Why the Astros are struggling this year

Sometimes the only thing more painful than watching a struggling team is looking back at your own predictions made in the shine of the pre-season.

Top 10 reasons the Astros can repeat – ALL THINGS ASTROS (chipalatta.com)

So, Dan P picked out 10 reasons why the Astros could repeat. How is that working out for ya in 2023?

1. Adding the big bat – Jose Abreu – OMG – No, this has not worked like anyone envisioned before the season. Abreu has been bad this season and has been a reason why the offense has struggled.
2. Returning the bullpen – In most cases, this was a good thing, but the re-signing of Rafael Montero was a bad thing for most of the season, as was the poor performance of Ryne Stanek. This cost the team a number of games along the way and forced the manager to over-use the ones who were performing better.
3. Yordan, Yordan, Yordan – When healthy, he has been one of the best offensive producers in baseball. But he has missed a big chunk of the season due to health and lately has performed as though he is not whole.
4. Ready for a Cristian burial – Rather than a better Cristian Javier in 2023, Javier has been a much shakier version and is presently the fourth-best man in a rotation of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, J.P. France, and Javier. That is not how this was pictured to go.
5. Mr. Groundball – Framber has at times, looked like a Cy Young front-runner. At other times, he has looked like the young Valdez, who would often lose his poise.  Not all of it is his fault, but the fans expected more than a 9-9 record from Framber this season.
6. KT – Of all the items on this list – Kyle Tucker’s contribution has had the biggest positive effect on this team. He will lose the MVP to Shohei Ohtani, but he is a better hitter.
7. Killer B’s – The threesome of Alex Bregman, Dusty Baker and Michael Brantley has been a mixed bag. Brantley did not return shortly after the season as we were led to believe. Perhaps he will return this week, but he has been a big bagel so far, through no fault of his own. Alex Bregman has been down with his batting average, and he has hit hot and cold, but he has been the second-best run producer behind King Tuck and is on pace for more than 100 RBIs. I think most of the people on this blog would agree that Dusty’s lineup decisions have cost this team wins this season.
8. Hallow Pena – Jeremy Pena has been basically what he was during the regular season, a good defensive player (probably not a Gold Glover) and a so-so offensive player who swings outside the zone way too much. He has not shown anything close to the brilliance that was so evident in the 2022 postseason.
9. Adding an All Star – Getting Jose Altuve back has helped the team, though he missed more time with his oblique injury. It has been a plus to get him back, but not as much as if he had not suffered the second injury.
10. Lance, Luis, Jose, and Hunter –  Lordy, let’s see.  Lance never came back. Luis Garcia pitched 6 games, and we will be lucky to see him return sometime in 2024. Jose Urquidy pitched 6 games and then missed three months of the season and has only returned lately. Hunter Brown has given the team quantity, but his 4.50 ERA shows he has not been as good as he flashed at the end of 2022. This area has not come close to what was once expected.

The bottom line, it is quite amazing that a team that has had so many things go wrong could be in a cage match to the death for the AL West title this year. But it is easy to see why it has been a struggle.