I keep seeing people allude to straws weak bat.

Straw will be on the playoff roster for 1 reason alone...and that is to pitch run in a late inning situation when we need a tie or go ahead winning run. That's a specific yet invaluable player to have on a playoff roster.

That guy is going to win a post season game this playoffs swiping second and scoring on a ball most people couldn't score on.

https://twitter.com/astros/status/1176134253991616515

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if the Astros are going to let Urquidy go past his innings limit for the post season.

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He's already well past his innings limit on the season and he has 1 more start left this Friday. I believe these last few starts were an audition for the post season given Miley's struggles. The innings limit was 125 on the year. He's at 138 currently

bullard21k said:

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I keep seeing people allude to straws weak bat.

Straw will be on the playoff roster for 1 reason alone...and that is to pitch run in a late inning situation when we need a tie or go ahead winning run. That's a specific yet invaluable player to have on a playoff roster.

That guy is going to win a post season game this playoffs swiping second and scoring on a ball most people couldn't score on.

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Phrasing said:

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https://twitter.com/astros/status/1176134253991616515

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Edit:

Looking at the trophy case

Top - 3 batting title
Upper Middle - 5 Sliver Sluggers
Lower Middle - World Series & MVP
Bottom - ??? & Gold Glove.

You make a good point but I still think his late inning defense is incredibly valuable.

https://twitter.com/Joshstros/status/1175890928374046722

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GET HYPE!

Ag_07 said:

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You make a good point but I still think his late inning defense is incredibly valuable.

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He is a great defender. No doubt about it. But the difference between him and George for 1 inning seems pretty not valuable. What are the odds he's actually going to get a ball in that time that he could get that George couldn't? Probably about the same as having 2 IFs getting hurt in a game. It more than likely will not matter.

Marisnick will be on the playoff roster for his ability to take out the opposing team's catcher.

It's not so much the difference between him and George as it is the difference between him and Brantley or even more accurately Reddick/Tucker and Brantley.

The way I imagine it would be up by <3 in the 8th after Brantley's spot in the lineup just passed. Insert Jake into CF, Slide George to RF, and slide Reddick/Tucker to LF.

That's a big upgrade especially where we're most likely playing in MIN, OAK, or TB where there's quite a bit of room in the OF.

Buck Compton said:

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I also think Toro is the odd man out with Diaz back in shape and producing.

That being said, you Tucker fanboys need to understand how ridiculous you sound when you say things like Tucker is just as fast as Straw. Straw is elite-level speed (Top 10 in the MLB) and Tucker may not be top 5 on our team. Straw won't take a meaningful playoff AB for us barring injury or a freak long extra inning game. But he will pinch run, and likely do so effectively.

We all want him to succeed, and he has made marked improvement since last year, but he's not perfect. He is improving defensively to close that gap, and has fixed some holes in his looping swing, but still has a few holes left and doesn't work counts at all. He's going to be a hell of a player for us, but don't make ridiculous claims.

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This is exactly right.

It's hard to come up with a linear $/win amount (because one 6 WAR OF is obviously worth a lot more than three 2 WAR OFs), but most "experts" agree that the value of a win on the free agent market is worth about $9M. The merits of that quantification are probably an offseason topic, but assuming that to be true this is the first season that Reddick hasn't "earned" his salary and he has far outperformed his salary when the full contract is considered. He actually "earned" his money before the end of last season!

1. People think that because the average MLB salary is $4.4M that $13M a year is a huge sum. That average is skewed by MLBs weird rookie contract rules and all the guys making $550k, but you can't fill a team with all guys on their first contract. You have to have free agents, and Reddick is a relative bargain.

2. This isn't Playstation. You can't just decide that a beloved veteran guy that has helped you get to the top is expendable and toss him. It's like some people have never been part of a team, sports or otherwise.

3. If you don't want Tucker to succeed, you're not an Astros fan. I hope he's a future MVP. I truly believe he will have a better career than Reddick and I do think he will be an All-Star. Even in the fantasy world of no chemistry consequences where you can just punt Reddick, it's too small of a sample to say Tucker is ready (just like it was too small to say he sucked last year)...but he still has a negative career WAR and a career BA of .212. I hope Tucker is a 30-30 guy next year and that we struggle to find ABs for Reddick, but I think it's just as likely that Tucker has his ups and downs and it's more of a platoon situation.

Mostly I just think that Reddick has earned the right to finish out here and it would be a bad move not to let that happen while he's still a reasonably productive player with 1 year left on a reasonable contract.

Well said

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Phrasing said:

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Farmer1906 said:

Edit:

Looking at the trophy case

Top - 3 batting title
Upper Middle - 5 Sliver Sluggers
Lower Middle - World Series & MVP
Bottom - ??? & Gold Glove.

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Looks like the Hank Aaron Award on bottom left.

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TREX01 said:

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Not every playoff season is equal. The history of baseball is littered with guys who struggled in the playoffs for years then had there one year of greatness. Pat Borders was a World Series mvp. Let that sink in. Barry Bonds was a horrific playoff performer early in his career. Josh is our starter, plain and simple. If Tucker were to get white hot that could change but it's unlikely

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Bregxit said:

Yep. Josh Reddick's postseason career is equal to two hall of famers named Biggio and Bagwell. Would we think of leaving them off the roster ever in the postseason?

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Farmer1906 said:

Does Josh Reddick have a HOF career?

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Bregxit said:

Is that relevant to the point?

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Extremely if you're trying to compare him to two HOFers.

DIVISION SERIES

NLDS on TBS; ALDS on FS1 or MLB Network
A = Involves club with best record; B = Not involving club with best record

Friday, Oct. 4: ALDS 'A' Game 1, FS1 or MLBN
Friday, Oct. 4: ALDS 'B' Game 1, FS1 or MLBN

Saturday, Oct. 5: ALDS 'A' Game 2, FS1
Saturday, Oct. 5: ALDS 'B' Game 2, FS1

Monday, Oct. 7: ALDS 'A' Game 3, FS1 or MLBN
Monday, Oct. 7: ALDS 'B' Game 3, FS1 or MLBN

Tuesday, Oct. 8: ALDS 'A' Game 4 (if necessary), FS1
Tuesday, Oct. 8: ALDS 'B' Game 4 (if necessary), FS1

Thursday, Oct. 10: ALDS 'A' Game 5 (if necessary), FS1
Thursday, Oct. 10: ALDS 'B' Game 5 (if necessary), FS1

Harry Dunne said:

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2. This isn't Playstation. You can't just decide that a beloved veteran guy that has helped you get to the top is expendable and toss him. It's like some people have never been part of a team, sports or otherwise.

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With this logic, bringing in Diaz to perform roughly the same as Marwin did for ~$10mm/year cheaper was a bad move because Marwin was a beloved veteran guy. Great organizations have to make tough decisions to sustain success in the salary cap era. Resource optimization is paramount. In my experience following team sports, this sort of thing happens all the time.

Maybe we disagree here but I think our clubhouse chemistry is fine and I don't think Reddick is some sort of "glue guy" that would set off a jenga-like collapse if he got dealt. Similarly, I didn't see Marwin, or Morton, or Kemp, or McCann, or any of the other guys we've dealt/let walk over the past couple years in that same light. Otherwise we would have been smart to just keep the exact 25 man roster from 2017 in tact. No changes. Why mess with chemistry that won a ring?

Edited out the part about who should start in October because it was confusing some posters. Sticking to the issue that Harry raised.

Farmer1906 said:

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DIVISION SERIES

NLDS on TBS; ALDS on FS1 or MLB Network
A = Involves club with best record; B = Not involving club with best record

Friday, Oct. 4: ALDS 'A' Game 1, FS1 or MLBN
Friday, Oct. 4: ALDS 'B' Game 1, FS1 or MLBN

Saturday, Oct. 5: ALDS 'A' Game 2, FS1
Saturday, Oct. 5: ALDS 'B' Game 2, FS1

Monday, Oct. 7: ALDS 'A' Game 3, FS1 or MLBN
Monday, Oct. 7: ALDS 'B' Game 3, FS1 or MLBN

Tuesday, Oct. 8: ALDS 'A' Game 4 (if necessary), FS1
Tuesday, Oct. 8: ALDS 'B' Game 4 (if necessary), FS1

Thursday, Oct. 10: ALDS 'A' Game 5 (if necessary), FS1
Thursday, Oct. 10: ALDS 'B' Game 5 (if necessary), FS1

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Last year the game times were as follows.

Thursday, Oct. 4
NLDS Game 1: Rockies at Brewers, 5:07 p.m. (FS1)
NLDS Game 1: Braves at Dodgers, 8:37 p.m. (MLBN)
Friday, Oct. 5
ALDS Game 1: Indians at Astros, 2:05 p.m. (TBS)
NLDS Game 2: Rockies at Brewers, 4:15 p.m. (FS1)
ALDS Game 1: A's/Yankees at Red Sox, 7:32 p.m. (TBS)
NLDS Game 2: Braves at Dodgers, 9:37 p.m. (FS1)
Saturday, Oct. 6
ALDS Game 2: Indians at Astros, 4:37 p.m. (TBS)
ALDS Game 2: A's/Yankees at Red Sox, 8:15 p.m. (TBS)
Sunday, Oct. 7
NLDS Game 3: Brewers at Rockies, 4:07 p.m. (MLBN)
NLDS Game 3: Dodgers at Braves, 8:07 p.m. (FS1)

Based on this, I would guess we'll be playing at 3:15 on Friday & 3:37 on Saturday,

Benching a player right before the playoffs and letting someone walk in free agency aren't really remotely comparable.

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Phrasing said:

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Can anyone name all the hardware?

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Farmer1906 said:

Edit:

Looking at the trophy case

Top - 3 batting title
Upper Middle - 5 Sliver Sluggers
Lower Middle - World Series & MVP
Bottom - ??? & Gold Glove.

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Big Johnson Ag said:

Looks like the Hank Aaron Award on bottom left.

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That looks like a box for his World Series ring to me

Aren't we looking at doing this with Miley too?

Panama Red said:

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Benching a player right before the playoffs and letting someone walk in free agency aren't really remotely comparable.

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So you think the clubhouse would turn on AJ and the front office if Reddick didn't get first crack at RF in October? I don't, but perhaps we can just agree to disagree here.

I'd assume we get the bulk of the afternoon games AGAIN..... gotta have the precious Yankees in prime time

Farmer1906 said:

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Aren't we looking at doing this with Miley too?

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Yep

Can you show me where I said the locker room would turn on them?

This team is professional enough to be able to take a benching of Reddick. Your comparison was still weak.

Panama Red said:

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Can you show me where I said the locker room would turn on them?

This team is professional enough to be able to take a benching of Reddick. Your comparison was still weak.

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Sounds like we that benching Reddick wouldn't have team chemistry consequences then. Just like letting Morton, Marwin, etc walk via free agent didn't have team chemistry consequences. Not sure what we're arguing about.

There is no argument about your terrible comparison.

Whether Reddick being benched would be a smart move is up for debate.

Panama Red said:

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There is no argument about your terrible comparison.

Whether Reddick being benched would be a smart move is up for debate.

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I wish there was a "shrugging" emoji because I'm not sure what you're upset about.

None is is upset bruh.

We have such great problems to have.

After we start the 2 best pitchers in baseball and an all-timer with a Cy, who do we turn to? A guy in a slump or a promising rookie?

Sure we have one of the best line ups of all time, but should we go with the slightly below avg vet who's trending up or the rookie who might be a monster down the road?

Damn, we have to play afternoon games for our 3rd straight playoff appearance and 4th in the last 5 years.

Farmer1906 said:

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We have such great problems to have.

After we start the 2 best pitchers in baseball and an all-timer with a Cy, who do we turn to? A guy in a slump or a promising rookie?

Sure we have one of the best line ups of all time, but should we go with the slightly below avg vet who's trending up or the rookie who might be a monster down the road?

Damn, we have to play afternoon games for our 3rd straight playoff appearance and 4th in the last 5 years.

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Yeah, it's "Dollars Reign" for TV's October slogan. It's a shame that the team with the best record (potentially) and later time zone will once again get all the earlier games. Oh, and a season removed from being champs. Yeah, makes all the darn sense in the world.

Just an FYI - presale tickets which were supposed to take place at 9am for season ticket holders and 11am for presale have been postponed until tomorrow for technical difficulties.

Farmer1906 said:

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I can't us have 6/7 OF and 5 IF. Can someone tell me what role Jake plays on the playoff roster? He could pitch run, but you'd pick Straw or Tucker over him. He could pitch hit, but you'd pick Diaz or Tucker over him. He's never starting. He can't play IF. Defensive CF "closer" is not enough of a role to make the postseason roster. I'd have Toro over him.

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While I agree...they aren't taking him off the roster. He is a long time contributor, team player and does whatever is asked.

The bigger question mark is why is Straw listed as an outfielder, only way he plays in the field is if something goes horribly wrong and he has to play SS, no way he gets in the outfield before Jake or Tucker

If I am leaving anyone off that roster in my opinion it has to be Miley, I hate to do that to a guy who has battled all year and done real well until lately but...id rather other, more effective arms

He ain't playing infield with Daz healthy