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Astros after the break: Would you rather…

Today we return to a fun little ditty called “Would You Rather” allowing you to make some choices for the Astros down the stretch. (Yeah, I know we don’t really get to choose, but wouldn’t it be fun?)

Would you rather……

What do you want to have happen down the stretch? You can answer these questions or just wax poetically on whatever you want to see happen between now and the end of the season. It is your turn.

 

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80 responses to “Astros after the break: Would you rather…”

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  1. Seasons are won or lost on the ability to string together quality starts. The Mariners have one of the worst offenses in baseball. Our season was in the basket until what happened? The starting pitching got better. So, improve that.

    On one hand you have a dearth of OF’ers. On the other, they are all mostly mediocre that are not the best trade chips. Having the right trade partner that has a particularly need will be important if you want that trade piece to be Meyers or McCormick instead of Loperfido or Melton. It also comes down to who are you after? If you are after Crochet, you won’t get there with McCormick. TBH, we probably can’t get there. Right now there are so many buyers and so few sellers and we don’t have the enticing pieces, we are going to be outbid for even back of the rotation guys.

    I think these wild card rules change the way we have to view winning. So many teams are “contending” for a WC spot still in July, team management probably needs to think in terms of offseason guys and try and to build that depth then and not hope on a July pick up. Some of the names that have made starts for us are not names that should have been making starts for us. The Rangers are fighting the same monster.

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  2. Verlander vs. McCullers/Garcia? – Easy, McCullers and/or Garcia. With that option not vesting, unless JV comes back and has excellent August/Sept (he has surprised us before), he likely won’t get the money that might keep him in baseball. He might just retire. If he can’t get back but for a smattering of mediocre starts I think he might call it quits anyway.

    Tucker or Alvarez? What a good dilemma to have. How about you would love for them to be in a healthy competition for it.

    Brown – because it means he will have taken that next step. Framber and Blanco are kind of who they are at 30.

    Yainer – see Brown.

    Oof you don’t want relievers competing for the most appearances.

    Yainer – again see Brown. Though it’s interesting to think if Singleton hits .245 and finishes with say 15 HR and 60 RBI is he here next year, possibly even the everyday first baseman?

    Just win, baby.

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    1. Starting pitching…or a few guys may see their arms fall off.
    2. It’s hard to get something for nothing. I think a deal centered around Chas or Jake would be my preference, but it might be hard to find a trading partner.
    3. Montero. Every inning he takes away is one fewer that Espada might throw Abreu/Pressly/Hader
    4. Verlander. We’re approaching his last gasps. With a few years of team control on Garcia I’m in no hurry.
    5. Alvarez. See later explanation.
    6. Ronel – let’s keep the train rolling. If he takes a step back it might be catastrophic for our chances.
    7. Yainer. See later explanation.
    8. Scott. I’m concerned about someone having an arm fall off.
    9. Yainer. See later explanation.
    10. Push. Look, I want to see us win, but seeing the Mariners absolutely collapse and the Rangers not pass us would be satisfying too.

    For the explanation, if the odds on favorite doesn’t lead in the category mentioned it means someone either played way over their head for an extended stretch, the favorite had an extended slump, or there was some Rob Manfred funny business going on. My concern is if Alvarez and Diaz are not punishing the opposing pitching it means we won’t score as many runs.

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  4. Plenty of decisions to make first thing.

    1. Definitely starting pitching is needed most. And not just a back of the rotation guy. Maybe the second starter can be an innings guy.
    2. Sure, make Jake or Chas available, but it’s going to take more. To get good pitching, it will hurt, even for a rental.
    3. As much as I like Chas, Montero is more important in the grand scheme of things.
    4. I still have to give Verlander the nod here. He knows what to do. Even an advertised healthy McCullers would be a guy one pitch away from injury.
    5. I don’t care which of Tucker or Alvarez leads the team in those numbers down the stretch, but if Tucker is healthy and solid, and Alvarez leads, then most all will be well with the line up.
    6. Don’t care who ends u with the most wins. If all three guys end up with 13-15, then that’s good!
    7. If Bregman leads that group in RBI’s, that means he’s had the second half we need from him. Otherwise, I don’t care which guy does it. How about all three with 80 to 90?
    8. If we find a reliever, he needs to be a guy that will lessen the load for all of our pen guys that have thrown too many innings to date.
    9. It would be nice to see Yainer refind his power stroke.

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  5. In general though, for the balance of the season, I want the team to play good baseball. Offensively, they should be able to avoid any significant team slump. I think we’ll be losing someone from the ML roster, and the most likely y guys right now would be Jake or Loperfido (I sure hope not) with Frenchie being an outside chance. If that were to happen, some people would freak, but I know Steven would bring up Will Meyers immediately. And I’d be good with that too.

    I’ve already talked about the pitching needs. If we fail to get into the post season, then really, it’s time to get positioned for 2025. Don’t over stress the arms. Prepare for a Bregman departure. Framber? We’ll likely need his innings in 2025. I don’t see a way around it.

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    • I’m not high on any Astros prospect right now tbh. I think Wagner is the best of a bunch of mediocre players. The Astros should sell on Pedro Leon right now, I would have even playing him at 2B just to increase his value.

      Wagner’s had a cinderella 2024. When you strike out just 29 times in 64 games good things can happen. That has not been a career pattern though. He has been above average at avoiding the K but not otherworldly. And he is already 25. The number of 26 year old rookies that make an impact is vastly outnumbered by the ones that don’t. It could just be that he is a 25 year old with a honed in particular skill set that is killing 22 year old pitchers right now. You got to like the OBP tool though, I just don’t know how well that translates to the bigs.

      Cabbage had a .396 OBP at AAA. Hummel was .419! Salazar, Whitcomb, Leon, all over .380. There are lots of guys that get on base at a high clip at AAA that we aren’t giving jobs too, because it just doesn’t always translate. The reason I think Wagner has a chance is because of his contact tool and a career .294 avg – so good contact and good, not great, but good bat to ball.

      He also wins the “looks like his dad more than anyone else does” award. It’s a much closer facsimile of Jeremy/Geronimo – which is one you can see, but not this much. Like, I see that front facing photo and I’m waiting on Enter Sandman. Fun story, Wagner was using Enter Sandman before Rivera, but caused a stir when he went to New York and was using it there. Yankees fans are fun.

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      • Good morning everyone. Why do I keep wandering off thinking about the Astros in 2025? I guess it’s because I’m leery about what’s going to happen in 2024. We’ll find out more during the next 11 days. If Dana finds some useful pitching help I’ll feel much more confident. And it seems there is no return date, even tentative, for Kyle Tucker. That’s quite a contusion he’s got. Maybe that’s why we keep hearing talk of adding a bat. In the meantime, it’s time to win 2 of 3 in Seattle if for no other reason than it provides a bit of momentum to start the second half.

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      • Dave, I am of the opinion that Tucker actually fractured the bone at the joint. The club being quiet about it is rather disconcerting though. What would be the reasoning to hide something like that?

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      • Steven, you were a bit more enthused about Wagner on Wednesday. But I change my mind too sometimes. I like his .437 OBP in 324 AAA PA’s. That’s promising. But then again, my chubby nephew Tyler White put up some great minor league OBP stats a few years ago too. I just think Wagner is different and might help balance our free swinging group that has an aversion to walks.

        Sarge, I also don’t know why the Tucker injury, which is obviously significantly worse than originally thought, seems to be a secret. Maybe a bad diagnosis has embarrassed someone.

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  8. I would rather them not trade for starting pitching, but bring up the best of their AAA starters while waiting for Verlander and Garcia.. Why trade good prospects for a rental pitcher who may perform well down the stretch but is gone at the end of the season?

    Yes I would trade one of our 2 named starting outfielders if someone is willing to work a deal for a decent 1B bat or a decent reliever.

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    • 1OP, I have no problem with not trading for pitching and I also have no problem with instead staying with all in house talent and preparing for 2025. I said the same thing last year when we made the move to bring Verlander back. But I’ve also admitted it turned out to be a good decision at the time because without Verlander, we would not have gotten within a game of playing in the World Series without him.

      Obviously the Astros know more than we do about when/if Verlander and Garcia will be back. And even the Astros can’t know how effective either guy will be.

      I do think Crane will want something done though, and he might well be involved again.

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  9. I would rather have Verlander return healthy.

    I would rather Yordan barely beat out Kyle for the lead in RBIs and HRs.

    I would rather Yonel lead the team in wins.

    I would rather have Yainer finish with more RBIs

    I would rather have Abreu finish with most relief appearances.

    I would rather Yainer to finish with most HRs of those three.

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  10. It’s always a bit anxious when you play your main opponent head to head in a series.

    After Sunday:

    If the M’s sweep – they are up 4 games

    If the Ms win 2 they are up 2 games

    If the Astros win 2 they are tied

    If the Astros sweep they are up 2 games

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    • That doesn’t tell the whole story, though. The M’s are 2 games ahead in the win column right now. After this series we only see them for 3 more games in September. They are 5-2 against us for the season. So, if we lose twice this round, we lose the season series and tiebreaker. Realistically, we need to sweep once and win the other series. Sweeping them at Seattle this series would really be a huge momentum shift.

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      • Devin, the Astros might get swept and then we’ll be four games out and then we might sweep the A’s and the M’s might get swept and then we’ll be back to one game out. You never know!

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  11. Still no Tucker. Must be about the worst bruise since Achilles took that arrow in his heel……

    Hope I can stay awake tonight. Been a few late (but very good) nights this week.

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  12. Hunter is looking strong tonight! Helps to have a short b4 since he threw so many in the 1st. Looking mighty fine so far!

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  15. I have to say that I am very impressed and very happy to continue seeing Singleton maturing into a decent first baseman. As long as he gets a little better every game like he has been, who can ask for any more from a guy?

    Always good to see a man get back up after something knocks him down or holds him back and keep on going back to work toward a dream. And he finally grows into a heroic figure with spirit and strength.

    Better for my heart than Metoprolol! 🙂

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  16. Very good start by Hunter and a solid all around performance by the whole team. It bodes well for the rest of the road trip!

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  17. Well I hung in there as the later innings went quick. Great pitching. I wish we hit more but I’m sure the Mariner fans were wishing that too.

    Good D – much better than the M’s who were shaky.

    As my buddies REO would sing – Keep on rolling!!

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  18. This new version of Hunter Brown is a much more mature one. He battled his way out of several tough situations last night, never showing any sign of losing his composure. He threw good pitches when he needed to. Still not getting enough swings and misses, but hopefully that will come.

    Nine straight outs from the back of the pen. All three guys were efficient. We know the M’s are not a very good line up, but Abreu, Pressly, Hader made it look easy.

    I really like it when a guy like Altuve creates a bit of havoc by dropping a bunt down.

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  19. Thoughts

    • TOF – even on a night that Singleton did not get a hit, he showed he is improving tin the field as you noted and certainly was hustling when he avoided a double play. Abreu would not be hitting and would not be doing well in the field or on the paths.
    • daveb – This was a game that Hunter could well have melted down earlier on – you were absolutely right that he is showing maturity. When he had trouble putting some hitters away early when they were fouling him off – he stuck with it and had success.
    • When the Astros signed Josh Hader before the season, I am sure we were picturing nights like last night when the back three of the bullpen slammed the door. Bryan Abreu, especially, looked like he really prospered from the days off.
    • The Astros may need a bit more hitting in one of the last two games of the series (maybe not as the M’s offense is poor) so hopefully they will pick up the pace. A nice romp where they can rest the back three for a game would be nice.
    • Hope they keep it going – it has been a fun run.

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  20. Sounds as if there’s going to be some serious changes made in the electrical grid in the Houston area. Dan sounds pretty ticked off.

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    • Well TOF, those boys do talk a whole bunch of dookie, but based on my experience in the city over the past two weeks, Houston has had it with Center Point. We’ll see if things get shaken up. Heck, a category 2 or 3 storm would paralyze the Bayou City. I’m happy the be on an airplane right now heading back to civilization!

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  23. Once again, the SCHN stream is buffering something awful. But’s it’s still better than listening to some rando Australian guy trying to do play by play at a baseball game. That just ain’t raht!

    But they’re all aliens of one sort or another up there in Seattle…..

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  25. Disappointing. Both Jon & Jake have missed multiple RBI opportunities. When you do see a mistake like that 3-0 pitch Jake fouled off, you can’t miss. Let’s see if the 3rd time is a charm.

    We’re gonna need more than 1 run to win this.

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  31. I’d like to see the Stros develop Yainer to take over 1b the way Mauer did for the Twinkies. Except do it next year BEFORE the knee injuries. Cultivate VC & Salazar behind the dish. Might need to get a good 3b depending on what happens with Bregman, of course.

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  33. Joey says dos equis! That catch was even better! Pressly better be buying BOTH those guys one helluva dinner tonight!

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  34. Josh Hader just showed me something I like very much after that pitch clock bravo sierra. He just sucked it up like a man and got the job done. I was impressed! Pressly, OTOH, has me very concerned. They’re hitting him hard. Trey & Joey actually won that game in the b8.

    Tomorrow, I want to see the bats wake up early and score some serious runs so we don’t have to depend on Abreu, Pressly, and Hader for the sweep with another close game. With Arrighetti not likely to go very deep, I have doubts that our bullpen can pull it off.

    This was a fun one to watch. Let’s keep it going, boys!

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    • You know TOF, I’ll bet you were an interesting guy to have a beverage with before it got too late. I appreciate your writing, and although rather caustic at times, it gets to the point. What made you show up at Chipalatta?

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      • I don’t remember how I found Chipalata. Just randomly surfing around as I do.

        It’s not too late to have a beverage. I just don’t want any alcohol in mine. Y’all can imbibe all you want. Just give me the car keys before you tap the keg.

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  36. The Astros are starting to feel like the good Astros we used to take for granted. They are not overpowering teams, but are getting enough hits when needed, running the bases wisely and making big plays on the field. We’re getting contributions from the new guys too. If the pitching somehow holds up, we’re going to be in pretty good shape.

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  37. I’m somewhere over the ocean heading east and paid 16 dollars to AA for internet so I could stream the British Open. I suppose I was overly optimistic. There is no streaming going on out here. I can follow the leaderboard but that course and its remarkable weather changes needs to be followed live.

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    • That’s pretty much on par (see what I did there?) with the price of network access at truck stops across America. And you still have to take care where you park to not have your line of sight blocked.

      Probably not a big issue for AA…..

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  38. So today, after that magnificent catch he made last night, Joey is sitting on the bench and weak sister’s girlfriend Dubon is getting the start. I think Espada is trying to lose.

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    • In the sense that I want to see Loperfido out there every game right now, I agree, but he looked completely overmatched at the plate yesterday and the Mariners are throwing a guy whose fastball is pretty live.

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  47. Basically, I was saying how I was not sold on the fact this tm has the goods to acquire the kind of P they want and need for a WS run. And if they try, how much of the farm will they have to mortgage to try and nab an TORP or two middling P as the booth mentioned earlier? There will be very stiff competition for P at the deadline, most tms with better prospect capital than we have. Brown, Valdez, JV, maybe Garcia at some point, plus whatever they pick up could be enough, but…I’m more inclined for them to reload and keep that window open longer.

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    • At season’s end Bregman walks with no return. Unless King Tuck offers a tm discount or accepts a 7-8 yrs contract for up to $300 mil, I see no circumstance where Crane outbids another tm for Tuck’s services. With many of the injured starters returning next season, the Stros can reload with Bregman, Tuck and possibly Valdez for next yr and beyond. I still wished they would have made Tuck an offer before the deadline to gauge where both sides are.

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    • Andre, I’d hate to have another injury to a pitcher this year. Some guys are already approaching their max career innings pitched. If the club can figure out a way to protect Blanco, Brown, Arrighetti, Scott, Martinez, Abreu, Pressly, Hader and whomever else I did not mention from overuse, then I’ll impressed. And part of that equation is what happens between now and the trade deadline. I’m willing to wait and see. Nine days.

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  48. Yeah, the kids didn’t look very good in the 9th, but that pitcher had some serious heat, too. Oh well. It’ll be easier in Anaheim, kid.

    I’m more than satisfied to be tied for 1st leaving Seattle. It’s a remarkable comeback considering the painfully slow start and all the injuries.

    Head this train south and pour on the coals, guys. There’s a steep hill ahead of you!

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    • I only got to follow on Gamecast, but it looked like Munoz managed to get out of the inning without throwing any pitches in the zone. Does that match up to what people watching it saw?

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      • Pretty much, yeah. It was somewhere on a sliding scale between embarrassing and humiliating. The ones who should really be embarrassed are Snitker and Cintron, IMO.

        They’re just not getting it done with these youngsters. Raw talent isn’t going to be enough in the long run. And baseball is a very long run indeed.

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  49. Just a thought . I saw where Martinez hadn’t pitched in 7 days. We used the three musketeers the last two days so they probably weren’t available. Do you think we should use Martinez, Scott, or Ort (new guy) in place of the one of the three once in a while? It seems that it’s always those three in a row to get us through innings 7, 8, and 9 all the time. Just saying that we have other options. Thoughts? just not crazy about how the pitching/bullpen is used.

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    • Z, I’m pretty good with 2 out of 3. Maybe we’ll see a bit of mixing in one of the lower leverage guys going forward. But I can’t argue with winning the series. That had to be the goal going in. Martinez had a bad day. He might have had a bad night on Friday or Saturday if given the chance.

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  50. Come playoff time, if they make it (should) the offense will face the creme de la creme P staffs & BP’s. Can’t afford to leave so many ducks like we often do now, especially in very close games. Will they continue the Fast & Furious hitting pace or switch gears to better wear opposing P down? We’ll see I suppose.

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