*****Official 2019/2020 Houston Astros offseason thread*****

1,025,741 Views | 9892 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by BMX Bandit
MaxPower
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His own report contradicts itself. He applauds the Red Sox front office for attempting to instill a culture yet a) they had a guy who was clearly cheating and b) their own players say they didn't know the rules. Well, which is it? Also, how did they find out this guy was cheating unless someone who knew at the time blew the whistle and, whoever that person is, wouldn't they be culpable like Hinch for knowing and not acting on it?
Ag_07
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AG
What really shocks me is Cora. They specifically say that he was suspended for his actions in Houston in 2017 and not Boston in 2018.

So we're supposed to think Cora was running the show here in 2017, but in 2018 when the Red Sox were doing the same thing Cora (now the manager) wasn't involved.

Like I said this is embarrassing for Manfred and MLB.
falcon09
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I know pretty much everyone here (myself included) thinks that the way the commissioner handled this whole situation is a bunch of BS and a ridiculous double standard.

I went back and looked at the Astros report and found a couple examples from both how the management and the club as a whole were held responsible.

The GM forwarded a few emails, so there's no way they could have known someone was cheating:
Quote:

I do not find that Cora or any member of the Red Sox staff either knew or should have known that Watkins was utilizing in-game video to update the information that he had learned from his pregame analysis.

There was no evidence that the Red Sox front office or then-Manager John Farrell were involved in or aware of this practice.
But no matter what Lunow knew or didn't know, he should have stopped it:
Quote:

Regardless of the level of Luhnow's actual knowledge, the Astros' violation of rules in 2017 and 2018 is attributable, in my view, to a failure by the leaders of the baseball operations department and the Field Manager to adequately manage the employees under their supervision, to establish a culture in which adherence to the rules is ingrained in the fabric of the organization, and to stop bad behavior as soon as it occurred

As far as the sign stealing and relaying took place:
Quote:

Initially, Watkins communicated the sign sequence information in person in the replay room to a player serving as a "runner," who was then responsible for relaying the sign information to the players in the dugout, who would communicate it to the baserunner on second base, who would use it to interpret the catcher's signs and transmit the coming pitch type to the batter.
So figuring out a way to relay signs straight to the batter instead of using a runner on 2nd is worth $5M and 3 early round draft picks? Give me a break.

Manfred and the way he has handled this whole situation is a freaking joke.
bearkatag15
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AG


Does this count as sports? I'll probably watch regardless.
Fightin' Texas Aggie and Sam Houston State Bearkat
Ag_07
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I mean if you're REALLY in need for some baseball there's always this



For me I'll stick to ATT SportsNet. Every evening they're replaying an Astros 2019 win in chronological order.
Teddy Perkins
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redline248 said:


Needed this laugh. Brett's not being able to breath makes it. Thanks for posting!
Mr.Bond
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I miss Brett Phillips. Dumbest ****ing trade ever..... ****in gomez and fiers


Man we got. Fleeced in that one
Im looking for Ray Finkle.... and a clean pair of shorts. Im just a very big Finkle fan. This is my Graceland, sir.




YNWA_AG
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All because Cole Hamels vetoed us
Gramercy Riffs
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Watching this stream and I think Blake Snell just said that his base runners are "being a little tardy" today. That might not sound too bad if you think he meant they were being late. But he said it after a base runner retreated to second and failed to advance on a base hit to the outfield. Who knows what he meant, but Robert Flores just kinda chuckled awkwardly and obviously let it go.

Doesn't bother me, but wouldn't surprise me if someone out there caught it and took it the wrong way.
Bulldog73
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Somehow it's the astros fault.
Gramercy Riffs
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Tardy comment aside, Snell seemed really annoying.
n_touch
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I take it no extra Orbit bobbleheads out there
Texas A&M
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Ag_07
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This whole stop in play is gonna hurt us big time. Our 2019 team was fckn ridiculously sick and there were no changes on the offensive side. What Machete for Cheerio?

Yeah we lost Cole, a couple guys from the pen, and McHugh but damn 2020 was gonna be a doozy.

I'd hate to see Brantley and Springer walk without playing another season in this lineup. That would be awful.
Mathguy64
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It hurts because teams like the Yankees get a chance to get healthy without losing games.
k20dub
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On the flip side, I was worried about our pitching rotation for a full season with the age of Verlander and Greinke as well as the innings limit on McCullers. If we are somehow able to start a shortened season, these guys will be firing on all cylinders if they are pitching 100-120 inning seasons.
07ag
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mathguy86 said:

It hurts because teams like the Yankees get a chance to get healthy without losing games.
jv had surgery in march that was going to sideline him for 6+ weeks, we're getting healthy also. our rotation top 3 is jv (old and coming off surgery), greinke (old), and mccullers (coming off tj and has always been a low innings guy). so a shortened season would benefit them, imo
https://ts.la/eric59704
the last of the bohemians
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No , if this season happens, we definitely caught a break.
We won't have tired old man Verlander in the playoffs, we'll have badazz old man Verlander in playoffs.
MaxPower
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I don't think the season will be severely shortened. Maybe 20-30 games. Regardless, shorter really helps the mid tier clubs. Luck is more of a factor for a smaller volume of games where there is less time to regress to the mean. Yes the big dogs could smoke everyone but the A's, Rays, etc could ride a hot month to a division title in a 100 game season.
BMX Bandit
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Quote:

I don't think the season will be severely shortened. Maybe 20-30 games


That's some strong wishful thinking.

100 games doesn't seem likely at this point.
Mathguy64
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If they started June 1, had no off days and played through the end of September they would get roughly 120 games in.

I don't see them starting June 1.
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Ag_07
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There's also no way they do no off days. Union would shut that down.

Actually, as a fan I would hate that. Just imagine how we feel sometimes after a long road trip with no off days where it just feels like we're hanging on trying to make it to the next off day.

An entire half season with no off days just sounds awful.
Mathguy64
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Don't get me wrong. I don't see June 1 and they will have regular off days off. I was just counting games to get to 120. I do think there will be some weekend double headers to get as many games in as they can.
Mr.Bond
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Gotta be careful with too many double headers and pitching
Im looking for Ray Finkle.... and a clean pair of shorts. Im just a very big Finkle fan. This is my Graceland, sir.




Mathguy64
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While I'm playing commissioner for a day, i would not only do Saturday double headers but I would expand rosters to 28 to provide pitching depth. I would also mandate the DH across the leagues and build a schedule that eliminated inter league games. Maximize as many divisional games as you can. And every Saturday and Sunday is dollar dog day. Dollar dogs and dollar cokes.

I'm sure Manfred will find a way to screw this up.
mazag08
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The last thing I want is more games against west coast teams.
expresswrittenconsent
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Dollar dogs and cokes will solve everything.
Marvin
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I'm sticking with my plan of 100 games starting July 4th. Great American pastime kicks off on a storied day to celebrate the rebirth of a nation. Book it.

Manfred hasn't returned my messages yet, but I'm keeping the faith... haha.
Marvin
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On another note:

Quote:

On this date: Ryan becomes career K's leader

On April 27, 1983, Nolan Ryan ties and breaks Walter Johnson's MLB career strikeouts record.

The Alvin Express
CFTXAG10
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expresswrittenconsent said:

Dollar dogs and beers cokes will solve everything.
FIFY
Ag_07
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Marvin said:

On another note:

Quote:

On this date: Ryan becomes career K's leader

On April 27, 1983, Nolan Ryan ties and breaks Walter Johnson's MLB career strikeouts record.

The Alvin Express

What's insane is that he broke that record in '83 then played another 10 seasons.

Just absolutely incredible
CFTXAG10
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Email coming from Houston Astros Account Executive:

Quote:

This is a bizarre normal we are currently living but light is surely at the end of the tunnel.

The world has changed. It has changed how we work. How we live. How we interact. These changes have exposed us to what we miss. For us, that is baseball, and it isn't just the play on the field. It's bringing people together. It is being part of what happens when friends, families, and co-workers get together to celebrate. We miss seeing fans come together and sharing the joy and positivity the Astros community creates.

In respects to a baseball timeline, we are still waiting on the MLB to disclose what that will look like. It is my understanding they want to pile in as many games as possible with the flexibility of going beyond October. I will certainly pass along any information I receive and hopefully we have more answers soon.

When your schedule allows, I would love to connect with you to hear how things are with you and how you all are getting through this.
JABQ04
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Italy announces soccer training to resume May 18. Now I'm not the most up to date on the Corona Virus but weren't they the hardest hit? I see this as a good sign for us to get started on the sooner rather than later track
k20dub
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I'm feeling a lot more positive that there will be a season, just a matter of when, not if.

Breakdown from ESPN on the situation.

Bill Simmons said on his podcast last week that he thinks that baseball will be the first major sport back.
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