ChipalattAwards for 2025

10 responses to “ChipalattAwards for 2025”

1. The awards topic remains my toughest when our club is so tough to watch.

   But alas, some guys had excellent seasons. Hunter got a top three for Cy Young. That was impressive. Hader, a great season until he went down. Abreu until his job description changed. Pena at the plate. Issac until he went down. The pen in general.

   But I refuse to recognize Framber. He mailed it in. He showed his lack in depth of character. I feel bad for Cam actually. He was a victim of Dana’s inability to provide a major league line up to Joe, from the very start of the season. I hope Cam is as tough mentally as everyone claims.

   From Sanchez, to Trammel, to Brendon I forget his last name at second, Dezenzo until he went down, Chas, Cooper, Frenchie, Melton, Zack Short, Whitcomb, Corona, Singleton, Brice, Guillorme, Diaz, Walker and others, Dana just could not find a bat for this club, even at the deadline. Correction. We did get Carlos for the next three years, which could be ugly too. Little wonder why our hitting coaches had to go.

   I was most impressed with all of the arms that helped this club stay in the race for so long. Alexander, whom I don’t expect much more from going forward, Walter, Gusto, whom I think will be a pretty good ML pitcher, Gordon, who I think the league has figured out. Blubaugh maybe, and we sure could use 125 innings approaching what he gave us late in the season.

   I really hope this club looks significantly different by Opening Day. Again, younger and more athletic. That will be tough with Correa and Altuve and Walker and even Paredes if he’s still compromised by that hamstring not getting surgically repaired. Yordan in left will be an issue. Station to station is old news baseball. Right now, it’s our game.

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   • Have to agree with you daveb –

     • Maybe I should have just not picked a runner-up at starting pitcher. After Hunter and Framber – nobody had more than 14 starts or 6 wins – just hard to award on that basis. I should have left it blank like Framber left us staring at a blank.
     • I saw enough talent with Cam that I think he will turn it around – especially if he gets a little better guidance at the dish.
     • The inability to develop the hitting was really disturbing. Zach Cole looked good – but very small sample and he was brought up on fire. The league may find that hole in the swing. Dezenzo was decent but then got hurt.
     • The one thing with Blubaugh was that .153 BAbip – that is an unsustainably low number – the average on that usually runs around .300. And Alexander could be a Tayler Scott waiting to happen. But all these arms kept the team in the hunt.
     • The team needs a little injury luck this coming year – they sure have earned it after two seasons of pure hell.

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2. The Astros took a flyer on Nate Pearson. He’s a long shot. How about Jose Urquidy?

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   • They would have to sign him to a minor league contract – no room on the 40.

     He pitched well in a small minor league sample and in a small sample at Mexican Winter league this off-season. With Detroit last year he gave up 2 runs in 2.1 innings – pretty meaningless.

     The Astros do know his medical history – not sure if that matters.

     Might be worth kicking the tires on him.

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3. I don’t want to try to change anyone’s mind on Framber. He was really good in the first half and fell apart in the second. In August he had starts at Boston, NYY, and DET that didn’t go well. He was mediocre in a few others. In the first half his only real bad start was at STL. He was definitely our second best starting pitcher. I’m not bringing him back unless he takes the QO.

   1st Half: 10-4, 2.75ERA, 121IP, 37 ER, 8HR, 41BB, 125K, 1.124WHIP. 9.3K/9
   2nd Half: 3-7, 5.20ERA, 72 IP, 41 ER, 7HR, 27BB, 62K, 1.451WHIP, 7.9K/9

   Home: 6-4, 2.58ERA, 94.1IP, 27ER, 32BB, 102K, 1.155WHIP, 9.7K/9

   Away: 7-7, 4.70ERA, 97.2IP, 51ER, 36BB, 85K, 1.331WHIP, 7.8K/9

   Regarding hitters, I like guys who get on base. I don’t like guys who don’t. Cam Smith had a really rough 2nd half like a lot of guys. Overall, he had a .312OBP despite only posting a .236BA. That gives me a lot of hope for the future. Yes, Walker, Dubon, and Diaz were the only regular players with worse OBP…but that should give you some hope as well. The first of the three is probably cooked. The second is not a hitter. The third has to improve next year, right? As such, I’m talking myself into the Correa trade because all we gave up was money and they weren’t spending that money on a bonafide ace this winter anyhow. Ideally a new training staff will help keep Correa and Alvarez on the field. That alone would improve the offense considerably.

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4. Ramon Urias has been DFAed.

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   • Sarge, I suppose that move was inevitable. We needed to protect Ullola. But that keeps Dubon, an excellent fielder, but a terrible hitter, in the line up far too often. I don’t think any new hitting coach will convince Frenchie to be more selective. Urias has a 104 OPS+ lifetime. Dubon an 87. Urias has an 11.2 WAR over 541 games. Dubon a 7.3 over 664 games. Urias has a GG too. And he would have been cheaper. I believe he’s a better baseball player all around. I’ll feel much better if somehow the Astros pull off a deal for Brendan Donovan.

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   • This is very much a surprise to me.

     On one hand, we know Duby is prolific in the OF as well as the IF. On the other, Urias is a slightly better hitter and can also play all over the IF. He probably doesn’t handle SS as well as Duby does, and that might be a part of it, but I think the Astros have to bank on 155 game from Jeremy Pena, if you aren’t getting that next year you are probably not stepping forward anyway.

     No matter how good he is defensively, I can’t imagine a player with a career .688 OPS with just a .644 last year is going to get 6.5-7M next year. I’ve always been a fan and a supporter of Duby, he is just a silky smooth baseballer. I think he has potential to be a better hitter as he enters his prime and gets stronger because he has the natural talent. While he is difficult to strike out, he is also difficult to walk. If he wants to force the pitches that will give him an opportunity to be a better hitter statistically, he is going to have to learn to lay off pitches out of the zone, but that seems to be a common theme across this roster.

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5. It is reported, by Rome, that Valdez rejected his qualifying offer.

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   • We’ll find out what Framber is made of this year. Astro fans always supported him, even when he freaked out from time to time. I don’t think he’ll experience the same degree of graciousness going forward. But I think I’d rather he be successful than not.

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