To be honest, I'm very worried Whitley is going to pan out like AJ Reed. Very highly ranked, but just doesn't pan out. Even worse, we got nothing in return for Reed. I hope we can get something from Whitley if we trade him. I certainly would much rather trade Whitley than Tucker right now.

12law said:

---

To be honest, I'm very worried Whitley is going to pan out like AJ Reed. Very highly ranked, but just doesn't pan out. Even worse, we got nothing in return for Reed. I hope we can get something from Whitley if we trade him. I certainly would much rather trade Whitley than Tucker right now.

---

I think the issue with Whitley right now might be immaturity. I've heard first hand that he spends a lot of time at UT frat houses partying with his high school buddies. Not that its not normal for a guy his age to want to party with his friends, but RR might not be the best spot for him.

Lunhow's comments when they sent him to Florida were telling.

""He's disappointed with how he's performed and I think this will be a good opportunity for him to take stock in where everything is and work with our pitching coaches and not be distracted by (pitching) 60 miles from his hometown," Luhnow said Wednesday. "It'll be a good opportunity for him. I think he's mentally strong and I think he's going to take this. He's had setbacks before and he's made it through."

dshedd14 said:

---

Who else is rocking Astros gear to the office today? I hope our boys do well tonight!

---

Here, but to be honest, that's pretty typical this time of year.



And by "this time of year," I mean the nine months that are baseball season.

MAROON said:

---

12law said:

---

To be honest, I'm very worried Whitley is going to pan out like AJ Reed. Very highly ranked, but just doesn't pan out. Even worse, we got nothing in return for Reed. I hope we can get something from Whitley if we trade him. I certainly would much rather trade Whitley than Tucker right now.

---

I think the issue with Whitley right now might be immaturity. I've heard first hand that he spends a lot of time at UT frat houses partying with his high school buddies. Not that its not normal for a guy his age to want to party with his friends, but RR might not be the best spot for him.

Lunhow's comments when they sent him to Florida were telling.

""He's disappointed with how he's performed and I think this will be a good opportunity for him to take stock in where everything is and work with our pitching coaches and not be distracted by (pitching) 60 miles from his hometown," Luhnow said Wednesday. "It'll be a good opportunity for him. I think he's mentally strong and I think he's going to take this. He's had setbacks before and he's made it through."

---

I missed those comments, but they make sense in light of what you mentioned. Hopefully the kid takes notes and learns to live the baseball cliches.

I never paid attention to that. Thanks for sharing! Hopefully he rights the ship.

Any intel for what happened to Reed? He looked so good...and then Tyler White passes him on the depth chart. What happened to him?

Honestly with the way our young arms are planning out lately it's not crazy to be worried about Whitley.

And yeah he may be the piece to move if you've got a make a trade using a top tier prospect.

Wow

So...We're trading for Jose Abreu?

Ag_07 said:

---

So...We're trading for Jose Abreu?

---

I like where your head is at

Reed was picked up off waivers by the White Sox.

Teddy Perkins said:

---

Reed was picked up off waivers by the White Sox.

---

Yeah yesterday

Pahdz said:

---

In one way it's kinda cool that a dude is willing to bet on himself like that. I like that edge in a player. As much as we hate the guy, I think he'd thrive on this team.

---

Same here. It gives a player maximum control over his career

Justin Verlander: The Astros' Ace and Sleep Guru

Gap said:

---

A couple of Astros related questions and topics:

1) What are the expectations for the return to the MLB roster for Correa, Diaz, Peacock, and Joe Smith?

2) Who will start the first 5 games after the break in addition to Verlander, Cole, and Miley? I'm guessing Cy Sneed and Framber Valdez (with Jose Urquidy sent down).

---

speaking of Correa and Diaz (and the witness protection program they are in apparently)...

the Astros played 90 games in the first half. Correa played in 50 of them. Diaz played in just 32. Neither is coming back on the first post-break roadtrip to Arlington and Anaheim.

so we're looking at Correa playing in a maximum of 114 games and Diaz a maximum of 96 games.

will be very interesting to see what happens with Kemp & White before the July 31st deadline and whether or not Diaz is back by then

and of course when Diaz returns he will need to pick up where he left off.

since Yordan (definitely) and Straw (most likely) have locked up playoff roster spots in his absence

so Luhnow may have to deal both Kemp and White by July 31st...regardless of Diaz' injury return status.

otherwise they will be dropped to waivers for nothing

Don't we all

12law said:

---

I never paid attention to that. Thanks for sharing! Hopefully he rights the ship.

Any intel for what happened to Reed? He looked so good...and then Tyler White passes him on the depth chart. What happened to him?

---

Doesn't have a fast enough bat to handle major league heat.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27155532/manfred-mlb-alter-baseball-more-hrs

Quote:

---

Commissioner Rob Manfred once again emphatically denied that Major League Baseball has altered baseballs to generate more offense, amid widespread criticism from some of the sport's top pitchers.
"Baseball has done nothing, given no direction for an alteration in the baseball," Manfred told reporters Tuesday. "The flaw in logic is that baseball wants more home runs. If you sat in owners meetings and listen to people on how the game is played, that is not a sentiment among the owners for whom I work."
Manfred also said "there is no evidence from scientists that the ball is harder" but acknowledged that "the drag of the baseball is less."

He said MLB is trying to find out why the drag is less but had not been given answers by scientists.
"Pitchers have raised issues particularly about the tackiness and seams on the baseball, and we do believe those could be issues," Manfred said.
Manfred's comments came one day after Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander, the American League's starting pitcher in Tuesday's All-Star Game, told ESPN's Jeff Passan that the baseballs being used this season are "a f---ing joke" and that he believes "100 percent" that MLB has implemented juiced balls to increase offense.

Verlander's sentiment was echoed by Mets ace Jacob deGrom, who said Monday that he was "not going to disagree with him," and Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who agreed that the baseball "seems to travel differently."
"All the rules that are changed in the game, that has to be cleared with the players," Scherzer told reporters. "But when the ball changes as much as it has over the last handful of years, the players have no say in that whatsoever.
"We as players wonder why the ball can change that much, that fast, and to have that big of results. That's why as players we deserve an answer to what's going on."

Players union head Tony Clark also chimed in Tuesday, saying "the ball suddenly changed, and I don't know why."
Manfred countered that there is "no desire among ownership to increase homers in the game," saying that "to the contrary, (owners) are concerned about how many we have."
Players belted 3,691 homers in the season's first half and are on pace to hit 6,668 home runs, which would obliterate the record of 6,105 hit in 2017.
Verlander, despite a 2.98 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 126 2/3 innings, has allowed a major-league-leading 26 homers.

Manfred addressed the issue earlier Monday -- before Verlander's comments -- in an interview with ESPN's Golic and Wingo, saying again that the ball has "less drag" but pointing out that "data suggests fans like home runs."
"It's easy to get carried away with 'you have too many home runs,'" Manfred said Monday. "Let's not forget that our fan data suggests fans like home runs. It's not the worst thing in the world.
"We think what's been going on this year is attributable to the baseball. Our scientists that have been now studying the baseball more regularly have told us that this year the ball has a little less drag. ... We are trying to understand exactly why that happened and build out a manufacturing process that gives us a little more control over what's going on. But you have to remember, our baseball is a handmade product and there is going to be variation year to year."

Conversations about a juiced ball have percolated since after the All-Star break in 2015, when home runs spiked. They are up nearly 60 percent from the 2014 season, and a study commissioned by Manfred concluded that baseballs were performing differently but didn't attribute a reason.
In June 2018, one month after the study was released, MLB bought Rawlings, the supplier of the official major league ball.

"It's a f---ing joke. Major League Baseball's turning this game into a joke," Verlander said Monday. "They own Rawlings, and you've got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f---ing company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it's not a guess as to what happened.
"We all know what happened. Manfred the first time he came in, what'd he say? He said we want more offense. All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It's not coincidence. We're not idiots."
Manfred was asked Tuesday whether MLB would consider altering the baseballs to reduce the number of homers.
"If we were going to do it, we would do it in a way that was transparent to the media and fans before making that change," he said.

---

So all this JV HR talk got me thinking. How many cheap home runs has JV given up. I was only able to find 3 that stood out. Take those away and he'd still be tied for most HRs given in the bigs.


Date - Player - Exit Velo - Distance - xBA

6/18 - Dietrich - 88.2 MPH - 339 FT - .040
7/5 - Simmons - 91.2 MPH - 356 FT - .100
6/12 - Thames - 93.9 MPH - 358 FT - .200

dlance said:

---

Nah get out of here with that! Verlander is just a cry-baby and is just upset he has given up so many homers this year!

---

To be fair, he had only gotten 8.5 hours of sleep before being asked about juiced baseballs. He had to be in a grumpy mood.

That's great, but he/we have been kicking ass since 2017. I just don't see what is in it for him or for the Astros.

He is the best and we are winning with the juiced ball. If the ball is juiced because MLB wants more offense, wouldn't it be smarter for him to either adjust a little and/or be OK with giving up a few more HR in order to continue putting up historic WHIP and K stats and winning Cy Youngs and having his team be WS contenders?

Reading all this juiced balls discussion makes me wanna talk about how we should've drafted Kris Bryant and what could've been.

This makes we curious if JV will start on Thursday after pitching 1 inning tonight?

Hinch already said JV going sunday.