on-the-fly tag outs at 3B on one hop…From the warning track (ahem!) so therefore… We know what We got. Not an extreme variable or guessing game for suitors.

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  47. Can someone tell me why Gomez is still on this team?? He started hitting a couple of weeks ago, but that was a couple of weeks ago. I don’t care if Crane DOES owe him $9 million……he stinks.
    The Cubs won today, and it looks like we are gonna lose this game 1-0. Pitiful.

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  49. Marwin is a valuable utility man and when he can finally be used in that role, we’ll have a stronger club.

    If Jake starts to “mash”, I’ll be as delighted as anyone, but how long do we wait for the mashing to begin? I think we’ll be seeing Bregman or Gurriel in left at some point this season, probably Bregman.

    Sure was not happy to see one of the best bats in the game drop a bunt down with his game tying RBI at second base.

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    • Agreed on that, what the hail?! It looked liked the word came down on Hinch with cupping his cap… Not his decision? [good, sport, Dave]

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  50. Now the Astros know how it feels to have their pitcher throw 97 and get beat by a pitcher throwing 87. A reverse of last night.
    Ashby and Blum were so pissed at Gomez for his strikeout bunt in the eighth inning, that they completely ignored it on the air.
    Hinch was seething by the time Altuve bunted into that run down in the ninth.
    Today was a real good reason why Bregman probably should be on the team. They needed one run to keep it going and nobody came through.
    Bottom five in the order were 1 for 16 and that was a single by the rookie.
    Cano beats them again with the only RBI of the game.
    Why can’t the Astros hit one of forty 80mph sliders over the plate?
    We’ll get em tomorrow. We face a lefty they found somewhere.

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    • I mean, so many positives, Op…

      We played them tough and to their credit fought back, where our class players tipped their cap, we couldn’t quite grind it out. Look to the genius of the inventor and these dimensions. It was a glorious showing on both team’s parts. And the only thing I will say is – did you see Marwin put his hand on Cano’s back after the hit? There is a Hispanic “thing” in this league. It comes from dirt, and respects each other’s mother… It’s tipping off opposing team’s players, and loyalty is its own respect. Where we found Hidalgo, we gave up on it for awhile. Either we understand that culture, or we. LOSE. Bregman? Ha! He doesnt have a major league hit sheez!! Cant keep it at bay for much longer till he proves it – why talk about that?

      I, personally, witnessed Robinson Cano take a routine double play against Carlos Gomez last series and slow it down so much the SS waited and waited for a one-out force.

      Its about tenure and paying your dues – and respect *this* game. They are fighting for contracts and all sorts of things – this organization keeps its players hungry!

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      • and not a word from gallery on the shot down the line against their shutdown reliever who made it all….possible? Thats what I mean. Gee, I hope Gurriel does well in like, September (for Forty 5.5 million dollars more than Marwin) Or maybe Bregman would have homered in his first ML AB? You guys need to recognize the winners in the losses. Neshek and Sipp both pitched well. Very encouraging! Do we need to levergae future over LHP w/Harris on board? and Feldman on trading block Hinch is auditioning each guy…and they are passing every test. Hinch with options like Felix the Cat reaches into bag of trix.

        Sell hi? Maybe we should have traded Tyler White the second week of the season. Now that would have been brilliant. Or, would it? Do we need baseball men in control; Casey Stengel, or clairvoyants like Edgar Cayce? in the end if youre telling history properly it was chance all along! Marvel in the wonder.

        Bring on the new crop/youth movement, but make hay while the sun is shining.

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