Cameron Maybin should change his name to Cameron Willwin

Yes, the Astros did pick up some pitcher named Justin Verlander at the waiver deadline, but the real news is they pulled an Angels OF named Cameron Maybin off the slag pile of waivers. The trade for Verlander has resulted in one direct win by the pitching stud, but Maybin has turned into a home run hitting hero, whacking three critical home runs in the last four games the Astros have played. On Sunday his three run homer flipped a 3-4 deficit to the Mets into a 6-4 lead on the way to an 8-6 win. The last two days, Astro fans awoke to see that Maybin had broken late inning ties with two run homers as the Astros swept past the M’s 3-1 and 5-3.

The Astros have a lot to thank the Detroit Tigers for at this point as they ride a seven game win streak into Oakland. First, the Tigers decided that their best deal at the waiver deadline was with the Astros and told Verlander it was Houston or nowhere. Second, they traded Justin Upton to the LA Angels.  To make room for Upton, the Angels released……Cameron Maybin. There are other Detroit connections here. Maybin was a first round draft choice in 2005 by….the Tigers. Maybin is no stranger to Verlander. They played together twice, in Maybin’s rookie season of 2007 and again for one season in 2016.

While Verlander knew no other organization than the Tigers, Maybin has been a bit of a traveler being part of two high-profile trades, one to the Marlins (with a cast of 1000’s) for Miguel Cabrera and one from San Diego to Atlanta for Craig Kimbrel. When he was released by the Angels, every team in the AL had a shot at him before the Astros took him on along with the approx. $1.5 million owed him on his contract.

So what did the Astros think they were picking up in Maybin? Well frankly he would be a fourth or fifth OF. Good fielder, good base stealer, a Jake Marisnick with less power. Despite what he has done here, he only had six HRs and 22 RBIs with LA before the trade. His .235/.333/.685with the Angels pretty closely marked his career numbers. Before these three home runs he had not had a home run since June, ironically hitting three homers in five games between June 17 -June 22 and then going 40 games before the next one with the Astros.

They also knew they were getting a good person in Maybin – a nominee for the Roberto Clemente award along with Jose Altuve.

Going forward? Let’s face it. Maybin may not hit another home run this season or he may stay hot. Baseball is the most fickle and unpredictable of sports. But if all he did was help the Astros with their hitting mojo when they were struggling to stay ahead of the crazy hot Cleveland Indians….well that was a heck of a pickup.

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137 responses to “Cameron Maybin should change his name to Cameron Willwin”

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  4. I’m done watching this absolute mess of a game. No pitching and no hitting.
    I would not be surprised if the A’s, sweep these guys. You either want it, or not and it looks like these guys don’t want it. The Indians will EAT THESE GUYS UP.

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  6. Does it seem that every pitcher that goes up against us with a 5 plus ERA suddenly becomes Cy Young? if we hit we can’t pitch. If we pitch we can’t hit. I realize that we’re not going to win every game we play but a bunch of these guys look like they could care less.

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  8. Just watched Reddick after Yuli popped out. He is not a happy camper. Wish the others would get P.O.’d. Show a little emotion rather than “oh well” attitude.

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  9. I’m beginning to have doubts as to Hinch’s strategy on pitchers. The first sign of trouble he goes to the BP which as of lately has been an unmitigated disaster. It’s like throwing gasoline on the fire. While it may appear I’m just b!^#n, there is obviously some afoul in our BP and execution of the game plan.Should we be concerned? We sure won’t get out of the 1st round of playoffs if we don’t get our ducks in a row. I would hope something will show promise in the next 3 weeks.

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    • Meanwhile back at the Ponderosa, the Indians are at the doorstep and are readying themselves for a takeover of the best record in the AL.

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  12. This weekend has just been a miserable watching experience. I still think the A’s are stealing our signs because they tee’d off on our pitchers like they knew what was coming. I say this in jest, but my goodness that was frustrating to watch.

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  13. Wel, the good news is that I was already asleep when the game started. This team is psycho. You win 7 or 8 in a row, you’ve picked up Verlander and Maybin, who brings magic, then you get clobbered for 30 plus runs in three games by a crappy team and the best batch of hitters in the game can’t get motivated. Then you add Little League baseruning and poor fielding to the mix. And maybe the manager has peaked too. I need to stop thinking I’ve got these guys figured out. I do not.

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  14. I usually don’t question the moves Hinch made, but I found it very strange that he brought in Feliz instead of Martes yesterday in a very close game. Is Martes injured? Did anyone else question this move or find it strange? Feliz just came off the DL and pitched on Friday. Although he didn’t give up any runs he gave up 2 hits and one of the outs was hit hard. I was just puzzled by this move.

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    • Wondering if Hinch & crew are undecided on who is going to be on the playoff roster and is thus giving everyone an opportunity. The problem is this is ok with a big lead but not the smartest move in a tight game, especially when your hitting is so inconsistent.

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      • Does anybody realize that since the all star break our record is a dismal 25 and 27. You’re not going to win squat playing that kind of ball. We are all puzzled as to what has happened but it’s perplexing. I noticed yesterday when Correa was called out on strikes with a fast ball right down the middle of the plate he looked like he didn’t have a clue and a “ho-hum” attitude. Now I don’t pretend to be an expert in psychology but the attitude and then looking at his expressions in the dugout says a lot. Some of these guys heads are just not in the game.
        Synopsis of last 3 games:
        #1 McHugh 3IP 3 R (Injury)
        Feliz & Sipp 2IP 0 R
        Rest of BP 2IP 6 R
        We score 8
        #2 Morton 5 IP 3R
        BP 3IP 8 R
        We score 1
        #3 Peacock 5.2IP 2 R
        BP 2.1 IP 9 R
        We score 4
        Barring McHugh, our starters pitched well enough to win. Are these guys tipping their pitches? The home run Peacock gave up yesterday was a good pitch (down and in). Olson knew where that pitch was going to be. Peacock had only thrown 84 pitches so I think it was premature to take him out. Also our pitchers can’t seem to throw strikes and when they do, it’s Whamo time. Seven home runs in the first two games of the series.You can thus draw your own conclusions. Another question, why is Hinch shuffling the lineup all of the sudden?
        OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now that I’ve vented. Who’s next?

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      • That’s a plausible explanation. Hinch may be trying to decide whether Feliz or Martes would be a better option for the playoff roster. If so, it looks like Martes took a big lead in that race.

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  16. Watching this 2 disaster, I have always hated the philosophy in any sport of we will win our division so let’s play stupid lineups, let’s make insane pitching decisions , let’s watch most everyone play stupid baseball, let’s rest our guys for the playoffs so they don’t get tired or hurt, OH wait we lost home field advantages and look we lost our mojo and are out in round 1, but we did get everyone rested . )(_&(*&*(&)(*)(+*+)(

    Shame on Hinch, he has looked lame for weeks on many decisions. Our Gm has done everything possible to provide Hinch with 25 great players. This team has mostly looked Little league since the All Star Break, attitude and leadership where are u?

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    • I don’t think this is solely a Hinch decision. Yes, ultimately, he makes the lineup, but I think the team philosophy (front office down) wants to see key players getting an occasional day off, especially this time of year. It is up to Hinch to decide who gets the day off though.

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  17. Welp….it looks like the Astros aren’t the only Houston team playing bad! My husband is sitting on the couch, arms folded…with a shocked look on his face! I despise football, but even *I* can tell the Texans need another quarterback, and a NEW head coach. Keuchel, you’re gonna have to right the ship today fella…..

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