Last night's loss sucks, so I want to preface this question not as an over-reaction to that, but what are y'alls thoughts about the possibility the front office drama is seeping into the clubhouse and causing discontent?

I read the front office culture is pretty cutthroat, AJ Hinch may or may not be unhappy, and friggin Cole immediately swapped over to a Scott Boris hat and may have told a reporter he's no longer obligated to talk to them since he's no longer an Astro (could have been in a joking manner, I don't know).

Cromagnum said:

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Astros sunrise this morning.

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The night is always darkest before the dawn. Our window is nowhere near closing. In Luhnow We Trust.

Astros/LA WS 2020

#forealsthistime

#RunItBack

eATMup-Reveille said:

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Trade Correa, sign Rendon and move Bergman to shortstop.

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Never happen but fun to think about

Might as well watchlist it.

Man what a painful day.

agsquirrel97 said:

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Position players

Infield
Altuve - $23.4M
Bregman - $20M
Correa ~ $9.5M
Yuli - $9.5M
Diaz ~ $2.5M
Toro - $500K

Straw - $500K
Yordan - $500K

Outfield
Brantley - $16M
Josh Reynolds - $13M
Springer $21.4M
Jake ~ $3M
Tucker - $500K

We are at $120M in position players and that can't really go up this year unless it is to lock down Springer.

Must have 2 catchers and I don't think either come from our farm system. I am hopeful we can move Josh to free up some salary, I don't see us needing to do much else in the offseason concerning position players outside of some farm system replenishment.

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Ha! Reynolds/Reddick! Seriously it wasn't that long ago Reddick's $13M was one of the top 3 salaries in the team. Crazy!

I know some of you are pissed at CC right now but I'd prefer that Tuve, Bregs,Springer and CC stay together for a long time. Couple with Alvarez continued development and I'll take my chance being competitive and right there in it for awhile while making constant improvements on the hill as best as possible.

We all want cole but no way the salaries work out. Lol. I read that as gc not cc

Ags #1 said:

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We all want cole but no way the salaries work out. Lol. I read that as gc not cc

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After last night? I don't want Cole at all no matter the cost. Those four built this, a ring does nothing for me. But watching those four great guys play together as long as possible mean a little more.

I would offer Yuli 2 years for $24 MM and see if he would take it.

his payroll salary next year is $8.4 MM. (luxury tax amount for the Astros is $9.5 MM)

so $12 MM would be a significant pay raise. Might even offer 2 years for $26 MM

Yeah, bad start to thread, OP. We DID make it to the World Series. That's more than 28 other teams can say.

Unfortunately in.

In

Nino Brown said:

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Ags #1 said:

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We all want cole but no way the salaries work out. Lol. I read that as gc not cc

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After last night? I don't want Cole at all no matter the cost. Those four built this, a ring does nothing for me. But watching those four great guys play together as long as possible mean a little more.

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uh... what?

Keeper of The Spirits said:

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Page 1.

What will our new hashtag be? I liked #takeitback

How about #beenJuanSoto

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How about #BringitBat, since apparently we forgot how.

I didnt finish reading the season thread and dont plan to, so I might have missed this being discussed, have we heard anything more about the rumor of cole saying he doesnt work for the team etc, did it get captured on film...how long after the game was the interview wearing the boras hat? Most of these guys dont usually clean up, take showers and then wear their gear home....so it could very well be reading into it a bit to build the off season story lines for the MLB

iBrad said:

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We had the fewest strikeouts and most walks in all of baseball. We were also tops in average, OBP, slugging, and obviously, OPS. We were second in extra base hits. There is nothing wrong with our offensive philosophy.

The worst you could do is to make knee jerk reactions based on the post season. Yes, stranding runners was frustrating for everyone, but there is no magic philosophy that leads to sequencing hits together.

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Well, by definition a "hot take" is something that has an element of ridiculousness to it. Maybe I should have been more clear on that. I do think their playoff approach is up for criticism, though, whether they replace a coach over it or not.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-insider-Scenes-of-heartbreak-and-Cole-14610152.php

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"The last three times I've been in the bullpen, we've lost every game and our seasons ended twice, so it was not that much fun," Cole said.

He dressed quickly after the game, hoping to jet out, to put the upsetting loss behind him. He also wanted to avoid questions about his upcoming free agency. Eligible players can file for free agency one day after the World Series, but Cole began acting like his relationship with the Astros was over.
A cluster of media migrated toward Cole. Cole loudly cussed, unhappy about the looming obligation.
Astros players regularly head over to stand in front of a clubhouse wall that is painted with the team logo and designated for postgame interviews. Media relations director Gene Dias told Cole that he could give interviews in front of his locker and that "you don't have to" do them in front of the wall.
"I don't have to do it?" Cole replied.

"No," Dias said, "you don't have to do it over there."

"I don't have to do it at all?" Cole reiterated, more forceful, with dozens of reporters looking at him.
At first, Cole's persistence seemed comical. It was understandable that a player on the losing end of Game 7 would not be thrilled to take questions.

But Cole held his glare. He was not kidding.

"I mean, I'm not employed," Cole said. "I'm not employed."

"We would like for you to do it, but it's your call," Dias said.

Cole grudgingly obliged and said: "All right, as an affiliate of myself."

He wore a cap with the insignia of his agent, Scott Boras, who is expected to demand a contract worth more than $200 million for Cole this winter, while the Astros are expected not to match such an offer.
Cole spoke about his two seasons with the Astros in the past tense, which was grammatically correct but set a melancholy tone.

"A lot of good friendships," he said. "Learned a lot about pitching from my teammates, from my pitching coaches and staff, learned a lot more about the game from A.J., and it was just a pleasure to play in the city of Houston."

He added that he has not thought much about his future in Houston.

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Quote:

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He also wanted to avoid questions about his upcoming free agency.

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I'm calling BS

He wore the hat of his agent on it. What was he expecting to get questions on?

Still thing that was a bltch move.

Hope he enjoys playing in front of 15,000 Angels fans every night and watching the playoffs from his couch.

Ag_07 said:

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Quote:

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He also wanted to avoid questions about his upcoming free agency.

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I'm calling BS

He wore the hat of his agent on it. What was he expecting to get questions on?

Still thing that was a bltch move.

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He was just making the night of bad decisions complete.

mathguy86 said:

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Might as well watchlist it.

Man what a painful day.

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I've had my office tv on the Golf Channel all day so I don't see anything about last night

No surprise. We will be back.

"The latest 2020 World Series odds have this year's runner-up Houston Astros as 4-to-1 favorites to win it all, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees behind Houston with 5-to-1 odds."

Not likely an option if he will get a large contract. Doubt we have the room to spend big on a catcher