Sometimes a team enters a game knowing it is a must win game. Sometimes a game becomes a must win while it is being played. The Astros 4-3 extra inning loss Monday night was one of the latter.
With the Astros 2 1/2 games back of the wild card entering the contest it was a nice to have game against the best team in the AL and the Astros’ nemesis. But after inning after inning of great bullpen work and the efforts of a wheezing offense to come back and tie it on Evan Gattis‘ dramatic ninth inning rip, the game became critical to win.
That it was not won rests more on a top of the lineup that went silent than on a run given up by James Hoyt in the 12th after 6 innings of one hit, shutout ball by his bullpen mates. George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were a combined 0 for 18 with 3 walks to show for the night. And that as much as anything was the story of the game.
The team has 16 last bat wins including seven from the bat of Correa, but there were no final heroics on Monday. The Astros lost to the Rangers for the 14th time in 17 games. The Rangers won a one run game for what must be a world record of 32 times in 42 games. That is an amazing amount of wins and an amazing amount of one run games.
Previously, the Astros have played poorly and then came back to win a walk off game and moved on with energy and attitude. Will this latest kick in the (fill in your own anatomical part) throw them into the death spiral so many of us have expected?
Can the Astros beat the Rangers in the next two games?
Can their top of the lineup guys, particularly Springer, Altuve and Correa stop playing blindfolded piñata while at bat?
Will this constant pressure on the bullpen for perfection and a lot of innings finally cause it to implode?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
143 responses to “Another Astros’ must win turns into another loss”
I think I just saw Grace Kelly slipping out the back with outlaw Frank Miller. I think I heard them singing ‘There Must Be Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover’.
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“Fifty ways to lose your mojo
You just lose your way – Jose.
Have your bat hexed, Alex.
Hit no Dinger, Springer.
Just get yourself a K.
You go all morose, Carlos.
Can’t hit what you see, Colby
You just lose the game, James.
Just get yourself an L.”
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Well done, Dan P!
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NO
NO
Toast
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I kind of agree with you Kevin, but….. this team is like Michael Meyers at the end of Halloween (1,2,3,4, infinity). Every time you think it is all over, that there is no reason to believe in them, when the deck is not only stacked, but they are down to their last chip….they rise again.
The fear here is that with the bullpen decimated and the starting rotation pitching short batting practice that we are up for a 14-3 type game. Maybe we can be on the good side of one of those games for once.
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Hey, we still have Neshek [1 IP], Rodgers [2 IP?], Chapman [.1 IP?] and Gustave [.2 IP ?] left in the tank for tonight, right? Assuming Peacock even makes it out of the first, that is.
What would I do? I’d be seriously tempted to put keuchel on injured reserve and call up Mr. Martes and Mr. McCurry, and say ‘fellows, if you can catch a flight to Houston, we’ll put you first and second in line for tandem relief tonight!’ One can replace Keuchel and the other can have Mr. Fontana’s spot on the 40-man, can’t he?
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I don’t usually get too excited over one loss, but at this point in the season it is crucial we not lose ground. Texas has us in their rearview, but we still could catch a WC team. Unfortunately, the following happened:
– Toronto won and gained a game on us in the standings
– Boston beat Baltimore and gained a game on us in the standings
– Baltimore lost but did not lose ground to us
– NYY lost but did not lose ground to us
– KC lost but did not lose ground to us
– Seattle won and gained a game on us in the standings…actually passing us
In addition, as Becky pointed out, Giles threw two innings and will watch tonight from the comfort of the pine. We also used Devenski, Feliz, Gregerson, Harris, and Hoyt. Fister did manage to go 5 innings. Basically, Hinch used all his bullets last night and will have to hope for some magic from Brad Peacock to even get us in position to compete for a win tonight.
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I don’t mind Hinch using all the pitchers. He did everything he could to win the game. That was the last chance the Astros had to keep up in the WC chase. It is probably fitting that the game ended in a one run win for Texas. It’s the perfect picture for how this season played out with our hitters not hitting, our starting pitcher giving up runs early, our bullpen being awesome trying to keep us in the game and the Texas Rangers’ best MMA fighter trotting around the bases and a flame throwing jailbird on the mound. What a fitting game indeed.
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I’m not criticizing Hinch. They were within striking distance the whole game and you can’t simply wave the white flag to keep some guys fresh. Losing just makes that margin for error even thinner (if there is still a margin left) and makes it necessary for some guys to step up whom we have not seen take advantage of their previous opportunities.
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The tale of the Astros offense:
1. Big Swings and mostly Misses
2. Less than 8 hits most games; even less against good teams
3. High numbers of offensive Ks
4. Getting Picked Off Easily – by pitchers who don’t pick a lot of guys off
5. Caught Stealing’s piling up like Astro losses
6. Getting nailed over and over again by Outfield Assists due to overaggressive basebumbling
The tale of the Astros’ pitching:
1. Low velocity
2. Spotty control
3. pitching up in the zone [and doing it badly, with low velocity and spotty control]
4. Inability to miss bats
5. Inability to keep hitters off balance
6. Inability to keep good teams’ BABIP down [see #3 above]
7. Wild Pitches out the wazoo
8. Passed Balls
9. high BA allowed
Texas is holding the proverbial fork in its hand. The cry ‘it’s done’ is ringing out. Will it be tonight that they stick the fork in it?
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The Rangers stuck the fork in us much earlier this year and put us out of our misery. They have known we were dead for a long time. It’s us who had Mrs. Bates still propped up at the dinner table long after the meal was over.
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It’s ironic that a team that has taught it’s pitchers to only throw five innings or less in a tandem in the minors, only has pitchers that can throw five innings or less in the majors.
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I agree with you totally, OP, that the tandem idea was/is a bad approach to pitching and to baseball in general. But I don’t blame that for our current problems. Heck, most of the starters who are just managing five innings at best for us – e.g. Fister, Fiers, and McHugh – were not even part of our system and did not get polluted by the tandem concept. To me the more immediate present problem is all the ‘up in the zone’ nonsense that Strom has tried to implement with all the Astro pitchers this year. In my experience, the more balls you throw up in the zone, the fewer called strikes you get, the fewer swings and misses you get, the faster your pitch count accelerates, and the longer the innings you wind up throwing. What on earth happened to painting the black at or just below the knees, and expanding the zone over the course of an at-bat?
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Of course, maybe I am just not appreciating irony as much as I could be at this stage of the season.
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I hate to say this wish they were out so Altuve would quit trying to hit a HR every at bat and win the batting title. That would be at least something to hang on 2016.
2017 will be better after all we have the best front office in baseball after, Texas, Detroit, St Louis, Boston, Cubs, Toronto, Cleveland, Dodgers , Giants, KC, and Washington.
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Altuve’s best shot at winning the batting title is to have Luhnow order Hinch to have him sit out the rest of the season. He is in total free fall.
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Oh My that made me spit out my coffer laughing so hard.
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I wish they had sat Correa and Altuve long enough to get healthy. It’s not like we are winning with them in the lineup, and Bregman and Kemp can both play.
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It was very frustrating to see the team’s hitting leaders all swinging like out of control lumber jacks, especially late in the game. Gattis was the only one to get away with that and actually get into one (and he put a really good swing on one he drove deep to right center in extra innings that was run down).
Correa had a terrible at bat late in the game. It is strange because he helped win a game I went to (the one where he and Gattis went back to back in the 9th) with a very solid opposite field swing for a HR a couple weeks ago. Last night he swang out of his shoes at a high 96 mph fastball and then missed a breaking pitch by about a foot and a half to strike out.
I don’t know why they have let Hudgens have his way with these guys. Watching Bregman and Gurriel hit reminded me of what good at bats look like. I pray he does not suck them into his vortex of sucky baseball fundamentals.
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Dan, in defense of Correa, his swing was very altered last night. Correa usually is a massive shoulder swinger and last night he swung from the waste to protect his shoulder. The swing at the breaking pitch was just a case of wanting to check his swing but not wanting to stop his swing for fear of aggravating the inflammation in his shoulder.
Correa gets his huge exit velocity from his swing, which was way more timid last night. He looked like he was swinging harder, but he wasn’t. He was just swinging differently.
Don’t forget the beautiful swing Kemp put on a big-time 98 mph fastball. He caught the Rangers completely by surprise and it was truly rotten luck that the ball bounced out of play
We have followed Kemp for years and that makes him seem more advanced, but in reality he is just a rookie with almost no exposure to big-time pitching, but he has lots of room to grow into a role with this team as a player who could be depended on for a clutch hit, a clutch stolen base and a role as a backup. His at-bat last night was a classic case of a hitter setting up a pitcher to give him what he wanted, an inside fastball to turn on, and Kemp did it by looking like an opposite field hitter on the first couple of pitches.
In defense of Hoyt he was brought into his third game in four days in a situation where he was to face two lefties and on righty. Sipp hasn’t pitched since the 9th of September, when he went two thirds of an inning, but was not called upon to face those lefties. That is a case of one pitcher actually making a big difference in a game by being not trustworthy enough for his manager to count on him in a tailor-made moment for which he is getting paid six million dollars for. Huge factor in the outcome of this game!
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Yes – great point about Correa – I keep thinking he’s well and he isn’t – wonder if Altuve is well or not too.
Totally agree that Hoyt should not be blamed as I said in the post.
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So by unanimous consent, Hudgens has to go.We should employ the “Major League” philosophy as Lou Brown told Willie Mays Hayes, “Hayes, every time you swing for the fences and miss you are going to drop and give me 20”.That just might have an impact.
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Now we have to pass 4 teams with KC nipping at our heels. I think that is a bigger issue than the number of games out we are. Fate is not just in our hands. At this point, I am starting to wonder if we will still finish with a winning season as much as a playoff spot. If we finish below .500, that is a huge fail for the organization.
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I concur
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Weird to think that we are probably favored in today’s game with Peacock against Griffin. I know we won’t be favored tomorrow with Darvish against Musgrove.
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It’s strange that the Astros are even bothering to talk about LMJ and Keuchel pitching again this season. As the Astros percentages of making the playoffs drops to under 10%, the chances that either one of them pitches is zero.
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When your season comes down to Brad Peacock, you are doomed.
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Fiers and Fister each have more accumulated WAR than any pitcher on the Angels team this year, except Shoemaker. If you think our pitching has been bad, those guys really strapped themselves to a bottle rocket. And Trout’s WAR is just growing every day. He is one amazing ballplayer.
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The look in Springer’S face last night told me everything I need to know. They have a problem, and I’m not sure if it’s the coaching staff or manager…..but it’s evident that there’s a problem. It’s not the rangers anymore……it’s every team from now until the end of the season. Pretty evident that our rotation is a mess, and the bullpen are running out there with their tongues hanging out. If they are in a position to win tonight… we have to hope Harris or Gregerson can close. I could have punched Mctaggart in the throat last night, grilling Hoyt about giving up the winning run.
The last at bat for Correa was tough to watch……he swings at a pitch 4ft off the plate.
Jake Kaplan with the Chronicle has a piece in the paper about gomez and his improved swing. Maybe someone should send Luhnow a copy to read….and Hinch too. It’s not the rangers anymore. Becky⚾
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Agreed not sure what , but something is smelly in the bayou city, besides no starting pitching right now.
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I did not see the look on Springer’s face. Was it more than just indigestion at having to look at and listen to Rougned Odor standing in our house?
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Marwin Gonzalez is a way below average hitter who never walks. Has negative metrics on baserunning and defense to go with his 88 wRC+
Jason Castro has 9 less RBIs than our utility infielder does this season. He strikes out 33.5% of the time and his BABIP is almost 100 points higher than his .213 BA.
George Springer’s career MLB BA is only 7 points higher than Evan Gattis’s. Gattis has 360 more ABs in the big leagues than Springer, but has 100 more RBIs.
George Springer is tied for the club lead in HRs with Gattis at 26, but he is still leading off, with all those lousy batters in the bottom of the order making outs in front of him.
Yuli Gurriel is hitting .344 with a .345 BABIP.
Alex Bregman has as many major league RBIs this season as Jason Castro.
Colby Rasmus has an OPS+ of 79 this season, with 100 being average.
Jake Marisnick has 259 plate appearances and Yuli Gurriel has 68. Gurriel has .5 accumulated WAR and Marisnick has one-fifth of that at .1.
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Yes, OP. The amazing thing is that we are actually much better offensively as a team than we have been all year. The addition of Bregman at 3rd, Gurriel at DH, and Gattis at catcher at least half the time, has given us a significant upgrade over Valbuena at 3rd, Gattis at DH, and Castro at catcher 90% of the time. We still have questions at 1B, LF, and CF, but we are no worse there than we were before the AS Break.
Pitching – especially starting pitching – is still where we have not only not improved, but with the injuries to McCullers and Keuchel, have gotten much worse.
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So OP, what conclusions have you come to? Can we finally get Jake out of the line up? And is Marwin going to be worth the significant raise he’ll want? And can we assume Castro will be gone? And is Gurriel at first? And is Rasmus done here?
A random note: Springer was 88 and 16 stealing bases in the minors. Last year he was 16 out of 20. This year he’s 9 out of 19. I’m pretty sure he’s not slower. He must be doing something wrong. This is the kind of thing I expect a coaching staff to help fix. They have video of every attempt he’s made in MLB.
I’m still wondering why Stassi is here rather than Heineman. Stassi is pretty good behind the plate, but Heineman threw out half the guys running on him. Neither really hits enough, but I’ve got to figure one of them will be spelling Gattis in 2017.
Besides Bregman, I’m not sure if the minors have given us a keeper this summer. I’m optimistic about Hoyt and his 1.06 WHIP and a couple of good games from Musgrove, but I need to see more. And none of the position players have hit enough, although none have really gotten enough playing time to evaluate. I just wish someone would have forced their way into the line up this year.
The longer we go with no real word on the health of Keuchel and McCullers, the more I’m concerned about replacing multiple arms to start 2017.
And I sure do want a solid outfield bat.
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Didn’t realize that Castro has a worse K ratio that Chris Carter…yikes…
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I actually like this team for next season, provided that Keuchel and LMJ come back and have an injury free 2017. I like the the core of Altuve, Springer, Correa, Gurriell and Bregman. I like Gattis with 100+ games at catcher. I like a healthy LMJ and Keuchel. I think Musgrove has great stuff and is getting the baptism by fire that will make him a really solid #3 or #4 next season. I love Devenski. I think his fastball is + and his changeup is ++. I also think his curve and slider are under rated. I think he will be a solid starter next season. I think Martes will be ready to step in next season and assume the ace role long term. I think we have a number of arms that can flesh out a very solid bullpen and also provide some options at starter. I like the position we are in with salary commitments and prospects. We definitely have the abundance to deal for another arm and possibly another bat in the offseason without hurting us prospect wise or salary wise.
I don’t like our coaching staff. Hudgins and Strom need to be replaced. I am on the fence about our manager. We need more consistency with guys knowing their role. I am currently lacking trust that JL can make a good trade for a FOR arm and not slice and dice the farm for an aging veteran with declining numbers because he is cheap.
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Strom may be wanting to leave next year, his knees are a mess and he’s already had surgery over the break this summer. BUT I’ll help Hudgens pack, the guy is totally worthless. I think Hinch will still be here next year, but you never know……sometimes managers get fired just to say the GM did something. Hinch was runner up for manager of the year last year….so, he probably comes back.
I want this cheap owner to start spending money…….no more having the lowest payroll in the majors. PERIOD.
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I watched the M’S jump all over this kid who’s pitching for “them” tonight. They came out whacking the ball all over the place….and that was the FIRST inning. By the time he could turn around, he gave up a grand slam. Sooo my advice to these guys is take the dang bat off your shoulder and HIT THE BALL. The Astros need to think this is just another game, against some other team, and quick letting these guys live rent free in their head. Why? Does it have to be Peacock. Later
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And now I’m prepping to chear the Astros on to victory tonight. Looks like another sparse crowd. Last night this place was empty! Disgusting turnout during a playoff push! As usual, I’m right behind home plate above the Diamond Level. I’ll wave at you tonight 🙂
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Blow us girls a kiss!
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2017
I see a good infield and right field and Gattis next year. So we need a solid OF. I see a decent BP then it gets scary. Even if DK is healthy next year I dont see anything more than a 12-10 guy. I’m afraid 2015 was his swan song. LMJ I’m hoping isn’t one of those great potential, but never stays healthy guys, So we have McCugh and what again?Yikes
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I despise that stinky guy.
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I KNEW IT………WHY??????
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I’m sitting here wondering…….who??? Let Ken Giles go out to pitch. Just shaking my head……it’s over.
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You can’t use him after he pitched two innings yesterday.
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This is what happens when we wear out our relievers.
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Peacock gave them great effort tonight – that was positive.
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Altuve had three hits and a TOOTBLAN. Bregman somehow picked up his 10th error already. The only positive in that is that he is nearly ready to grant the fan’s wish for another OF bat.
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Yeah, and his pitch count was low. If he went another inning, Giles is not used after throwing two innings on Monday. Maybe we end up with a different outcome.
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Just looking at Dan’s opening comment ” Fifty ways to lose your mojo”. Losing a game on a wild pitch strikeout.
OK, dave, I will answer your question from the comment earlier.
Yes, you make big changes. Not just to make them, but to break away from the losing mentality of years past, to dump salary and to be free of players who haven’t been worth their money.
Let Hudgens go.
Work a deal with Marwin on his last year of arb and then trade him. He should not get a huge raise with those numbers and it’s time to part ways.
Let Rasmus walk.
Let Fister walk.
Let Castro walk.
Buy out Neshek’s option.
Sign Gattis to his already agreed upon $5 million.
Add Heineman to the 40-man.
Sign a major free agent outfielder who hits for average(.270 and up) to a big deal. Go after another second tier free agent outfielder to a smaller deal. Go after Chapman or Hansen.
Go after Lourdes.
Include Jake in a trade.
Include Fiers in a trade.
Put Stassi and Pena in AAA and Let Stubbs be the main catcher at CC to start the year. Put a load on Stubbs and see how he handles it.
Tell Brad Peacock to find a pitch better than that hanging slider and get it ready.
Go to camp with Keuchel, McHugh, LMJ, Peacock, Musgrove, Devenski and Rodgers and let them fight it out for the five starters and put the other two in the pen.
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We need another TOR pitcher.
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Yes we do, but there are going to be 7 or 8 of those available at the end of 2017 as free agents and they will cost only money and maybe a draft pick(depending on the new CBA where the players are trying to eliminate the QO or draft compensation). I would rather wait until then, especially since one of those TOR pitchers will be Dallas Keuchel and I would rather have a TOR who throws 95 than one who throws 88, so I’ll welcome that exchange. Losing a pick for the guy we sign and gaining a pick for someone else signing Keuchel.,
By the end of next season I expect Paulino and Martes will be pushing for a starting role, too, and my goal is to have every pitcher on our roster to be throwing 93 mph and up on their fastball, making their secondary pitches harder to hit. I’m just flat sick of this 87 MPH BS.
There is no way I want to trade four good young players for a TOR pitcher that I will have to pay huge money to. I’d rather wait 1 season and pay huge money for a guy as a free agent and give up no players.
With no Gomez, Valbuena, Neshek, Castro, Rasmus or Gonzalez next season, that’s shedding $44 million worth of payroll. Let White and Tucker DH at league minimum and the only salary we’ve added is Gurriel’s and $2million more for Gattis. We take that money and go shopping for two good outfielders and that lockdown closer to add to Giles, Gregerson, Harris, Hoyt, Gustave, Feliz, and the two long guys and we are solid. When the 2017 season ends we shed Keuchel’s salary, McHugh’s salary, Gregerson’s salary and we’re set up for that TOR free agent.
By the beginning of 2018 Lourdes and Kyle Tucker may be getting close, Stubbs might be our catcher and all of them are league minimum and we are rolling.
Who will replace Marwin? How about Danny Worth. He’s inexpensive, he’s available, he’s ours and he’s earned it. He’s no better than Marwin, but he’s available for a very reasonable price, and Marwin will probably be worth something in a trade.
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Any chance the Astros will pursue and sign Cespedes and Fowler? Man, if they can do that and add another solid bullpen arm (Chapman, Jansen or Melancon) I think they are set for next year. I doubt they get both Cespedes and Fowler, but I’ll take one of them along with another solid bullpen arm, but I agree with you that 2 OFers would be nice.
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I also think we’re going to need another starter, but before the second half of 2017. I have not seen an out pitch from Rodgers. I’m also concerned that McCullers will have ongoing health issues. Fully in agreement that we need to move away from a rotation of finesse pitchers though.
On a separate note, I think Worth has proven over the years that he’s not going to hit major league pitching.
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Dave, in two or three major league RELIEF appearances has Rodgers shown that he doesn’t have an out pitch, or has he shown that under the pressure of a playoff race that he hasn’t gotten it to work as well as it should ? I think the guy should get a fair chance. In his last appearance he appeared to have an out pitch.
On the same note, do you think that 100 plate appearances spread out over the last four years is a fair sample for Worth to show his worth? Marwin has had almost 400 plate appearances a season for the last three years and can’t get his bat up to average. But Worth had 40 PAs this year, none in 2015, 46 in 2014 and 2 in 2013.
How is a guy going to be able to show anything if he never gets any PAs? He led the Pacific Coast League in batting this season at .345!
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YEs we do that a lot of number 4’s and 5’s
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Did you know that the NL leader in striking out is Chris Carter with 181 Ks going into tonight’s game? That’s 24 Ks more than the guy with the second most strikeouts in the NL, Jonathan Villar, who has 157. George Springer is #7 in all of baseball with 156 Ks, right behind Villar.
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Mind boggling…….but you have hit on something with Danny Worth. I like him, but leave it to Luhnow to screw that up, and DFA him. Marwin is what he is, a fill in at best, but has done an admirable job for this team this year. Like I said last month, I want a guy to write his name on that 1st base bag, and make it HIS. I don’t think Gurriel wants to play 1st base, but he’s doing a pretty good job over there the last few games. I’m not sure Tucker will ever hit MLB pitching. He has had a tough job getting on top of pitches, and driving in runs.
OP……do you get the sense these guys have given up? I do. They look like they are morally defeated.
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Becky, your thoughts on Gurriel not wanting to play first, is that a women’s intuition, or have you read something? Him at first is not at all unlikely unfortunately, with neither Reed nor White taking ownership over there. And I see White as another guy that will end up hitting for some other club. As for Reed, I want to see what he looks like next Spring. Can he weigh 230 or 240? Does he want it bad enough?
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No, I don’t think they have given up. I think they have been playing some of the best teams in baseball the last two weeks and aren’t good enough. I think Correa is hurt, Altuve had a slump, their two best starters are out, Teoscar is not quite ready, Valbuena and Tucker are hurt, so they have no LH batters and their bullpen has more innings than they have arms. They have been giving it all they had, but the enemy is bigger and better and they are outmanned and outgunned.
I think that is what has happened.
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Yes, for a lead off hitter, that’s a pretty remarkable number of K’s from Villar. On the flip side, he’s still got a .370 plus OBP, 50 something stolen bases and an OPS that would be second on our club. I’d have taken those numbers in left field this year.
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Dave, Springer is a leadoff hitter, too, and he walks a lot. I have never thought that a high strikeout guy should be a leadoff hitter.
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OP, I agree, if we had the luxury of turning back the clock a twist, I’d have kept Altuve at lead off, had Springer at 3,4 or 5 and had Villar playing left and hitting 7th.
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Lancaster was eliminated from the playoffs tonight and the Astros minor leagues are done for the year. Nine teams, no championships.
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I would have to ask Luhnow, “How did that changing of the guard, in the minors during the offseason, go for you in the end?” For those who do not recall, Luhnow cleaned house in the minors at the end of last season in the management and coaching staffs.
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Last few drafts were not very good. Add in a couple of higher upside picks getting hurt (Cameron, Ferrell) and the guys traded for Gomez, Kazmir, and Giles and it is to be expected they would not maintain the level of excellence we saw before Correa was promoted. Despite what certain experts may say, our system is not loaded with talent. This is why when Luhnow calls teams trying to make a deal they get stuck on Bregman and Martes…there just aren’t a lot of players other teams want.
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Devin, you are almost solo in saying the system is not loaded with talent. That’s been the nagging question for me: If there, where?
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I agree with Devin and Diane. If ewe have so much talent where is it. No playoffs at all in the organization.
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Not me. I don’t think our system is loaded with talent. I’ve always thought we were overrating (as others have too) our farm system.
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The strength of the organization’s minor leagues has shifted to the lower minors because we have 10 rookies on the major league club and we traded a bunch of players the last two years in hopes of hitting the jackpot.
My concern is that the Astros no longer have a “dominant” player(with a 60 rating left in their organization). Their #1 prospect has a 55 rating, which is slightly above average.
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Win the last two games and the Astros would have a lot of momentum and a reasonable gap to make up over an easier piece of the schedule. Losing those two games to the team that owns them in such a manner leaves them 4.5 games out of the wild card and ready to prepare for the off-season.
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It was incredible on how the team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory last night…
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Daveb…….no I haven’t read anything about Gurriel not wanting to play 1st base.
I don’t think he’s comfortable there.
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I have a feeling that even though he might prefer third base, he won’t mind being at first if that’s where they need him. He’s 32 years old and has lived a remarkably different life than most baseball players. I think he can appreciate what he has now. All that said, I’d much rather see Reed or White take ownership of that bag, move Gurriel to third and get Bregman acclimated to left.
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While some may attribute last night’s loss to luck, Statcast says the Rangers were at their best in the ninth inning and the Astros were not. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/201242924/statcast-examines-rangers-elvis-andrus-triple/
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That’s pretty good analysis, but it could use some input from an otbg. Castro’s slow release and poor throw didn’t matter – the bag was stolen and the key was not sailing into CF…which he almost did. As for the triple, I think the Astros should have been playing “No Doubles” instead of positioning to prevent the tying run from scoring at that time since they were the home team. I’m not sure Jake gets the ball even if he’s 15 feet deeper as balls over your head…especially those with low trajectories…are hard to run under. Ultimately, however, Giles needs to get that ball about 4 inches higher or 6 inches lower. It is what it is and combined with Altuve getting thrown out at first base after his single sums up the season in my opinion.
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Brad Peacock’s 6 IP with only 1 R on 3 hits and 2 BBs allowed, with 5 Ks, was a pleasant surprise last night. Altuve getting back some BA points – and a HR to boot – was nice. Castro waking up the fans in the 2nd deck in of the RF stands was a breath of fresh air. Gregerson striking out the side in the 8th was impressive. The rest of last night’s game was like most of our season. Against a guy with an ERA close to 5.0, the Astros managed just 4 hits [3 by Altuve], and 1 BB. We got caught in yet another base-running gaffe, our pitching/catching staff gave up 3 wild pitches, and we lost yet another one run game to the Rangers.
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List of relievers who WONT be available tonight:
Gregersen
Harris
*Giles
Maybe Devenski. …he got heated up 3 times last night.
Good luck……you’re gonna need it, because Holland pitches for “them” tonight.
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i still wish they’d put Keuchel on injured reserve, DFA Fontana, and let Martes and McCurry get their feet wet the rest of the season.
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I see a lot more potential waiting to erupt in 2017 in Teoscar Hernandez and Tony Kemp than most folks on this blog do. For that reason I am not worried about our outfield’s offensive production next year – as long as Hudgens and his ‘go yard or go back to the bench and sit down’ philosophy is kicked to the curb. I personally do not want to see us bring in Cespedes or anyone else over the off-season. I think that would be foolish – especially if either Hudgens or his failed offensive philosophy is allowed to stay in place. I see no point in paying good money or giving up good prospects just so we can endure another Carlos Gomez experience.
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If they don’t fire Hudgens what, in your opinion, does that say about this organization?
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To me it says they do not really care about excellence, or about making the playoffs, or about inspiring and rewarding the long-suffering Houston fan base, or even about making WS money. It means they have no vision for the future. It means they are content with the status quo. It means there are better things for us to do with our time and passion in 2017.
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In my list above of things to do for next season, letting Hudgens go is listed first.
#1
Muy importante.
Numero Uno
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning
A Really Fine place to Start
Do Re Mi
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OP, I have heard that just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. But meanwhile, the nuns back at the Astros Abbey have a question for you:
How do we solve a problem like our offense?
How do we hit for average and for clout?
How do you find an approach that won’t make fans tense?
Should OBP or slugging be what it’s about?
Many a thing we know we’d like to tell Jeff Luhnow.
Many a thing we have on our mind to say.
But how do we get his ear . . . and make him get off his rear
and give Hudgens his walking papers like today?
Oh, how can we solve a problem like our offense?
If Hudgens stays we might as well watch the NBA.
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Would Hudgens firing allow us to Climb Every Mountain.
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I don’t know, Dan, but it sure would be nice to all join together and sing: “So long! Farewell! Auf wietersehen! Adieu!”
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I don’t think Hernandez is that good, but if he is going to be I still think it will be 2018, not next year. I don’t think Kemp gets a chance to play everyday. I guess he provides SOME tools off the bench, he can play 2B or LF, maybe CF in a pinch, he has wheels, he makes contact, but if I am Hinch I prefer my bench guys more like Marwin and less like Tony. I could actually see Kemp having some success as a starter, sparkplug type, but his best position is sort of occupied.
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You may be right, but part of our problem offensively – even if Hudgens and his philosophy leaves – will be lack of a true lead-off, spark-plug, high OBP, low strikeout guy. Altuve is thriving at the 3 spot. Springer just strikes out too much for a lead-off batter. Tony Kemp could be our fast, rally-starting, oft-walking, doubles slashing lead-off guy His presence would let both Altuve and Springer hit in a more natural place in the order [2 or 3 for Altuve, 5 or 6 for Springer]. Or, if we want more home run pop in the lead-off [for which you have to trade more Ks], Teoscar could lead-off, and still probably strike out a lot less than Springer.
But in reality, whatever we do, the ‘home runs or Ks’ philosophy needs to go.
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The Astros are 23rd out of 30 teams in the MLB in hits.
We are 25th out of 30 teams in BA.
We are 19th out of 30 teams in OBP.
We are 14th out of 30 teams in OPS.
For a team that was projected to go to the playoffs, and maybe win it all, this year, that is an offensive failure of catastrophic levels. The Hudgens era must end.
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I agree with everything you say. So….to me ….. If they keep the same coaching staff for 17 the FO is a failure. Period.
I realize a MLB franchise can make money without winning. Although it’s hard for me to understand.
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Hang in there, Sandy. You’re always appreciating others’ comments but you have some of your own. I don’t have the “like” function, or am unfamiliar with use.
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Bill, I think a full season of Gurriel and Bregman will improve those stats. And hopefully the club will add some additional offensive support.
1OP, I’m still mostly concerned about the rotation next year. Peacock gave us a 1.385 WHIP in AAA this year. I think the body of his work is what we’ll see going forward. And Rodgers is not going to be one of your 93 plus fastball guys. I think he’s back of the rotation at best. Will Keuchel and McCullers be able to give us 200 innings each next year? I think it’s a legitimate question. And what McHugh do we get? Are we stuck with Fister and/or Fiers because no other real good options materialize?
Maybe it’s my cynical nature again, but I don’t see one guy that we can pencil in to be a 1, 2 or 3 starter who will give us 30 plus starts and 200 innings next year. Someone will probably step up, but we need three of those guys if we’re really going to one of the best teams in baseball. Are we still aiming for that in 2017?
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Dave, if both Gurriel and Bregman somehow manage to hit all next year every bit as well as they have in the past two weeks, that alone will still only bring us up to about 20th out of 25 in BA and OBP, and will not put us even in the top 10 in any category that matters. In addition to that we are going to need another monster year from Altuve, for Correa and Springer to get a lot closer to their minor league BA and OBP numbers, get someone like Stubbs who can contribute offensively while sharing catching duties with Gattis, and get White, Kemp and Hernandez [and either P Tuck or Reed, whoever shows up fit, healthy, and ready to play next spring] to produce within 80% of their milb numbers.
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I’m with you Dave if we don’t find some pitching somewhere, 2017 will be just another year of .500 baseball and talking about prospects and the mis management of them, and hoping CC wins their league. I’m having a hard time getting excited about Rodgers, Peacock, DK, McCugh, Fister or Friers,, LMJ ‘s health issues. Devenski I love and Musgrove who knows yet,
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Dave, do you recall my eliminating $44 million from the payroll in an above comment?
Well, I forgot to add Fister, Feldman and Qualls in that list. So now I’m revisng that amount. The Astros would be without $56.85 million that they paid out this year, by letting these 9 guys walk. Keuchel, McHugh, Gattis and Altuve get raises, so lets subtract their raises and round off at $45 million extra dollars the Astros will spend on payroll this year that they won’t spend next year, with those nine guys gone. Subtract Gurriel’s $14 million and you have $31 million left over. Add in the $30 million in foreign signings and penalties that the Astros spent this season, that they won’t be able to spend next season because of league rules, and the 2017 Astros are $61 million under what they spent on players in 2016.
Who can they get on their team for 2017, if they spend that $61 million they spent on players in 2016?
They can get a lot.
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Op, I’m with you, but dubious. Can Luhnow get the right guys signed? Will he use the money? Will he trade someone who turns into a .300 hitter? It will again be a very interesting off season, but much will have to come together for us to be a real contender in 2017. And I see a lot of other teams in MLB poised to be pretty good clubs next year.
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Jeez Bill, I’m trying to jump out of character a bit and show a bit of optimism and you send me right back to my cynical self!
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Maybe it’s time to bring back uncleknuckles for a bit
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AMEN Reverend Bill
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It took me awhile to total this out.
The Astros have played 146 games. In these 146 games the Astros have started three catchers.
Kratz started 6 games and the Astros record in those games was 1-5.
Castro started 96 games and the Astros record in those games was 46-50.
Gattis started 43 games and the Astros record in those games was 28-15.
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Didn’t Stassi start one game?
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Yes he did. Stassi is 1-0 and Castro is 45-50.
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Ok cool…I knew I wasn’t crazy (at least not entirely)!
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If I were Garrett Stubs, at 5’10” and 175 lbs., I would call Alex Bregman, at 6′ 0″ and 180 lbs and find out his exact workout regimen from last offseason and follow that to a T. Actually, if I were Stubbs I’d ask him if I could join him after AFL and work out with him and buy him a steak dinner once a week.
Jeez, Garrett, find out what he’s eating and what gave him the extra power. Be his shadow!
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ok dan, confess. are you the fan that got handcuffed at the game while screaming f*ck the rangers???
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ok with a bigger picture i see its not you. j/k. heres the link
http://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Angry-Astros-fan-handcuffed-yelling-F-the-Rangers-9222061.php
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Various possible captions
“Why is that man getting arrested for saying what we were all thinking?”
“I didn’t know that my parish priest liked baseball.”
“Baseball and beer – killing brain cells for 150 years!”
“He thought he was at a hockey game and was extolling his team to hit the puck at the Rangers.”
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Thank goodness I’ve matured a bit over the years and know how to hold my Budweiser. That guy was pretty old to be going off the deep end. Maybe his bookie is after him.
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My heart hurts for my guys😢😢 if there is a baseball God, please let our boys win this game tonight. Becky⚾
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Me too Becky. I turned down the opportunity to be there tonight. Free ticket on the Club level. Just couldn’t take another dose of ranger fans. Hurts too much.
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Remember when Beltran used to steal 40+ bases? Hasn’t stolen a base in two seasons…
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Here we go again…
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I cannot believe we ran into another out on the base paths already.
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This is just my opinion, but when I have a runner in scoring position and one out, with my cleanup hitter at the plate I do not try to steal 3rd, which is the lowest statistical probability for success of any base. Just stupid!! We can’t afford to continually give up cheap outs against good team.
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Also this place is empty again tonight. Where are the fans during a playoff race??
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You know when we were in Cleveland they had like 12,000 for a week night game and they were in first place.
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Great strikeout of Odor!
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Altuve leaves the game – no reason yet.
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