What can the Astros do? What would you do?

After the latest Astros meltdown, a four-game sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, a friend of the blog, Zanuda, wrote the following in response to a detailed comment by another friend of the blog, vewill1, “You’ve made some good points. Now the question is, what are the Astros going to do about it?”

The Astros hopefully are not in a full-fledged panic at this point. Because even if it were justified, full-fledged panic is not the best operating mode for anything, especially a baseball team.

The good news is the team still has a 2-1/2 game lead over the Oakland A’s and a 4 game lead over the Seattle Mariners. The bad news is that the lead has been shrinking faster than an ice cube on the sidewalk outside of Minute Maid Park in August.

The Astros made moves leading into the trade deadline. They were having catcher problems with poor play by Tim Federowicz, so they picked up veteran Martin Maldonado, who has done a better job as a catcher, but who has done the unthinkable and has been a worse hitter than Tim F. (.130 BA/ .192 OBP/ .410 OPS). They went and picked up two relievers, the Twins Ryan Pressley and the Blue Jays Roberto Osuna, the latter bringing along baggage and possible bad karma from a domestic violence charge. They have had a mixed bag of appearances, but their last ones contributed to two of the Astros losses to the M’s.

At this point, the Astros starting pitching has been good, but not as great as it was to start the season. It is wounded with the loss of Lance McCullers Jr., but that bird has yet come to roost with the many off days putting off the need for a substitute starter. The hitting was hit and miss before the multiple injuries (Brian McCann, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, George Springer and the rejuvenated Jake Marisnick) and has been mostly miss with them out. Correa’s return yielded its first plus with an opposite-field punch shot in the Astros three-run rally yesterday. The relievers have been good except when they have not. They were spotless on the recent road trip and spotty during the ongoing homestand. They are missing Chris Devenski currently.

So, back to the subject of this post. What can the Astros do and what would you do?

  1. Stand pat. They have two All-stars in Altuve and Springer, one year removed All-Stars in Devenski, a team leader in McCann and a big glove with an off and on bat in Marisnick set to return before the playoffs.
  2. Make a deal at the waiver deadline. It worked in 2017, but is there someone who would both pass waivers and would be better than what they have or potentially have out there to pursue? What position would be worth pursuing and worth the loss of prospects?
  3. Make a deal due to “insider trading”. The front office has not been very forthcoming on the injury front. If they know more than they are saying about the Jose Altuve injury, say, would that result in a move?
  4. Wait until the cavalry comes September 1? They can bring up more bodies on the first day of the next month, but is there anyone in that bunch (A.J. Reid, J.D. Davis, Garrett Stubbs, Drew Ferguson, Yordan Alvarez, Dean Deetz, Josh James, Brock Dykxhoorn, Rogelio Armenteros, etc.) who would a) Make a difference?….b) Get an opportunity to make a difference?

What will the Astros do? What would you do?

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111 responses to “What can the Astros do? What would you do?”

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  1. I saw Beltran at the park for Legends weekend….and I wondered if Luhnow even MENTIONED to Carlos a “come back and help us out” conversation. If you say that McCann is the team leader, are they listening? There is *N O T H I N G* wrong with our position players. They are the same ones we had last year, and the same ones who we started 2018 with. Our starters have had to be PERFECT and wait until their guys score some runs for them. This team is a true enigma.
    As fans we are grateful for every run they score, every win our pitchers get.
    This series with the M’s, was soo painful because we KNOW they are better than that, we KNOW this is a good team….but it’s soo exasperating to see (or in my case listen) them struggle. Brian Mc Taggart has an inbox for questions we might have about what the club needs to do before August 31st. My question is Luhnow going to try and add a bat to strengthen this team…..because these guys he brings up from Fresno, just can’t hit major league pitching. The only exception is daveb’s, nephew Tyler White. The club isn’t in a full fledged nosedive….but unless or until they snap out of it they will go down in flames.
    I certainly hope that does not happen.

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    • Becky, I know you have a mole (lol) inside the organization, so your Beltran sighting prompts me to ask you to ask your friend about that. Is there any chance of Beltran freelancing for the remainder of the season? Tell them we need him back in the dugout more than we need to do yet another honors ceremony on the field like they talked about the other night. C’mon, Becky, get in there and fight for the team like you fought the Big C. Luhnow doesn’t stand a chance against you. 🙂

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      • I had to laugh Diane!! I have no idea if Luhnow brought the subject up, but I do know they are busy on the phones to see who they could trade for. I could email him, but his reply will be the same….”we can’t tell you who or even IF we are trying to work a trade”! I do know they are busy trying to find out who could help this team!

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  2. What I would do is put the Astros back together as close as I could to the original lineup, so that players could feel familiar in their positions and batting order.
    Correa hits cleanup and plays SS
    Lineup until Springer comes back:
    White DH Why? Because his stats resemble the good Springer. He doesn’t beat out hits or steal bases, but neither does Springer. He walks and has OPS like Springer.
    Bregman 3B
    Kemp 2B Why? because his stats are closest to Altuve’s until Altuve returns.
    Correa SS
    Gurriel 1B
    Reddick CF
    Gonzalez LF
    Stassi/ Maldanado
    Tucker RF.
    When Springer returns, put him in the leadoff spot and send Fisher down, move Reddick back to RF, put White on the bench, move Kemp to LF and Marwin to 2B but keep them in the same lineup spot and let Tucker be the lefty on the bench to match up with White.

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  4. Surely there’s a player in our deep minor league system that can make better contact than Fisher. How about Straw? He’s fast, a good fielder and like Kemp, no power, but he ‘s a contact hitter. Send down Fisher and try Straw until Springer Mendes.

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    • Agree Larry. You know the saying in business about an “empty suit”. Well that is what Fisher is at the plate. Hitting a buck sixty seven with a 53% K rate. That’s the facts Jack! And I like 1OP’s suggestion of keeping White in the lineup at DH. I like Gattis but I think White is the future and his stats are better than Gattis’. A big part of my frustration is like Becky’s where the organization is not shooting straight with the fans on these injuries. We’re told 10 days, then 2 weeks, now it’s 6 weeks. Mental games are never fun and they tend to get people upset. Always estimate on the high side and if they make it back before then we’re all excited. Remember Scotty on the Enterprise, “Captain, it will be at least a week before I can get the Warp Drive up and running and another week for the Transporter and the Phasers.” After 3 days Mr. Scott tells the Captain that everything is back up and ready for action. “Scotty, your a genius!” proclaims Captain Kirk. if it works for Scotty, it works for us.

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  5. Old pro, the word was supposed to be mend. When an s is added to mend on this phone, it insists on changing to Mendes. Anyway, why is Straw not being considered here? He can see and hit the ball like Kemp.

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    • Larry, I knew it was autocorrect, but I still needed a laugh when talking about the Astros today and you provided it.
      Oh, and Zanuda, you mentioning Star Trek is logical. Being named after a planet is so cool!

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    • Larry, the Astros not considering Straw is logical to a guy with farm animals. Straw is farther down in the pecking order of the Astros farm. I see this every day with the cows and chickens here.

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  6. The best thing we can do is get our injured back. True…but we don’t know the extent of Altuve ‘s injuries or if Springer may have a set back ( all the previous injuries have had setbacks). When they do come back how many weeks will it take for them to get back in rhythm.
    Too many ifs. It would be nice to trade for an outfielder that could hit and actually catch the ball occasionally. But apparently there no such animals available.
    So the only thing to do is put the best you have out there everyday in the positions they are most comfortable in, forget about resting anyone, forget about whether the pitcher throws from the left or right,
    Leave a pitcher in untill he gets in trouble but don’t let him hang himself. And pray for the best.

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  7. Thoughts
    – Myles Straw’s numbers have come down (.253 BA / .339 OBP / .642 OPS) – I think I would pick Drew Ferguson (.293 BA/ .431 OBP / .825 OPS) first or maybe even wunderkind Yordan Alvarez (.240 BA/ .342 / .803)
    – Springer Mendes and Brasil 66?
    – I picture Becky in a long coat with a hat pulled over her face as she sneaks into MMP and meets her mole in the parking garage

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  9. On releasing injury information, obviously anything you say can and will be used against you by the loyal opposition. In some cases, it’s not a big deal, but in others it could be a factor in competitors’ planning. Not an Einsteinian thought but best I can do at 4:45 on a Monday.

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  10. No, I don’t see anyone in our minor league system who can come up to help. I also don’t see a waiver wire trade taking place. There are a lot of AL teams and a couple in the NL who would put in claims just to block certain players that would be of benefit to Houston.

    Houston should have won 2 of 4 from Seattle. I’d argue they should have been in the first game of the series too, but that’s another matter. Let’s see how they bounce back tomorrow night.

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    • Hello.
      Is there anybody in there?
      Just nod if you can hear me.
      Is there anyone home?
      Come on, now.
      I hear you’re feeling down.
      Well I can ease your pain,
      Get you on your feet again.
      Relax.
      I need some information first.
      Just the basic facts,
      Can you show me where it hurts?

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  12. A baseball season is like climbing Mount Everest. You don’t get to the last base camp and decide to go to the beach.

    Door number 1 is the answer. You can try Door 2 and/or 3 but those are really that trip to someplace you really do not want to go. Door number 4 has already been seen. You already have that car.

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  13. Everytime they have a day off in between series….they play like cr*p!!
    Who ever is in charge of base running, needs to be FIRED!! Come on dudes, get up off the mat and give Verlander his 200 th win tomorrow night! JEEZE!

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  15. Rangers have 25 games left against the West. We have to swallow our pride and Root For The Rangers. If they lay down in these games, we will be in trouble because we have -0- games left with them.

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  16. -Chad Donato will probably not be the starter for QC today, since he pitched 7 innings yesterday. Schedule confusion.
    – I don’t care how Forrest Whitley pitches today, as long as he shows he is not injured.
    -I want every Astros player to wear a sliding mitt, or don’t slide. A sprained thumb is more uncomfortable than a sliding mitt. Derek Fisher might ought to try a sliding mitt when he is batting.
    -Framber Valdez makes his first start for Fresno tonight.
    – Oakland plays Seattle again tonight. Why does it feel like they will both win and pick up a game on the Astros?
    – You know how it looks on television when a person running in an Olympic Marathon has such a huge lead that the second place runner can’t see them? That’s the Boston Red Sox.
    – It seems like the Astros don’t play well after a day off. Or the next day, or the next day, or the next…
    – How do Verlander, Cole, Morton and Keuchel not win one game out of four against a team we have been talking about going to war with for two months?
    -LSU Gold hair is currently my least favorite color.

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    • astrocolt45 commented above about Boston’s record. It’s worth noting that the Astros should be only about a game behind them based on Run Scored and Runs Allowed. The difference is that BOS is winning crazy games like the one over BAL on Saturday while HOU is finding ways to lose games they should win. I’m concerned about this trend and hoping the fortunes of both teams flip as we approach October.

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  17. I would say – float back to the August / September time frame in 2017.
    Astros struggled mightily in August – yes they picked up Verlander, but remember that the Indians went bat guano crazy and won 22 games in a row. Indians had dominated us – it did not seem we would be able to get by them…..and then they lost 3 in a row to the Yankees (something they had not done since mid-July) and were gone in the divisional round.

    Who knows who will do what until it happens?

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  22. Springer will be off the DL Friday, but they are SOOO closed mouth about Altuve. Of all the things that pi$$ me off about Hinch, it’s that he doesn’t come clean about guys on the DL. Verlander is on it tonight…..but his guys aren’t.

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  24. Does anybody hit into DPs more than our guys? Four balls in play, 2 DPs. This gm already fills like torture. They say this tm spoiled us last yr. Well I admit early on in the season I was rotten, a spoiled brat anticipating more of the same until they began weaning me, snatched the pacifier right out of my mouth being offensively challenged, baserunning gaffs making more outs than runs, and severe diaper rash leading to DL stints. Oh god I miss being spoiled. And just as I type this post they go up 1-0, awesome.

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  30. Paxon got hit in the leg in the first inning, so Felix Hernandez is in to pitch for the M’s. Still in a 1-1 tie. Did I mention how angry I am tonight.😠

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  32. On August 14, 2011, the Astros lost to the Dodgers 7-0, As part of “Throw Back Week”, this team has decided to impersonate JB Shuck, Jason Michaels, Angel Sanchez, Bogusevic, Parades and Downs.

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  35. I have no idea why Tucker did not throw home on the blooper that fell in in front of him. The runner was tagged up at 3rd and he caught it on the bounce in shallow left center. Shouldn’t somebody be yelling at him to go home with it?

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  38. Something is VERY wrong with this club…..I’m not kidding. Hinch better get a hold of that clubhouse before it’s too late, and I have a feeling it already is.

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    • Right now,the pitching is not the problem. Not only are they not getting hits, they are not squaring up pitches. Lots of pop ups, cans of corn, soft contact, or just plain whiffs. When you see a team carrying their bats back to the dugout, it is not going well.

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  39. oh my next voodoo mojo ? Man this team is not only bad right now, their body language takes me back to like 2013.Who was our bench coach last year, how are those Red \Sox doing? HMMM?

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  43. Another lefty and a garrentee loss. Call me cynical, but I’m only stating the obvious. The Astros have a *1* game lead, and that’s to a team who doesn’t have anything CLOSE to a rotation like we do. This team needs a win so bad, they can taste it…..along with every single fan in Houston. I’m not going to get my hopes up for a win tonight…..I hope I’m wrong. Becky⚾

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  48. Of course the injuries are the obvious reason for the latest swoon but if we’re really honest this offense has grossly underperformed all season and the most egregious culprits have been Altuve, Springer and Correa. Bregman is the one and only hitter performing better than last year. Yuli has some nice gaudy numbers with RISP but his power production is way down and his AB quality has been inconsistent. The real reason we don’t have a bigger lead is that the offense has stunk, especially at home, with or without Altuve, Springer and Correa. Most pundits and team spokesman glibly assured us that the sputtering underachieving offense of April and May would auto correct and everything would be fine. All of the wasted great starts by our rotation are coming home to roost. As good as Verlander, Cole, Morton and now even Keuchel have been it’s telling that Morton leads the staff with a mere 12 victories at this time of the season.

    So what do we do besides wring our hands and bemoan our bad injury luck? Start by demanding better plate discipline and higher quality ABs. Learning the strike zone is an acquired skill. Just look at Bregman and to a lesser extent Tyler White. Swing at strikes Carlos, George and Jose. You might have the talent to make contact on pitches outside the strike zone but I’ve yet to see anyone drive a slider that’s down and off the plate so far it would land in the opposite batters box yet we continue to swing at these pitches. It reminds me of a kid who played on one of my youth league teams who swung at pitches in the dirt and took fastballs right down the middle. In my more uncharitable moments I thought he was baseball dyslexic.

    And the final part of my rant is that the lousy play at home is a slap in the face of the fans who have come out in record numbers despite high ticket and parking prices. At home the Astros are providing a bad product. Perhaps Mr Crane could apologize to the fans by dropping ticket prices. I’ll probably win the lottery before that happens and I don’t play!

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    • Pretty much sums it up.
      I might add Kemp was better disciplined at the plate when he first came to town. Time or the hitting coach is quickly changing that.

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    • Drbill you nailed that puppy right on the head (one of the best post I’ve seen discussing the offense). I’ve lamented the offensive ineptitude long before the inj bug hit though I have to acknowledge this tm was at least winning series with the regulars. I’m still waiting for CC to hit like his professed goal of MVP & GS to start hitting the damn ball instead of his streaky, swing/miss we’ve grown accustomed to. 2017 is history nor do I expect the whole lineup to hit .300 but the tms plate discipline is atrocious up & down the lineup. Someone pls teach these guys to swing at hittable pitches so we don’t have to watch guys flailing away all the time

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  49. I am not sure I would want Baggie in the booth for every day. But it is refreshing to hear him explain the “Art of Hitting.” He is wrong 20% +/- of the time but he can tell a batter what to expect on the next pitch and the location.

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    • He doesn’t really have the voice for it but it is refreshing.
      It gets old hearing the others making excuses for the bad offense.

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