Looking at the title of this post, perhaps we are past waving a white flag because the Astros’ last two weeks have been the physical equivalent of surrender.
Why should we believe the Astros can hold on to their half-game lead over the Mariners for the third and last wild card spot when…..
- They’ve lost 9 out of 12 in the most critical part of the season.
- They’ve lost 7 out of 9 to the two very worst teams in the American League, the Royals and the A’s, who are also the two very worst teams in all of the Major Leagues.
- They now must play the Mariners, who are the team that is trying to pass them in the standings. Note – the M’s are 8-2 against the Astros so far this year.
- They finish the season against a team, the Arizona D’Backs, who likely will have something to play for.
- If the Astros had beaten the A’s and the Royals, like the rest of the league has beaten them, they would have won at least 6 of those 9 games and would be comfortably in first place in the division and easily up in the Wild Card race.
Mathematically, the Astros are still slightly ahead in the race for the last Wild Card. But psychologically, where are they? They have lost four series in a row. Their starting pitching looks like it has already gone home for the winter. The hitting is better than it was, but seems to choke at the worst times. They have called team meetings. They have told the media that they know they are not playing well. They have done everything but call each other out for blame.
There does not seem to be any solutions coming from their leader Dusty Baker. He puts out his normal, baseball is baseball line of thinking. But there does not seem to be any fire in this team right now. Are they choking? Maybe. Are they beat in their heads? Maybe. Are they, like their fans, spoiled by too many seasons of success? Maybe.
In the end, there is really no reason this team should be in a death struggle for a playoff spot. They are losing to teams that are much worse than they are and there are no excuses as they are the healthiest they have been all season.
So, I’m already building my surrender flag, but I keep thinking “Just one more series. Maybe the next series will turn things around.”
We will see.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
73 responses to “Astros 2023: Is it time for the white flag?”
This club has given us many remarkable moments over the past seven plus years. For a myriad of real and debatable reasons, the Astros simply have not performed the way we’ve come to expect. Failure is human. I’m okay with that. As an example, Bregman is 1-33 at the worst possible time. I know he’s trying, I know he’s not mailing it in.
I’ve said this before, I hope this last six games concludes with no significant injuries. We’ve got spent pitchers. I want them to be fully healthy come February. And clear of head to. I’m pretty sure Yordan is not 100%. Maybe Tucker too. Framber needs some help. I hope our guys don’t tank this week. But I’m also pretty sure this group is not a happy family. Jose Altuve is smiling more than he normally does. There is something artificial about it. Guys are really pressing. That’s no way to play baseball. They’ve got a troubled working environment.
Our guys might go 6-0 or 0-6 to the finish line. I have absolutely no clue what they’ll do. I hope they give us some smiles this week. But regardless, I’m sure not going to condemn this group of players that have given so much more than they’ve taken.
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By the way. We’ve still got a pretty good baseball team. It will be tweaked for 2024, but there likely will not be wholesale changes, at least in the player ranks. We could get back into the 95 to 100 win range. My big hope is that Dana Brown gets a real shot to make the Astros the team of his vision.
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I’m hoping we’ll have good changes for next year. No more Brantley, Stanek, Maldonado. I’d look for a way to unload Abreu, and maybe JV. Bring up some of the younger guys who are probably hungry to make their mark. Sign Tucker to a “long term” deal and extend Altuve. Go get some pitching help (starters) and by all means say goodbye to Mr Tooth pick. Work with Montero to get some consistency. Same with Hunter Brown, and France.
One thing staring us in the face is our pitchers inability to throw strikes on the corners and at the bottom a top of zone. Until that happens the hit and walk parade against us will continue. Hitters (I say that loosely) need to stop taking pitches down the middle and swinging at those a foot off the plate or in the dirt.
Do whatever it takes to get back to the playoffs and WS. That’s not too much to ask is it?
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If I had any money, I would bet that the Astros will be out of the picture by Wednesday night. That is based on the word of one of the players who said over the weekend, in so many words, that the team does seem to be able to motivate itself
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does NOT seem to be able to motivate itself.
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This ugly exit seems worth it to me, just to rid the Astros of Baker and Maldonado
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This feels a lot like 2015 where the pitching just ran out of gas and the hitters started struggling. My recollection was Colby Rasmus hit a season saving HR against Arizona. Maybe someone will step up and do the same and we’ll squeak into the postseason. If not, well, I could be convinced giving Brown and France a chance to rest their arms and the team more time to decide who/how to move on from certain players wouldn’t be the worst thing if we want to contend in 2024. Still, it would have been nice to perhaps have kept Brown in the bullpen and found someone else to throw out as cannon fodder earlier on and makybe have him as a weapon in the postseason.
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It’s almost criminal how badly this team has played at home and not just this past homestand. It looks like they are just going through the motions. What makes it doubly disgusting is that the fans turn out every night hoping for better and go away disappointed.
What we are seeing now is the result of a number of factors. We have given up a ton of unearned runs, many of which have resulted in losses. Dusty refusing to bench Abreu and leaving him in the cleanup spot for a good solid two months, all the while siting “the back of the baseball card”. Playing Maldonado in spite of his horrible offensive production and alarming decline in defense. Setting the tone Friday with a strike out passed ball was pathetic. I can’t imagine that Framber would do any worse pitching to Diaz. Perhaps he might keep his head in the game better. I’m glad to have JV back in the fold at the price we got him but he doesn’t seem to be able to keep the ball in the park. Maybe we should use Hunter Brown as an opener since he does well in the first inning and then implodes in the second. Looks like he has reached his sell by date for this season. It was good to see Urquidy make an appearance although it was too little too late. Put Chas in center and leave him there and don’t put Abreu ahead of him in the batting order.
For the offseason and 2024 give Dana Brown the opportunity to build the team. I would like to see Dusty and Maldonado ride off into the sunset. Hire Joe Espada to manage the team. Extend Tucker and settle Altuve for the rest of his career. Resign Neres but don’t go stupid like they did with Montero. Be cautious regarding extending Framber. I think the pitch clock has impacted him more than one might suspect. Consider resigning Brantley unless his shoulder is completely hopeless. He’s good for the clubhouse and not a negative contributor like Maldonado.
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There’s no question that Baker and MoldyNADA both need to go bye bye and not let the door hit em where the good Lord split em. Resigning Neris- yes. Extending Tucker and locking down Altuve – also yes. Planting Chas permanently in center field – hell yes!
Got to find a way to get out from under that Abreu deal. He stinks. Even worse than kimchi! The only good thing that ever came out of Chicago is a four lane divided highway.
I’d consider it a priority to use Bregman to get some of that starting pitching we desperately need while he’s still worth something to somebody.
Brantley would be my new hitting coach or at least one of them. He is good at mentoring young players and is one of the best hitters ever in the game. A proven leader. But he’s done as a player. Father time catches up with everybody.
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Until Big Momma sings, I will not raise the white flag or give up on this tm. While we all would love to see another title run, I can only be disappointed if they don’t make the playoffs or get bounced during them. Whatever the end result will be, I look forward to the Hot Stove season where Dana Brown will (perhaps) shape and mold this tm into his image and reignite their winning ways. Much on that will get discussed later.
This organization does not spend stupid $$$ on free agents, therefore we will not see high end SP or position players coming to this tm. I would not mind seeing a high end wicked finesse/fire breathing flame thrower added to the BP though
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As faithful as I’ve been to this team for about 55 years, I’ve lost faith these past couple of weeks. The hitting against terrible starters. (4-17 Jordan Lyles?! Seriously, guys?!) The rotation has been dreadful. These starting pitchers are so much better than they’ve been showing, and our pitching coaches are not doing a damn thing to help. The whole coaching staff needs to be fired. This is not how a world champ performs. No excuses. Period. Sorry, but the “this is baseball” and “any team can beat any other team on any given day” talk is crap. OK, off my soapbox. Go Astros. 🙂
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I agree, time for a totally new coaching staff.
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Tonight
Altuve 2B
Bregman 3B
Alvarez DH
Tucker RF
Abreu 1B
McCormick LF
Peña SS
Dubon CF
Maldonado C
Verlander on the mound
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Wait Dan, you forgot our guy with the 3rd highest BA, 2nd best slugging and 5th best OPS.
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You won’t be seeing him for the whole Seattle series. Just a dead spot at the bottom of the order and a catcher who can’t catch behind the plate.
The big question is how many middle middle meatballs our SPs will give up.
Never forget. Bill Hickock was holding 3 aces when that bullet entered the back of his head.
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If a changing of the guard comes about next season, you can almost bet on Diaz being allowed to put on his big boy pants and roll behind the dish regularly. He will catch the aces and everybody else. The league will adjust to him and vice versa. He may hit that proverbial wall Dusty perhaps wanted him to avoid, but that’s baseball (he should have done so this year). This kid has that skillset to be All-Pro.
I suspect he will work on improving his C skills this off season, plate approach, and yes, learn to hit L better. It would be a travesty to walk him on a short leash for another season. If it should so happen (a very big IF) he should crash & burn or gets hurt, we will have Maldy waiting in the wings.
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Maybe we should play all our games away (well most of them). Great two out hitting in the 2nd to get us going and a little insurance in the third and sixth. JV throws a great game as he kept the hitters off balance throwing almost 70% strikes. Even Maldy contributed tonight but Bregman (meh) should be moved down in the order. He hit one to the track in center but otherwise a GIDP, A “K” a line out and a weak ground out. Maybe he needs a day off but I doubt that will happen. One down and two to go. I want the guys to prove me wrong.
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Where has that team been the last two weeks?
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The Schizo Astros are/were back. For a night? Three nights? Who knows. What a pleasing, tidy game to watch. What a job by the grizzled veteran on the mound. I wish Framber could absorb some of that demeanor. We’ll see what happens tonight.
One question: Could our home field disadvantage be that it’s simply a toxic environment where all the experts hang out and create conflict that distracts the guys on the field?
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Thoughts –
– Last night was exactly what the Astros were hoping for when they traded for JV. Totally dominant performance except for the one inning hiccup that he worked through
– For all of us (and that includes me) who complain about things – last night worked out against us. Maldy called a great game and had a couple hits to boot. Dubon was once again JV’s CF and had the key hit of the game, when the Astros were about to waste a lead off triple. Abreu, who has gotten his rightful share of complaints, made a number or fine plays in the field and his triple (helped by a glove deflection) got the offense on track.
– The fly ball where Dubon cut in front of Chas and then did not catch it, but Chas did looked like a friggin optical illusion. I still can’t figure out what I saw.
– Loved the two big guys – Yordan and KTuck lauching beautiful homers into the night.
– As bad as the Astros feel, the M’s have to feel double as they’ve lost 4 straight to their division competitors.
– Need Javier to channel what he threw last time out.
– Momentum is only as good as your last game….
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I’ve got no problem with Maldy or Frenchy having a good game, even as I disagree with the line ups. It’s not their fault they are playing. Hopefully certain decisions about certain personnel changes for next year are already made, regardless of what new kookie things happen going forward this season.
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In reference to last night specific – ball 4 to Crawford got past him, a pitch that was not in the dirt and was outside but not egregiously so. It’s a little like the strike 3 pitch in the first inning against the leadoff guy that got pass him that started the ball rolling in that inning. His left/right isn’t exactly what it used to be. No affect on the Crawford pitch because it was ball 4 so everyone was advancing anyway but next time it could be.
I answer Dubon and Maldy the same way I always do when I debate people on every forum about them. When they are in there I WANT them to succeed. I am a fan first. And you are right – they don’t make the lineup card. And Diaz might play tomorrow and go 0fer with 2 Ks. Every major leaguer gets hits. Every major leaguer strikes out. It’s about frequency. Writing your lineup card today as a manager your job is to give your team it’s best chance to win. Best chance doesn’t mean today the opposing pitcher won’t be dealing bullets and shut everyone down, it just means chance. I think you have to get everyone in. But you need to play people with the frequency their chances to help you win merit. That is where I separate from Baker, and look forward to a new manager that will bring a new energy to his lineup cards.
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Steven, Verlander is not blind. When he rejoined the club I was immediately concerned that he’d lobby for his private backstop to be brought back for the 2024 season. He’s now had a chance to see first hand what’s going on with our club. Verlander wants to win baseball games as much as anyone else. Who is going to most help him get to 300? At this point I just can’t imagine him negotiating on Maldy’s behalf. At the end of the season he can gracefully separate himself from his Maldonado playing relationship.
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My problem isn’t Maldy over Diaz, it’s Maldy playing at all.
He has always been a bad hitter. You could accept it under certain conditions. One, the pitching was anywhere from above average to best in the league. Second, he was Machete. He chopped them down. He moved behind the plate well and blocked.
I was talking to a friend that is an ardent Maldy defender. I told him I get Baker, I just don’t agree with him. I get it, as a manager you watch your catcher spend 6 hours watching film on hitters before every series. You see him sit down with the pitcher and work out game plans and approaches. You see him after games, back in film, watching hitters, working with tomorrows pitcher, game planning already. I get it. I love people that work for me that have the same attitude.
But he is 36. He physically can’t do the things that set him apart defensively anymore. And his offensive liability has become more glaring with the pitching struggles and the consistency of our offense. I love Dusty. But I have to part with him at this point. Hopefully he isn’t back. Hopefully Maldonado isn’t back.
But right now, we need to win 4 games to get there. If we can get a 1st round series with Minnesota I would assume we would be favored. After that, anything can happen. I expect them to lose in the second round, but it’s all moot if they don’t win 3 of the next 4. Otherwise, it’s in someone elses control.
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And thanks to our friends at the Crawfish Boxes for the link to us….please check them out too.
https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2023/9/26/23890190/astros-crawfish-boil-september-26-2023
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If the Astros make the playoffs as a wild card team, they won’t have to play near as many home games.
Strategy!
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Over at the crawfishboxes they note today’s birthdays for former Astros, even somebody like Bobby Shantz, who only played 3 games for the team’s inaugural season.
Bobby is 98 today and is the oldest living MVP. He also was as I recall the tiniest pitcher you would find in the majors at 5′-6″ and 140 lbs. (like Altuve on a diet). I enjoyed this sweet article about him from a couple of years ago.
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Test
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Damn, the site was working so well. Suddenly I’m back to having to sign in each time I post.
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The lineup
Altuve 2B
Bregman 3B
Alvarez LF
Tucker RF
Abreu 1B
Diaz DH
McCormick CF
Peña SS
Maldonado C
My brother suggests we drill Julio as revenge for Altuve’s HBP last night
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Blum: “Moldy was asking if he foul tipped that.”
No, Moldy. If he had foul tipped it, you wouldn’t have been able to catch it.
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I thought Brantley was available to play?
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Who needs Brantley when we have Jon Singleton? /sarc
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Kind of ominous that they did not use Brantley – I think perhaps this is the end.
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Yeah, I agree on Brantley. That’s okay though. We need to be younger next year. One thing the coaching staff, hopefully the new one, needs to do next year is to make believe the pitching staff has not played baseball before. The basics of pitcher defense needs to be drilled into every guy that takes the mound. We’ve got a batch of arms that don’t know where to go or what to do once a ball is in play.
Our guys played once again like the group that wants to get home and forget the 2023 season. I’m thinking the majority of their fans are feeling pretty much the same way.
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Hear hear! At this point, I just look forward to the day (sooner than later) when I don’t ever have to see Dusty Baker’s face again!
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Dan P had to get downtown by 7 AM today, which meant a 5:30 AM alarm, which meant I did not stay up for all of this game.
Half Game Thoughts
– Ironically, I turned off the TV at the key spot in the game, as they pulled Javier and brought in the Black Death Montero to finish us off. I understand why Dusty replaced Javier there, he thought he was about to give the game away. We can argue about bringing in Montero, but he has been pretty good the last few months.
– After such a good game one in the field, things were not as good yesterday with Altuve’s brain dead relay throw over everybody when there was no – zero – nil – naught chance of getting the runner leading the parade. Did not see the other two errors but imagine it is tied to trying to hard.
– And I love Jose, but with the bases loaded in the first, why did he slide into home plate when it is not a tag play. It felt like if he would have run through the plate he might have beat the throw – at worse it would have been closer.
– It was a bit ominous when the Astros did not score in the first. Kirby is a terrific young pitcher and he was let off the hook.
– I saw Tucker had a throwing error last night, but he did make two top notch plays – one the leaping grab at the fence that led to Altuve’s error and a diving catch on a hit and run, that led to a double play, when he threw to first while sitting on the ground to get it
– My brother said Chas was drilled with a pitch in the ninth, which happened to Altuve on Monday night. Retaliation?? The problem being we don’t really need Framber dealing with the psychology of that situation….
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McCormick did take a swipe at France’s glove earlier in the year on a groundball out. Apparently he got France’s number and texted him an apology. France seemed OK with it. But maybe some BP pitcher wasn’t OK with it.
The Astros are not a popular guys. Even years later other teams are wary of them, even if it’s almost an entirely different roster. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the guy that could have injured France on a completely unnecessary play got popped in the 9th inning of a game well in hand. It was probably intentional.
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I forgot about the Ty France play, but apparently the M’s did not. I imagine that Chas sits out since Dusty is hoping to sit him on everything from a hangnail onward….
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Dusty has already said in the media that Chas has a lower back contusion. Chas says he is fine. I doubt he is in the lineup tonight because you are correct, Dusty sees an opening to bear his grudge he is taking it.
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I did have one major gripe from the 4th inning before I headed to bed, and I do not know if this was a Dusty decision or a Pena problem, but I think I know. You have Pena on first with one out and Maldy batting. Pena takes off and is gunned down easily on what looked like a hit and run, because Maldy swung at a high pitch out of the zone and Pena glanced at home plate.
Why do you send Pena?
– One – Maldy is a terrible hitter and is not likely to protect Pena on a hit and run.
– Two – this is most likely going to keep Altuve from coming up as the tying run, because there is about an 80+% chance that Maldy is going to make the third out if Pena does not make it.
– Three – we were really really having problems getting runners on against Kirby, why risk losing one of the few runners you were getting on base, especially with the top of the order around the corner?
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Yeah, have him stay still. Outside chance Maldy takes one out of the park. And even if Maldy makes the third out with Pena stranded on first, you’ve got Altuve leading off the 5th.
Dusty was saying last night that he’s tired of our guys getting hit by pitches. Anyone seen Dusty come out of the dugout once this year to get on an ump for those transgressions?
I’m past individual events in individual games, but at this point in time I can see why the fans in every town Baker ever left were happy to see him go.
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Barry McGuire sent this note addressed Dusty Baker:
The franchise is in flames … the fans are hatin’;
they call you every name from fool to Toothpick-Satan;
With every blown decision, our playoff hopes are fadin’;
the M’s are throwin’ bean balls, and you’re still hibernatin’
Take a look around, DB; it’s plain to all but thee …
still you tell me, over and over and over again my friend,
how you don’t believe your leitmotiv is dysfunction.
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Dusty’s response to Barry:
I’m sittin’ here just contemplatin’ but I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.
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Impressive. Not many guys are known to insert Wagnerian references in a spoof of a Barry McGuire song. I tip my hat to you!
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I had to think a minute to decide if you were referring to a German Composer or a Russian Mercenary. I went with the musical angle.
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You went the right way.
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I’ve always liked Michael Brantley, but at this point in his career he simply does offer what Chas does. I hope he has a big night and I’m wrong but he’s better off pinch hitting. That’s also a big outfield for him to cover. Manager showing his misguided loyalty to a veteran one more time.
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So one of two things must be true. Either we have a semi-injured, aging player in left field tonight or that decision to pinch hit Singleton instead of Brantley last night was just one more stupid Baker move.
Since it’s Baker we’re talking about, I’m going with the stupidity angle.
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I sure was happily wrong about Brantley. Does he need to sit for a week now though?
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No Diaz. No Chas. I’ve got a nasty feeling this is going to be very ugly tonight.
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Nobody out in the B1 and Framber already needs a refill on his Zoloft prescription. Wow…..
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Ump gave that pitch against Alvarez an inch or two up but not the same inside for Framber. Don’t make me cry for robo umps
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Both teams have a right to gripe about this loser HPU tonight. He’s terrible!
Normally, I’m a traditionalist when it comes to baseball. But in this case, I do believe robo umps are absolutely necessary.
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They’re barreling up Valdez’ cheese pretty good. His luck isn’t gonna last forever.
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So MoldyNADA can’t hit, can’t catch, and can’t throw. Good thing for him he has knee pads…..
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Whew! Great K on J R. Can’t afford to give up runs. For the record, I watch other games and see the same with umps plate calling. If an ump calls a strike 2” up then it should be that way on all quandrants for both tms. That’s not what I see. It is those bad calls that makes me cry robo umps
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I agree 100% Andre. Once we have robo umps (and I do think it’s inevitable now) it may call some high strikes or some low strikes and the same for left and right. But it will be consistent and pitchers will be able to adjust to it.
With a meandering strike zone like the one this clown is calling tonight, there is no way to adjust to it. Consistency is all we need. Not perfection.
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Nice going, Hector. P___ off the hornets while you’re standing next to their nest. Get em all fired up. Very stupid move. I predict this will come back to bite the Stros in the butt.
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Really! What was that about?
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I didn’t see anything to justify that garbage.
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Thank you Tuck!
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A win is a win and naturally, it’s better than a loss. But I would hardly call tonight’s exhibition and example of “standing tall” as Mr. McTaggart wrote. I hate to see unsportsmanlike conduct like we saw from Hector Neris in any sport. It’s cheap and shabby and there’s no excuse for it. These are grown up young men acting like spoiled children. And the lack of adult leadership on the bench (and from the wannabe gangsta with the big mouth behind the plate who almost incites it) is embarrassing.
If I had school aged kids playing baseball, the only two Astros I would be happy with them emulating or idolizing are Kyle Tucker and Chas McCormick. As it is, it’s no wonder the rest of the baseball world hates the Astros.
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Dusty Baker just reminds me of Guy Ritchie. Yes, the director. He was given a good script by all accounts, a tremendous actor in Charlie Hunnam, all the studio support he asked for, a CGI department that could have made a marvel movie, and he laid an egg with King Arthur. Just a bad movie.
Eight weeks ago, the script was perfect (that being the schedule). ESPN FPI gave them a 99.5% chance to make the playoffs at one point. The front office had pulled the trigger on a move I didn’t expect to give them JV back. Baker was given everything he needed. A cast, studio support, an analytics department, the right schedule, yet he Guy Ritchie’d this thing up.
At this point a perfect storm has to happen to keep them out. It’s really in their own control, if they win 2 of 3 in Arizona they are in. The only scenario I can think of is they get swept, and there is a split with Tex/Sea, and they lose the tie breaker with Seattle. Or a guess 1 out of 3 for us and a 3 out of 4 in favor of Seattle works against us, but if Seattle sweeps Texas is gonna have issues if we win 2. Yet, everywhere the Astros have had an opportunity to ruin FPI’s reputation, they have taken it.
Now, Ritchie came back to make a pretty good movie called the Covenant, so good he that he had enough confidence to put his own name in the title (Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant). If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s not a WS win, but it’s good.
To be fair to Baker there were lots of things not in his control. He couldn’t control Jose Abreu’s decline. He didn’t give Brantley 12M to cheerleader. He didn’t know Javier wasn’t the guy that some people picked as a darkhorse Cy Young candidate. He didn’t know Framber couldn’t handle pressure, since he had already handled it in the playoffs the year before. He didn’t know Hunter Brown is a nuclear power plant, you know, everyone loves him for 2 innings then the sirens go off and the meltdown happens. He didn’t know in March that LMJ would not throw an inning this year, that he would lose Luis Garcia in May or that he would be without Urquidy for months. He didn’t know Montero is actually spanish for “powderkeg.” I swear I read somewhere that Baker is fluent in Spanish though. Hmph.
The problem has been the things in his control. Diaz is clearly a better baseball player than he thought. When he figured that out, he stubbornly just said, he isn’t ready. Chasgate and banana pudding. France is cruising, he skips a start when Urquidy comes back, and he has been terrible since. He couldn’t control Abreu’s decline, but he could control how much he played Abreu. You don’t have to take his job, but there is no reason for him to cross the 120 game mark, much less the 137 games he has played.
So here we are, very likely to limp into the playoffs. It’s probably happening, so my house is going to be a fan zone only for the week or two we are there before Tampa or Baltimore unceremoniously dumps us on our heads. I’ll be rootin for the good guys though, but whomever ends up looking up at Atlanta in the WS is in for an uphill fight.
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Thoughts
– I was a little stunned by Neris’ run at Will Smith, wait I mean Julio Rodriguez (that kid looks a lot like the crazy actor, not the lefty reliever). Was this pay back for Julio being overly non-chalant on a previous homer off Neris. Or was Neris hacked off at the M’s hitting his guys in the previous two games, but did not want to hit anyone and put a baserunner on in a close game. I hope he does not get suspended for some reported homophobic remarks he tossed at Julio.
– Liked that 7th inning rally to put the game away after the “incident” on the field – Tucker and Abreu making up for failures earlier in the game
– 4 hits by the hitting machine Brantley after being out a week or so – pretty impressive
– Bryan Abreu is a tough nut to crack
– It’s a weird thing on the playoffs. We probably will get there now – but you can’t figure out how folks will play once the playoffs begin. Are we able to confidently take out a Twins team that has not won even a playoff game much less a series, in forever? Will Atlanta be there or will they get wiped out on the way to their coronation? Lots of questiong
– Bregman actually got a hit
– Intentionally walking Yordan worked once, did not work the second time
– Watching Framber pitch these days is like watching one of the Wallenda’s walking between buildings a mile up in the air.
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The comments on this post have been great.
Lots of contributions from a lot of fans.
As Blummer said last night, the Astros playoff aspirations are now directly under their control. Win, and they are in.
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I couldn’t stand that AT&T feed buffering, buffering, buffering last night so I was watching the Seattle broadcast team and misssed TK, Blum, and Julia.
They really are the best broadcasters. But AT&T is terrible from a technical standpoint. Not that I’m surprised at that…..
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The schizo/kookie Astros have fooled me again. I thought for sure Framber was going to self destruct. When he gave back two runs immediately after Frenchy gave the good guys a three run lead, I assumed bad things ahead. I turned the computer off and tried to sleep. I had a 5:00 AM wake up call here in Miami with the delightful prospect an endoscopy at 7:00 AM. I’ll say this. The rumors of my demise are premature. And the best move Baker has made all year was in yanking Framber and not trying to get five innings out of him.
I don’t know what happens next. I don’t know who pitches. I don’t know if Diaz catches or Chas plays. Why was Hector mean to Rodriguez? I just don’t know.
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“I thought for sure Framber was going to self destruct.”
You’re not the only one. It was sure looking like it was going to be another disaster from my seat, too.
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BTW, glad you’re OK!
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Seattle walks it off in the bottom of the 9th, 3-2.
Texas leads Astros by 2.0 games with 3 to play.
Seattle trails Texas by 3.0 games with 3 to play and trail the Astros by 1 game.
The Astros need to win their games and hope for the best.
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Boy, the Dominican civil war between J Rod and Neris is some wierd stuff. I’m not buying the so-called apology released by the team sponsored propagandists. Nor am I likely to believe whatever the MLB “investigation” comes out with. Guess maybe it’s the times we live in, but I believe none of what I hear and (with the advent of AI and deep fake videos) only about 10% of what I see.
But whatever Neris said must’ve been pretty nasty for J Rod to go off like a cheap Chinese bottle rocket like that. Not likely they’ll be working out together anymore. Though a bare knuckle boxing match could happen someday depending on what was said.
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This race is getting pretty intriguing. It would not be too hard for the Astros, Rangers, M’s and Jays to all end up at 89 and 73.
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