Astros’ Free Blog Weekend returns

Today we return to a Chip Bailey special blast from the past. Basically, topics to discuss are up to you dear commenters as long as they are baseball-related and are respectful of others.

As usual, Dan P will toss out one topic to be kicked around, but you are welcome to head off in any other direction.

The topic today is….how would you rank the contributions of the youngsters who made their MLB debuts this season? Here is a list with top stats…..

– Cristian Javier – 23 y.o. – RHP – 5-2 / 3.48 ERA/ 0.994 WHIP in 54.1 IP and 12 appearances including 10 starts

Andre Scrubb – 25 y.o. – RHP – 1-0 / 1 save/ 1.19 ERA / 1.368 WHIP in 19 appearances and 22.2 IP

– Blake Taylor – 24 y.o. – LHP – 2-1 / 1 save / 2.29 ERA/ 1.271 WHIP in 19.2 IP and 21 appearances

– Enoli Paredes – 24 y.o – RHP – 3-2 / 2.66 ERA/ 1.377 WHIP in 20.1 IP and 21 appearances

– Brandon Bielak – 24 y.o. – RHP – 3-2 / 6.00 ERA/ 1.667 WHIP in 30 IP, 11 appearances and 6 starts

– Luis Garcia – 23 y.o. – RHP – 0-1 / 3.00 ERA/ 1.00 WHIP in 12 IP, 4 appearances and 1 start

– Brandon Bailey – 25 y.o. – RHP – 0-0/ 2.45 ERA/ 1.227 WHIP in 7.1 IP and 5 appearances

– Taylor Jones – 26 y.o. – 1B who slashed a .190 BA/ .227 OBP/ .609 OPS with 1 HR and 3 RBIs in a very small sample

– Nivaldo Rodriguez – 23 y.o. – RHP – 0-1 / 7.71 ERA/ 2.786 WHIP in 4.2 IP and 4 appearances

– Carlos Sanabria – 23 y.o. – RHP – 0-0 / 9.00 ERA / 3.000 WHIP in 2 IP and 2 appearances

The list above is the order this writer would rank them. How would you do it? And who do you think is the real deal and will help the team for years to come?

←
→

52 responses to “Astros’ Free Blog Weekend returns”

  1. Christian Javier would be the first on my list. As a starter, he has conducted business better than anyone could have thought. He has to be considered for the rotation for next season.

    Blake Taylor and Enoli Paredes have been outstanding and have punched their tickets for next season. The question is, will Paredes be considered as a starter?

    Andre Scrubb has been a surprise. He gets an invite next season.

    Brandon Bielak was so good to begin with! He should get with Strom to find out what happened. I liked his demeaner in the beginning.

    Luis Garcia and Brandon Bailey should be in spring training next season.

    Taylor Jones needs another year at Round Rock.

    Nivaldo Rodriguez and Carlos Sanabria need more seasoning.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Darn, I thought I had posted a batch of random stuff, some of it controversial (but all strictly baseball content), alas it disappeared. Anyway, I’ll just mention one thing that is not controversial. If the Astros get to play the A’s, it’s a great match up for us. We know we can beat them. No other squad will want to play us next. Remember the motto: With no expectations, we can only be pleasantly surprised!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. Javier, Taylor & Paredes look like they will be solid contributors for awhile.

    Scrubb seemed lucky not to give up more than 3 runs in 22.2 IP with 20 BB, although he has not given up a home run yet. Bielak gave up 8 HR in 30 IP (7 runs / 4 HR in 1.1 IP vs SD).

    It’s a mystery to me why Garcia, Bailey & Jones did not play more.

    Let’s not forget:
    Humberto Castellanos – 22 y.o.- RHP / 0-1 / 6.75 ERA / 1.59 WHIP / 10.2 IP in 8 appearances. He looked better than Rodriguez & Sanabria, which is not saying much.

    Overall, these first-timers did better than I expected and I think most of them can improve.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Whatever happened to Brian Abreu? I think he got sent down for not throwing strikes and being fat. Is he still home eating donuts?

    Carlos Correa is a beautiful player to watch playing defense. But he’s a healthy guy with a .685 OPS. And he’ll get hurt again. I’d move him this winter if a good opportunity comes up. Just too erratic.

    Bagwell fought beverage issues. Maybe being on the road was not a good place for him. I understand.

    Pressly is an 8th inning guy. He’s not a closer. There are differences.

    I’m sold on Javier and semi sold on Paredes, but not any of the others yet.

    Is Spring Training going to start in February? Will there be fans in the seats on Opening Day?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. I believe we can add Shawn Dubin, Forrest Whitley, Tyler Ivey, Bryan Abreu, Brett Conine and Peter Solomon to the list of guys who might help the Astros next year.
    As baseball has discovered in 2020, there are a lot of young players who can perform if given the chance.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  10. Interesting that the Astros can manipulate their pitching over the next two games to set up for a Tuesday start to the playoffs, while their likely opponents may not.
    Right now as the worst second place team they will play the third best division winner – which could still be the A’s (35-22) or one of the Twins (35-23) or White Sox (34-24) or Indians (34-24). The top two division winners will play the two wild cards – the top team (likely Tampa Bay 38-20) will likely play Toronto (31-27) while the second division winner will play whoever ends in third place in the Central (Twins, W’Sox, Indians).
    In an odd twist (and isn’t that what 2020 is all about) the second best division winner will play the better team, while the third best gets to play the likely worst record team in the playoffs – the Astros (29-29).
    What happens if the season ends and there are ties for playoff spots? This article talks about that.
    https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-playoffs-2020-how-postseason-tiebreakers-work-in-shortened-season/

    Like

    Reply

  11. “Rank the contributions”

    Javier
    Paredes
    Taylor
    Scrubb
    Garcia..

    The Astros should continue to consider Enoli and Luis H Garcia as Starters, when they have a full complement. The minors are pretty well-stocked with Up&Down types like Torres, and Dubin, etc.

    I’d written for 2 months, then a month ago as well: Pressly is a better setup guy, and Paredes should have taken the helm. I worry this team is simply too predictable (esp Strom’s philosophy which is well-known by other team’s minor leaguers), and in being too intractable about veterens over rookies as “experience edge” over hot hand or talent edge, for example. I’d hoped with Click we’d get more of Kevin Cash. Last night, Baker did act quickly to get Raley warming with Pressly in trouble, that was good! But sad you have to do that for your Closer!

    Next season, we should have plenty of arms not listed in this article, but that several here commented to look for. The youth movement is changing baseball, toward centralized training, and development emphasis. Many of our guys who were on the cutting edge are now elsewhere! White, Steinhorn, Stears, Elias, Medjal, Ocampo, Boddy and the list goes on.. other teams have “tanked” and gotten a crack at Elite Elite talent we never had a chance for, so they have stockpiled and become juggernauts.

    What the Astros must do is unload their blocked talent, and perhaps Correa, or another large piece to move the dial.

    A good subject coming soon to discuss is each of the Free Agents, and alternatives from other teams to trade for, who have an influx themselves. Versus the prospects vying in-house. A few names that are pretty thoroughly blocked are; Tanielu Mayfield Jones Toro Stubbs McKee De la Cruz without some kind of opening..

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Go Stros1, we’re pretty much in agreement today. You know Toro had a pretty good shot at getting himself unblocked this summer but just was not able to exploit the opportunity.

      I keep seeing people mention De la Cruz. Like all those guys, he did lose 2020, but he’ll be 24 in December and has a lifetime minor league OPS of .712. He looks like Tony Kemp light to me. What am I missing?

      Like

      Reply

      • De la Cruz Spring long balls, and if ya caught those games of incremental improvement, you start to see who is getting hits in key spots (that sort of thing) that helps with perspective of the lifetime numbers. What I look at real close is TB, and SO%.

        As we are seeing now, A-ball players, like C Sam Huff last night for Rangers, and it’s something I’ve written about for awhile, the *level* of minor leagues isn’t really a good indication of what to expect. In Astros case, they have so many pitchers on schedules, that guys like Cionel and Martes had to pitch in Dominican, or low levels just to get the work in. From team standpoint, all movements of their players are being tracked according to their development plan anyway, that they aren’t so much judged on whether the ball was a hit, but maybe more toward hard hit?

        For example, Taylor Jones had the hardest hit max, not percentage (Batting Average), so the big club sees how they can plug that in, when they need it. The knock on Taylor is the hole in the swing, which he seemed to be getting better last yr in RR. But even there, ya have to take with grain of salt with the ’19 jackrabbit ball, and the league that had more aged “non”-prospects. Then, you have teams at West Coast elevation, like when Astros played in launching pad Lancaster, we learned to throw those numbers out as outliers.

        Today, what better way to get Nick Tanielu experience (since he’s blocked up top) than to play against the taxi and top prospect pitchers in our org, which they’re doing in Corpus, UofH and Dominicam. McTag reported the other day that 19-yr old Colin Barber (“best CF in the system”) hit a 420 ft HR. Basically, we have to count on these pitching and hitting instructs to hand the next manager a close-to-finished product, and if putting out Paredes and Garcia isn’t proof of how good this farm potentially can be, I’ve got lots more names.

        Conine, Torres, Ivey, Solis, Henley, Rivera, Whitley, and many many more like Bellozo, Lopez, the latest drafts Santos Ty Brown, and our prize awaiting from ’19, Hunter Brown! They’re coming out of the woodwork in Abreu Sanabria Castellanos Dubin, but also Deason had surgery, Solomon is coming back, his scout Stevenson really likes *Austin Hansen* OU’s former closer.

        On the hitting side, I really like this kid we drafted Peter Zimmerman. Look for him in a few years. I do really like McCormick enough to let him platoon next yr in outfield, and both De la Cruz and Jake Meyers maybe even Dawson all fit as 4th OF, like Straw. Some of these may be more Fisher, than they are Laureano Grossman or Teoscar? Hope we choose wisely.

        If we can trade Correa for a few can’t miss guys, I also would be in favor of Diaz Bregman Pena and Straw on the cheap, so we can put that money into a JV replacement. Love Mike & George but if they walk MUST GET Compensatory Picks with qualifying offer. Honestly, if I were brantley, i would accept a 1-yr 18.5M deal, but he will also get a 3/45 (-so what would you do if you were him?)

        It’s Tucker Alvarez Whitley and Javier’s team in short order.

        Liked by 1 person

  12. One of the kids I’m helping to find a college to plug in his talents, plays in Katy named Ryan Brome. Big, bull hitter! He was developed by a hitting coach there and first highlighted at the Hunter Pence Academy.

    What Hunter does off the field has always been an inspiration, and today this:

    “Nothing can really prepare you for this part of your career when you have to say: I am retiring from baseball.

    Forever thankful and Gr8ful.” – Hunter Pence

    Like

    Reply

    • He made over $130 million in his career and he’s a guy who deserves it.
      Thanks for all the memories, Hunter( except when you were with Texas).

      Like

      Reply

    • Hunter was always one of those guys who left it all on the field, hustled on every ball and played the game right.
      I’m not sure if anyone is worth what they pay these guys anymore but I have no gripes on Mt Pence.

      Like

      Reply

    • Regardless who the affiliated clubs may be I always wear my Astros hat when I go to a ballpark. Surprisingly, one of my favorite fanbases is that of Philadelphia. The Cubs, Yankees, and Red Sox are probably tied for least favorite…it’s just amazing how many of their fans go out of their way to be jerks. Anyhow, I’ve been to three different minor league stadiums where the Philly’s club was the visitor that I can recall. In each case, someone went out of their way to come up to me and start a nice conversation about Hunter Pence, what a great player he was, and how thankful they were that Houston traded him there.

      Like

      Reply

    • We were the best hitting team in baseball last year but couldn’t hit W/RISP. Now we are in the bottom third of teams in hitting and can’t hit W/RISP and we are going to start doing it against some of the best teams in baseball? I don’t think so.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. Since Luhnow and particularly Strom have gotten here, the Astros put an emphasis on Pitching Command.

    They were the more recent teams to start extreme shifts after the LaRussa era, which coordinated with pitching toward those <80% areas that hitters always default toward. The way to defeat the shift and make them honest throughout history was to be a complete hitter & go "oppo", but the strategy of shifting has simultaneously worked, because you told your best hitter to go away from his strength.

    Astros offensively left the mindset of SmallBall behind when they focused on exit velocity, from the prevailing theory that much more havoc is wreaked by 100+ mph. Nobody knows how to bunt, and isn't it a shame when guys like Chapman are almost in the outfield defensively?

    Going back to my point, other teams have figured all the things out that we used to enjoy rather exlusively. One of those things is to Bear Down w/RISP, or pitch around to get to someone they have "an angle on". So, they don't care about runners on-base. They've learned to shift and pitch us inside — simple as that. Any mistake they leave over the plate results in a shot up the middle. They already know that 45% of the time, now the SS is standing there.

    From my view of watching other team's rookies in the minors too, ya just have to tip cap to teams figuring out how to beat hitters who were perennially Large Sample Size and proven in post-season. Why aren't Astros hitting? It has mostly to do with the other team's pitching and defense is the answer (look at Yuli's hard hits lately, signifying nothing, and right where they're positioned). I fear we try to define "luck" so much with BABIP vs BA that we lose sight of intrinsic design from the other team.

    We've all been fans a looong time. This just occurred to me again, about every time we weren't hitting, it was Dave Hudgeon's fault. Wasn't it interesting that he never rarely came up as a subject of the investigation, but he was such a huge figure in fans' mind during those droughts? Today, I've seen things about Cintron being suspended then sudeenly hitting improved, pointing to Snitker. You also have Latin guys who rely on Omar Lopez, or nuts and bolts, Joe Espada.

    The reality is these guys are studying so much, and using sophisticated tracking to anticipate what opponents are doing. We had a GM and Mgr who were on cutting edge of being just one step ahead — much like Cora was, against the 2018 Astros — where now we have Baker who won't even challenge balk calls, and generally toes the line for the Crane goal of retaining sponsors for next 3-5 yr outlook. If the league wants to punish us, we'll take our medicine seems to be his new M.O.

    If we go far this year, maybe just maybe the crapshoot theory is a little more prevailing in this type of season. Some team could go on a 2019 Nationals' tear. Right now, all I'm hoping for is good experience for the rookies and no injuries. If you told me we'd win one series, not sure if it would make me want more; or be satisfied. Smiling.

    Here's a polling question: do you think Crane will set a Win in 2021 Trajectory by making bold moves in offseason, or do you think he will have his sights further down the road? Last year's SI prediction said Astros would win in 2026, after saying we'd have trouble the next few yrs. If Jim Crane had that outlook, he might start a mini-rebuild by letting everyone walk, and playing mainly prospects. If anyone is in a chatty mood & happy Sunday to all.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  17. Who knows what Crane is going to do. I’m pretty sure he is focused right now on the Houston Open. That is his baby.
    Remember how often we heard and saw Reid Ryan in years past? Never heard a peep from his replacement. It’s like the Astros don’t have a Team President.
    My belief is that the entire Astros establishment has been devastated to the core. The Taubman affair. The Fiers’ betrayal and the loathing from the media. The suspensions and embarrassment and the repercussions. The Laureano/Cintron deal and the treatment of our hitters at the plate by the home plate umpires.
    It is just my feeling that getting this year over with is the utmost thing in the Astros’ hitter’s minds and everything else is lip service.
    The mental state of this team is as far behind the rest of baseball that I think Crane and Click should consider that from the moment the season ends. I think he needs to reconsider his decision to reup Baker, too.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Totally in agreement. These guys just want to go home. They’ll likely get their wish this week.

      I do not think Crane is going to max out the budget in 2021. We’ve got some pretty good talent. But I think Click will have this squad looking much different next year without a whole lot of spending.

      By the way, has Yuli aged before our eyes, or is he the first guy that wants to get home to the couch?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Yuli looks heavy.
        Yuli looks a little slower.
        Yuli is not his usual jovial self.
        He defected to get away from bad juju in his home country and ran into way more baseball BS here.

        Like

      • Yuli said recently he wants to stay in Houston. (Takes a while for Cubans to get their circle right, the right food and cultural circle, especially a team that has become West havana Astros with Diaz Cionel Armenteros Yordan and Pedro Leon coming.) An elder statesman for 2 more years might be the thinking since the other FA’s will test market. As an org, you make an offer to several and figure it’;s out of your controil: some will and some won’t meet your price, hard to predict.

        Our fans have gone back and forth with him, but some YoY stats have improved in succession til this crazy season.

        He didn’t really lose a step in speed.
        2020 26.9 217th in MLB
        2019 27.6 217th in MLB
        2018 27.6 236th in MLB
        2017 26.9 325th in MLB
        2016 27.3 250th in MLB

        If you look at this, it’s a rather impressive picture of consistency. He’s still elite 2% of not striking out! he’s also hitting 38% opposite field, which is a testament to his ability to adjust (vs Toro Jones)

        https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/yuli-gurriel-493329?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

        I’m personally in favor of moving on, and finding an internal 1B replacement, but if we offered him on the elder statesman premise / hometown discount, I’d offer 2/14m.

        If 1 WAR is equal to 7m – 10m, depending on viewpoint, we have paid him 47.5m for 9.4 WAR. We could always cut cord and take the win, because we can fill that spot with comparable talent and put the savings elsewhere.

        He was an excellent gloveman, especially to be able to adjust to the other corner. Yuli led the league in “picks”, and I’ve favored choosing former 3B’s transition to 1B because they know how to grind and stay in front of the ball. Tucker looks very smooth over there, but I foresee his legs as more a weapon for a few yrs, first baseman is on back burner of his career.

        Imagine getting 0.2 WAR from Mike Moustakis this year, after CIN just signed him to 70m for 4 more years?! There are a lot of bad contracts out there, like Rangers can’t get rid of Elvis Andrus.

        A few guys who might be 1B in 2021-2022?
        Jones, Toro, Shaver, Perry, Lee, Adams

        A guy everyone stopped talking about after drug infractions, but who was a collegiate crusher is JJ Matijevic. His Arizona teammates say he was a No-Doubter, but 2019 was a bad year for that young man.

        Like

      • I think you hit the nail on the head. “the guys just want to go home”. I can understand that more than anything thing this season. I’d like us to get back to the WS but I don’t think it’ll happen. This whole 2020 year has been one that I think we’d all like to forget and start over again. That includes baseball and everything else in general. No sense me revisiting everything and the things that are to come in the next couple of months. No wonder there’s so much anxiety going on in the world.

        Like

  18. A lot of these subjects we will obviously talk about more in the Off-season (though if there was ever a season that was “off” this has been the one).
    Some thoughts today….
    – I think the offense will be better (not 2019 level) coming up because I believe the real Alex Bregman is here now. I believe George is in a good place. I believe Kyle Tucker is the real deal. I believe a better version (not the best version) of Jose Altuve has suddenly appeared. I know they would be better with Yordan Alvarez, with Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa back to 90% of their normal – but I’ll be happy if they are better than the disaster they were for a few weeks.
    – I think Dusty Baker would have been better in a spot he would not have accepted, which would have been as a wizened bench coach. His lineups make no sense to me based on how people have been performing. Altuve is not hitting a lick, he moves him down for a few games where he is not hitting a lick and then moves him back up where he was not hitting a lick. He should have told Jose – start hitting, especially hitting the other way and laying off crap and I will move you up the lineup.
    – The Astros no longer have an edge in the stats/shifting world. They have to live with that and hopefully learn a bit from it. But hitting is still about not swinging at balls, working counts to get better pitches and squaring up on the ones in the zone.
    – Crane may well look at a quasi-rebuild – especially knowing that he likely will not have Verlander at all next year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. More random thoughts:
    -The emergence of SOME of the Astros pitching prospects this year gives Click a good idea of what he will have and what he doesn’t have to go into 2021.
    -If MLB does adopt the 16 team playoff plan permanently, Crane does not have to go out and stack the team this offseason. He only has to field a contender and make it in.
    -The minor leagues are going to be drastically different next season from previous seasons. Prospects who were in high A in 2019 won’t be in AA next year unless they did absolutely nothing during the 2020 season. You have to move them up two leagues in order to account for the players below them, players who were drafted or signed as free agents and players who jumped from the mid minors last season to the MLB club this season. Guys like Pena have to move to AAA because they had to have improved their game during this 2020 off year and they have to be ready to move up when the ball club needs them.
    Players who did little or nothing to improve themselves during the pandemic are probably not going to be the kind of players to build around later. The Astros did not add Jeremy Pena and Korey Lee to the 60-man squad at the beginning of September because they sat around all summer long and did nothing.
    -When we saw Sam Huff two weeks ago, he looked lost. Once he realized he was here to stay and would not be benched for every bad play or at-bat, he lost his case of nerves and relaxed and went to work. The same thing has happened with Tucker and Framber and Urquidy and Javier.
    Hopefully the same thing happens with Toro and Jones next season.
    -I am counting on Click to make next year’s team more like the 2020 Rays and a lot less like the 2020 Astros.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Last regular game of this *nightmare* season….and they will lose. The only guy I see who really cares is Kyle Tucker…..and hanging around the rest of these clowns may change his attitude as well. There’s a lot to do if Crane wants to win next year, good luck with that.
    OP you haven’t mentioned how your wife is lately…..I pray for you both daily🙏
    She’s blessed to have you to take good care of her….as I am with my husband.
    I would have been in a nursing home without him.

    Like

    Reply

  21. This latest road trip was an embarrassing end to an embarrassing season. From the completely lame and clueless “apology” press conference at the start of spring training to the fumbling of starting the belated season to the fiascos during the season 2020 has been a complete waste of time and effort. I’m actually considering rooting for the Twins to put this team out of its misery and ours quickly. While it might make a lot more sense to try to make an effort to somehow extend Correa I think the ONLY way that Crane can signal that he wants to field a relevant contender that the fans will support is if he re-signs Springer. If George wants to walk away that will tell me that this ship is irredeemable in the short term and possibly for years to come. The damage that the sign stealing scandal has wrought will linger for years. I’m convinced that part of Altuve’s troubles has been remorse. I hope he can get over his shame and return to the magnificent player and person we’ve come to love. This offseason is Crane’s opportunity to open his wallet and his mind and to get rid of the arrogance that the Astros are just so much smarter than everybody else. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. In a sermon this past weekend, my Pastor mentioned how Jesus’ disciples were initially “frustrated due to unmet expectations” as they anticipated their Messiah to deliver them from Roman oppression. Instead, He provided a greater deliverance from the oppression of sin.

    I’m sure many of the Astros fans were frustrated by the 2020 regular season which produced unmet expectations of a winning record (especially in one-run and extra-inning games); better plate approaches by most of our hitters (especially with RISP); not so many walks given up by our pitchers, etc.

    They could turn things around in the playoffs, but maybe they won’t. I have no expectations either way. Hopefully they will not find a new way to frustrate us.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Expectation is the beginning of disappointment.

      I’ve found that if you watch baseball as first, a blessing & luxury to even have a pastime, but mostly as discovery and not judgment, it makes the game much more enjoyable. Nats played a helluva series last year, and displayed amazing fortitude coming from behind. Somthing Hinch always squirmed when behind on the scoreboard!

      Further, as you begin to watch the younger players, and how their careers take turns to wearing other uniforms, you realize that baseball is a lot like America.

      We should probably temper our rivalries in some sense, realize we’re all on the same team. Therein, lies redemption.

      Our players and staff lose sleep worried (Strom), didn’t wake up at crack of dawn in December 2019, work our tails off through Spring, accomodate every nitpick rule with Covid, sacrifice so much with burgeoning families to come up with this strategy. “Pack it In,” said Nobody. I find this comment from respected guys more of letting off some steam. How many more pounds of flesh do you expect from, “I’m old enough to remember 2017”?

      This moment is literally what we worked for all year, the regular season an afterthought. Great, if we disappoint you can say ‘told ya so’, but what will you call it when playing at our height? Lucky?

      Rooting for the Twins is understandable. Their blogging fanbase is pretty knowledgable and sane. They have some really nice, young talent that will go far. While you’re at it, see if you can talk them into trading us Rosario — Twins are swimming in OF talent and can afford it.. Let’s say Correa for Rosario plus the guy I wanted to draft, Blayne Enlow. One can hope, but not expect.

      Like

      Reply

  25. I really thought the Astros would have had a better shot at beating the A’s. The Twins don’t really have any big weaknesses. I could see them going deep into the playoffs. If our guys decide to hit, maybe we’ve got a chance. But we’re 9 and 23 on the road. The Twinkies are 24 and 7 at home. They seem to be a happy bunch too. Unfortunately, our present enthusiasm barometer does not register.

    I can see the Padres making noise too. After the Dodgers and Rays, they’ve got the best record on the season. And they’be got Jason Castro too.

    Like

    Reply

  26. Dan, on a totally separate subject, Cal has no clue. O’Brien is a by-product of that. Hopkins catches ten more balls for 137 years yesterday. Would the Texans really bring Antonio Brown in?

    Like

    Reply

    • Daveb –
      I covered this more than 2 years ago – heading into the 2018 season (when Cals’ daddy was still with us) and things have only gotten worse.
      https://www.battleredblog.com/2018/9/10/17840934/coach-bob-will-never-lead-the-texans-to-the-promised-land
      I don’t believe in the guy and I don’t know what he has done to be given total control over this team. It is like some kind of Svengali situation where he has some magical hold over the McNair family.
      Yes, I know they have won under him and made the playoffs, etc. but they are just not going to get to the promised land in my opinion and with his brain dead handling of personnel, the cupboard is bare as far as draft picks go and as you point out they have sent one of their top play makers else where for pennies on the dollar.

      Like

      Reply

  27. Frustrated by almost everything, I went out this morning and built a shelf that my girl has asked me to build for five years.
    I am not kidding that it took me an hour to find everything I needed and another hour to figure out how to do it. Then I did it in about 45 minutes. Fifteen minutes to put everything back where I found it, something that is very rare around here.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment