This is an appeal to all true Astros’ fans. It is very important that you abandon all hope from now until the end of the season. Stop dreaming about the playoffs. Stop patting this 2016 team on the back, and stop singing its praises. If you really want to be a true fan, you must stop being one.
You see there is this pattern that becomes very apparent when you look closely at this Astro season. This team is a bunch of contrarians. Whichever way the fan base blows, these stubborn blades of grass bend the other way. Don’t believe it? Well here are some examples.
Coming into the 2016 season after an unexpected run to the playoffs, through the Yankees and within a few outs of whacking the World Champion Royals, the fan base was ripe with optimism. With Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh and Lance McCullers Jr. anchoring the rotation, they just needed a little help from Mike Fiers or Scott Feldman or Doug Fister to improve. The bullpen was totally set now that they had the big armed closer Ken Giles at the back. On top of that, having Carlos Correa with most of a season under his belt, improvement expected from now uninjured Carlos Gomez and minor league help from Tyler White a much better offense was expected.
So what happened?
- With all that full flown optimism, the team stumbled out of the gate like Joe Hardy turning back into Joe Boyd at the end of Damn Yankees. Keuchel’s loss on May 2nd dropped them to 8-18 and led many to bad mouth the local nine.
- So, of course the team then went on a nice little 9-6 run and really started generating some offense leading to a 17-24 record on May 18. The local folk of course became much more optimistic at that point.
- A four game losing streak, including a sweep by the Texas (this space for rent) where the team scored only 5 runs and lost three straight 2-1 games dropped them to their low point for the season at 17-28. Fans were abandoning ship and calling for the manager, general manager, batting coach and the MMP custodial staff’s jobs.
- This then led to a 37-20 roll through the next two months as the Astros were the hottest team in baseball and nudged up within sight of the Texas (this space for rent) team. Folks were rejoicing and writing limericks about their ‘Stros.
- Losing 11 of the next 14 games, changed the limericks from odes to obscenities. But….
- The fans found some life after the team won 4 in a row against the Twins and Jays, however the life was snuffed out of them when…
- The team lost the next five, which left them one game over .500 at 61-60, ten and a half games behind the (this space for rent) for the division lead and six and a half out of the second Wild Card Spot. Funerals were held for the season, but nobody cared enough to attend.
- The obvious reaction to the fans starting to look at the off-season or watching pre-season NFL games was that the Little Engine That Might (as long as no one was caring about them) ….all of a sudden Could. They went on a 10-2 run that has brought them to the brink (1 game back of the 2nd Wild card) of a playoff spot.
The natural reaction is to praise this team, talk up the heroics of Correa, Evan Gattis, George Springer, Jose Altuve, Keuchel, Giles, Devenski, etc. Well stop it. Just stop it right now. Go back to questioning their heart, their crazy swings, the short outings by the starters, and the home run launches against the bullpen. No matter what happens, you must show that you doubt them, that you have given up, that the task is too impossible.
It will take all your focus, pessimism, cynicism and any other -ism you can muster to not get behind this team. But you have to become steadfast and drive this team to the finish line by not supporting them. It is the only way.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
255 responses to “If you are a true Astros’ fan, you must give up now”
Do we need a new manager? Coaches? GM? Or all the above?
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None of the above. We just need a few additions via free agency and we’ll be fine.
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No, we need that too, Tim. The FO and coaches either need to adapt or be replaced. You can like them all you want, but you also have to hold them responsible if you want to shower them with credit and praise. A team that wins 6/10 games (.600 winning percentage = 97 – 55 record) wins the division and multiple awards. A .500 team at 5/10 games is 16 losses in the standings diff and winning no awards. We appear to be somewhere in between…so I agree you need to squeeze out a few more wins from either player additions (or subtractions) or less dumb coaching/management.
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Sure, you can hold them somewhat accountable, but no changes should be made to the front office or management staff. They need some upgrades in the on field personnel and the rest will take care of itself.
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Yes……all of the above.
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Add Carlos Who to the list of players who’ve moved on and found new life. So frustrating.
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He’s hitting .212 with a .681 OPS for the Rangers. He’s faced 2 BORPs this weekend, plus another today, and even Gomez can look decent against those type pitchers.
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Not here. He was just plain bad here against everybody. I don’t see him screwing himself into the ground anymore. Just swinging for contact.
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His numbers in Houston were very similar to his current numbers in Texas.
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See oldpro’s comment below regarding changing mentality. If the FO and coaches are happy with our current mentality and strategy, I would argue they very much need to be replaced.
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See Dan’s comments a few blogs ago. Playing 52 pickup every 3-5 years is not the best way to build a championship contender. If signs of serious regression occur then the time for a change might be right, but that time is not here yet. Making changes after a season that will probably be close to last season, as far as overall record, sends a bad message. Besides, Crane makes those decisions and we know he’s not getting rid of Luhnow. Crane dies not look like a knee-jerk reaction owner. He was patient enough to ride out the early, miserable years of his ownership and he’ll allow this very slight blip of a season to play itself out.
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Consider that those early, miserable seasons were agreed upon by Crane to restock the farm and win with home grown talent. Correa is thus far the only fruit we are sure that effort has born. LMJ is a question due to injuries and possible regression. No one else is certain and most are unlikely. Crane may or may not feel his money was well spent at this point.
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He gave Luhnow an extension right during the lean years. LMJ and Bregman look like they’re fruits of the draft and LMJ may have injury concerns, but regression is not a concern. Crane loves what Luhnow has done and will not terminate him, especially considering he’ll have to eat the contract remaining. It’s not happening so get used to Luhnow as the GM.
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LMJ’s control this year is not good. He is walking 4.5 / 9ip. This is a major regression and should concern you as well as his injuries, but I do admit only 14 starts is premature to make a concrete judgement.
I am used to Luhnow as gm. You may be right that Crane would be unwilling to eat the money he owes him.
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My point is that LMJ is so young you can expect him to improve on those numbers. You can’t expect a regression. One could happen, but it’s probably just as likely, if not more that he improves, assuming he stays injury free.
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I’m a big fan and want to see him get 30+ starts for us every year. I’m hoping for an improvement in his numbers next year. Some guys are effective even walking 4+ each game. Most guys can’t keep runs off the board when they give up free passes.
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It is tough to appreciate that it doesn’t matter that we lost the series TO Texas, but rather that we lost the series. We couldn’t realistically catch them at this point, but the WC aspirants are still in play. 3gb now is tough… especially with our upcoming schedule, but three of the four in front of us are AL Least teams and one will win the division. Given all their head to heads, we have a chance to make up ground…but can’t afford to keep losing series.
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Yep. Although doubtful with McHugh facing Darvish if the Astros can find a way to win today it still gives them a punchers chance at the WC. A loss today coupled with an Orioles win over NYY and the situation looks very grim. I think they’ll, at the very least, split in Cleveland, but then the next 6 games will be very telling. At least they are home games so they may have a chance to go 4-2, but 3-3 is more likely. Needless to say we will have a better idea after today’s games are over.
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Since I saw the game Friday night, I have been able to eliminate checking the standings as part of my routine. It really doesn’t matter any more.
Now I can sit back and watch the Astros do what they think is going to work to change the makeup of this team, it’s lineup, it’s coaching, and it’s pitching mentality from one that is satisfied to be average, to one that can actually beat good teams.
I still contend that Luhnow is the guy who is capable of getting us to where we were last year, but not capable of getting us further.
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I’m with you old pro. But it goes beyond Luhnow. Crane is the guy who decided to run this club as a small market organization. Just last week he gave three minor league employees their walking papers. As you said, it was a polite way to do it, as it hypothetically gives them more time to hook up with another organization. But are those guys going to be replaced, or is payroll being cut? I’m dubious.
And we’ve had these conversations so many times, but is our minor league system really so darn good? All those nice high ratings from this expert and that expert don’t impress me. I want to see more Bregman’s. 2017 will be very telling. Can we rebuild the rotation with our own prospects? I know we don’t have any lefty pitching in house for our pen. And so far we still don’t have that first baseman we’ve been looking for. Unless Reed gets a real shot and puts it together, it’s looking more and more like Gurriel will be our guy over there. Which is okay, but if after five years we can’t groom a first baseman or find a couple of solid lefty pitchers in house, our minor system is not all it’s cracked up to be. We might be in the same position with outfielders too. Hernandez looks like a ball player, but he’s not a guarantee either.
And I think some of us are willing to accept mediocrity too. There’s no doubt that Jake Marisnick is an excellent outfielder. But he got his 13th and 14th RBI’s of the season yesterday, with a garbage time two run homer. He’s hitting .139 with runners on base. If that’s acceptable, then we need to raise our expectations.
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I don’t believe he’s capable of getting us to where we were last year. Last year was an enigma. This year is as good as it gets under this FO.
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I’m going to do just like OP…..except I won’t be seeing them, only listening. They are going to win some more games, but it won’t be enough…..so if they can finish this year without any season ending ingurys….I’ll be happy. Yes….we do need to look at our in house pitching, but that doesn’t touch what this team needs. The have GOT to rework the rotation, and do what you have to do and get an outfielder who can HIT.
The hitting coach and assistant hitting coach should be seeing Houston in their rear view mirror. Whoever the hitting coach is in Fresno…..you have a new job with the Astros, and bring anyone else with you who you need to coach with.
Jim Crane has absolutely NO idea what it takes to own a MLB team….NONE.
If Luhnow finds the pieces to add to this club, Crane had better get his tight wallet out and start peeling off those $💵.
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We get a big lead and our pitchers just give it away. This is not fun anymore.
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I’m watching the game while texting my sons and we are all wondering why Hinch could not tell McHugh lost it in the 4th. Why are we waiting until the leads gone to take him out.
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Isn’t that the way he always does it?
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Not the weekend we hoped, but a huge win today and back to 2 games out of the WC. The offense, defense and bullpen are looking solid, but the starting pitching is the big concern down the stretch.
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Every team in the American League currently has either a 1 game winning streak or a one game losing streak, except Cleveland. They have a 5-game winning streak and guess who is headed to Cleveland.
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I think one of – if not the – best starting pitchers we have is the guy who is presently nailing the door shut for us game after game in long relief. I hope to see him as a regular fixture in the rotation in 2017.
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Devo! Whip it! Whip it good!
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I keep thinking we will see a chink in his armor but he just keeps dealing.
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After reading all the posts some good thoughts and perceptions. I confess I didn’t watch , it just pains me to much to see that team in Arlington continue to beat on us like a drum, we got lucky Sunday.
I have to say I think Tim is Right,Uncle Jeff isn’t going anywhere or his yes man AJ.
So I think get ready for a lot of .500 baseball and a lot of chatter on but we have the top rated prospects
Oh and 0 AL champiionships, wasting Altuves and Singers Prime Years. )-:
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Exactly!
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Dang if that’s not the truth. We went through a complete tear down and rebuild, but there’s no excuse for not having an A.L. Championship after the 2nd year of having a competitive team. Fire the entire front office and most of the coaches. It’s clearly been a failure and this team has no future. You have finally convinced me it’s time for a new direction.
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TG Tim your eyes have been opened. It’s been 5 however not 2 just saying. Like I said if your happy with .500 baseball and never seeing an AL Championship you have hooked your horses to the right wagon..
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It’s been 2 years of having a competitive team. Our current FO was tasked with cleaning up the mess left by the prior management group.
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Not having a championship after more than five years of bottom feeding is really not the point.
We saw one good year out of four and we’re seeing a mediocre year presently.
Shouldn’t we expect at least 50% of the trades to work out? And shouldn’t we expect more than three or four of these amazing prospects that we’ve acquired over these last five years to make it at the major league level?
Shouldn’t we expect premier players to see the outstanding job our GM is doing and actually want to be traded here? And what about our coaches and manager. Shouldn’t we expect a little progress there?
I keep seeing the same mistakes made over and over again. When should we expect better?
What has this organization done to make me believe the “plan” is ever going to work?
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We’re on pace to win about 86-87 games after a 7-17 start. I’d take that for this year, especially if we do end up getting the WC start.
Next year I expect more.
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This is essentially what I was going to say. After that start it’s amazing we have the record we do. What happens if they do the same thing next April? Do you just shrug your shoulders and assume they can dig out of the hole?
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We will have consecutive winning seasons and we have Bregman, Correa and McCullers already showing they belong. The losing seasons from 2012-2014 were mainly the result of a horrible farm system left by the prior ownership coupled with a horrible major league team. There was no way we would have had successful seasons during those years no matter who the GM and manager were. However, one can make a strong case the Astros may well still be a losing team with no playoff appearances and an average farm system under a different ownership and management team. If you want to have unrealistic expectations then please do as many fans are similar in that thinking. Also, Luhnow has been successful in more trades than not, but the most recent trades for Kazmir and Gomez stand out although none of the prospects traded have done much to fret those trades yet. It may have been a different story if Hamels didn’t block the trade to Houston as the Gomez trade would not have happened if we acquired Hamels.
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Keuchel sent to Houston for evaluation of his shoulder. Will miss at least 2 starts. Peacock starting tomorrow.
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This is a fairly crushing blow to our playoff hopes. At this point I’m resigned to the fact the playoffs aren’t going to happen. When your 2 best starting pitchers are not available it’s hard for any team to be successful.
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I would be uber- cautious with Keuchel with an eye toward 2017. Let’s be honest, we never knew what we were going to get from him on a start-by-start basis this year so who knows how this will affect us.
I would like to see Devo moved into the rotation and Peacock go into long relief. I would also like to see Martes and maybe 1 other young gun get a look. Having never been seen by opposing teams I would like their chances to get through the order once or twice with minimal damage and eat some innings; while not putting too many miles on their arms.
Either way, our bullpen better get geared up for some heavy use down the stretch.
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Tim, amazingly I am going to take your side on the FO argument. We had a breakout season in 2015 and made some late season and off- season moves that did not work out. We saw some regression in early 2016, which is not uncommon with a young team after a breakout year. I think the opportunity to inject some young talent was well used and we should finish the season with a clear idea of what we will need to add to take the next step. I would leave the FO and manager for one more season, but I would have them on a short leash. We will need to see clear improvement beginning in spring training or all bets are off.
Regarding trades: the Gomez trade did not work out but it made sense and I am glad thy took the risk. Sometimes you have to bet the future to win now. Some bets don’t work out, whether it be a band hand or just bad luck. Out of JL’s trades I would say that almost all were either a push, still too early to tell or in our favor. None of them hurt us in the short- term and none are the reason for some regression in 2016. The only guys I would really like to have back are Hader and Mengden, but then again if I had them I would trade both of them in a heart beat to get Martes; so I will begrudgingly give JL some credit.
In my opinion we are a very poor base running team, we are undisciplined at the plate (and appear not to have a clear plan of what to do when we get there), we consistently see soft toss, junk ball pitchers working too much in the middle- to- upper portion of the strike zone, we handle our pitching staff poorly and we change the line- up far too much to promote consistency. Some of this is due to the youth of the team, a little is on the manager but most of it points to coaching. For that reason, I would like to see a changeout of key coaches for next season, or possibly a wholesale changeout of all coaches. This is just my own personal opinion!
We are still in this race. Someone between the Boston, Detroit, Baltimore trio will play themselves out of the hunt due to head-to-head schedule. I think if we don’t swept in the Indians, Rangers or Cubs series (go 4-6 or even 3-7) and can take 2 of 3 from everyone else we will probably stay in contention util the end. If we can play .500 against the big 3 I will really like our chances.
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I’m not of the mindset that our FO is infallible or we should never consider a change, but now is not the time. The talent is in place both at the major league level and the minor league level. It makes zero sense to change directions now when progress is there and the pieces are in place. The time to make a change is when it’s clear the direction of the club is going in the wrong direction with no hope for recovery. The Astros are a long way from being in that position.
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Considering those soft tossing finesse pitchers, don’t you yearn for he days of Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemmons, and Randy Johnson. I’d love to have just one of those guys in the rotation. Wishful thinking I guess.
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finally we have a 1B that can hit.
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Keuchel missing two starts, gives Devenski an open door….at least that’s what I would do. He’s very valuable out of the bullpen, but it’s down to either let him take a start or two…..or let Peacock or Rodgers take his place. Either way, this is a HUGE blow to our chances of making a wild card spot.
I’ve been watching the M’S game this afternoon, and seeing Felix Hernandez implode by the 3rd inning was un….believable. hamels was out by the 2nd inning, giving up 7 runs!! Let’s hope the good Mike Fires shows up tonight. PLEASE!
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I have been waiting for Devenski to get a shot in the rotation. He has performed well enough to get a chance. We could do worse….and probably will.
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Say it ain’t so!!! Hank Conger was DFA’d today by the lowly Rays.
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Ouch, the price for Lucroy just went up considerably, as Ryan Cordell was announced as the PTBNL in the deal. The price ended up being the 2nd, 3rd and 6th ranked prospects out of a very good farm system.
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I’m glad we passed especially now with the news on Keuchel and uncertainty with LMJ.
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Me too. I would have to have a TOR for that level of talent.
And to be honest Gattis has been a bigger improvement to Astros lineup since moving to catcher than Lucroy has been on Rangers. Gattis last 28 days: .357/.432/.714 with OPS of 1.146. And he cost nothing.
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There is some speculation on other blogs that Keuchel may have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Obviously, it’s too early to make that call, but it could help explain his drop in velocity this year, if this is the diagnosis. Let’s hope this is not the diagnosis as it could be a lengthy recovery time.
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Isn’t that what shut down Matt Harvey?
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Yes.
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Put Dean Deetz on your pitching prospect watch list.Fastball has jumped to high 90’s and slider ranked among the best in the minors. He is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 2 BB/17 K in just 12 innings since being promoted to CC.
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So let me get this starlight our Wild card hopes we based on DK, being DK 15, what are his Stats last 10 Starts, Have I been missing something?
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sorry phone straight
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Then Ill stick with objective and irrational and you with Uncle Jeff and we will see.
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I’m not sure what you’re asking, but the WC hopes are based more than the last 10 starts by DK. A healthy LMJ would have definitely improved those chances.
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Wow I love Bregman and LMJ healthy yes this years DK has stunk, if he was our WC hope we are deep dudu. I used to think I was a young crazy delusional Homer. Tim you are nuts man, good nuts, but a homer nut.
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There’s a difference between being a homer and being irrational. Being irrational is demanding FO changes right in the middle of a succesful rebuild. I never cared for Ed Wade or Tim Purpura. If I was a homer I would blindly support everyone.
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The Cubs had a successful rebuild. They did it in the same amount of time that Luhnow had.
They are top of MLB. The Astros are a 500 club.
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Sandy,
We have discussed this numerous times before, but I’ll address it again. First, the Cubs had a stronger farm system than the Astros at the time. Second, they had a better major league team than the Astros and last they have more finances with their TV contract than the Astros. The situations are unrelated. Also, the Astros are 18 games over .500 under Hinch.
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I have to admit I find it quite humorous that your justification for wanting Luhnow fired is because the Cubs have a better team. That would be a very irrational, knee jerk reaction. A smart team doesn’t make decisions on its own team based upon the success of an unrelated team in a different league. That’s one of the quickest ways to return to mediocrity.
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I wouldn’t say unrelated, but Tim is correct that it’s not a straight comparison. Chicago has been able to sign some of the top free agents each year (Lester, Hayward), signed the top managerial candidate, and brought in a guy to be GM who may be a consensus #1 GM of this era, if there is such a thing. Houston signed Rasmus and Fister to one year deals. Houston signed a manager who was ridiculed thanks to an unsuccessful stint in ARI. As for our GM, well, he isn’t good at making friends, but at least he has found us some bargains.
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Is there a point where Bregman starts to get some mention in the ROY race? In his last 30 games he is slashing .323/.375/.575 with 28 runs, 40 hits, 7 HR and 25 RBI. After the 1-32 start he now has his average up to .265.
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Probably not, just not enough time up. I haven’t looked at the list of candidates though, if there really are no viable others, maybe. Astros fan know how the .265 came about, but nation wide sportswriters do not.
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Sandy 5 words Epstien-Madden vs Uncle jeff- AJ
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Technically, that’s 6 words, but who’s counting. 🙂
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Tim…..It’s PAST TIME for this cheap owner to start shelling out some money on this club. *P E R I O D*.
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I don’t disagree with that at all. The Astros will have a ton of payroll flexibility this offseason. It is a fairly weak free agency class, but there are some good hitters available, especially in the outfield. Crane will have to spend some money this offseason.
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Good win for the good guys as they gave the main arms in the bullpen a rest. Back to 2-2 on the road trip.
Bregman as vewill points out has become a force. Not easy to start out like he did and drag it up to .266. Love that short solid swing.
A hit by everybody but Gattis tonight.
I like that the Indians used 7 relievers tonight….
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We need to have the Orioles sweep the Tigers then have the Indians put them away for good in their 7 remaining head-to-head games. We then need the Red Sox to then put the Orioles out in their 7 remaining head-to-head games.
On our end, we need to take care of the weaker teams and not get swept by the Cubs or Rangers.If we can split with the Indians we are in great shape going into Cubs/ Rangers series.
It looks like we need to get used to starters going 5 or less. If they can keep it close we will have to roll the dice with our bullpen and keep rolling in fresh arms.
On another note, can anyone explain the logic of pinch hitting Marwin for Yulie with the bases loaded. I understand righty/ lefty but Marwin was stone cold off the bench and had not had an at bat in several days, while Yulie has been swinging the bat well.
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No logic that I can figure out. Must be a new programming language.
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I assume Hinch planned to make the switch for defensive purposes. He probably told Marwin he would be ph to enter the game long before the actual situation came up and then either didn’t want to have to tell Marwin he wasn’t hitting or Gurriel, knowing he was exiting the game, had already begun icing / eating a sandwich / etc.
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That’s a whole lotta iffs and butts, vewill1 !!
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Marwin did not pinch hit. He was put in an inning before as a defensive replacement. Thus, he was already in the 5th spot in the lineup. I just wanted to clarify this for you.
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Been awful quiet around Luhnow and Hinch about McCullers. Raise your hand if you think he’s done for the year…..and might be facing surgery, that no one is talking about. If Keuchel and McCullers are out for the rest of this year, and both are hurt more than we know……this team is in deep do-do, going into 2017.
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Yes, I think both LMJ and Keuchel are done for this year and, yes, I think it could be trouble for next year. I am more worried about LMJ than Keuchel as I don’t know enough about TOS (assuming this what Keuchel’s diagnosis is) to determine the long-term effects. I think LMJ, as OP pointed out earlier, will be a TJ candidate very soon.
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Got to give the guys some credit for winning the last two games. Taking one of three in Arlington while giving up 28 runs was a bit of a feat. And while last nights win was not a real tidy one, the home team has not given up.
I get annoyed when our management does not share information on injuries. I’m concerned that McCullers might not ever be a 200 inning guy. And it’s likely that we’ll never see the Cy Young Keuchel again. Overall, we could be a pretty good team next year, with a couple of additions, except for the fact that we might have to rebuild most of what was supposed to be a quality rotation. Right now, our best starter might be a number 3 or 4. I think it’s time to turn Devenski and Feliz loose and see what they can do. Heck, McHugh is closing in on a 5.00 ERA for the season. And I’m certainly not convinced we’ve got enough depth in the minors. I see Musgrove being mostly successful, but I don’t see any out pitch from Rogers.
I’m guessing that the club is being careful with Gurriels wheels, because I don’t think Marwin is a defensive improvement at first. I don’t think Altuve is 100% either, but as long as we are mathematically in it, he’ll be in the lineup too.
Like I noted up top, I appreciate the fact that this club has not folded up shop. It just continually disturbs me that a batch of guys can work so hard, but management can not/will not come up with help needed to get the club over the hump.
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I’ll probably be confused with Tim for saying this, but I have to give credit to Luhnow for actually promoting Devenski, Musgrove, Reed, Bregman, Moran, Gustave, and the other rookies this year. Also, I wish I could disagree with your post above. If we have a 2015 Keuchel, the rotation looks strong. If we have (the good) McCullers as well, it looks like a rotation that could make noise in October. If we don’t have either guy we better pray our bats get confused and think they play for the Rangers.
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Dave, two/thirds of an inning in his major league debut against a team that has pummeled every pitcher we threw out there for the last two years is not enough time to judge Brady Rodgers.
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If Keuchel is hurt, at least we might have an explanation for why he has not pitched nearly as well this year.
One year ago, the Mets young starters were the toast of the baseball world and a guarantee of great pitching for years to come. Then came this year.
I still don’t think Teoscar is ready, but I have a lot more confidence that he will be, in the next year or so.
If the mental part of pitching is something that has to come gradually, I like having Feliz, Musgrove, Rodgers and Devenski on the cusp of being major league pitchers.
After the season Cesar Valdez had in Fresno, you’d think he might help the Astros out in long relief down the stretch. The Astros must think his stuff is strictly AAA.
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Here is an article I found interesting. Shows where all teams would be in the standings now if they relied entirely on home grown talent. http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-mlb-standings-would-look-if-teams-stuck-with-whoever-they-drafted/?ex_cid=story-twitter
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Going by this particular concept, it would mean that we have not done a great job drafting. Right?
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Are they trying to say that we have not done a good job drafting?
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And that shows just how bad the Astros were at drafting for the 10 years before Luhnow showed up.
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This shows how bad the Astros were at drafting and signing foreign players for the years before Luhnow showed up. They were pitiful.
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The reply function is not working on this blog!!!
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I’ve noticed several of the comments have disappeared as well.
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Is it just working for me?
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So, you’re saying there is not a chance? Can I still wear the jersey?
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No idea what is happening relative to replies – the ionosphere is swallowing them maybe?
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Good news. the Astros are calling David Paulino up. He is already on the 40-man so they do not have to make room for him. He has only thrown 90 or so innings, so they don’t have to worry about him being overused.
We get to see another one of our prospects and aren’t taking him from a team in the MILB playoffs! I think this is great.
I also think the loss of LMJ and Keuchel has necessitated it.
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Allow the young pitchers to start a few of these games instead of a proven failure like Peacock. We may as well see just what we have for the future.
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LIKE—- 2017 is going to be all about who is the 1-5 and a reliable lefty in the pen
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Wouldn’t it be awesome if Brad Peacock pitched a terrific game tonight and the Astros won?
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If either were to happen it would be really good news. We need to know if Peacock is going to fly, and we need every win we can manage. For both a ‘terrific’ game from Peacock [which I define as 7 or more innings, less than 2 runs, 6 or fewer hits, 2 or less BBs, and more than 10 Ks] AND a much-needed team win to happen would indeed be awesome. I expect awesome.
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Like OP 2017 is going to be about SP1-5 and a reliable lefty in the pen, Bregman, Gurriel and hopefully Te Dulche improve the line up big time
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Fresno is done. Who from there who did NOT get a September coffee call gets an invite to ST next year?
Worth?
Fisher?
Kemmer?
Moran?
Heineman?
Singleton?
Valdez?
Hauschild?
Jankowski?
McCurry?
Yuhl?
Grills?
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I think Worth and Valdez are free agents.
I think Fisher, Heineman, Kemmer, Moran and McCurry are definitely going to get invites if they are still in the organization.
Hauschild and Jankowski are maybes
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While I doubt any gets an official invite, I hope we are also given a few looks at Laureano, Stubbs, Tanielu, Ferguson, Garcia, Davis, Martes, Sneed, and Deetz before they all get caught up in minors camp.
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Correct OP, I had a couple of remarkable pronouncements to add, but alas, they have gone to Never Never Land!
My main point, based on the article posted by Nance, is that if true (and there is no way of qualifying the article) does that mean our drafts have not been all that good, and our minor league system, as a result, is not all that good?
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Reading the article, it would appear that way.
I can’t figure out out which players from trades or free agency made them better.
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Historically, Luhnow has not been big on bringing too many guys up, but with the rotation falling apart, maybe they should line up 18 pitchers and see what they can get out of all of them. Trial by fire.
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paulino called up
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http://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Astros-call-up-pitching-prospect-David-Paulino-9205558.php
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Dave, to me, what Nancy’s article is saying is that the drafts in the years before Luhnow were horrible and contributed nothing to the team that is here now.
Basically, if you look at the guys they did draft from 2006-2011 versus the guys they could have drafted, they have almost nothing to show for it. Drayton McLane had no clue how to draft and stymied everything they could have had.
I can’t stand Crane, but he is a lot better for the team than the dummy he bought out.
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Or the dummy that suckered him into buying a crappy organization at the time…….
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I’m really surprised the 538 article above had us finishing above the A’s in the standings. Luhnow’s tenure really only includes players from the 2012 draft an onward. We all know there was a long, extended period of putrid player picking from Purpura. If we revisit this in five years it would be of interest, but currently doesn’t really tell us anything new.
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Glad to see Tony Kemp getting a start tonight. Can he hit Kluber? Not many do.
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Bregman voted minor league player of the year! He’s up for good, and man are we glad! Think about this….June 2015 he was playing for LSU in the college WS. Now one year and one month later ( came up in July) he wrote his name on that 3rd base bag……and he’s only going to “share” it with Gurriel!
Yes…OP, I’m crossing my fingers Peacock can hold his own for more than 5 innings.
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