That is one of my favorite Seals and Crofts songs and very apropos to this evening’s mood. There is no other way to say it. Astro fans have been blessed. We have been blessed to have had Jose Altuve on our side for the last 13 seasons. We have been blessed to see what this 5’-6” (at the most) mighty might can do when the game is at its most critical.
You do have to put up with occasional brain burps, whether it is a Little League base running error of not re-touching second base on a caught fly ball or thinking he is the reincarnation of Rabbit Maranville as a bunter when the fans are looking for a nice line drive single.
But when the game is on the line, or the series is on the line, and Yordan Alvarez is not yet up, who do you want up there? Jose Altuve.
He has hit 26 home runs in 101 postseason games, which is about a home run every 4 games. However, he only hit a home run in one of his first 14 postseason games and that was in his 7th post-season game. Of course, when he did hit it, he hit two more in the first game of the 2017 ALDS against the Red Sox, setting the tone for the game and for the series.
There are so many post-season memories over the years with Jose Altuve:
- Those same three solo HRs against Boston in the 2017 ALDS
- 2017 Game 6 ALCS against the Yanks, who had just taken three games in a row against the Astros, his two run single boosted the lead to 3-0 and then after an Aaron Judge homer, he trumped it with one of his own leading to a big rally to take down the Yanks. His homer in Game 7 gave the team some breathing room on the way to a 4-0 win and a trip to the World Series
- In the 2017 WS, monumental Game 2, he leads off the 10th inning with a homer off former teammate Josh Fields (the trivia answer to who the Astros traded to the Dodgers for Yordan Alvarez) and is followed back to back by Carlos Correa. The Astros have to score two more in the 11th after yacking the lead, but they would have lost without that clutch Altuve homer.
- In the 2017 WS, epic Game 5, the Astros fell behind 4-0, tied it up, and immediately fell behind 7-4. Until Jose Altuve launched a three-run homer to give his team hope and a tie game. He later gave them a 9-8 lead on a double in a game that they would win 13-12 in 10 innings.
- In the deciding game of the 2019 ALDS against the Rays, he singled in the first run and homered in the last run in a 6-1 beating of Tampa Bay.
- But 2019 will always be remembered for his ALCS walk-off homerun against the Yankees and Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 that sent them on to the World Series.
- In the 2020 ALCS against the Rays, after the Astros fell behind 3 games to none, he knocked in the first two runs in Game 4 on the way to a 4-3 squeaker.
- In the deciding game of the 2021 ALDS against the White Sox, he scored 4 runs and knocked in 3 with a homer double and a single.
- In the first game of the 2021 ALCS against Boston, he tied the game with a 2 run homer in the 6th and knocked in the eventual winning run in the 8th.
And then you have a game like Friday night. The Astros have just dug themselves out of a 2-0 hole in the ALCS against the Rangers and are about to fall 2 runs short in Game 5. Yainer Diaz pinch hits for one of his rare plate appearances in the top of the ninth and slaps a single to left. Fans are thinking “If we can get just one more runner, Altuve will be the go-ahead run.” They send up Jon Singleton, who, as A-Rod says after the game, has not batted since the Obama administration. He does the one thing he is excellent at…he works the count and draws a walk. Altuve strides to the plate. Dare we hope? Will they actually throw something he can hit and will he hit it?
We are sitting in a bar in a little restaurant in Pecan Grove with my brother and his wife. Everyone’s eyes have left the food and drinks and watch the little clutch man looking for one to drive, like he has so often this series and in his life. The pitch fades into a spot where he can get to it. The bar is filled with voices “Go Baby Go!” “Fly” “Go on, go on” and then it Is a roar as the outfielder comes up a little bit short on his jump. We all are feeling a wonderful glow, that wonderful feeling that we have been so blessed to see over and over again. Someday Jose Altuve’s talents will fade and he will walk off into the sunset at an age where most of our careers are just taking off. But until then, we need to just be thankful as we shall never pass this way again.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
68 responses to “Astros’ fans: We may never pass this way again”
Music to my ears!
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Excellent post Dan. I’ve had the same favorite teams my whole life. Altuve belongs in my personal Hall of Fame with Roger Staubach and Tim Duncan. The run the Astros have been on since 2015 is remarkable. Altuve and Bregman have been the common denominators of all those teams and games. Jose Altuve is easily the greatest player in franchise history and there’s no close 2nd.
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Altuve credited Yainer and Singleton getting on base so he could drive them in. With Dusty thrown out of the game, one has to wonder if Baker told Espada to pinch-hit for Pena and Maldy, or if that was Joe’s decision.
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Quite a post Dan. Thanks.
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Thoughts
– Ryan “Houdini” Pressly escaped two times with two men on and no out – one of his own making and one he inherited. He was right behind Altuve in importance in this game.
– Justin Verlander pitched quite well, but that Garcia home run undid what he had built
– It is hard to think that the Astros purposefully hit Garcia in a 2 run game with a man on. Maybe they meant to back him out of there and the pitch got away from Abreu.
– It was weird to see Yordan holding Garcia back – but I guess they must be friends – both Cuban?
– Nice to see Bregman square that one up in the first after Altuve and Dubon made outs with two pitches
– Time for Framber to come through for this team
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Very nice write-up Dan
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Folks – thank you for the kind words and thank you for checking in here. I love the Astros and I love to write, but it does not mean anything in a vacuum. Having folks to interact with makes it a joy.
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Most of the time……lol
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Brian Abreu fined and suspended for 2 games. Unfathomable. No doubt he’ll appeal.
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Do they want him to miss ALCS or WS game or games?
As my brother pointed out – Yordan was a pin cushion at times this season with no punishment meted out.
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Like I said, unfathomable. If he delays his appeal (assuming there has not already been an appeal) it seems that it will be hard to keep him out of the last two games of the ALCS. But would MLB really make the assumption it was intentional and have him miss World Series games? Abreu has no history ever going after a hitter.
The Players Association might also get involved.
And I did not hear any former player at the FS1 desk last night even willing to buy into it being an intentional act. I can’t imagine any enlightened baseball person, except for someone attached to the Rangers believing any pitcher would intentionally hit someone in that situation. It’s completely inconceivable unless the Astros were prepared to give that game away. And that would never happen.
I just had the same conversation with my brother…..Yordan has gotten plunked all year without even a warning from MLB. I’ve never wanted to believe that MLB wants to hurt the Astros, but this makes it tough to keep believing.
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Who wants to tell league what happens when you poke the bear?
Never mind – why spoil the fun?
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Jeff Passan has also updated his X tweet and stated that MLB’s intent is to have Abreu serve a suspension this year if he loses an appeal and the Astros are still alive. He did not say what the timing of any mechanisms have been so far. But it sure sounds as if MLB is trying to fast track this thing in an unprecedented way.
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What a bunch of BS!
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This Abreu issue has got to be a huge distraction for the Astros right now. And it’s got to have the entire club anxious to get out and play tonight. It becomes ever so much more important that Framber rediscovers the best of himself tonight, and the Astros finish this series. I’m finally convinced that MLB wants more blood from the Astros.
Unless the Players Association is able to delay a ruling or move any punishment to 2024, I’d hope for a one game suspension to start a hoped for World Series.
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My friend Justin sent this to me – pretty hilarious
https://babylonbee.com/news/inclusivity-win-angel-hernandez-makes-history-as-first-ever-blind-umpire
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I think this actually came from Rick
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Rational thoughts about hitting Garcia in a critical situation don’t matter when it comes to decisions by the baseball authorities. They have their agenda and are going to stick to that.
They want a full length seven game series and when they can get any chance to get it, there will be no rational thinking involved. Everything is about the money, and the best money is provided by more televised games.
Eovaldi vs Valdez may not be viewed as a good matchup by us right now, but the Astros come through with W’s at unexpected times.
If anything good comes from the ejections in game 5, it will be the Astros players view of how their manager went out and fought for his team against an umpiring crew with an agenda.
I am a homer. Most fans are homers. I will pull for the Astros as long as I breathe. I try to see things clearly, but will always be looking at everything through orange-tinted glasses. That started in early April, 1962.
I hope the Astro play out the full length of the playoffs. But the moment they play their final game I will be ready for the 2024 season and I have hundreds of thoughts about it.
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I think it’s normal for a fastball that got away to really run into the batter. Abreu’s pitch was really straight and on target. The timing makes absolutely no sense, but I’m sure idiots like Joe Buck were on the panel helping Manfred decide it was intentional. That’s honestly the toughest pitch to execute in my opinion. I’m not against Abreu getting to take two games off, unless it costs us the ALCS. I don’t think he wanted to hit him, though.
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Similar idea for a post
https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-altuve-s-greatest-postseason-home-runs?partnerId=zh-20231022-1065120-mlb-1-A&qid=1026&utm_id=zh-20231022-1065120-mlb-1-A&bt_ee=eH8SUU0MZy4rqOGXmoMsJ%2F3YoDF%2FigHewbXCuB4FyKavXUFT1dRz3OQngXMKUaS7&bt_ts=1697982981280
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The lineup behind Framber
Altuve 2B
Brantley LF
Bregman 3B
Alvarez DH
Abreu 1B
Tucker RF
Dubon CF
Peña SS
Maldonado C
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October 23rd becomes the night the Astros either break the homefield blues or head to the offseason to try and figure out why they couldn’t win there.
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Thoughts
– The final score last night did not reflect the game as a whole, which was quite close – until the bullpen gave things away at the end
– If anyone sees a tall skinny guy’s bat – please bring it to Minute Maid tonight – it likely has the initials KT on it
– Oh, and when you are looking for KT’s bat, please see if you can find Jeremy Pena’s positive launch angle.
– I can hardly listen to the TV commentary – especially Smoltz. Yes, you think if Tucker had taken a more direct route to the home run ball he would have jumped higher and caught it. However, the ball was hit so high that it was coming almost straight down – he could have been higher and still had it fall behind his glove. Anyways – don’t need you to tell us how it should have been done, when though you played the game, you stole a home run from no one.
– When Yuli Gurriel did his racist symbol in the 2017 World Series – he got a 5 game suspension – but it was moved to the next season. Why is Abreu having to be suspended immediately for a violation that takes some interpretation? They said the last time a post season suspension was applied in the post season was 1988 – when a pitcher was caught applying pine tar to the ball. It is hard not to believe that the MLB is targeting the Astros.
– If…….. Bryan Abreu hit Garcia on Dusty’s orders that should be a giant strike against Baker for being brought back. The hit by pitch was a bad baseball move, if done on purpose. It could have cost the Astros Friday’s game by allowing the Rangers to score more runs and put the game out of reach. It also may cost Dusty his top set-up man for Game 7 and possibly into the WS (if we get there). If he did it as his Old Guy hard a$$ move – Crane needs to consider this hard and Crane can get to the truth of the situation.
– And before someone tells me about Garcia showing up the pitcher with his walking and show move to first base, etc. go back and look at some of Yordan’s home runs – specifically the walkoff one in the 2022 Game 1 ALDS against the M’s and the Game 6 World Series flipper. I love Yordan, but if we accept what he did there we need to shut up about Garcia.
– We saw this home field weirdness in the 2019 WS with the Nationals – the Astros need to put this problem behind them and kick butt tonight. A great start by Javier is important, but the bats need to wake up. When is the last time, they put a ball into the Crawford Boxes?
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Last night I watched the game on my iPhone until the power ran dry with the score 4-2 in the 8th. Timing could not have been better. The tail end of Hurricane Tammy (such a benign name) spent many hours yesterday passing over our little speck in the ocean and provided flooding rains and a very scary lightening storm. One of those strikes hit my house, blowing out the generator and frying several appliances, even those with surge protectors. I just got the new modem installed. So all in all, things are good. All fried items were replaceable. I was not fried, but ears are still ringing.
I don’t think there is any way, even a tiny percentage points worth, that Dusty Baker ordered a hit on Garcia Friday night. Baker was so uncharacteristically livid when given the news by the umps that Abreu was thrown out, that I was literally concerned for Dusty, that he might blow a gasket. We did not need an on field ambulance added to the spectacle of game 5.
Enough former players, analysts, journalists and even a few writers that I respect have given their opinions. The vast majority say It was not intentional. MLB however has determined their course of action. As I think I said yesterday, I’ve refused to believe for the longest time that the league remained out to get the Astro organization. Today I’m fully convinced they are.
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Shout out to our friends at the Crawfish boxes – who linked to us today
https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2023/10/23/23928162/astros-crawfish-boil-october-23-2023
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But I’m also a bit pissed off at our Astros, and I don’t mean to take anything away from the Rangers. Their pitcher came in pitched like he really wanted that game. Our pitcher gave us five pretty good innings, but also 3 runs from two fly balls. He just did not own the game. That’s what I expect in a clinching ALCS contest. What happened to our over powering ground ball thrower? Did Maldy decide he’s a better pitcher when he’s working the top of the zone? Why? Frenchy Dubon. He’s so much fun to watch when he gets a first pitch and lines it somewhere. But damn, last night he let a shaky arm weary LeClerc off the hook by immediately getting into a two strike hole swinging at balls a foot off the plate. I’m too disappointed with Tucker to be mad at him. If he can’t rediscover something tonight, it’s going to be a long, tough winter for him. Do we accept the fact that Jeremy Pena is not going to be an offensive shortstop? And Did Chas stay on the bench all night last night to help out the pen in an emergency? Was Singleton really the better bases loaded choice over Diaz? I don’t know, but I have to admit, I’m a bit more weary than excited about this game seven tonight. But I also think Reptil can own this game. I just don’t know if we’ll hit enough and what the pen might do, especially if we lose our best arm out there.
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My theory about the Astros home-field disadvantage: Our righty hitters are so enticed by the Crawford boxes that they try to pull everything there, when they should be taking outside pitches the other way to right field.
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The ghost of the king was in H-Town last night, watching dejected fans leaving Minute Maid Park. The ephemeral spirit of rock and roll sat down in a cafe with Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden and and the Blue Moon Boys, and out flowed this little ditty:
“Well since our Captain left us … MMP’s like a prison cell …
games we play here guarantee defeat – it’s a HEARTBREAK HOTEL ..
where we play so badly for Dusty, we play so badly; we play so badly … all the time.
Even if the stands are crowded … though they’re filled to ‘standing room’ –
fans go home disappointed … ’cause the Rangers brought their broom,
and we played so badly for Framber; we played so badly; we played so badly … it’s cryin’ time.
Well Framber got stung by the long ball … so Javier is our final hope –
but our offense is wandering around Arlington and Big Jon’s flat out of dope
so we play so badly, baby; we play so badly; we play so badly … it’s NOT OUR TIME.
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Love it Mr. Bill – but I hope they forget they are playing at Heartbreak Hotel tonight
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This team has gone way beyond what our performance during the 2023 season could possibly justify, so I regard every game as gravy.
That said, Jon Singleton should not be on this roster- and if we have absolutely no one better than him on the 40-man [Jake Meyers? the ball-boy? Mattress Mack?], then at least he should under no circumstances be given an at-bat – especially with the game on the line – unless Abreu has a medical emergency.
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Good news – sent to me by Chip
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/bryan-abreu-to-serve-two-game-suspension-in-2024.html
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It tells us that people in the industry overwhelmingly disagreed with MLB’s take on the issue. It would have been unprecedented for one thing. A relief though.
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Not looking good at all for the good guys.
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We need to get downright offensive. The bats I mean
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Well, tonight I realized I could be a major league manager, because I can sit on my butt watching the game and do nothing – just like Dusty…..
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This should be his last game managing the Houston Astros.
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I’ve seen chunks of anthracite that could do just as good a job. It’s been plain to me (since Independence day) that he just doesn’t care.
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Really!!!! Down six runs, 2 on base with one out and you send Mald’ to the plate instead of giving Diaz a chance. Maldy’s dead bat should have left with Javier
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Unbelievable choice to hit Maldy in that situation – you have an outside chance of getting back in the game, but not by giving away outs.
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In 2024 we’ll have a new manager.
This club has overcome a lot of obstacles.
Our best hitter on the club at home, yes best, will be our starting catcher in 2024.
A couple of things to look forward to!
And if this is the last game of the season, another impressive run, just a game from the World Series. It’s going to hurt a bit though, because we had the tools to get there.
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Long term decisions like extensions (or not) for Framber, Bregman and Tucker can’t be made reflexively. But I’m really curious to see where that all ends up. I do think someone will throw tons of money at Tucker despite him not doing much in the post season this year or last. What if we could get a minor league haul for him…should we?
Framber has been bad since the All-Star break but I wouldn’t be so quick to pitch him overboard. There’s not tons of elite pitching out there and he’s been that in the past. Maybe a new manager helps him…maybe.
I think the need for a new manager is obvious at this point.
I’d only keep Brantley if it’s really cost effective.
I’d give Dubon a chance to beat out Peña at SS.
I’d play McCormick every damned day. Then I’d find a speed outfielder.
I’d turn the catching over to Diaz 3/4 days and find a backup that can hit .250 if possible or at the very least .200 who can also throw someone out once every week.
The off-season is going to be massively interesting
Thanks for all you’ve done, Dan. It’s a pleasure and hugely interesting reading what you write. Keep it up in the off-season.
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Well, if you’re going to lose, you might as well lose convincingly. We left zero doubt in anyone’s mind which team deserved to advance to the 2024 WS.
Adolis Garcia. Real cute – try that in Philadelphia.
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okay – make that the 2023 WS.
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Ready to start talking the offseason when you are, Dan.
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Good morning! I feel as if there has been a bit of a cleansing. Moving forward, I’m going to try not to focus any energy on Dusty Baker. It’s not his fault he had that job and was allowed do it in the way he chose. It’s been tough year for some of us fans. But I’m guessing it’s also been a pretty tough year for the Astro players. We don’t normally have a whole lot of controversy going on in house. 2023 was different. Gosh, except for the front office moves, I have not heard a peep from Dana Brown in weeks. That will change soon.
We can have a very competitive club in 2024. We have to get younger. How about Evan Carter? 62 career MLB at bats and he showed he could hit third in the ALCS. Maybe that helps explain why Bruce Bochy has never lost a game seven in post season play. How about Gabriel Moreno, 23 year old catcher for the Diamondbacks? The kid shows veteran leadership, is as good as anyone behind the plate defensively, has a gun and hits the baseball. We’ve got a pretty good guy on the shelf. And he’ll get dusted off and put to work.
Dan, as 1oldpro notes above, ready when you are.
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When I heard the Diamondbacks traded for Moreno I was a little disappointed. That kid is special. In my perfect world that I get to build by myself I would have Moreno behind the plate and Diaz at 1B for the next decade. Dreamers dream big.
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A few of the lessons we (should have) learned from the 2023 Season:
1. Jose Altuve is a generational talent – but he cannot carry this team.
2. Yordan Alvarez looks like a potential generational talent, too – but even he and Jose Altuve together cannot carry this team.
3. Jeremy Pena is a really likeable guy, but boy, does this team miss Carlos Correa.
4. Having no draft picks for two years has broken our minor league system so badly that it will take a decade to recover. One day soon we will be called the Lastros again – for a very long time.
5. Dana Brown has an impossible job ahead of him.
6. Kyle Tucker is a really good regular season player who feast on mediocre pitching and crushes mistakes; but he can’t catch up to the high-energy, high-leverage pitching that characterizes the post season.
7. The Dusty Baker era is over.
8. Our starting pitching situation is a hot mess. Coaching anyone?
9. The Jon Singleton experiment was ill-advised and is OVER. Thanks for playing.
10. If you swipe at an opposing first baseman’s glove to try to knock the ball away, the league is going to throw at you over and over and over and over and over and over, until you are dead. Latest missile – a 104 mph fastball on an 0-2 pitch in a blow-out game. If you watched Chapman’s face, and saw his arrogant swagger toward the plate as Chaz lay on the ground writhing in pain, you know the way the league really feels about Chaz – and about #OrangeTeamBad].
11. Michael Brantley was a pleasure to watch. Professional and patriarchal. Go in peace!
12. Maldy had his day – but he is no longer an asset to this team.
13. After 61 years, I just don’t know if I have the energy it takes to be an Astro fan anymore.
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I probably share a very minority opinion on Singleton. I don’t think Singleton is a part timer. I think he is a rhythm guy. I don’t think he has the talent to adjust to part time play. But I think if someone gave him a starting job that he will out perform Abreu.
Now they aren’t going to. Not this team anyway. So it is probably better for him and the Astros both that he moves on. I think in full time duty he can post a .235+ average (about the same as Abreu), but he will hit some dingers, 20-25, drive in a few runs, and more importantly come with a .330+ OBP.
The problem is he hurts you in a myriad of ways taking a roster spot as a part timer. He is not a pinch hitter. He is no promise to make contact, he has to have ab’s to have rhythm so sending him out there for a pinch hit ab is no service to him or the team. He isn’t a defensive replacement, he can’t pinch run. All those arguments we always gave for Marisnick, there are a million things he can offer as long as he doesn’t have to bat 300 times in a year, well, none of those are in Big Jon’s favor. I don’t think you can have a roster spot for a guy that does one thing – and he doesn’t do that one thing well in part time duty.
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Steven – usually I agree with most of what you say, but if you think Singleton would you give us more than Abreu next season, I would say you are smoking the same stuff as Jon.
Singleton’s never shown anything at the major league level except to hit under .200 and to draw walks and launch lots of pop flies and occasionally launch a homer. Abreu knocked in 90 runs in his worst season in the majors.
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I get it Dan, but I am watching the ABs. He just has better at bats. Abreu has slowed, and it’s not just my eyes that see it. It’s his pull rate. It’s his O swing, Z swing, it’s empirical evidence.
The Astros are the only team that tried to give him 300 ABs. And he was 23. No one else has tried it. I don’t know that I would either, but I am betting if someone did they might get surprised.
If I compare him to Yainer Daiz people will have a heart attack, but like Yainer he has to have a rhythm. Yainer sucked as a pinch hitter this year. Now, Yainer has actual, real, tangible talent in the batters box. So if he doesn’t play for 4 days then gets a start he isn’t lost. Singleton is not that talent. But I think you under estimate him.
Like I said, I accept that I have a minority opinion on him. Well, tbh, maybe Dana Brown and the geek squad share that opinion because, well, he is still on the roster.
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I’ll chime in with something later today – I’m stewing in my juices right now and need to get a place of cogent thought. (Plus I’m busy with work today…..)
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I am sure there will be plenty of time to draw out opines and write dissertations about the upcoming season. Overall, given the obstacles of the year, losing a game 7 of the ALCS is a fitting finish. I just hate that it was to Adolis Garcia and Aroldis Chapman. Punks. I won’t be watching because I don’t care that much but I hope they lose to whoever they end up playing.
Baker appears gone if the rumors are true. Apparently, he has told multiple people (he probably should have made them sign NDAs first) that he is done managing.
I’ll agree with you on one thing Bill, the window looks shorter than I thought. On one hand, Tucker, Alvarez, McCormick, Garcia, Brown, Urquidy, Abreu (Bryan type), Diaz, Pena, all still young guys. Not 100% of them are going end up big time, and not all will end up long term Astros. With Altuve, Bregman, Verlander and Abreu around 2 more years the window is now. After it closes, it may come down hard, either they will turn into the 2007 Astros trying to fix holes with free agents that don’t turn out after a window closed or they will turn into the 2011 Astros that burned it all down. Let’s see what Brown has up his sleeves.
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Steven I’m away from my computer but I think Bregman and Altuve are only around one more year they 2024
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Oh, and I really never bought into the “rest of baseball hates the Astros” but after watching an ALCS on Fox that basically looked like I was watching the Rangers home telecast where every Rangers homerun was replayed 8 times and the dugout cameras were squarely on the Rangers dugout, and listening to the excitement in the voice of Joe Davis every Rangers play and the, well, less than excitement in Astros big moments, ugh.
And Abreu is going to get 2 games for Garcia, but Chapman won’t even get sniffed for McCormick.
We are the bad guys. It’s bringing meaning to every game now. They have to own this and use it. Maybe even have a marketing campaign tying the team to the Empire and Altuve is Vader.
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Maybe his walkup song should be the Darth Vader entrance
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One hour after the season ends we learn this:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/dusty-baker-has-indicated-plan-to-step-away-from-managing.html
Baker shared his plans to leave, but the org kept it under wraps.
Bakers problems with Click led to crane dumping Click.
Bakers problems with Brown were aired as the season winded down.
To me, it is plain that the inner struggles of the organization led to the disappointment with the play at home.
We got tons of shots of the Ranger’s front office up in their private boxes. I never saw Dana Brown on camera.
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It’s such a shame. I know we’ve won a couple of Game 7s but it really seems like we lose most of them. Maybe it’s because the hope is there in that winner takes all that the crushing disappointment is harder to bear ….
I can remember the 2004 NLCS. The Nats in the WS (boy that one really stung), the Rays when we nearly came back from 0-3 …
What’s our actual record? Seems bad but maybe it’s about even ….
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https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/whats-next-for-astros-four-reasons-why-loss-vs-rangers-could-be-beginning-of-end-for-teams-al-dynasty/
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I saw Reggie Jackson’s postgame interview with Fox News commentators a few games ago. When asked to compare his relationship with the NY Yankees org vs the Astros, his chief complaint was the Yankees did not value sage input from Old Guard players like himself. On the other hand, Crane took into account what men like him and Bagwell, for instance, had to offer. Well, we saw how that went during last years offseason moves. I say thee, nay. Let Dana Brown do his job
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Yes Old School, Dana Brown should have his opportunity to determine who the manager is and with that manager determine who the coaches will be. And Dana Brown has to be given full control over the roster.
If that’s not going to happen, then Crane and Brown should agree to sever ties.
Boy, that would really screw up the organization.
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Always tough to corral the thoughts after a series loss, but here are mine:
1. I’m excited to talk offseason. It’s a shame the 2023 season is over.
2. Dusty Baker is the best manager we’ve ever had in Houston…at least in my lifetime. I would have played Diaz more all season and Brantley less in the postseason. I was not a fan of Baker when he managed the Cubs or Nationals…probably didn’t give him enough credit.
3. Tucker had a rough postseason after a lackluster September. I think he ran out of gas. I’d still be trying to extend him, but only if he’s willing to accept a reasonable offer.
4. Pena lost a lot of muscle through the season. I expect the team will have more to say about his offseason conditioning this winter and hope they have a plan for him to come into spring training close to his playing bulk and then maintain it.
5. Maybe it would have been good to not swing at so many first pitches this series?
6. Bullpen was great with a few hiccups. We should have won game 6 and not let 7 be an issue.
7. Umpiring this postseason was awful. It’s a shame there is no accountability.
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I was thinking last night that KT needed to cowboy up since his epic fade prior to postseason. He had one good postseason in 2021 (2020 was Covid washed) and little else in 5 yrs of postseason runs. Best believe that will come up during extension talks, so a reasonable ask from the org is not out of the question. Unfortunately there are other teams willing to splurge stupid $$$. KT will have a line of suitors available if the Astros don’t pony up what his agent asks. If he wants to get paid like a superstar then he has to shine like stars do when it matters.
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Go Philly!
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Hey Sandy!Great to “hear” your voice again!!
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Sorry, go D-Backs! My morning post got erased(my fault) but we just got beat by a team that played better than us. Interesting takes on “Stone Cold Astros” if anybody cares to take a look. Nobody’s mentioned it but we definitely need to keep Dubon. There’s a guy who makes contact and can play just about anywhere. As for the anchors that we have I guess we have to deal with that for the next two years. Maybe since we”lol have LJM and García back what do we do with the extra pitchers (Brown and France)? Maybe work a trade. Let’s hope Dana Brown can patch up the leaking ship and get us back on track again.
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The inevitable look forward by MLBTR of the eliminated Astros:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/offseason-outlook-houston-astros-14.html
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I’m in the middle of writing my version of this – I will not look at theirs – but we can compare afterwards.
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I thought it was a fair write up for a guy who’s job is to cover all of baseball not the Astros. It’s definitely well researched unlike a lot of the lazy pieces you see out there from amateurs like fansided. I’m definitely going to check out the chat, I got a couple questions to throw his way.
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