tjack16 said:

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The games in April matter just as much as the games in September. The last few years we have overcome it.. but you can't bank on that every year.

That's my concern. Not worry, but concern. Even with the addition of a healthy Altuve and Brantley (how healthy will he really be all year at 35), this current level of play will continue to be a hinderance all season.

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Big Al 1992 said:

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You hate to say this in the first freaking month of the season, but tonight feels like maybe not a must win but it would be really important to win tonight. Series win, a game out of .500 and closer to being healthy is so much better than the alternative.

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texasaggie2015 said:

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Are y'all worried about the Dodgers too? They've been hovering around .500

The Rangers are leading the division. Are y'all worried they'll keep that up?

It's an 18 game sample size. No matter how good you are, there's going to be a few stretches during the season that yield weird results. My general rule has always been to avoid looking at standings and stats until after Memorial Day.

World Series hangovers are real too. The Astros will be just fine.

If you were to ask my level of concern on a scale of 1-10, I would probably say it's at a 2.5

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Beat40 said:

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The part where the downgrading happens in your statement is when you say the Braves and Mets being knocked out before the WS. It's a nitpick for sure, but certainly a statement that degrades the accomplishment.

I'm also not sure most would say the team won in spite of Dusty when it came to the postseason. I remember a lot of posts praising Dusty a ton for making good moves during the postseason.

Now, did they win some games in spite of Dusty during the season last year? I'd agree to that statement.

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texasaggie2015 said:

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That's fair. My 2.5 was pretty much where I started the season after the LMJ and Altuve injuries and losing JV.

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redline248 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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redline248 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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I think the writing is on the wall that Dusty can't remember which is the good Hispanic catcher and which is the bad Hispanic catcher and is too stubborn to ask anyone so he's just guessing.

Or, as we debated earlier about we don't know what's going on behind the scenes, maybe Diaz is a d-bag or doesn't hustle or doesn't work hard. There's got to be a reason for it.

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Same reason Dusty kept jerking Chas around all last season? Or didn't put him in the starting lineup for the first 2 games?

The reason is Dusty does whatever he wants.

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Well, we did win the World Series with Dusty last year.

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Good for him. Ozzie Guillen won a World Series. Gene Chizik won a national championship.


Actually, probably the closest comparison is Barry Switzer winning with the Cowboys

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Beat40 said:

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The part where the downgrading happens in your statement is when you say the Braves and Mets being knocked out before the WS. It's a nitpick for sure, but certainly a statement that degrades the accomplishment.

I'm also not sure most would say the team won in spite of Dusty when it came to the postseason. I remember a lot of posts praising Dusty a ton for making good moves during the postseason.

Now, did they win some games in spite of Dusty during the season last year? I'd agree to that statement.

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Farmer1906 said:

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agproducer said:

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Look, Dusty has every right to be criticized, but the man has shown time and time again that he knows what he is doing during the regular season. So, I'm not concerned.

He realizes this is a marathon -- not a sprint. He's seeing the moxie of his younger players by putting them in higher-leverage situations to see if they can succeed or fail.

I think he knows what he has in Diaz and is seeing if Salazar has that extra clutch factor -- similar to what he tried with JJ last year. Remember when JJ was called up, then was called to pinch hit with the game on the line? He failed. Dusty gave him additional opportunities, and he didn't come through. Now, he's off the 40-man and not in the plans. I think he is taking that approach with Salazar to see if there is anything there. He's already 27 -- it's **** or get off the pot time. If Salazar performs during his opportunities -- he could become a clutch pinch hitter or defensive replacement for Maldy during the season. If he fails repeatedly, he will likely end up in the same boat as JJ.

Lee and Diaz are 24. They are the future. So, there is more time for them.

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Completely disagree.

We think we know what Diaz is. He's a top-tier prospect who played well in A thru AAA over the last 2 seasons. He might project as a top half-the-league hitting catcher. Something we rarely accomplish in Houston. Now is the time to find out. If we don't then Maldonado is going to be the playoff catcher again and we're going to have to extend him, sign someone new, or play a prospect we didn't give much of a chance to this year. "But we won a title with Maldonado." We also won a title without a DH. Should we just punt the position because it worked out that one time?

Be honest, who knew Salazar's name before this year? He's basically never dominated a level before unless you count his final college season. He's 27 and has never cracked the top 30 in our system. I think the reason he made the roster was fairly obvious. We don't trust Diaz's defense fully so we want Dusty to have a strong defensive option behind Maldy so Diaz can be used to get ABs in other ways (DH, PH, LF/1B). Dusty has not implemented that strategy at all. The rationale is, we want to see if Salazar has something special he's never shown before and Diaz is young enough that we can try him later.

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agproducer said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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agproducer said:

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Look, Dusty has every right to be criticized, but the man has shown time and time again that he knows what he is doing during the regular season. So, I'm not concerned.

He realizes this is a marathon -- not a sprint. He's seeing the moxie of his younger players by putting them in higher-leverage situations to see if they can succeed or fail.

I think he knows what he has in Diaz and is seeing if Salazar has that extra clutch factor -- similar to what he tried with JJ last year. Remember when JJ was called up, then was called to pinch hit with the game on the line? He failed. Dusty gave him additional opportunities, and he didn't come through. Now, he's off the 40-man and not in the plans. I think he is taking that approach with Salazar to see if there is anything there. He's already 27 -- it's **** or get off the pot time. If Salazar performs during his opportunities -- he could become a clutch pinch hitter or defensive replacement for Maldy during the season. If he fails repeatedly, he will likely end up in the same boat as JJ.

Lee and Diaz are 24. They are the future. So, there is more time for them.

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Completely disagree.

We think we know what Diaz is. He's a top-tier prospect who played well in A thru AAA over the last 2 seasons. He might project as a top half-the-league hitting catcher. Something we rarely accomplish in Houston. Now is the time to find out. If we don't then Maldonado is going to be the playoff catcher again and we're going to have to extend him, sign someone new, or play a prospect we didn't give much of a chance to this year. "But we won a title with Maldonado." We also won a title without a DH. Should we just punt the position because it worked out that one time?

Be honest, who knew Salazar's name before this year? He's basically never dominated a level before unless you count his final college season. He's 27 and has never cracked the top 30 in our system. I think the reason he made the roster was fairly obvious. We don't trust Diaz's defense fully so we want Dusty to have a strong defensive option behind Maldy so Diaz can be used to get ABs in other ways (DH, PH, LF/1B). Dusty has not implemented that strategy at all. The rationale is, we want to see if Salazar has something special he's never shown before and Diaz is young enough that we can try him later.

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I think you are being short-sighted. Salazar is getting his cup of coffee. He will likely be back in the minors once Dusty and Brown decide to punt.

Then, we will have opportunities for Diaz.

I think they are giving Diaz more time to transition and learn the pitching staff behind the scenes for the rest of the season.

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Quote:

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"At the end of the day, Korey has to play every day," Brown said. "He's a prospect. He's a big-time, front-line guy with some power. You can't have guys like that sitting on the bench at the major league level. You have to get him playing time. Salazar is a backup catcher, and he fills that role better."

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Quote:

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"I'm very grateful for the opportunity and proud of the hard work and sacrifices I made. It shows that it paid off" Diaz said through an interpreter. "If it means that I am able to get in the lineup and able to get some playing time, I'm comfortable playing first base and any other position than catching."

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Farmer1906 said:

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agproducer said:

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I think you are being short-sighted. Salazar is getting his cup of coffee. He will likely be back in the minors once Dusty and Brown decide to punt.

Then, we will have opportunities for Diaz.

I think they are giving Diaz more time to transition and learn the pitching staff behind the scenes for the rest of the season.

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Lets say you are correct. What does that have to do with him getting more ABs?

Look what came out of the GM and player's mouths.

Quote:

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"At the end of the day, Korey has to play every day," Brown said. "He's a prospect. He's a big-time, front-line guy with some power. You can't have guys like that sitting on the bench at the major league level. You have to get him playing time. Salazar is a backup catcher, and he fills that role better."

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Assume we don't consider him a front-line guy. Assume we don't see him catching 80-100 games a year, but as a nice bat than can also catch sometimes. Why isn't he playing more in other roles? Salazar is here to make that happen. Diaz sure thought he was going to be used in other ways.

Quote:

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"I'm very grateful for the opportunity and proud of the hard work and sacrifices I made. It shows that it paid off" Diaz said through an interpreter. "If it means that I am able to get in the lineup and able to get some playing time, I'm comfortable playing first base and any other position than catching."

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redline248 said:

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This also ignores Dusty's history with rosters in Houston.
Castro platoon vs RHP? nope - Castro was nowhere near the catcher he once was, even with the splits.
Meyers called up to fill the Myles Straw void? Nope - valued Siri's speed more and hoped his bat would come around. It didn't. Speed is the same reason he stuck with Straw for so long.
Chas emerges when Meyers is hurt and Siri sucks? Nope - see mention of Siri's speed
Vazquez and Mancini to relieve two weak bats in the lineup? Nope - a new catcher was not going to supplant the starter that had all that time and deep relationships with the pitching staff. Vazquez was an insurance policy. Mancini was an added bat and also insurance policy. That insurance policy played out when Yuli got hurt in the WS. Also, remember, Yuli -- though his season last year was terrible -- was the batting champ the year prior.

The front office has been trying to find ways to get production out of the Catcher position for 3 years and Dusty refuses to even f-cking try
There's a reason Maldy was re-signed. Just saying...

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