Astros 2024: Unloading my “stuff”

I was thinking a bit about the late great George Carlin and his famous monologue about “stuff”.

A little sample for those who never heard or seen this…..

“Actually, this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That’s all, a little place for my stuff. That’s all I want, that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody’s got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that’s your stuff, that’ll be his stuff over there. That’s all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That’s all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time.”

And if you want to read the whole routine – here is a link….

George Carlin – Stuff (thefrug.com)

Or, of course, you could head to YouTube and watch him doing it himself. Hilarious stuff (no pun intended) and a great observation of us humans.

Well, right now, my Astros brain is kind of stuffed with stuff – so I’m going to dump some of it so you can share in stuffed brain syndrome.

  • I’m just a bit amazed at how so much of the Astros’ pitching success is coming from sources with so little success. Hunter Brown (10 wins), Ronel Blanco (9), Tayler Scott (7) Spencer Arrighetti (5), Shawn Dubin (1), Bryan King (1) and Caleb Ort (1) have combined for more than half of the Astros wins (34 of 64) this season. These pitchers had a combined for 17 wins (13 of those by Brown) before this season. This is just crazy. A team relying on this much-untested pitching should be a lot closer to the White Sox than to the top of their division.
  • What will they do about Alex Bregman? Anyone could have taken his spot (offensively) earlier in the season, but now he is back to playing like all-World offensively and he has been great defensively all year. He turns 31 at the beginning of next season. Will he take a hometown discount to return here? It feels like the discount needs to be more on the number of years than the average per year. It just feels like the Astros will give it a shot, but that if he wants the biggest overall number, it won’t be here.
  • Along those same lines – who would be the new third baseman if it is not Bregman next year? Do any of these names we see bouncing around like Zach Dezenzo (22 games at 3B this year in the minors) or Shay Whitcomb (31 games) slot into that spot in the Astros’ front offices’ minds? The team has not acted like they were interested in seeing what anyone else can do at 3B at the major league level. Bregman started 115 of 119 games at third with Mauricio Dubon (3) and Grae Kessinger (1) starting the others. Will they try to trade for a replacement starter or sign a cheaper alternative? It feels like Dana Brown would rather replace from his youngsters, but is it his decision?
  • Ryan Pressly has given up runs in 4 straight appearances and in 5 of his last 7. In the two he did not give up a run he gave up 2 hits and 2 hits and a hit by pitch. Do they move him out of a top three spot (Tayler Scott step right up) or do they wait a bit? Bryan Abreu had a 9.69 ERA after 3 appearances this season and had a stretch where he gave up runs in 3 of 5 games. Josh Hader had a 7.59 ERA after 12 appearances and had a stretch in late June/ early July where he allowed runs in 4 of 6 appearances. But that 9.6 hits per 9 innings Pressly is giving up over the whole season is hard to ignore.
  • I just don’t know if the Astros can win a World Series if Kyle Tucker does not come back this season. Yeah, I know that has not been stated as a possibility, but here we are in mid-August and he cannot run the bases yet. The clock is running out. He needs to have some rehab. If he comes back to rehab too late into September he will likely have to go to late “Spring Training” as the minor league teams head to their playoffs. None of us thought this was possible, but now it is possible. And though the team has done well without him – it feels like if they know he is not coming back they might sag a bit or a lot.
  • If only….Chas McCormick of 2023 was anywhere to be found. Yeah, he had some injury problems early, and we can say he has not been used steadily (not that he has earned better with his play) but he is a negative offensive force on the team and now his defense seems to be following his offense. Last season he was not used as steadily as everyone wanted with DB in charge, but his comparable slashes tell quite a story. 2023 – .273 BA/ .373 OBP/ .842 OPS and 2024 – .202 BA/ .266 OBP/ .564 OPS. Yuck. His 61 OPS+ is worse than Trey Cabbage. Need I say more?
  • Justin Verlander is with the Corpus Christi Hooks at NW Arkansas and will start Thursday night. He is not with the Space Cowboys for this rehab start since they are on the West Coast. If he bounces back well – one would expect him back to start a game with the Astros against the Red Sox next week. Along with the boon that Yusei Kikuchi has brought to the team, this helps the rotation tremendously and sets them up to go to a 6 man rotation of Verlander, Kikuchi, Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti, which is a lot better than Valdez, Arrighetti, Blanco, Brown and pray for the rain to come down.

There is Dan P’s stuff dump for today. What would you like to add to the pile today?

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49 responses to “Astros 2024: Unloading my “stuff””

  1. Regarding the pitching wins, the amazing thing is with the number of injuries we’ve had our replacements are picking up the slack. 

    This year’s team reminds me of 2020 when we also had injuries, but we were able to get contributions from 10 (ten!) rookie pitchers: Christian Javier, Andre Scrubb, Blake Taylor, Enoli Paredes, Brandon Bielak, Luis Garcia, Humberto Castellanos, Nivaldo Rodriguez, Brandon Bailey and Carlos Sanabria.  We also traded for Brooks Raley and signed Chase DeJong.

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  2. You know there is a distinct possibility that we have already seen Kyle Tucker’s last at bat as an Astro.

    If Kyle has as little faith and confidence in the front office/(mis)management in Houston as I have, an even better possibility.

    As far as Bregman is concerned, I say make him a modest offer and let him walk. He’s not a bottle of sauvignon blanc. He’s isn’t going to bet better with (more) age.

    If the Astros are serious about winning a WS in 2025 (fuggedabout this year) they promote from within to fill his spot and use the money to extend Tucker.

    But I’m not convinced they GAF about winning in the Houston organization. I believe that for people like them, the perception that they care is FAR more important than actual results.

    An attitude that is unfortunately quite pervasive in our society in general. Much to our detriment.

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  3. We’re talking about Bregman making $30M this year, but remember that’s ignoring that we got him the previous four years for *only* $80M total. Ignoring Ohtani’s farcical contract, here are the only position players making more than $30M annually, their current age, and when their contract runs out:
    Trout – 27 – 2030 – $35.5M
    Rendon – 29 – 2026 – $35M
    Lindor – 28 – 2031 – $34M
    Correa – 28 – 2032 – $33.3M
    Seager – 27 – 2031 – $32.5M
    Arenado – 27 – 2027 – $32.5M
    Devers – 26 – 2033 – $31.4M
    Machado – 30 – 2033 – $32M
    Soto – 24 – 2024 – $31M
    Betts – 28 – 2032 – $30.4M

    There are plenty of guys making more than $22M annually including Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, George Springer, and Jose Altuve. Bregman’s numbers look a lot better right now, but his BB rate is down to 7.1% which just beats out his worst previous value from his rookie season of 6.9%.

    So how much does Bregman actually expect to get? I do think Dezenzo can play well enough over there if he hits. I have no idea about Whitcomb. The advantage to both is that you can option them to AAA if they aren’t working out.

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  6. Espada does it AGAIN!!! He brings in the closer to pitch the bottom of the ninth of a tied game. I would fire him just for that move.

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    • I think the same thing. Espada always lets Hader pitch the 9th when the score is tied. Usually the next pitcher up in the 10th then gives up the wining run(s). In this case by letting Hader pitch 2 innings it work but I wouldn’t do that all the time.

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  8. Methinks Pedro is a dumb___ who doesn’t even have enough self awareness to be embarrassed after that stunt. Not at all impressed with him.

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  10. The only Astro deserving of praise tonight is Ronel Blanco. That was a good start again. Too bad they couldn’t give him any support at all. Pitiful.

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  11. I don’t know how winning their eighth game in a row in extra innings is such a terrible thing. Since when is a 2-1 win, in which both teams only got two hits such a terrible thing.

    I was raised in a time when this Astros win would have been considered a blessing.

    It may have seemed a strange move to put Hader into a tie game in the ninth, unless you consider that it made him available to pitch the tenth with a save on the line and a day off tomorrow to recover.

    The Astros are in first place by 2.5 over Seattle, who lost to Detroit again. The Astros lead the Rangers by 9.5.

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  12. My Hader remark last night was every bit sarcastic. The guy went out and got the 6 outs needed to win that game. There are not many pitchers in baseball today that can close that kind of a deal. Second guess Joe Espada, call him an idiot, whatever, but the team has won 8 games in a row. They are 53-31 since the 12-24 start.

    I continue to be somewhat amazed that this group, one that is still missing most of its starting rotation, has lost it’s second best hitter for months, perhaps for the season, has guys in the pen named Ort and Scott and King that I had never heard of before 2024 and has probably the worst outfield offense in the game, somehow is 10 games over .500 and in control of the AL West.

    I don’t know what will happen over the next six weeks, but the Astros are still relevant today. I counted this team out early and was dead wrong. This is a pretty good underdog story.

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  13. Alex Bregman is playing excellent baseball. Without him, this team likely does not make the comeback that has them leading the West. But his slow starts get longer every year. I can’t see the Astros offering more than several other teams will, both in annual salary and length of contract. And I don’t see Bregman taking a hometown discount. I think we’ll figure out an alternative. Whitcomb will probably get a shot in 2025. Bregman will not take a day off for the duration of 2024.

    I still think Chas is the same guy we’ve seen for three years. He’s just lost right now. He’s not the .847 OPS guy he was in 2023, but he’ll wake up and hit better than Jake or Dubon. What’s that, positive regression?

    Penn Murfee could be a real boost in the pen.

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  15. George Carlin is an all timer. First ballot.

    Baseball is a funny sport. When you expect one thing it is not uncommon for a different result. That’s what makes it fun.

    TOF – you are riding the boys to hard brother. Tucker will be here next year, the Astros as a franchise don’t see the window closing and he is their best overall player and second best bat with a reasonable salary for 2025. They have been to 7 straight ALCS, 4 WS, 2 WS wins and the best record in baseball over the last seven seasons. I remember what he said in an interview this time last year about it – they are committed to winning and he loves playing in the AC. In the end, money talks. The Astros have the third highest payroll in baseball but not because of one singular contract, Altuve’s deal is the largest they have ever given. The list that Devin put out shows you the dangers sometimes of these long term deals. Half those guys are crushing their own franchise. If the Astros don’t give him a 12/400 offer, someone else might, and he will end up there, but we will have gotten what I suspect are his best years at a premium price. Would I like him to stay, as a fan, of course. But I don’t want the franchise dead in the water in 2029 because he can’t stay on the field and they can’t afford the mistake. Rendon and Trout are killing LA. Ask the Giants how the Snell deal has worked out.

    While I would like them to resign Tucker, I don’t think resigning Bregman is smart, unless it’s a ultra short deal. I think Bregman has a pretty good chance to fall off in the next 2-3 years, and if you give him 5-6 years, that could be dead money. Who knows, he may have a renaissance – its happened before, but in this game all you can do is read the patterns and make your best guess.

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  16. Notes on Dan’s notes –

    Pitching wins. We are 10 games back with Brown and Blanco. Every good season has some unsung heroes in it. Blanco is already 300 pitches over any professional season though, so prudent use of him down the stretch would help if we want the best Ronel in the playoffs we can have.

    I don’t know how you replace Bregman except hope Dezenzo works out at least as well as Pena did replacing Correa. They just don’t have the space salary wise to go out and get someone else. There isn’t anything to be had anyway, I mean really, are we breaking camp with Eugenio Suarez at third? I suspect the PT you are seeing for Dezenzo now is the Astros figuring out if he can handle major league pitching. I am like the Astros, I don’t have a lot of hope that Shay Whitcomb can hit at the major league level.

    Pressly is what happens when a great reliever becomes mortal. It’s probably half a MPH or 150 off the spin rate, but something is making him just a smidgen more hittable, and some major leaguers, only need a smidgen to bust your door down. He can still get guys out, but it can get very gas can.

    Tucker will be back by the playoffs. No concerns there. I agree though, the playoffs are going to require Tucker, because we need to generate offense against good pitching. I don’t think we can it all though unless we get an unsung hero like Meyers, Pena, Singleton, Dubon or McCormick to have an unexpected playoff run, as well as Altuve, Bregman, Yordan, Diaz and Tucker taking turns winning games.

    McCormicks early season injury issues, late start, and sporadic use have all caused him to lose some confidence and press. The guy we had last year would not have swung at a first pitch slider 2 feet off the plate, which is what he did in his first at bat yesterday. All that talent is still there, his bat speed looks fine, he occasionally still hits the ball hard, but is head is all in the wrong space. No one needs to put 2024 in their rearview more than Chas.

    They need a 6 man rotation for this stretch of 18 straight games that start on Friday. JV should fit snugly in there on Wednesday night. From there, after that 18 game stretch, they could consider skipping Ronel and Hunter in an alternating fashion so they are sharper for the playoffs. We’ll see how Espada handles it.

    Speaking of Espada – I am also perplexed by the usage of the closer in the 9th of a tied game on the road. It’s not general baseball norms. But maybe he just feels like he doesn’t have a guy to use in that spot right now. I have no issue with it if the plan is Hader for 6 outs. But he has done it plenty of times where Hader wasn’t the guy for 6 outs. And though they aren’t as bad as Dusty’s, sometimes his lineups perplex me. But he is our guy, and generally, like Dave said, it would have been real easy for this team use the IL and poor OF production as an excuse to fade into the night and have the playoff stretch end, but they didn’t, and Espada is the guy in charge.

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    • Dan, it’s baseball wisdom to use your closer in the 9th of tie game at home, there is no circumstance for him to be available for a save. The issue is that Espada has been doing it on the road, like last night.

      Like I said, the goal is to win the game, and if you are going to use him for 2, I support doing it. I also support doing it if its for the reason I suspect he is, that he simply doesn’t trust anyone else in that spot that he hasn’t already used. The problem is I’ve seen him do it when Taylor Scott was available, he did it last night with Pressly available (though you can debate if Espada trusts him right now) and he has done with Bryan Abreu available. And he has lost games doing that.

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  17. Thoughts (I’m sad because I had this all typed up and then my computer burped and it went away) have to try and remember all I said

    • Blanco was great last night. I was impressed that he did not let Dezenzo’s “fielding” at first base send him into a Framber tizzy
    • Hader was also terrific – he went in after a quick 9th inning and told Espada he was good for the 10th and he delivered like a true closer.
    • Note – the Rays also pitched their closer Fairbanks in the 9th inning.
    • I can’t come down too hard on Abreu giving up a run. He has pitched in the most games (60) in the AL and is on pace to pitch in half the games (81). That is a big load and no one is going to be scoreless all the time.
    • Have to love Dubon – he had been struggling at the plate lately, but came up with the key two out hit to win it. The great teammate that he is – he was thanking Meyers after the game for taking pitches so he could see what kind of stuff the pitcher had.
    • Rarely do you win a game where you only have two hits and rarely do two hits result in two runs. Blanco gave up two hits, but the first one should have been an error on Dezenzo. The Rays scored their only run without a hit in the 8th inning.
    • I did not watch the whole game and had my sound off a lot. Was the Leon complaint about him going into third base standing up? He does not seem to be the sharpest blade in the drawer.
    • Was Pressly mad he was not used in the 10th inning? Or was he relieved that he did not have to hold a guy at 2nd with no outs when he has been giving up runs with the bases clean lately?

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    • “Was the Leon complaint about him going into third base standing up? He does not seem to be the sharpest blade in the drawer.”

      Yes indeed. Not only did he not slide, he slowed up well before reaching the bag. Dumb as a cedar stump, I’d say.

      In addition, it looks like he has quite a powerful arm but can’t hit the broad side of a barn unless he’s in it. And only about half the time if he is. Looks to me like he’s the one they should’ve traded away……

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    • “Otto made six appearances, all in relief, and gave up 12 runs over 10 2/3 frames.”

      Yeah, I’m not so sure I WANT to see him on the field with results like that!

      Sure glad I’m not the guy signing the paychecks…..

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  19. Also keep in mind, the word out from both camps is Murfee and Graveman’s peoples both expect these guys to be pitching by mid-Sep. I think they are both probably better options in the 6th inning of a close playoff game than Ferguson or Ort or King. Murfee has me a bit excited that a close to high leverage talent can sit in this bullpen at a cost control for the next 3 years. I get that Seattle needed that 40 man spot in the offseason to protect a few high end prospects from the draft, but it had to be tough for them to let him go. Dana bit the bullet on that 40 man spot and exposed someone he probably didn’t want to, but he will reap those benefits through 2027 at least.

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    • You look at Murfee and what gets me is how did some worse team than us pick him off waivers and stow him away. I know he started his career a little later than most – hitting the majors at 28 – but he has been very good in his time in the bigs – 5-2 WL / 2.70 ERA/ 0.972 WHIP his slash against – .179 BA/ .255 OBP/ .556 OPS. Very good numbers and he could well slide into that Pressly slot if Pressly continues to slide or move into that Tayler Scott spot if he moves up.

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  22. I like riding this train. It seems a lot of things are coming together. I do think that Pressley needs a break as his recent performances have been somewhat pathetic. Maybe move Abreu into the 8th inning spot and someone else in the 7th (T Scott, K Ort, or someone else. Hader seems to be doing better but don’t overuse him if we don’t have to. It would be nice to have a bigger lead and not have to depend on that tandem in the 7 – 9 innings.

    Glad Dubon came through in the 10th but I hope we do something for next year as that 6 – 9 spot continues to be and issue for most of the time. The remaining schedule for August looks to be tough but if we can get that timely hitting, good starting and relief pitching we should be in good shape to win the division.

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  24. Two months ago the Mariners led the Astros by 10 games. That’s a 13 game reversal since mid June. Again, pretty remarkable.

    Verlander threw 57 pitches last night, no walks, reached mid 90’s. After a shaky first inning he was solid against AA hitters. Are we going to see him at home on Wednesday?

    I’ve been wrong all season, but I think we can put a fork in the Rangers.

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  27. Rome has just noted that Bregman has a right elbow issue and will address the media at 3:10 PM. This must be why no corresponding move has been announced to this point/

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  29. I do believe that we have reached the extent of young Spencer’s effective longevity. Hitting him pretty hard in the 3rd.

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  31. Just heard a rumor that Aledmys Diaz and Martin Malanado are partnering up on a dance studio in Honduras teaching locals how to do the dance craze they invented called the Mendoza Limbo.

    How low can you go?

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