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Re-ranking the Astros’ prospects after promotions
The other day one of the many excellent commenters on this blog asked for a re-ranking of the prospects after the recent call-ups. This request from “Tony Eusabio” seemed reasonable, and who could deny the former Astro his request even though he seems to have forgotten how to spell his own name. The self-imposed rules…
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Random Astros’ thoughts: Roster, Luhnow and the up-and-down season
I’m traveling this week, but the Astros continue to baffle with — as some have noted — a “new hero” everyday. Just when you think a huge losing streak has doomed the season and calls into questions early moves, the Astros now appear to be in somewhat of a portion of the season that will…
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Astros’ youth movement is in full swing
In the dark, early days of the 2014 season a Houston Astros’ lineup might contain the names of Jesus Guzman, Robbie Grossman, Matt Dominguez, L.J. Hoes, and Alex Presley. While quite a few people in the lineup were youthful, this was not quite what the fans were hoping for when it came to a youth…
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Three areas of concern for Astros: Rookies, McHugh, Altuve
So, 64 games in the Astros are 36-28. In those first 64 games, there have been some good runs (late April through mid-May) and some not-so-good runs (the most recent East Coast road trip). But, with just under 100 games to go, if this is who the Astros are, that’s a 91-win team. Warts and…
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Sunday Update: Astros’ rotation could be the team’s downfall
After 63 games, the Astros have used 60 different batting lineups, seven cleanup hitters, four shortstops, seven left fielders, and 36 players overall. Perhaps the most glaring number, however, is the number of starting pitchers A.J. Hinch has penciled into his lineup. After 63 games, Houston has used 10 different pitchers to start a game,…
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What they said, what they meant: Mixed Edition
Let’s face it. The Astros and their fans are in a best of times / worst of times bipolar funk lately. The Astros are in first place. / The lead is shrinking fast. The Astros’ bullpen is one of the best in the league. / The bullpen let the team down three times in the last week. George Springer…
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Free Blog Weekend: Time to entertain those not-so-fun thoughts
So the Astros are on a seven-game losing streak. Time to consider some not-so-fun thoughts. Can 2015 still be a lost season? Yes, possibly, but not in the sense of a 100-loss season. Jeff Luhnow assembled a crazy, high K, low OBP, high homer type of roster. Early on, there were days when the roster…
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Astros’ bullpen: From gas cans to firemen in 2015
There can be little argument that the Astros’ improvement this season is riding on three factors: Better fielding. More runs scored per game; and, A light-years better bullpen. There should also be little argument that the bullpen is responsible for the biggest chunk of that improvement. Perhaps nothing points to the importance of the bullpen more…
ALL THINGS ASTROS 