Jun 10 2022

Multi-Verse? Multi-Choice? Whatever

As I morph older and older, I find that I am turning into my parents. Good people living in a world that is not catering to them. Sometimes it is the gazillion ways people choose to be “social” these days, though I assume that anyplace that tosses you because they don’t like your opinion is not that social.

Other times it is the way that folks choose to be entertained. My wife, son and I watch most things that we have DVR’d on cable or selected from a vast collection of DVDs. I know, I know, I can subscribe here and there and have someone else store what I want. Of course, then I am at their mercy of what they actually let me access at the time I want to access it. And the way the world is going, they might choose to toss me off their “service” for not being aligned with their agendas. No, if I want to watch 12 Angry Men tonight, I can watch it tonight (if I can find it in my vast collection of DVDs, but that is another problem for another post).

And then there is this deal with the new movies being created for entertainment. It seems that for every movie made with an adult theme and real human interaction, there are a hundred made about this or that superhero, any possible combination of those superheroes, and, of course, an infinite number of sequels or prequels to milk as many as possible from the same basic ideas and CGI. There is something called multi-verse involved, but I neither have tried to understand that term nor have the inkling to understand it.

So, today the focus of this post will be a Multi, I understand. Multi-choice. Please enjoy and chime in….

  1. What happens when the next starting pitcher (likely Jake Odorizzi) returns?
    1. The Astros go back to the six-man rotation they were featuring when he left
    1. They go to a five-man rotation and move Jose Urquidy to the long-man role in the bullpen
    1. They go to a five-man rotation and send Urquidy down to work on his “stuff.”
    1. They go to a six-man rotation – move Urquidy to the long man role and bring up Hunter Brown (3-3, 2.39 ERA, 12.7 K/9 IP) to be the sixth man
  2. If Jake Meyers (just 4 games into rehab at Sugar Land) gets rolling in AAA and gets called up, what do the Astros do:
    1. Have him take Chas McCormick’s typically starting role and move Chas into Jose Siri’s fourth OF role. Send Siri down
    1. Leave Chas as is and have Jake take Siri’s 4th OF spot. Send Siri down
    1. Keep Siri (God no) and send Chas down
    1. Package one of the three in a trade for help
  3. What happens when the “other” starting pitcher returns (likely Lance McCullers)?
    1. Move Cristian Javier back to the long-man spot in the bullpen
    1. Move Jake Odorizzi back to the long-man spot in the bullpen
    1. Give Justin Verlander a two-week vacation with a hang nail or something
    1. Trade from your excess for a catcher who can chew gum and walk at the same time. Sorry, I meant field and hit
  4. Who are the Astros most likely All Stars this season?
    1. Yordan Alvarez and Justin Verlander
    1. Alvarez, Verlander and Kyle Tucker
    1. Alvarez, Verlander and Framber Valdez
    1. Alvarez, Verlander, Tucker and Valdez
    1. Those four plus Rafael Montero
    1. Other?
  5. If Enmanuel Valdez does turn out to be the real deal – batting .356 over two minor league levels this season, what do the Astros do with him?

Warning Will Robinson – the .356 is almost exactly .100 pts higher than Valdez’s minor league career average.

  1. Teach him another position, like left field, so he can step into Michael Brantley’s boots next season.
    1. Groom him to take the place of Aledmys Diaz as the next Swiss Army Knife on the team
    1. Groom him to take Yuli Gurriel’s spot over at 1st base as Yuli’s hitting declines
    1. Have him ready if Bregman or Altuve need replacing (aw c’mon – just trying to fill out 4 choices)
  2. What is more likely this season….
    1. Verlander wins the AL Cy Young
    1. Alvarez wins the AL MVP
    1. Jeremy Pena wins the AL Rookie of the Year
    1. Some combination of those
    1. None

       Note I did not include Dusty for Manager of the Year, but you can….

  • If the Astros make a splash in the trade market between now and the deadline, what will it be?
    • They pick up a real-life two-way catcher
    • They pick up a solid outfielder
    • They pick up a left-handed reliever
    • Some combination of those
    • No big trade
  • Who is most likely to bounce back from a poor start to the season?
    • Yuli Gurriel
    • Jose Urquidy

So, the next step is up to you. This post is about our heroes and Multi-choice, not superheroes and Multi-Verse, but please give it a try.

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101 comments on “Multi-Verse? Multi-Choice? Whatever”

    • HEE HAW, 2022 – Take One [banjo playing ‘Goin’ Up Cripple Creek’]

      [Luis Garcia] “I’m a-pitchin’!”
      [Phil Maton] “And I’m a grinnin’!”

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      • Goin’ up I-45, goin’ on a run;
        goin’ up I-45 to have a little fun.
        Go’in up the interstate, isn’t it a hoot?
        Go’in up interstate to scoot a silver boot!

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  4. What the Astros plan to do with Houston-raised Dillon Thomas is a bit of a head-scratcher. Upon his waiver pick-up, he was assigned to Sugar Land, where he’ll share OF duties with Pedro Leon, Corey Julks, Lewis Brinson, and … for a while at least … Jake Meyers.. At 29 y/o, Thomas isn’t exactly a prospect anymore. He has a lifetime slash-line in the minors of .264/.337/.737. He doesn’t exactly scream ‘home run’ power or emit a ‘run-producer’ vibe. Perhaps he’s just being brought on board as insurance in case Brantley’s old bones call out for some rest or rehab time. Most interestingly, this acquisition sends a pretty strong message to Jose Siri – son, your window of opportunity is closing quickly.

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    • Sportsmap -HOU has a video that talks about getting a catcher or 1st baseman, and even an outfielder possibly. The consensus is that it’s been a long time since we’ve gone after a position player and the prospects for doing so don’t look to good. But we’ve been fooled before by Click/Crane so we’ll see what happens. They said it would be interesting to see how the team plays in these upcoming series against the White Sox, Mets, and Yankees.

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      • Despite the stats in virtually every offensive category, Dusty and the F.O. appear to like Jose Siri a whole lot than Chaz McCormick. Because of the same stat differential, coupled with Siri’s unsuccessful-in-every-organization-he-has-ever-been-in history in the league, Chaz is probably a significantly more enticing a trade candidate than Siri is. Adding all that together, I suspect that Chaz will be one of those traded – as soon as Meyers is ready to return to action. Heck, the way this organization thinks, Meyers will probably be traded with him.

        Liked by 1 person

    • Gosh, Valdez has turned into a real story. He’s been good since the beginning of last season and keeps doing more. Does not seem that leftfield is a serious option for Emmanuel. Assuming he keeps hitting he’ll be a major league second baseman before long. His real value to the Astros in 2022 might be in a trade.

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    • If you liked Robbie Grossman, you will love Enmanuel Valdez. Dude makes takes look like a career path. And he has a little gitty up in that bat too.

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      • Steven, I never really liked Grossman, but I respect his on base skills and he’s always been a grinder and a pest and as an overachiever has put together a 10 year career that deserves respect. But Grossman never showed the minor league offense that Valdez has sustained since the beginning of 2021. That’s what makes the guy so intriguing.

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      • Yea, thats why I say gitty up in his bat. Last year in 156 games Grossman had a .357 OBP and 23 HR, and chipped in 20 SB. I wouldn’t expect that from Valdez right now, but I can see that as a possibility coming – and Valdez does appear to be able to draw those walks, and while not overly consistent over 5 years in the minors, does have a higher minor league career avg at 23 than Grossman has a major league average at 32, so thinking he will be a better hitter while maintaining a similar On base tool is very reasonable.

        I just bring up Robbie because A)its fun to remind everyone every once in a while that Robbie is better than Jake, and B) we have had our share of on base tools guys come through (your nephew for instance) and not succeed – but I think its very fair to point out that Valdez is more than a .260/10 HR guy that happens to take walks, he has some legitimate thump. We have had our Singletons/Chris Johnsons/Reed where the usual statement “the ball just sounds different off the bat” and our guys that can draw walks like Grossman and White, but but its nice to see someone putting together a little of both.

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  6. Does anyone see Emmanuel Valdez, a left-hand hitting 2B/3B, being brought up to platoon with and thereby prolong the careers of Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman? Diaz could then do something similar for Gurriel and occasionally rest/fill in for Pena.

    If, instead, we trade two or more of McCormick, Meyers, Taylor Jones, Pedro Leon, Corey Julks, Jose Urquidy, Christian Javier, Seth Martinez, Alex Santos, Shawn Dubin, who other than Willson Contreras do you suggest we might target?

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    • Since you asked – I am making a major move for Bryan Reynolds – I would offer Urquidy or Garcia (their pick), Whitley, Perez as my starting offer and negotiate from there. The Pirates would love some cost controlled pitching, and we need a CF and we have the cap space to not easily absorb his contract but look at taking past this year and next before his FA.

      Of course, Pittsburgh hasn’t looked like a team wanting to deal their only star, and likely will wait until June of next year to create a bidding war but if we throw enough mediocre pitching at them you never know.

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      • An almost forgotten guy named Forrest Whitley pitched yesterday in a real game for the first time since undergoing TJ surgery in March 2021. Well, a real game in the Florida Complex league, I should say. It was just a rehab assignment, of course, and Forrest put in a mere two innings. Over the course of the two frames he pitched, Forrest gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks; but at least he notched two strikeouts. At least he’s throwing competitively again.

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    • Other than, I wouldn’t make any moves at all. This team has all the pieces it needs to win it all, especially if Verlander and McCullers are healthy and pitching in the playoffs as 1 and 2. Injuries could dictate a change in that, and we have the cap space to make a push for a playoff style starter on the last year of a contract from a team that is out of it, but if everyone is healthy I’m rolling the dice on the current roster (or making the one move to upgrade CF).

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