It is unclear whether the Astros have turned the corner, having cut 4-1/2 games off their 10-game deficit in the AL West in the last week, or at a crossroads on the season.
Your scribe considers this to be a turning-the-corner situation. The team’s vibe seems a lot more positive right now. The team beat up a World Series contender in three straight games, and it all felt different.
Today, I will leave it to you to write this post by answering questions about the Astros’ situation.
- If Justin Verlander is out for more than a couple starts, what should they do? Promote from within or trade for help?
- When Kyle Tucker returns, the Astros have potential outfielders Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, Trey Cabbage, Joey Loperfido and Mauricio Dubon. Who gets sent down? Should they consider trading anyone from their surplus?
- The Astros were 14-21 in games that Jose Abreu played in (a 65-97 WL pace). They are 24-19 in games he did not play in (a 90-72 pace). Is their improvement really that easy?
- Alex Bregman in his first 33 games this season slashed .189 BA/.262 OBP/ .520 OPS with 6 runs scored/ 5 doubles/ 1 HRs / 11 RBIs and in his last 41 games he has slashed .309 BA/ .358 OBP/ .897 OPS with 27 runs scored/ 10 doubles/ 8 HRs/ 23 RBIs. Does this change how you feel about retaining him / paying him?
- Between now and the end of the season, who will bring the most value to the Astros – Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, or Joey Loperfido?
- Will Tayler Scott (1.67 ERA in 33 appearances) move himself into the back three in the bullpen during the balance of the season?
- Who is most likely to be let go after the season….Joe Espada or his hitting or pitching coach(es)?
- Who will likely be on the team in 2025 – Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander or Ryan Pressly?
- If the Astros make the playoffs, who starts the first game – Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez or Ronel Blanco?
- The Astros are 38-40. They will end the season with a _____ record.
It is your turn. The blog is within your power to comment.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
101 responses to “Astros 2024: Questions turning the corner”
I told you not to panic, Dan. With the current playoff format you can hang around .500 at the All Star break and still get to the playoffs. I honestly hadn’t even looked at the standings until yesterday. 🙂
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Gary, you’re right so far. We’re going to hit, but can we find enough pitching? I remain dubious.
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By the way, did you really have a femme du jour, kind of like Chamberlain?
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Like Wilt? Haha…not quite as many as 20,000…thank God.
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Some of the bats may have turned the corner, but we will need healthier pitchers to keep the winning going.
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Man, that’s 54 and 30 I think!
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Maybe the Tucker camp has already provided contract expectations.
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3. Doubt very seriously it was that easy.
4. Know I’m in the minority who wants to drop a few sticks of dynamite and blow this up in preparation for next year and beyond adding talent. The Stros cannot afford to give Alex the yrs/$$ he wants so trade him. They can make an offer during his FA. We know Crane is loathe to give 10 yrs + with loads of cash that Tuck will command. I waving goodbye to him also but with a surplus in return. The fan in me wants to ride this thing out, but if it fails I would be aggrieved allowing our FA to walk with nothing in return.
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5. Chas, unless JL dons Superman’s cape the rest of the season.
6. Who would Scott replace, Pressly?
7. Win or lose I think Espada remains at least one more season. Some of the other coaches may leave or are let go.
8. None
9. JV 10. Cannot begin to speculate their season record
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1. Promote from within but how about Travor Bauer? Bet that will raise some eyebrows.
2. Trey Cabbage
3. Yes but I think there’s an intangible component there.
4. Would offer him a 5 year deal with an option but no more. No 30MM/yr
5. I’m going with Jake
6. I can see Scott in the 7th inning role
7. Coaches unless a WS appearance happens
8. I want to go with Bregman but probably JV. 14MM for Pressley (i don’t think so)
9. Probably Framber but I’d rather see Blanco at this time
10. 88 – 74
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So many teams need pitching. Obviously no team wants to be the one that gives in and signs Bauer. Even if his activities were not illegal in any way, it’s apparent he would not be a model employee nor one, at least so far, that any club wants to be associated with. Maybe MLB gets sued and we find out more at some point but I’m guessing we’d not want the guy for a next door neighbor.
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3. The team is 12-4 in Loperfido starts. But he has not done much in his last couple of games. Who knows how much releasing Abreu helped, but the vibe sure is much better. Besides not being able to play, he was a distraction.
4. No, I’d still move Bregman for pitching help. I’m still looking towards 2025. And Shay Whitcomb has really improved his hitting skills in AAA this year, pretty much halving his K’s. I don’y know if he’s the answer, but it would be nice to get something for Bregman. That said, let’s see what happens between now and the deadline.
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5. Tough question. I want Loperfido to stick so I’m hoping he hits enough and keeps doing good things out on the field. But I think Chas will come around and be that guy. My concern with Jake is that the league won’t be giving him much to hit on the first pitch, where he is now 24-51 on the season! But his OPS for the month is .555. I hope he gets hot again, because other teams won’t be for a mostly defense oriented CF.
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Lot’s of good comments here since yesterday. I am in a two day workshop in the basement of this downtown building where the AC is on full speed ahead and chilling the heck out of us. I go back in at 8 AM
Gary T – Yes, you are the ultimate A’s fan who comes here and goes “What are you schmucks complaining about? At least your owner 1) Spends money and 2) Is keeping your team in your city. The Astros are finally rounding into shape and luckily it is not too late”
AstroNut – thanks for answering the quiz – deep down I agree that Tayler Scott will continue in his role unless one of the top three goes down
Andre G – The starting pitching question is a conundrum – is there anyone down on the farm like Arrighetti who can do an average to below average job short term without getting hurt like Bloss did? If they trade for someone – that someone may only have a job for a short time before getting bumped out. Maybe pick someone off waivers or…OMG Trevor Bauer?
Z – Speaking of Trevor Bauer – you brought him up. I just don’t know if the team can overlook his supposed violent past that has not passed the smell tests of indictments. And they may not be able to overlook what he said about the team during the scandal.
Daveb – We knew Joey L would have to slow down – even now his BAbip is an unsustainable .552. His K rate is an unworkable 38+%. He may not be the answer but at least he can field way above average and he has helped the team offensively in a small sample.
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6. Tayler Scott will continue to help the club, but I think Pressly is finally coming around. He painted last night, although the ump did not see it that way.
7. Usually coaches go first, but I do have a real issue with the way Joe is using his pen up. Abreu at at the top of the league in appearances. I know Hader was not thrilled coming in up 4 last night. Why was Dubin warming up? Maybe Joe is trying to save his job, but it can’t come at the expense of his pitchers.
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8. That’s another tough question. Mrs. Pressly regularly posts on X that Ryan is getting a bad wrap, but professes their love for the Astros and Houston. I just don’t think he gets 14 million from the Astros in 2025. He’ll be a closer somewhere else. Give me a month to figure out if Verlander is closing in on 140 innings. Maybe he does not reach 140, but does not want to move again and will sign a more team friendly deal for 2025. I can’t see the Astros paying Bregman enough to stay.
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9. I’m not going to put the cart before the horse so I will respectfully decline to answer that question at this time.
10. Gosh, we still don’t have the starters we need to keep pace! 86-76.
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Question #1: I think they need to trade for a starting pitcher if Verlander is out for a while. I think they need trade for a starting pitcher even if Verlander isn’t out for a while.
#2: They should send Cabbage down. Maybe send Loperfido down one more time also to make room for Tucker. Loperfido has been good and looks like a keeper. Melton should be available to trade.
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The Space Cowboys are now 50-26. There must be some talent in our system.
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I think Martinez got hosed last night on the Pena botched play and it affected his mental game. Should have been two outs with a runner on 1st. Of course, the second hit was a bloop single. I’m not questioning the decision to bring Pressley in and it worked out ok but I just wanted to point that out. Maybe there was more to it than we knew.
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14 pitches by the Rockies’ pitcher through TWO innings!! Bah!!
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These guys are apparently slow learners.
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Earth to TOF, earth to TOF, are you out there?
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Yes, I’m still on earth. Been working on (and learning a LOT about) building a wireless LAN so my laptops can talk to each other. Up until very late a couple nights in a row.
Turns out State Farm is going to weasel out of paying for the tornado damage. Been going roundy round with those a__holes, too. Freaking corrupt theiving corporate ____suckers….
This post is worthy of a well thought out response and I’m working on it while I watch the game. More later.
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My thoughts:
1. I’m looking for pitching regardless. I’d like JV back and healthy, but also want to see a six man rotation the remainder of the year. Making the playoffs with arms running on fumes won’t result in a championship. Burning out young arms will just set the franchise back.
2. Cooper Hummel is the guy I’d send down, but Brown probably thinks it should be Loperfido.
3. Correlation does not imply causation. However, Abreu’s poor hitting certainly contributed to the losing.
4. This isn’t a black and white issue. Bregman is worth paying, but he’s the 17th highest paid player in MLB in 2024. Players get paid on past performance rather than future expectations, but I’m having a hard time thinking he should be inside the top 30…and I’m trying to be generous.
5. I think Chas ends up bringing the most value of the three.
6. I only see Scott moving into that back 3 position if they are actively trying to limit Abreu/Pressly/Hader’s innings. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but Espada is managing like his job is on the line right now and might burn out all three of them before September.
7. After the bad publicity of the paltry offer to Click I don’t think Crane can afford to give up on Espada so quickly. No one knows the other coaches names so there could be significant changes made if we miss out on the postseason.
8. Pressly. It may not be enough, but I don’t think they offer Bregman significant money in an effort to squirrel away future salary for a Tucker extension offer.
9. If all three are healthy I think JV gets the ball, but I’d make the decision based on the team we’re playing.
10. I like Zanduda’s prediction…88-74. I hope it’s enough to make October baseball.
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Dang Jake, should have let Jon have his AB so we won’t have to watch him stare at strikes in the next inning. I know he tries to coax walks but he should at least try and protect the plate with 2 strikes or hit some of those darts opposing P don’t mind throwing down the heart of the plate to him
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Did I speak to soon or Jon caught a break?
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That AB by Salazar didn’t start out very well, but he redeemed himself with a sac fly. He hasn’t impressed me that much yet…..
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How can anybody survive in Houston with that much hair, Spencer? Mine was about 3″ shorter than that before the Memorial weekend power outage of 2024. And it made me miserable!
First thing I did after the power came back and businesses opened again was get a haircut! It feels sooooooooo much better!
But the ‘stache and the beard remain. Wouldn’t want to lose my side gig as Santa Klaus……. 😉
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That hair would drive me crazy. But imagine having to wear those Framber extensions?
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I would hope that one of my friends would have mercy on me and just shoot me……
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That was a great homestand and just what the Astros universe needed! Finally up to .500 and another game up on the Rangers as we both chase the Mourners. Whether it’s us or the Strangers, Seattle is going to be tough to beat.
Only 3 games back of Boston and KC for the last wildcard, so the possibility of playoff baseball definitely still exists. Only 6 games remain between Seattle and Houston. So whether the Stros make the playoffs as a division winner, a wildcard or not at all is entirely within the hands of the players.
If they play the rest of the way the way they’ve played this past homestand, they’ll win the AL West.
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J P France shoulder surgery- out for the year
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😦
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First off, what a performance by Arrighetti yesterday. I don’t care if he was pitching to the Rockies. He threw strikes with movement over and over again.
Being reminded by Dana Brown’s own words on J.P.France, “we might have rushed him back too quickly” is troubling. The employer should be looking out for the employees best interests. How often have we rushed a guy back? Urquidy? Javier? Bloss is throwing already too.
So good to see Yainer back.
What’s this commotion about Vlad Jr? Yeah, the often fat 25 year old would likely give us an .800 .OPS. But he might be the worst defensive first baseman on the planet and I don’t think he can pitch. I hope this is another ridiculous rumor and Bagwell is not back in Cranes ear.
Joey Lops is 1 for his last 12 with 4 K’s. Seems they are throwing him in on his hands. I hope he gets time to adjust.
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“Being reminded by Dana Brown’s own words…”
You still believe what he and Espada say on camera? Oh my, you and I need to talk privately. I’ve got this used bridge……
“I hope this is another ridiculous rumor and Bagwell is not back in Cranes ear.”
Yes, I agree. But I think it’s much more likely that he is intruding in a completely different bodily orifice. I don’t like Bagwell very much…..
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2. When Kyle Tucker returns, they should release Singleton. But they probably will demote either Hummel or Cabbage. It doesn’t matter. They are mediocre it’s just a question of what mediocre guy do you need less. I vote the one that can’t play anywhere else, pinch run, pinch hit, etc.
3. Well one guy batting 3 or 4 times a game usually isn’t a deciding factor, but maybe the players got a boost when they saw performance does matter? Who knows. Could just be short sample splits.
4. No. They would be out of their minds to go to the 8-year mark that he likely will want. For some reason the Mets and Bregman just seem like a match made in hell.
5. That’s a tough one. They all can be good, and they all can be not so good. For the sake of not sounding like a guy not willing to stick his neck out on one, I’ll take McCormick only because he has the best track record of the three.
6. The only way Scott moves in the back 3 is if one of them is traded or Pressly completely melts. If Pressly piddles around mid 4s all year but has some clean innings his position is secure. Besides, if Scott has done such a fantastic job in mid-leverage why change it up? Just let him keep doing what he is doing.
7. I don’t know. If they play well in the second half all of them probably return.
8. Pressly because he is far more likely to meet his option and his agent probably knows they aren’t getting 15M out of anyone else. I don’t think JV vests and I don’t think the Astros will give Bregman the offer he wants.
9. You never know. Depends on if they are pitching for their playoff life or if they have a chance to cruise the last week. Ideally, I think they would like to have JV pitch it, but Blanco may “earn” it performance.
10. I’m the eternal optimist. They need to find another starter, but if they do, 88-74, which might win this division. Seattle fades annually in the second half, as most teams that try to build themselves around young pitching and give no care for the offense at all are prone to do.
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Shout out to our buddies at the Crawfish boxes who linked to us this morning
Astros Crawfish Boil: June 27, 2024 – The Crawfish Boxes
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Hats off to more of you folks
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Dan, it all depends on the pitching.
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That was Devin who was talking about Click. Not I. I do agree with him that Espada’s job is (sadly) probably safe for now. The coaches are much more likely to get the axe if the Stros don’t play in October.
I disagree with him, however, that we don’t know who they are.
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Question #3: Rather than dwelling on the record of the Astros with or without Jose Abreu around, I would like to point out that on June 3rd Kyle Tucker left the game and the lineup and the Astros are 14-6 since then.
It seems like this might be a more interesting development to talk about.
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#4: Alex Bregman has not been near the player he was in 2018-19, after which he is being paid more than he is worth. I love Bregman and his contributions to the dominant teams but he is not worth what he got in his last deal. If he agrees to a deal that is more in line with his value for the last few years and his expected value for the next few years I would try to negotiate and sign him.
He will probably go to free agency and see if there is someone out there with more money and less sense than the Astros.
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There certainly can’t be many with less sense……
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There are plenty of them.
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And another one
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/06/oliver-ortega-undergoes-season-ending-surgery.html
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All these surgeries to Astros pitchers are really making me give the pitching coach (and his subordinates) some serious side eye at this point. Are they teaching something that is causing all these injuries? I’ve never been a pitcher, so I don’t know.
But if the technique they’re teaching or the strength/conditioning program Is being followed (the team does have a strength/conditioning program and a coach to go with it, right? Right?) and they’re still being injured at an extraordinary rate, there’s something flawed about one or both of them.
Has the time for a new pitching coach arrived so soon after the departure of DFB? I hope so.
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#5: I will go with McCormick because of his past performances on the field. His career WAR indicates his value. At least it does to me.
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#6: I think Taylor Scott has taken Phil Maton’s place in the bullpen.
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I still don’t understand why they didn’t pony up the green for Phil who is a proven known quantity while they shell out so much for a skank like Hader. Dumb move IMO.
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Good point OP. And so far, much more reliable.
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#7: Who is most likely to be let go after the season….Joe Espada or his hitting or pitching coach(es)?
Pitching coach
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Shay Whitcomb is becoming hard to ignore. He’s got better stats than Loperfido coming out of AAA.
He’s playing a lot of short and third and some second. Why not some first base? Never mind, we’ve already been through this with everyone else.
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Today’s lineup looks pretty good to me. https://www.mlb.com/gameday/astros-vs-mets/2024/06/28/745804/preview
As long as we get some blanko innings from Blanco. Such a cool name for a pitcher…..
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This is an AppleTV (hawk tuah!) game, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch. Reinforcing my predetermined hatred of all things Apple. Happens every time they visit NYC.
If not, I guess I’ll have to watch a replay of the big W last night. 😉
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Able to watch this horrible Apple broadcast crew. Sure am missing TK, Blum, and Julia. Mostly Julia….. 😉
But at least I have a good picture. Back when I was a kid in south central MN just north of the border, all the Twins games looked like they were playing in a snowstorm. The radio guys had a much clearer picture back then…..
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So maybe pay attention to your job instead of chit chatting with the AppleTV morons? My God……
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As a raw fan of the game, I resent these media jerks with no talent interfering in the game I love. Regarding a player doing it, I don’t know what to say.
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Isn’t it ironic that today, the guys we were talking about bringing value to the club yesterday are batting like a bunch of vision impaired girl scouts with RISP?
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Oh my. This game just got real ugly. He left Blanco in just a bit too long. Did he even have anybody warming up?
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But Bregman’s error is what cost them 3 runs. Not Blanco. Our formerly All Star 3b……
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Doobie didn’t dood it, either. 11 LOB through 7. What is the team record?
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That DirecTV ad is a good one! LMAO
You’re one sick pidgeon….. 🙂
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14 LOB and 8 of them by Doobie. Not a good day at all in Astros land.
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Good morning!
Sometimes it looks like Bregman is getting his game back, but we’re through half a season now and he’s still got some real issues at the plate. A .310 OBP is unprecedented for him. That .710 OPS stinks. He’s basically hitting a soft .249. I still want go move him, although that would be a real long shot.
That’s apparently quite a bruise Tucker has. A bone bruise can take 1 to 2 months to heal. Larger bones might take longer. Sometimes we have to look on line for information rather than relying on our club officials for anything more than spin.
Not much help for Blanco last night. He should have been up 6-2 early instead of down 6-2. And he’s at 91 MLB innings now, a lot of them high leverage. He’s another reason why I still want to start preparing for 2025. I’d hate to get him screwed up.
Who are the secret guys pitching on Sunday?
Dubon has done some really good things for this club. But eventually, and we’ve seen it with Marwin and others, our utility guys are utility guys for a reason. Frenchie is not a hitter. Obviously the plan last night was to get Quintera out of the game early. It was working, but Dubon simply does not have the ability to take a walk and drive in a run and keep an inning going when it’s necessary. He gave us a lot of RISP hits early, swinging at everything, but that had to be temporary. I’d let him go too if another team comes asking. He’ll want 7 million this winter.
I’d really like to see Wagner and Whitcomb this year.
And please don’t put a microphone in Jeremy Pena’s ear while he’s trying to play shortstop. I don’t need to hear what he has to say during the game. Plenty of Met fans enjoyed us playing like the Rockies last night.
Poor Yordan, he keeps hitting with no big bats around him.
I know, I know, Jim Crane will never be a seller. It sounds good. We’re 15-8 on the month. 17-8 would be a real achievement with key guys missing from the roster. 15-10 would be a let down. Let it not happen!
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“….we have to look on line for information rather than relying on our club officials for anything more than spin.”
I’d believe every word I heard on CNN before I’d believe even ONE word from Ren & Stimpy in the FO with their happy happy joy joy happy talk bullshit. Their credibility is completely blown and it’s a self-inflicted wound.
I suppose at my age, I shouldn’t get so angry when somebody lies to me. But I do.
Tucker’s injury is far worse than anything we’ve been told. Or he would be out on the field.
Frenchie can want $7M in one hand and take a dump in the other and see which one fills up first as far as I’m concerned. He’s not that good.
“I don’t need to hear what he has to say during the game.”
I don’t need to hear what he says before or after the game, either. He’s not a rocket scientist. He’s a freaking dumbass ballplayer who took advanced basket weaving in college so he didn’t get booted off the team. What the hell do I care what he has to say?
Just play ball, paco. That’s what you get paid to do.
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About the game calling, I prefer to listen to the radio guys. They stay spot on. The tv guys play around too much and wander off course regarding things such as food, Julia, etc..
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I hear ya, Sarge. As with so many (too many) things in our 21st century society, the idiot kids are in charge. And we all know that if they had any useful talent at all, the wouldn’t be in television.
The kids who do media in school are the morons who can’t do medicine or engineering. I know they have to make a living somehow, but geez. That’s what shovels are for.
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So according to our illustrious manager Espada (who learned from one of the stupidest managers in baseball history) last night’s shellacking was just a “hiccup”.
That’s funny. It looked to me to have all the symptoms of a bad case of diarrhea. The whole team (with the exception of Yordan) were covered with the stuff!
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So do we get the Framber who knows how to pitch tonight? Or the confused idiot who wants to wander around between the mound and 2b looking like Joe Biden trying to find his nurse – I mean wife?
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