This has always been an interesting and popular feature of the blog because it includes opinions from our always interesting and sometimes popular commenters.
1. As regards to Jose Abreu and his lack of performance – the very large elephant in the very small room, should the Astros:
a) Put him on the 10-day IL and see if he comes back with a new start and a new swing?
b) Let things roll until the All Star Break and see if he suddenly breaks out?
c) Push him way down the lineup to eighth or ninth?
d) Rotate him much more often with Yainer Diaz at first?
e) Swallow the poison pill, release him, and take an approximate $50+ Million hit on his
remaining salary?
f) Other?
2. When/if Jose Urquidy comes back, do the Astros:
a) Send Brandon Bielak down?
b) Send Ronel Blanco down?
c) Send J.P. France down?
d) Send a position player down?
e) Let Urquidy pitch a few times and then package him in a trade?
f) Other?
3. In August, I think the Astros rotation (assuming six-man) will look like the following:
a) Valdez, Javier, Brown, Urquidy, France, Bielak
b) Valdez, Javier, Brown, Urquidy, McCullers, France
c) Valdez, Javier, Brown, Urquidy, McCullers, Bielak
d) Valdez, Javier, Brown, Pitcher X (someone we trade for), McCullers, France
e) Other (I could come up with combinations all day, but I’m getting tired)
4. How many wins will it take to win the AL West (note the Rangers are on a pace for 106 wins, the Astros for 94 wins currently):
a) 92-95 wins
b) 96-99 wins
c) 100-103 wins
d) 104-107 wins
e) Other
5. Who is most likely to be included in a mid-season trade?
a) Jose Urquidy
b) Corey Julks
d) Jake Meyers
e) Brandon Bielak
f) Ryne Stanek
g) Other
6. The most likely full-season award winner on the team is:
a) MVP – Yordan Alvarez
b) Cy Young – Framber Valdez
c) Rookie of the Year – Hunter Brown
d) Manager of the Year – Dusty Baker (Yeah, I know)
e) Other
7. If I could pick a hitter (other than Yordan Alvarez) to go bat guano crazy for the next couple of months, I would pick:
a) Jose Abreu
b) Jose Altuve
c) Kyle Tucker
d) Alex Bregman
e) Jeremy Pena
f) Other
8. If Michael Brantley came back in the next month, who would be the odd man out?:
a) Corey Julks
b) Grae Kessinger (if he was still on the 26-man roster)
c) Chas McCormick
d) Ronel Blanco
e) Other – Man, if Kessinger goes back soon and they add a pitcher – would the pitcher be it?
9. The Astros are giving up the least amount of runs per game in the AL (3.56) and scoring the 8th most runs per game (4.53), yet everyone talks about going and getting another starting arm. What should the Astros’ main target be at the trade deadline?
a) A stud starting pitcher
b) A shutdown reliever
c) A new first baseman
d) A hard-hitting power OF
e) Other (this could be some combo of the above)
10. What is your main complaint about Dusty’s managing (the smaller elephant in the room)?
a) His holding back Chas McCormick
b) His holding back Yainer Diaz
c) Where he places players in the lineup
d) His resting of players that are hot
e) His pitching usage
f) All of the above
g) Other
As I said, it is your turn to lead the blog….
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
58 responses to “Astros end-of-week multiple choice quiz”
Some tough choices there Dan.
1. D – Diaz needs more time, somewhere? Anywhere?
2. B – Would think Blanco goes down unless we have another pitcher on the IL.
3. A – Most likely this scenario.
4. B – I would hope the Rangers will eventually cool off.
5. C – Actually it could be B, C, or D. None of them would surprise me.
6. B – Framber should be it should he continue to pitch like he has but it will probably be Cole since he plays for the Yankees. Remember the sports writers still hate the Astros.
7. D – Bregman since he gets more AB’s than almost all others and I’d say Abreu but that just ain’t gonna happen.
8. B – Kessinger 1st with D Blanco next
9. C – But that won’t happen either. More likely a pitcher and then an outfielder.
10. F – I am just not a fan of “Mr Toothpick”
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1. d. Don’t go crazy, but get Diaz in there more often.
2. c. I like the idea of France starting at Sugarland to be ready for a return as a starter if needed.
3. e. I think Framber, Javier, Brown, trade acquisition, and then France/Bielak.
4. c. 100-103 sounds about right. The Rangers will fall off…but anything less sounds risky.
5. c. The receiving team has to want a player. Chas could be the next Kike Hernandez.
6. c. ROY Hunter Brown. In an unbiased world I think Framber should be right there in terms of odds though.
7. b. Real answer is probably Jose Abreu to improve our winning chances, but very little in my sports fandom has been as consistently amazing as watching Altuve succeed.
8. a. Unless they trade Chas as I suggested above, Julks is the odd man out.
9. d or e. I like our pitching. I think Abreu improves but doesn’t regain real power. I’d like a bat that can come off the bench with punch in the postseason.
10. b. I think Diaz’ upside offensively means you want to give him as much experience now as possible so in Sept/Oct he can carry you to some wins. Dubon is a great story, but do we expect him to win games in the postseason with his bat? I want Diaz to get his failures out of the way now…like when he got overmatched by the Twins’ reliever a few weeks back.
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Can someone help me understand why Pena and Altuve have been flip-flopped?
I thought we had finally gotten 1-5 settled.
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He batted Altuve 2nd yesterday too. Maybe he wants to beef up the 2 hole numbers, apparently at the expense of the leadoff stats.
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I guess we just ignore Pena’s 2022 season stats and further, his .999 OPS hitting second so far in 2023.
And we know how much Altuve has come to take ownership of the leadoff role.
More head shaking.
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I like the multiple choice quiz, but I always cheat a bit.
1.
b. Regardless of what we want, Abreu will get at least until the All Star break unless the whole team starts to tank and drastic measures are needed.
d. But I would compromise and keep Abreu at first 4 to 5 days a week and give a game or two weekly to Diaz for the time being.
2.
d. Can’t have too much pitching, but Urquidy might not have a job if he gets back. I see changes coming in the pen though. Dana B. might have to find a replacement for Stanek. He has not been trending well since last September.
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1 – I don’t think Abreu is just in a slump. I think he is old, and it is gone. I would be fine with E, but the Astros are not doing E. Lets say, D.
2. A AND B, and go back to a 5 man rotation.
3. I think it will be B.
4. B.
5. I don’t think any of those, or maybe McCormick. I think K. Lee, Perez, Dirden and few other minor leaguers should keep their bags close by. I also think it’s likely there are no trades.
6. Brown, though any of the first 3 are possible.
7. Altuve.
8. It’s hard to see the team carrying 4 full time OFers in Julks, McCormick, Meyers, Tucker and 2 DH’s that can play LF in Brantley and Yordan, while still having Dubon that can go out there and Diaz that can DH effectively. You have to think it will be an OFer but it seems they have all played at least well enough to warrant a spot on the 26 man. Tough call, good luck Dana, especially if everyone is healthy.
9. A – You don’t win playoff games because starters are “good.” You win them consistently when starters are great. I would sell half the farm for Cease or Burnes, two guys that are not likely to be moved but have small rumblings. If it isn’t someone that I would pencil in over Urquidy or McCullers then I would stick with what I have.
10. F. When you look at the offensive talent he has been given there is no reason to be in the bottom half in baseball in almost every statistical category. His loyalty to veterans is admirable, but Abreu is killing us. A number 5/6 hitter that hits like your catcher is terrible. And in previous years we could live with a catcher like Maldy, I don’t know if we can keep pace with Maldy AND Abreu playing 5 times a week each unless Altuve storms in, Brantley gets to playing 4-5 times a week, and even then we are going to have to deal with at least some low scoring games.
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3.
d. Almost. I hope to see our big three all healthy. And I expect an X Man. I don’t expect McCullers to be back, at least in a starting role. Then a couple of the Space Cowboy dudes.
4.
c.
5.
b. Why would we trade the most reliable hitter out of those three guys? Both Chas andJake are above league average, both are good outfielders. But Chas has done it over three seasons now, even as he continues to get shuffled about.
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By the way, I forgot to mention this last night. Kalas noted in the 6th inning that Yainer has a 3.05 catcher ERA on the season, which is second in MLB. That shocked me too. I actually went back to the game tape to make sure I heard him correctly. And it was also there on the screen in a graphic. Why do I think Dana Brown made sure Plummer and Kalas had that stat to make note of?
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6.
c. Hunter Brown
7.
b. Jose Altuve is still the second best hitter on the team.
8. If Brantley somehow comes back, and I kind of doubt it, the only guy I can think of is:
a. Corey Julks, our weakest outfielder. Remember, this would not be a Dusty decision, I think anyway!
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9.
a and b. Because we don’t have any of those arms in the system. But we might have a first baseman that could be a significant upgrade over Abreu. Outfield? I’d probably be happy going to battle with Yordan, Jake, Chas and Tucker. And maybe Gilbert?
10.
a to f. I’m okay with his pitching usage. Some of the other stuff kills me though. That post I added above about Diaz having the second best catcher ERA in MLB is a big deal. And Dusty must know that stat. So instead of looking at Baker as a dinosaur, I’m having a hard time trusting the decisions he makes at this point. He’s doing things to the detriment of his team.
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1 C and D, take the pressure off
2 D We don’t want anyone robbing innings from Dubón right now.
3 E Valdez, Bieber, Javier, Brown, France 🙂
4 C (The rangers aren’t going away)
5 G Ronel Blanco – 5 years of team control is what budget minded teams want.
6 C by elimination
7 C Tucker getting hot means home runs and RBIs
8 A Julks
9 A for Always
10 G Nothing. Yes, it used to be D, but I have come to believe he knows what he’s doing.
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Thank goodness Yanier was not catching tonight. He’d be growing cobwebs on Dusty’s bench. But man, that was a terrible game.
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What a poorly played game tonight by the Astros.
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Pathetic! My new #4 answer is it doesn’t make a lot of difference because the way the Astros are playing they won’t make the playoffs anyway. Time for Brown to get involved because this just isn’t going to get it.
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Hektor is fallen. Our fate is sealed. Flee Troy!
[Homer for Astro fans]
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Framber self destructed, Jake had a chance to pick him up but sprint speeded well past a catchable fly ball on the track, Abreu got picked off second with nobody out in the 7th after back to back base hits from him and Chas, and then then Pena loafed down to first leading off the 8th. He would have been safe on the bad throw, but that’s life. Dusty stuck up for him.
That one game won’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. But if Yordan is out for an extended period, things are not looking up. And Lance is going in for an MRI today. I don’t think that’s great news either
But we’ve gotten excellent help from our AAA pitchers. Can we find a bat or two in the minors somewhere? Ideally, a couple of lefties? And can we afford to trot out Abreu and Maldy as often as we have been? We might have to move up some of our All Star break decision making. Can we learn to play some smaller ball? We look like a tired, complacent club right now.
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After last night I can’t help but think I am crazy.
Abreu is going to be one of the worse signings in history. This guy isn’t in a slump. He is old. He had zero chance against Romano last night, and Romano knew it. He pumped 97 and 99 at him because he knew Abreu is washed. At 36 his bat has slowed too much. He looked silly in the 9th inning. I don’t even know why he was batting. Well, I do, it’s called “baseball tradition.” Don’t take the vet out in that spot. You are telling him you agree with Romano that he is done. SO WHAT. The answer is let him flail away our last out in a 1 run game?
Maldonado batted twice with a runner on 3rd. Both cases ended up the way you expected. The last time was the 7th and 2 outs, why was he even batting right there? Vet status strikes again.
Can’t win a lot of games you are going to score 2 runs. This team needs an infusion. It’s full of guys that can have games, but they are overall a bad mix. Here are a list of OBP’s for players with some significant time – .199, .273, .306, .277, .326 and .316. And some of those guys are actually swinging well. The problem is they either hit, or not. They don’t draw walks. When you don’t draw walks, you rely on one way of getting on 1B, you obviously end up there less, and pitchers have less pressure. This team is not constructed, it’s whats left after everyone left.
The Astros have to be the luckiest franchise in baseball. An architect came to town in 2011. He drafted pretty well, he went after particular kinds of hitters, he brought the right pieces around them, 2017 happens, he is fired, and half those pieces leave for greener pastures. What I mean by lucky is all these pitchers start showing up from the international pool and just start winning. And that is what has carried this franchise, Verlander and his staff of international superstars. Luhnow traded for Alvarez. He drafted Tucker. Correa, Bregman, Springer, certain types of guys. We are in the last vestige of that and watching the fill ins just refuse to draw a walk.
We have a .316 team OBP. The Rangers have a .344. The Rays have a .340. Oddly enough the Reds are third at .334, but I guess you can’t win with a 5.02 team ERA.
I’m crazy. There is an immediate upgrade on this team available today, right now, to replace that .199. Instead of that he is playing once every 4 games in his place. I’m not very patient when I am convinced. If I was Brown I would walk into Crane’s office and just tell him, I’m sorry, but Jose is done. We have to eat that 50 million or so that’s left so we can upgrade 1B. I would find that upgrade but while I look, Matty can’t do any worse. If he hits .240 with a .300 OBP and a little power, thats an upgrade, particular if you sit him against lefties and put Diaz at 1B. Julks has 4 walks in 45 games. He is a fifth outfielder that should have much more limited playing time.
Bielak is a timebomb that has worked himself out of self inflicted jams. I wouldn’t wait on the explosion. I am not a Blanco fan but he does have major league stuff even if he doesn’t always command it. Go back to a 5 man rotation, put Bielak in a long man role BEFORE he has 3 starts in a row where he doesn’t work out of those self inflicted jams and puts you out of games. His BAA, OBP against, everything suggests he should have a 6 ERA. Let’s not wait on that to happen.
If Yordan misses a week, it’s going to be a long week.
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But no, I am fully aware, not a single one of these things will happen. I still think, even if they don’t, this team can win it all, but instead of running away with it we will end up barely winning a division after the Rangers come back to earth, and Framber and Javier pitch us to it.
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Yeah, I don’t think the Abreu miracle is going to happen. We’ve got guys swinging better bats in AA and AAA that are athletic, that can run and throw and maybe even drop a bunt down. Even a .700 OPS at first base would be thrilling right now. And this station to station game is killing us. When you’re constantly losing low scoring games, you’ve got to make something happen. Play the whole game of baseball!
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I’m not trying to defend Abreu, but right now I’m more disappointed in Myers and Maldonado. That pitch Framber threw to Kirk was a meatball. I’ve never played in the Skydome so I don’t know what the crowd/light situation was, but Myers completely misjudged that ball. We’ve been applauding him for his offense of late, but he’s out there for his defense. As for Maldonado, his body language tells me he has accepted his offensive ineptitude and is fine with it. If Diaz had the same at bats and indifference we’d probably see Dusty sit him for a week. There’s really no excuse. But then we see Pena on that ground out. It’s not the jogging that bothered me on it. What bothered me is he started running hard and then when he saw the pitcher glove it he put his head down and stopped watching the play. Body language matters. Pena decided it was more important for everyone watching to see him react dejectedly than to make the correct baseball play. Teammates and coaches can defend him to the media if they want, but recall earlier in the season when Javier Baez lost track of the outs on the bases and got benched as a result he came back much more focused. It would be nice to see those messages sent in Houston.
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All of the lousy plays and bad decisions by the manager surfaced in the aftermath of two awful GIDP in the early innings by a terrible bottom of the order. The team had the Blue Jays on the ropes early and then gave it away.
Abreu and Maldonado and Baker are killing this team.
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Agree with you 110%. But can or will anybody do anything about it? Bases loaded with no outs and we manage to push across only 1 run. A lot of times we don’t even get that.
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Z, I think at some point soon, much to Dusty’s chagrin, Crane will give Brown the green light to do what he thinks he needs to do.
Dusty Baker has had a long illustrious career. But the lack of energy by his club on the field extends back to the manager. Don’t get me wrong, Dusty is not going anywhere this year, but he might quietly lose some responsibilities.
I’m still thinking about Abreu getting called out on a timer violation after having called time out. Dusty did not even raise his eyebrows in the dugout. I’m pretty sure most managers would have at least jumped out of the dugout and asked the ump what happened out there. Zero reaction.
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A disappointing loss where a bunch of little mistakes got magnified. The good news is that if those little things get fixed, we can be a lot better. Hopefully they will get fixed soon, before we get desesperado. This crazy team will make you cry, so better to laugh instead.
Maldonado…
Dusty why don’t you come to your senses?
He aint knockin’ down fences for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
Who knows why you got your reasons
These lineups that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt the team in H-town
Won’t you play that Yainer Diaz more
He’ll beat them if he’s able
You know the higher OPS is always your best bet
Now it seems to me some fine swings
Have been laid upon your table
But you only make the moves that fans don’t get
Maldonado…
Oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger
We have pain and hunger
You’re not drivin’ them home
Free Diaz, oh free Diaz
Well, that’s just some fans screamin’
His prison is sittin’ on the bench all alone
Astro fans get cold in the springtime
The sky is falling and the sun won’t shine
It’s hard to tell the nightmare from the daydream
We’re losing half our games with Maldy
It ain’t it funny how the feeling won’t go away
Maldonado…
Dusty why don’t you come to your senses?
Get Diaz off from your bench and
Open the gate
It may be rainin’
But there’s a roof above you
You better let somebody love you
You better let somebody love you
Before it’s too late
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Today I was trapped with the “if you try to post a long comment with your phone, it will disappear”itis.
So, let me try one more time now that I’m on a computer….
I wanted y’all to know how much I enjoy your comments – I do read every one of them.
Steven – one of your comments is practically a whole post and don’t be surprised if I use a part of it to kick off my next post.
Uncleknuckle (Daveb) – I can always depend on you to brighten my morning with your early posts from the Carribean time zone
Oldpro – the first couple times I posted this you hadn’t posted yet – so I was speculating you were out neutering cattle or attending a grandchild’s graduation. You are always incisive about our favorite team.
Mr. Bill – as usual bringing class to the blog – Greek history this time and good music parodies over the years
Zanuda – nice leadoff to the comments on this post today
Devin – always interesting takes
Markhuck – you stop by every so often and always welcome
AstroNut – another great song parody
Sarge – You are always reading and giving “likes” and when you do post – well it is not always good for Dusty
Simon Davey giving us the Brit angle – even now that you are this side of the pond
Larry Leach – always happy when you stop by and share
KJ Kraczkowski and Gary Trujillo – glad you pop over from your own blogs to share here
I miss the ladies – Becky, Sandy and Diane – always giving us a different and necessary point of view
I miss Chip and Brian T – especially when they were taking a big chunk of the posts here
I miss all the folks who were here and have not been back in quite a while – Billy C, AC45, Tim, Dr. Bill, Nance, Old School, Pencil, RJ, Robert, One Texan Fan, Andrew, Andre Gary, and many others, including Bopert. Bopert and I often went head to head about whether the Astros would ever amount to anything under Jim Crane (I won that one), but Bopert always loved the heck out of the Astros.
Anyways – thank y’all for giving me the inspiration to keep going. You are the reason I keep going.
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Dan, a lovely post as a Nevisian would describe it!
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Thanks Daveb – so a Nevisian is either from St Kitts and Nevis or a close follower of former Astro – Phil Nevin
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Not good news, but not unexpected
https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/yordan-alvarez-placed-on-injured-list-with-right-oblique-discomfort
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I never fail to be flummoxed by a Dusty Baker line up.
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Dusty’s lineup
Dubon LF
Altuve 2B
Bregman 3B
Tucker RF
Abreu 1B
McCormick CF
Pena SS
Diaz DH
Maldonado C
If I were going to play these same guys – my alternate lineup would be
Altuve 2B
Tucker RF
Bregman 3B
Diaz DH
Dubon LF
McCormick CF
Pena SS
Abreu 2B
Maldonado C
I’d want Altuve where he is most comfortable and been most productive
I’d want your best bat in the 2nd spot especially where Tucker can pull it through the right side if Altuve is on and the 1B is holding him on base
I’d want to have Bregman who is hot in that 3 spot
I’d give Diaz a shot at the cleanup – what do we have to lose?
Dubon could get us rolling in the second half of the lineup at 5
Chas has been hitting well so slide him up
Pena – probably a good argument to put him in the 2nd spot since he hits pretty well there, but will he will Yordan out?
Abreu slides down to where he belongs based on slightly better production than Maldy
Maldy goes 9th because we can’t skip him
(My alternate to this is have Diaz catch instead of Maldy and use Julks or Meyers as DH).
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Diaz will not see anything to hit unless there are guys on ahead of him.
And Abreu getting moved up to 5th, maybe Dusty knows a miracle is coming! I’d rather have Maldy hitting 5th at this point. Seriously.
And without a doubt, Altuve owns the leadoff role. Again, he hits there!
I’d also put Pena back at 2 where he’s historically hit best, and where he presently got a .999 OPS, until he does not hit in that spot.
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So Yordan goes on the IL and Cesar Salazar is brought back up
Pretty even huh?
I know this allows them to use Diaz more often in the DH spot
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Thanks for the shoutout Dan. I’ve been a silent fan for quite some time while keeping up with the blog. Sorry for crashing in with a negative vibe but like many of you I am furious about the Diaz situation. Shame on you Dusty. And Maldy kills another rally (GIDP). Dusty, no one will scream bloody murder if you sit MM more often than not.
Question? Why do some hitters at the bottom of the lineup especially abhor walks? My screams at the tv fall on deaf ears watching Astros flail away at pitches out the zone.
Two of my targets, Abreu and Peña are scorching the ball tonight. Abreu has been a wash thus far.
Steven, you are not crazy. I am in lockstep with your post but cling to the hope the Stros will turn the season around, win another WS and allow Dusty to ride off into the sunset.
As I write this post the floodgates have opened. I do enjoy high scoring games when we win.
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Andre glad to hear from you again!
Yeah I agree that there are times when a number of our guys will flail away out of the zone. And especially when a guys not hitting for a very good average – you’d really like to see some walks sprinkled in there.
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I don’t recollect when last the Astros have had such a tough stretch. Some of tonights issues were certainly self inflicted. We gave the game away. But so many hard hit balls. It appeared we had the game won about three times. Not to be though. Things will get better at some point. The toughest thing is that the Astro player of the game, Seth Martinez will likely get sent down in the morning to be replaced with someone that can give the Astros some innings this weekend.
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climbingtalshill.com had an interesting article on what a lot of people are reading as Brown/Baker differences in opinion. We know Dusty trusts veterans and Brown wants Diaz in the lineup daily. I would love to be privy to those daily meetings.
Last night’s game was full of chances to win and full of chances to lose. Somewhere there is a blog site of Indians (oops) fans giddy over their teams don’t quit attitude and the life they showed. Still, Pena doesn’t throw it over Abreu’s head, we probably win.
There will be hundreds of people on climbingtalshill or the Astros official facebook pages today celebrating Abreu. That homerun was a judy just get to it swing that JUST got out. I was more impressed with the foul ball he hit 150 ft up and 350 ft long because he actually got around on that – something he hadn’t been doing all year. Even the punch into CF (I pause to call it a line drive, I think the exit velo was around 85) was promising. His biggest thing has been 8 foul balls a game to the 1st base dugout because he is behind everything. He still had some of those but pulled those two balls – maybe a little life is left in that 36-year-old body. Traditionally, the second half of June through mid-September have been very good months for him. If he can just become a .250 guy and get to double-digit dingers he will save himself a lot of bad press (he will still get some).
The bullpen is strapped right now. This six man rotation is taking one arm away from the pen and it showed not only last night but the rest of this series is now tougher. And of course, Montero strikes again.
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Steven, I read that Tall’s Hill column. And after 14 innings last night, Maldy is back out there and Diaz riding the pine. Dusty is not going to change his stance. This growing distraction might already be impacting the club in other ways.
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I know Dusty wants to stand behind the players and I appreciate that. However, the recent history of Montero’s appearances did not serve as a call for him to appear in a tight game last night.
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I’m watching the game live on the big TVs at the Yard House. I swear that the home plate ump hadn’t missed a call all game. Then misses THREE against Altuve. They were all balls, especially the last one. And the ump calls him out on strikes! Outrageous. What would’ve happened if the calls were correct? At least another one or two runs. Amazing.
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Simon, I think the ump called Altuve out on that high 3-2 pitch, easily 4 inches above the strike zone, because Altuve had complained about the previous inside pitch. Our umpires are very sensitive these days, less competent and more insecure.
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NIGHTMARE ON ELM – ER, ONTARIO – STREET?
Is it just me, or does anyone else sense that the middle of the Guardians’ line-up has been possessed by Freddie Krueger’s spirit? Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and Will Brennan might as well wear ‘Jason’ masks for plate appearances from the 6th inning on.
Or maybe I just have post-traumatic stress disorder from watching Colt 45 and Astro teams self-destruct before my eyes so many times in my childhood and adolescent years.
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JP France was the guy who stuck his finger in the dyke and saved the city from the flood.
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He played Houdini to the hilt – 7 hits and 6 BBs allowed, and still only 3 ER surrendered (2 of those on Abreu’s watch)! How did that happen?
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It would have been nice if our catcher had made the play on that excellent throw from right field.
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Instead of learning from Framber it looked like France was learning from Bielak.
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Yes! Another lineup I could not have anticipated. I admit though, my devious mind thought that perhaps the manager again might avoid using our best catcher as the catcher today.
And poor Chas. He went 0-6 on Friday. So he’s getting an extended vacation. Fact is, he still would have had the 4th best OPS in todays lineup.
Dan, yours was a very timely post on Thursday, as it seems more and more a Dana Brown/Dusty Baker conflict is real. If the Astros continues to stumble, things could get ugly.
Teams have to play 17 games sometimes. But we’re not used to watching our team play sloppy baseball. It’s been a bad week, but with glimpses of hope too.
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THE LINE-UP MADNESS CONTINUES
No Altuve, Pena, or Chaz in the line-up today. Yanier gets a start at 1B (Abreu will DH). Julks is in LF. Kessinger at SS.
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I think it impossible to figure out what Mr Toothpick is thinking in relation to the lineup, pitching, or whatever else is involved at managing the team. He does seem to want to leave the dugout when he could support his players when the umpires are obviously missing the calls at the plate. I’ve noticed that when Cintron has been ejected several times that I can remember. How about a lighting a fire in the team because if you look up the definition of lethargic in the dictionary there’s a picture of the Astros. Also they, like the Bulls in Bull Durham they’re good at lollygagging.
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That’s does not want to leave the dugout. I feel like he’s thinking I’ve won my World Series and now I can rest on my laurels.
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Who is this dolt calling balls strikes on both sides of the plate? While Bregman risk retribution for calling out the umps bad strike zone, it is Dusty’s job to bark at the ump. Why isn’t he?
No opposing pitcher in his right mind is going to throw this lineup fastballs to feast on. After the 1st pitch Bieber starts nibbling trying to get our guys to chase. It’s hard as hell to be patient when this umps 2-4” margin off the zone.
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Old School, you’re a sight for sore eyes! We were 8-3 during this 17 game stretch and finished 9-8, playing maybe the most uninspired week of baseball I’ve seen this team play in years. Dusty has to motivate. He’s failing miserably. And it does not look like he’s got the will to fire this team up either.
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Old School great to hear from you old friend.
I don’t understand why Dusty hasn’t come out a time or two for his players – maybe fire them up a bit
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Thanks guys. Perhaps we should light a match under Dusty’s butt. Maybe that might fire him up to inspire his guys, lol.
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As soon as I saw that lineup card yesterday I felt like the Astros looked at Bieber, looked how tired everyone was from 17 straight days – the last 7 on the road – and just mailed it in. No Yordan, no Brantley, and you make the lineup more futile by sitting Altuve and Pena. Now Pena might have been dealing with a little leg problem from the hit by pitch – sometimes the next day feels worse than the actual HBP – but if you are going to sit Pena don’t sit Altuve. That lineup wasn’t exactly punchless – Tucker was in there, Abreu had a big smile on his face after 2 good days, Julks and Meyers have had up and down time this year, and my boy Yainer was in there – but Kessinger and Salazar coupled with sitting Altuve, Pena and McCormick just made it feel punchless.
Speaking of Abreu – I was so so on his “good” Friday with his luckpunch HR and his seeing eye single, but there was no luck on Saturday. That second HR of the series was legit – 421 feet with a exit velo of 109. And the second hit of the game was also a legitimate pulled shot into a gap. There could be something to this. Could he end the season in double digit HRs? Stay tuned!
If you wonder why teams get scared of going 5-6 years on contracts, Lance McCullers Jr. has become a display item for all to see.
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There was some talk prior to the Guardians’ series that sundays game might be an audition for the Astros to look over potential trade candidate Shane Bieber. After that series the soeculation is moot. That unmitigated disaster made it clear that the 2023 Astros are not a playoff-bound team. Find a club with a chance, Shane.
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I have also heard said speculation along with Burnes in multiple places. Of course, it could have been 1 youtuber and it is now multiple places because they all report they saw it in that one place. It kind of reminds me of modern politics – some half brained nitwit on cable news speculates something outlandish at 8 AM, by noon the same network has reporters saying there is speculation and 4 PM the world is on fire after politicians start talking about these things need to be investigated. What a world we live in. Cease is in that speculation as well. I guess even if you have 3 years left until free agency that doesnt matter if all of a sudden you look a lot more like the 2019-2021 version of yourself (which isn’t bad, just isn’t Cy Young runner up good).
Can you imagine the ask for Bieber? Oof. Bieber, unlike Cease, hasn’t been a 1 year superstar. A deal like that might have to include major league assets. What if they ask for Tucker? I don’t think the Guardians would because they don’t want to deal with Bieber’s free agency they are not going to want to deal with Tucker’s, but I don’t see minor league assets that would land Bieber without half the farm being included. To be honest, I don’t think we can beat what other franchises might offer. It might literally take Hunter Brown, and that would be dumb on our part – Bieber might be a better pitcher but he is about to be a better pitcher making 35 million a year – and like Correa/Pena, one is better, but he isn’t THAT better. Burnes seems like a much more reasonable chase, but even that is going to sting.
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Steven – you may want to move on to the new post where you are featured in the write up
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