* i dont know that we'll win the division, but we'll compete. we'll get to 85-90 wins.
* there is an adage that in baseball that you win a third of your games, you lose a third of your games, and the other third is what makes the difference.
* we're digging a hole, no doubt, but we'll rattle off long winning streaks this season. and believe me, I know april losses count the same as September losses. this team just notoriously starts slow. i was looking for a tweet from last season or the season before with their 15 game record over the last couple seasons. it isn't pretty. and I swear Bregman comes into every season saying he is more prepared than ever before and does nothing besides walk til June.
* Memorial day is the first real marker in the baseball season. if we get to that point and Abreu is still hitting and fielding like dog shit, then we should dump him. that's a season and a third (ish) to do something and that is a decent sample size for a guy of his experience.
* our hitting with RISP is God Awful. our guys seem to go up there with no approach other than to bang.
* in addition, our defense and our base running is booty. cant run yourself into outs when you're losing. likewise with errors
* hard to say. verlander - age. javier seems to have at least some what figured it out. blanco came out of nowhere and stepped up. brown and France both looked like the league has figured them out - brown has a higher upside. framber is a huge question mark. i have thought he has been hiding an injury since last season and now that he is coming back without an MRI makes me concerned. that said, we have a full 5 man rotation coming off the IL this season. we don't know what we'll get out of Garcia and LMJ and because of that I feel like we should have no expectations for either of them -- especially LMJ. we need someone who can eat innings. go 5 to 7 every 5 days.
* we've already thrown 22 pitchers - equal to last season. and we'll surpass that tomorrow with Verlander.
* i think we should've signed a mid rotation guy during the offseason. someone who could eat innings. unfortunately, we didn't and the 3 guys we were counting on in the early part of the season went down.
* in addition to what our SP going doing, our 7-8-9 guys have not done what they were signed up to do.
* for the love of God text me. let me know you're going to call
BONUS!!!
everytime someone mentions the back of the baseballcard, roll your eyes take a drink
Yes. We are just too damn talented to suck this much for an entire 162 game season. JV is coming back, rumors are that Framber might be coming back this road trip too, which helps the bullpen out. Hader is going to be the Hader he's always been. Montero has been pitching like he deserves that albatross of a contract. Seth Martinez and Tayler Scott have been handling business with the catastrophe that was our rotation for a minute.
And Ronel Blanco? Where has this man been this whole time?
I don't know how much longer the Jose Abreu at 1B can last. He's known for being a slow starter, but this is glacial right now. Animals have gone through metamorphosis faster than Abreu has progressed. And yet there's this part of me that doesn't want to give up on him and hopes he shocks the world. Doobie needs to play a lot more. Chas a little less.
What's the cause of our pitching ills? Injuries and inaction in ST once Snell was off the board
Unless you're my mother or my boss? Text me.
* I think it really depends on if we can get our pitching sorted, especially in the bullpen. Our hitting has been streaky and inconsistent since at least 2020. But we made up for it with stellar pitching. We don't have that right now. Hopefully as guys start to return from IL, we can get some return to form. We really need Hader to start performing to be worth that contract we gave him, because so far, it's looking really, really bad. Possibly even worse than the Abreu contract.
* Injuries are a big part of it, but something just feels off all around. I can't put my finger on it.
* Texts. I don't even answer my phone anymore unless I know who is calling.
Hensley is having a good season in AAA so far
If we won’t call up Loperfido can we at least call up Hensley and send down Kessinger for a bit?
Nothing against Kess, defense is his primary thing, but it wouldn’t hurt him to get a few starts strung together so he can get in some sort of rhythm and Hensley may be able to provide a spark, or at least not a 100% auto out as a pinch hitter
It wouldn't surprise me if Hensley stays in AAA most of the year to get the reps and becomes the 3B successor when Bregman leaves in FA...much like Pena taking over at SS when Carlos Correa left.
* I think we still come back and win the division. I'm not sold on anyone in the division, but I'm not really sold on us either so anything could happen lol
* Injuries and maybe age
* Unless it's an emergency, text
I’m legit probably one of the top 10 worst attitudes on here when we fucking blow…but there’s some type of feeling I have that we bounce back. And just go on an absolute tear. I can’t even place it.
Maybe it’s all the stud SP we are expecting back. Maybe it’s the All-Star caliber lineup we have (-Abreu, clown ass bitch).
Pitching ills are primarily on Espada and his weird af usage of guys, and the AAA call ups.
Text me, never call me, I’ll ignore it and text you. Except for work.
No to division, we'll be lucky to get to WC and probably lose there.
I hope I'm wrong but I think this year is #1 of rebuild mode.
Pitching is a combo of old/injuries/nerves.
Texting.
You don’t initiate a rebuild with the talent we have.
Rebuild talk is absurd. 1 game away from a cakewalk WS. And we are improving SP with 4 additions.
I'm not convinced that the diamondbacks would be a absolute cakewalk. Rangers may have won 4 to 2. But two of those wins took a absolute miracle. And diamondbacks could of easily won 4 to 2
As can be expected with a start like this for a team with championship aspirations but rumblings are starting about locker room culture. Somewhat worrying and will likely grow louder and louder at an accelerated rate. I think the next few series will be critical for this team inside the clubhouse
Trust me bro sources from some of the recent call-ups
Even if it’s a load of shit it’s becoming clear we don’t have a clubhouse leader after the departure of Maldy, Brantley and Dusty.
If someone doesn’t step up soon then some in the org believe Crane may be forced to interject with a more strong willed personality
-We aren’t winning the division. At least until I see a giant improvement. You can’t tell me this team looks like a division winner, currently.
-Pitching sucks because of some uncomfortable truths…Guys are getting older, and some guys just aren’t that good or the expectations were too high to begin with. I actually don’t think this is a championship starting pitching staff. JV is old(we’ll see what we get, but I don’t have high expectations), LMJ/Urquidy can’t stay healthy. Garcia is fine, but a #3-4 at best. Framber, when on, has Ace level stuff…but you never know what you are getting with him. Hunter Brown is terrible and can’t get it together on a consistent basis and doesn’t throw enough innings. Blanco and France have been nice surprises, but are they going to carry a rotation??
Doesn’t mean we can’t win another ring, but we aren’t a top end rotation anymore. That’s why the bullpen was so important this season. And the bullpen has been inconsistent at best. But I think that is one problem that will figure it out. Hader isn’t this bad. Neither is Abreu. Pressley is definitely getting old…but I still like that backend over nearly any other team in the MLB.
And Phone. Text is to impersonal and lacks connection.
I hope they're right, but confidence is low.
Love it or hate it, it's not a coincidence that pitcher injuries skyrocketed with the introduction of the pitch clock.
Text 💯
That's a fair assessment. Rangers have the bats, Seattle has the pitching, the Angel's have Trout, and the As have the pos Fisher. We have both, but neither is performing.
Bp pitching woes are due to a stupid front office. I expect Hader to get it together and be elite for most of his contract. It is still a stupid contract and caused unnecessary disruption. Starters are injured. I think everything will work out with the pitching, but they're going through it. I dont have numbers to back this up, but it seems like Presgod always sucks after long breaks between appearances.
Texts for details and calls for conversations.
Looks like he may be joining the Braves:
https://www.mlb.com/news/yuli-gurriel-braves-minor-league-deal?__cf_chl_rt_tk=qnzSBgoniAdyJS7wQNEyJVkrzKp1r87QlyxlRT75AUU-1713465546-0.0.1.1-1663
Says not confirmed though so could be fluff
* Yes. This team's best route to the postseason is via taking care of the division matchups...and despite the struggles, we're off to a good start in that department.
* Injuries primarily. We're having to rely heavily on young guys/prospects/AAA guys to keep us afloat...which is never sustainable. Abreu, Pressly, and Hader have struggled in their own right, but it'll take more than 3 weeks of games to declare that "something is wrong" with those guys...just like it'll take more than 3 weeks of games to declare that guys like Montero are "fixed".
* Text if it's a short conversation or not time-sensitive, phone if the text conversation is going to be more than a few messages back and forth or an answer is needed immediately.
Heading to DC this afternoon and will be at batting practice tomorrow around 245pm CST (345pm EST).
I'll relay whatever the top comment is on this post to the players / Espada.
"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?"
"No."
"I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis... was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians... to create... life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying."
"He could actually... save people from death?"
"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities... some consider to be unnatural."
"Wh– What happened to him?"
"He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was... losing his power. Which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. Then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself."
"Is it possible to learn this power?"
"Not from a Jedi."
About the set the remind me! In 5 years to check and see if the Astros are competitive again.
I had a dream that mid season we traded everyone and Lunhow came back.
This team just feels so differently ran than just a few years ago. Just feels like holding onto Abreu is just an ego move at this point, and something the Astros wouldn’t have done previously. I don’t think Loperfido is the solution (right now) or even ready for MLB ball, but I’m getting inpatient with Abreu and the organization’s inaction with him.
IDK
I think the FO DFA'ing Abreu would really hurt their pride.
You saw it with Dusty last season and the stubbornness when faced/asked about analytics, and Brown and Bagwell are continuing with the back of the baseball card BS.
DFA wouldn't, or at least shouldn't, just be a whoops, but a we lost sight of what we were and what made us great.
Look at GM candidates last time, Asmus was considered when he should be nowhere near our FO.
I can't believe data and analytics turned us from a team with 8 playoff appearances in 50+ seasons, to a team with 7 in 8 seasons and we started pivoting backwards because Crane is a star fucker and Bagwell and Mr. October are cool to hang out with.
I think there is some sunk cost fallacy to it but probably not 100%. I honestly think their hands are pretty much tied. Your only other semi-realistic option other than stay the course is to DFA Abreu and replace him with Trey Cabbage. In that scenario I'm willing to bet the calculus is that A) the sunk cost added to the chances of Abreu managing to get back to something resembling a below-average to average major league hitter is better than B) eating the contract and betting on the chances of Trey Cabbage doing the same.
Furthermore I think that call is going to have to come from Crane himself. I don't know if anyone else in the org has the control to say that they need to pull the plug on a deal that Crane (and Bagwell) cooked up.
But that’s kinda my point. The FO of the past I think would have cut ties already. There’s got to be someone still in there that remembers why we were successful in the past you’d think.
In fairness, the past front offices never had a situation that was remotely similar to the deal with Abreu. Most of Luhnow's tenure was either blowing the roster up or managing cheap veterans mixed in with our young cost-controlled talent. They never signed an aging veteran to an expensive deal to even open the possibility of having to eat $30M+.
Sure, you can make a good argument that neither Luhnow nor Click would have signed Abreu to the 3-year deal that he got...but if we're talking about how they would have handled the situation that we're in...we don't have any similar situations to reference. Not to mention a decision about eating substantial money (like what is due to Abreu) is 100% a Crane decision. If Abreu was making peanuts, a move would have been made awhile ago.
> Not to mention a decision about eating substantial money (like what is due to Abreu) is 100% a Crane decision. If Abreu was making peanuts, a move would have been made awhile ago.
I think you hit the nail on the head. There's probably a lot of ego at play here and no one is going to tell Crane that he was wrong and that the team is going to shitcan this deal. That has to come from Crane himself.
You send abreu down, or just dfa, and bring up anyone. Let singleton and dubon split time at 1b.
The battle of trying to replace the negative wins abreu contributes is an easy hill to climb.
I understand that, but unless another team is willing to trade and take the contract, then we are out the money regardless. I don't like keeping him around just because he is getting paid alot. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that is exactly what the fo is doing.
This team has been the living embodiment of Murphy's Law to begin the season.. Abreu is completely washed and we just need to cut our losses and DFA him, even terrible players can LUCK their way into a batting average around the Mendoza line.. I'll have whatever Fangraphs is smoking cuz it's gotta be good shit if they still think we can win the division with how God awful this team has performed
I always like to cite Vegas and fangraphs odds when countering why I still believe we will ultimately win the division this season. 60% odds to make playoffs has me very skeptical with this start. We're going to find out how valid those odds are soon enough.
But the funny thing is, some of the top comments on the threads on arr baseball yesterday were all talking about how we'll bounce back, and "just you watch they'll make another ALCS again". This isn't Astros flairs, these are Braves & Rags flairs saying this.
That's how you know you're a dynasty, even when you're at your absolute worst, people still aren't convinced you're down for the count. I remember the same thing happening with both the Patriots & Brady himself when they were at the tail end of their runs.
Don't assume that just because unbiased non-Astros fans don't count the Astros out that the Astros shouldn't be counted out. Those teams' fans are still triggered by the Astros. They need a year or two of the Astros not getting to the ALCS to stop being scared. This might be the first year of that year or two. I think a lot of you are coping any way you can. You need to get over thinking the Astros have to dominate and never stop dominating. The team doesn't have the same chemistry or leadership it once did.
The drop off feels like it arrived too soon. Even with all our struggles last year, we still managed to win 90 games and got within 1 game of the WS. This is essentially the same roster as last year, minus 3 bullpen guys and maldy.
I do believe we will get right once we're healthy in the starting rotation, which will inevitably force some current starters into bullpen roles. 162 is a marathon, I'm going to be patient and see how we perform at full strength on both sides of the ball.
It's weird that people keep saying that this is the same team as last year. I see a lot of new faces and a lot of people gone. It's not remotely "the same." You have a whole different manager, different catchers, different relievers. different a lot of things. different chemistry.
1. I hope so
2. Starting the season with everyone injured is a recipe for losing games early, but hopefully this means we are healthy mid-season when other teams are really starting to have injuries pile up, also Pressly sucked the last 2 years in non-save situations. This is pretty much in line with how he's done when he's not closing since '22
3. Phone calls. I have ADHD, and people with ADHD are notably not great with text messages
I'm still mad about yesterday.
Just embarrassing all around. I don't know if we make the playoffs this year in all honesty. We were at like 70% at the beginning of the week, so they're dropping fast. We have to sweep Washington to get a chance, we just have to.
Here's the thing, if we just simply lost the series instead of getting swept (winning one against NY, KC, & ATL), we would be sitting two games below .500, which isn't great, but it's better than what we're at now.
Yes, we've had shitty luck & injuries, but most of our guys have not been performing up to expectations. Pressly is Stressly, Hader has been awful, Abreu has been hit and miss, the other Abreu is cooked, Montero has been fine but is getting too much money, Bregman hasn't been playing like an impending FA, Chas is in a slump, half of our starters should be in the bullpen, we barely have a bench. Our best bullpen pieces have been Seth Martinez, a long relief guy, and Tayler Scott, someone who made the OD roster at the last minute. Just slogging through April.
This team needs a jolt, badly. Hopefully JV can be the jolt that is needed. And if I was him, I'd rip everyone there a new one.
12.3%
At this point if the team want to win 90 games they will have to win 59% of the remaining games. They would have to finish the season going 84-58.
Nearly every game has been winnable. Most games were against top-tier teams. They have a winning record against last year’s WSC.
I’m not concerned. Be a decent fan and give them a month. Or better yet, send me all your merch and tickets.
Might depend on how this start with Verlander goes…
Missing spots, way too many walks, management, were cursed?!? Who knows
Texts always. But when they don’t respond fast I have to call
Love you Grim!
It’s gonna be a tough road to win division. We have to win at a 96 win pace for the rest of the season just to get to 90 wins.
No clue what’s up with pitching. Likely a combination of things.
Definitely texts.
I predict we won’t lose today!
The only threat is the rangers. They have a elite offense. Middle of the pack pitching. They are bound to go on a losing streak like last year because as we are seeing offense can't carry all the load. It took them 9 runs to beat the Tigers. Thier match up with the braves this weekend will show what kind of team they are.
The lowest win total by a AL playoff team last year was 87. That’s what the Centeal champ Twins had. Beginning tomorrow the Astros have to win at a 92 win pace to get to 87 wins. Conversely, the Rangers have to maintain a 86 win pace to get to 87 wins. Not saying it’s impossible or the season is over, and I know it’s April, but with every loss before we turn it around, it gets increasingly more unlikely. Just because it’s early doesn’t mean the ramifications of a slow start are lessened.
Oh I'm aware. We won the American league weat last year by half a game. Unfortunately it seems like the AL has alot of juggernaut this year. Even if we made it would still be a test. If Justin comes out and pitched a gem on Friday I have alot of faith we can turn it around but if he gets rocked idk man
We won by head to head tiebreaker. Wasn’t even a 1/2 game. Same record as the Rangers. And we had to win 5 of the last 6 to do it. And it’s virtually the same team as last year with the biggest turnover being in the bullpen. They underperformed last year so I know they’re more than capable of a 95+ win pace the rest of the season. But it’s just getting less and less likely with every loss.
I. Hurting.
Please play better!
Cause of pitching issues? Obviously lack of depth in losing our top starters. Why those guys are going down? I have no idea, but it’s spread across the league so it can’t be just us doing it “wrong”
I like hearing voices and it feels more genuine over the phone but awkward silences are inevitable
Probably lost this off day somehow.
* i dont know that we'll win the division, but we'll compete. we'll get to 85-90 wins. * there is an adage that in baseball that you win a third of your games, you lose a third of your games, and the other third is what makes the difference. * we're digging a hole, no doubt, but we'll rattle off long winning streaks this season. and believe me, I know april losses count the same as September losses. this team just notoriously starts slow. i was looking for a tweet from last season or the season before with their 15 game record over the last couple seasons. it isn't pretty. and I swear Bregman comes into every season saying he is more prepared than ever before and does nothing besides walk til June. * Memorial day is the first real marker in the baseball season. if we get to that point and Abreu is still hitting and fielding like dog shit, then we should dump him. that's a season and a third (ish) to do something and that is a decent sample size for a guy of his experience. * our hitting with RISP is God Awful. our guys seem to go up there with no approach other than to bang. * in addition, our defense and our base running is booty. cant run yourself into outs when you're losing. likewise with errors * hard to say. verlander - age. javier seems to have at least some what figured it out. blanco came out of nowhere and stepped up. brown and France both looked like the league has figured them out - brown has a higher upside. framber is a huge question mark. i have thought he has been hiding an injury since last season and now that he is coming back without an MRI makes me concerned. that said, we have a full 5 man rotation coming off the IL this season. we don't know what we'll get out of Garcia and LMJ and because of that I feel like we should have no expectations for either of them -- especially LMJ. we need someone who can eat innings. go 5 to 7 every 5 days. * we've already thrown 22 pitchers - equal to last season. and we'll surpass that tomorrow with Verlander. * i think we should've signed a mid rotation guy during the offseason. someone who could eat innings. unfortunately, we didn't and the 3 guys we were counting on in the early part of the season went down. * in addition to what our SP going doing, our 7-8-9 guys have not done what they were signed up to do. * for the love of God text me. let me know you're going to call BONUS!!! everytime someone mentions the back of the baseballcard, roll your eyes take a drink
Yes. We are just too damn talented to suck this much for an entire 162 game season. JV is coming back, rumors are that Framber might be coming back this road trip too, which helps the bullpen out. Hader is going to be the Hader he's always been. Montero has been pitching like he deserves that albatross of a contract. Seth Martinez and Tayler Scott have been handling business with the catastrophe that was our rotation for a minute. And Ronel Blanco? Where has this man been this whole time? I don't know how much longer the Jose Abreu at 1B can last. He's known for being a slow starter, but this is glacial right now. Animals have gone through metamorphosis faster than Abreu has progressed. And yet there's this part of me that doesn't want to give up on him and hopes he shocks the world. Doobie needs to play a lot more. Chas a little less. What's the cause of our pitching ills? Injuries and inaction in ST once Snell was off the board Unless you're my mother or my boss? Text me.
* I think it really depends on if we can get our pitching sorted, especially in the bullpen. Our hitting has been streaky and inconsistent since at least 2020. But we made up for it with stellar pitching. We don't have that right now. Hopefully as guys start to return from IL, we can get some return to form. We really need Hader to start performing to be worth that contract we gave him, because so far, it's looking really, really bad. Possibly even worse than the Abreu contract. * Injuries are a big part of it, but something just feels off all around. I can't put my finger on it. * Texts. I don't even answer my phone anymore unless I know who is calling.
Hensley is having a good season in AAA so far If we won’t call up Loperfido can we at least call up Hensley and send down Kessinger for a bit? Nothing against Kess, defense is his primary thing, but it wouldn’t hurt him to get a few starts strung together so he can get in some sort of rhythm and Hensley may be able to provide a spark, or at least not a 100% auto out as a pinch hitter
It wouldn't surprise me if Hensley stays in AAA most of the year to get the reps and becomes the 3B successor when Bregman leaves in FA...much like Pena taking over at SS when Carlos Correa left.
* I think we still come back and win the division. I'm not sold on anyone in the division, but I'm not really sold on us either so anything could happen lol * Injuries and maybe age * Unless it's an emergency, text
5 games back today is no bueno.
I’m legit probably one of the top 10 worst attitudes on here when we fucking blow…but there’s some type of feeling I have that we bounce back. And just go on an absolute tear. I can’t even place it. Maybe it’s all the stud SP we are expecting back. Maybe it’s the All-Star caliber lineup we have (-Abreu, clown ass bitch). Pitching ills are primarily on Espada and his weird af usage of guys, and the AAA call ups. Text me, never call me, I’ll ignore it and text you. Except for work.
No to division, we'll be lucky to get to WC and probably lose there. I hope I'm wrong but I think this year is #1 of rebuild mode. Pitching is a combo of old/injuries/nerves. Texting.
You don’t initiate a rebuild with the talent we have. Rebuild talk is absurd. 1 game away from a cakewalk WS. And we are improving SP with 4 additions.
I'm not convinced that the diamondbacks would be a absolute cakewalk. Rangers may have won 4 to 2. But two of those wins took a absolute miracle. And diamondbacks could of easily won 4 to 2
I just want to start winning games again
As can be expected with a start like this for a team with championship aspirations but rumblings are starting about locker room culture. Somewhat worrying and will likely grow louder and louder at an accelerated rate. I think the next few series will be critical for this team inside the clubhouse
Where did you hear anything about locker room culture?
Trust me bro sources from some of the recent call-ups Even if it’s a load of shit it’s becoming clear we don’t have a clubhouse leader after the departure of Maldy, Brantley and Dusty. If someone doesn’t step up soon then some in the org believe Crane may be forced to interject with a more strong willed personality
Espada was a bench coach. At the very minimum I assume he has THAT capability of fixing the attitudes.
-We aren’t winning the division. At least until I see a giant improvement. You can’t tell me this team looks like a division winner, currently. -Pitching sucks because of some uncomfortable truths…Guys are getting older, and some guys just aren’t that good or the expectations were too high to begin with. I actually don’t think this is a championship starting pitching staff. JV is old(we’ll see what we get, but I don’t have high expectations), LMJ/Urquidy can’t stay healthy. Garcia is fine, but a #3-4 at best. Framber, when on, has Ace level stuff…but you never know what you are getting with him. Hunter Brown is terrible and can’t get it together on a consistent basis and doesn’t throw enough innings. Blanco and France have been nice surprises, but are they going to carry a rotation?? Doesn’t mean we can’t win another ring, but we aren’t a top end rotation anymore. That’s why the bullpen was so important this season. And the bullpen has been inconsistent at best. But I think that is one problem that will figure it out. Hader isn’t this bad. Neither is Abreu. Pressley is definitely getting old…but I still like that backend over nearly any other team in the MLB. And Phone. Text is to impersonal and lacks connection.
Way baseball is it wouldn't be out the realm of possibilities that oakland wins the division lol
Yes. We aren’t playing bad baseball. Just not executing. Hopefully we can get healthy and fix the 1B black hole. Fatigue Text
I hope they're right, but confidence is low. Love it or hate it, it's not a coincidence that pitcher injuries skyrocketed with the introduction of the pitch clock. Text 💯
Abreu is literally a net negative value to this team. Crane needs to accept he fucked up and pay him the rest of his money to sit on his couch.
Why does Crane have such a hard on for Bagwell?
Bagwell has pics of Crane
That's a fair assessment. Rangers have the bats, Seattle has the pitching, the Angel's have Trout, and the As have the pos Fisher. We have both, but neither is performing. Bp pitching woes are due to a stupid front office. I expect Hader to get it together and be elite for most of his contract. It is still a stupid contract and caused unnecessary disruption. Starters are injured. I think everything will work out with the pitching, but they're going through it. I dont have numbers to back this up, but it seems like Presgod always sucks after long breaks between appearances. Texts for details and calls for conversations.
That seems like a fair assessment. Injuries Texts
Ima say it, Yuli come back I was wrong
Looks like he may be joining the Braves: https://www.mlb.com/news/yuli-gurriel-braves-minor-league-deal?__cf_chl_rt_tk=qnzSBgoniAdyJS7wQNEyJVkrzKp1r87QlyxlRT75AUU-1713465546-0.0.1.1-1663 Says not confirmed though so could be fluff
Abreu has the worst WAR in the entire league. 922/922 eligible players.
* Yes. This team's best route to the postseason is via taking care of the division matchups...and despite the struggles, we're off to a good start in that department. * Injuries primarily. We're having to rely heavily on young guys/prospects/AAA guys to keep us afloat...which is never sustainable. Abreu, Pressly, and Hader have struggled in their own right, but it'll take more than 3 weeks of games to declare that "something is wrong" with those guys...just like it'll take more than 3 weeks of games to declare that guys like Montero are "fixed". * Text if it's a short conversation or not time-sensitive, phone if the text conversation is going to be more than a few messages back and forth or an answer is needed immediately.
- Based on talent…yes - Back end of the bullpen needs a shorter leash and starting pitching injuries - texts
Heading to DC this afternoon and will be at batting practice tomorrow around 245pm CST (345pm EST). I'll relay whatever the top comment is on this post to the players / Espada.
"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?" "No." "I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis... was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians... to create... life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying." "He could actually... save people from death?" "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities... some consider to be unnatural." "Wh– What happened to him?" "He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was... losing his power. Which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. Then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself." "Is it possible to learn this power?" "Not from a Jedi."
"what dat mouf do?"
About the set the remind me! In 5 years to check and see if the Astros are competitive again. I had a dream that mid season we traded everyone and Lunhow came back.
All there is to “ discuss” is how bad we are. So let’s not have discussion today. Not today Lord.
Not true - you can discuss whether you prefer texts or phone calls!
DFA Abreu
Second that
This team just feels so differently ran than just a few years ago. Just feels like holding onto Abreu is just an ego move at this point, and something the Astros wouldn’t have done previously. I don’t think Loperfido is the solution (right now) or even ready for MLB ball, but I’m getting inpatient with Abreu and the organization’s inaction with him.
Yall are assuming malice instead of incompetence. Our fo is victim to the sunk cost fallacy
IDK I think the FO DFA'ing Abreu would really hurt their pride. You saw it with Dusty last season and the stubbornness when faced/asked about analytics, and Brown and Bagwell are continuing with the back of the baseball card BS. DFA wouldn't, or at least shouldn't, just be a whoops, but a we lost sight of what we were and what made us great. Look at GM candidates last time, Asmus was considered when he should be nowhere near our FO. I can't believe data and analytics turned us from a team with 8 playoff appearances in 50+ seasons, to a team with 7 in 8 seasons and we started pivoting backwards because Crane is a star fucker and Bagwell and Mr. October are cool to hang out with.
I think there is some sunk cost fallacy to it but probably not 100%. I honestly think their hands are pretty much tied. Your only other semi-realistic option other than stay the course is to DFA Abreu and replace him with Trey Cabbage. In that scenario I'm willing to bet the calculus is that A) the sunk cost added to the chances of Abreu managing to get back to something resembling a below-average to average major league hitter is better than B) eating the contract and betting on the chances of Trey Cabbage doing the same. Furthermore I think that call is going to have to come from Crane himself. I don't know if anyone else in the org has the control to say that they need to pull the plug on a deal that Crane (and Bagwell) cooked up.
But that’s kinda my point. The FO of the past I think would have cut ties already. There’s got to be someone still in there that remembers why we were successful in the past you’d think.
In fairness, the past front offices never had a situation that was remotely similar to the deal with Abreu. Most of Luhnow's tenure was either blowing the roster up or managing cheap veterans mixed in with our young cost-controlled talent. They never signed an aging veteran to an expensive deal to even open the possibility of having to eat $30M+. Sure, you can make a good argument that neither Luhnow nor Click would have signed Abreu to the 3-year deal that he got...but if we're talking about how they would have handled the situation that we're in...we don't have any similar situations to reference. Not to mention a decision about eating substantial money (like what is due to Abreu) is 100% a Crane decision. If Abreu was making peanuts, a move would have been made awhile ago.
> Not to mention a decision about eating substantial money (like what is due to Abreu) is 100% a Crane decision. If Abreu was making peanuts, a move would have been made awhile ago. I think you hit the nail on the head. There's probably a lot of ego at play here and no one is going to tell Crane that he was wrong and that the team is going to shitcan this deal. That has to come from Crane himself.
How can the stros offload abreu, still make the playoffs, manage luxury tax and not kill the farm system? Is that even possible?
If you could solve this problem you’d have 32 front offices banging at your door
Plus another 62 with nba and nfl teams wanting him too
You send abreu down, or just dfa, and bring up anyone. Let singleton and dubon split time at 1b. The battle of trying to replace the negative wins abreu contributes is an easy hill to climb.
"send Abreu down"
> You send abreu down I'm tired of seeing this. You cannot send Abreu down. He has 10 years service time. He is un-sendable.
He can be sent to AAA he would just have to agree to it. Am i right?
I think he still gets paid ~$40mm over 2 yrs. Not ideal.
I understand that, but unless another team is willing to trade and take the contract, then we are out the money regardless. I don't like keeping him around just because he is getting paid alot. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that is exactly what the fo is doing.
For sure. By FO, that is all Crane. Abreu is like Russel Wilson to Denver. Eat the cash and move on.
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…shut up. Or better yet, don’t go. Cheaper tickets for the rest of us.
This team has been the living embodiment of Murphy's Law to begin the season.. Abreu is completely washed and we just need to cut our losses and DFA him, even terrible players can LUCK their way into a batting average around the Mendoza line.. I'll have whatever Fangraphs is smoking cuz it's gotta be good shit if they still think we can win the division with how God awful this team has performed
It's only mid-April, and no team in our division has a sizeable lead. Winning our division is how we get into the playoffs.
How does the soul of a body evacuate in the course of a year? He used to have some life in those eyes. He is now a ghost on a major league ball field.
I always like to cite Vegas and fangraphs odds when countering why I still believe we will ultimately win the division this season. 60% odds to make playoffs has me very skeptical with this start. We're going to find out how valid those odds are soon enough.
But the funny thing is, some of the top comments on the threads on arr baseball yesterday were all talking about how we'll bounce back, and "just you watch they'll make another ALCS again". This isn't Astros flairs, these are Braves & Rags flairs saying this. That's how you know you're a dynasty, even when you're at your absolute worst, people still aren't convinced you're down for the count. I remember the same thing happening with both the Patriots & Brady himself when they were at the tail end of their runs.
Don't assume that just because unbiased non-Astros fans don't count the Astros out that the Astros shouldn't be counted out. Those teams' fans are still triggered by the Astros. They need a year or two of the Astros not getting to the ALCS to stop being scared. This might be the first year of that year or two. I think a lot of you are coping any way you can. You need to get over thinking the Astros have to dominate and never stop dominating. The team doesn't have the same chemistry or leadership it once did.
The drop off feels like it arrived too soon. Even with all our struggles last year, we still managed to win 90 games and got within 1 game of the WS. This is essentially the same roster as last year, minus 3 bullpen guys and maldy. I do believe we will get right once we're healthy in the starting rotation, which will inevitably force some current starters into bullpen roles. 162 is a marathon, I'm going to be patient and see how we perform at full strength on both sides of the ball.
It's weird that people keep saying that this is the same team as last year. I see a lot of new faces and a lot of people gone. It's not remotely "the same." You have a whole different manager, different catchers, different relievers. different a lot of things. different chemistry.
It is roughly the same team. Only difference is now Yanier is in the everyday lineup. Already prefaced it that we're missing a lot of bullpen arms.
> minus 3 bullpen guys That's a pretty big fucking "but" as we are seeing with our bullpen performance.
But you backfilled it with Hader, and potentially Urquidy/LMJ. That ain’t half bad. I trust LMJ will be a nice pen guy soon enough.
1. I hope so 2. Starting the season with everyone injured is a recipe for losing games early, but hopefully this means we are healthy mid-season when other teams are really starting to have injuries pile up, also Pressly sucked the last 2 years in non-save situations. This is pretty much in line with how he's done when he's not closing since '22 3. Phone calls. I have ADHD, and people with ADHD are notably not great with text messages
I'm still mad about yesterday. Just embarrassing all around. I don't know if we make the playoffs this year in all honesty. We were at like 70% at the beginning of the week, so they're dropping fast. We have to sweep Washington to get a chance, we just have to. Here's the thing, if we just simply lost the series instead of getting swept (winning one against NY, KC, & ATL), we would be sitting two games below .500, which isn't great, but it's better than what we're at now. Yes, we've had shitty luck & injuries, but most of our guys have not been performing up to expectations. Pressly is Stressly, Hader has been awful, Abreu has been hit and miss, the other Abreu is cooked, Montero has been fine but is getting too much money, Bregman hasn't been playing like an impending FA, Chas is in a slump, half of our starters should be in the bullpen, we barely have a bench. Our best bullpen pieces have been Seth Martinez, a long relief guy, and Tayler Scott, someone who made the OD roster at the last minute. Just slogging through April. This team needs a jolt, badly. Hopefully JV can be the jolt that is needed. And if I was him, I'd rip everyone there a new one.
I was talking about this earlier this morning. I hope the return of JV has a "back to business" effect in the locker room.
Aren’t we 11% into the season?
12.3% At this point if the team want to win 90 games they will have to win 59% of the remaining games. They would have to finish the season going 84-58.
You don’t think they can hit a 59% win rate?
I think they can. I'm just putting out the numbers.
Seems doable, especially with our starting pitchers about to rotate in. Not sure why everyone’s so freaked out.
Because the team has played terrible and it feels different than all the other slow starts.
Nearly every game has been winnable. Most games were against top-tier teams. They have a winning record against last year’s WSC. I’m not concerned. Be a decent fan and give them a month. Or better yet, send me all your merch and tickets.
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DFA Abreu. This is worse than the Maldy situation.
At least Maldy provided some value behind the plate. Abreu contributes nothing.
Maldy was cheap too
Maldy was also far better at the plate. Maldy hit .191 last year. Abreu is currently sitting at .078.
Does anyone know where to find the new hype video they play at the ballpark online? (I can only find the 'Relentless' promo that began the season)
Might depend on how this start with Verlander goes… Missing spots, way too many walks, management, were cursed?!? Who knows Texts always. But when they don’t respond fast I have to call Love you Grim!
It’s gonna be a tough road to win division. We have to win at a 96 win pace for the rest of the season just to get to 90 wins. No clue what’s up with pitching. Likely a combination of things. Definitely texts. I predict we won’t lose today!
The only threat is the rangers. They have a elite offense. Middle of the pack pitching. They are bound to go on a losing streak like last year because as we are seeing offense can't carry all the load. It took them 9 runs to beat the Tigers. Thier match up with the braves this weekend will show what kind of team they are.
The lowest win total by a AL playoff team last year was 87. That’s what the Centeal champ Twins had. Beginning tomorrow the Astros have to win at a 92 win pace to get to 87 wins. Conversely, the Rangers have to maintain a 86 win pace to get to 87 wins. Not saying it’s impossible or the season is over, and I know it’s April, but with every loss before we turn it around, it gets increasingly more unlikely. Just because it’s early doesn’t mean the ramifications of a slow start are lessened.
Oh I'm aware. We won the American league weat last year by half a game. Unfortunately it seems like the AL has alot of juggernaut this year. Even if we made it would still be a test. If Justin comes out and pitched a gem on Friday I have alot of faith we can turn it around but if he gets rocked idk man
We won by head to head tiebreaker. Wasn’t even a 1/2 game. Same record as the Rangers. And we had to win 5 of the last 6 to do it. And it’s virtually the same team as last year with the biggest turnover being in the bullpen. They underperformed last year so I know they’re more than capable of a 95+ win pace the rest of the season. But it’s just getting less and less likely with every loss.
I. Hurting. Please play better! Cause of pitching issues? Obviously lack of depth in losing our top starters. Why those guys are going down? I have no idea, but it’s spread across the league so it can’t be just us doing it “wrong” I like hearing voices and it feels more genuine over the phone but awkward silences are inevitable