I think this is who he is. Well maybe not this bad but last year was the anomaly . Hope dusty learns that quickly
***** 2023 Houston Astros Season Thread *****
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Last: 1 yr ago by texasaggie2015
Aggie8587 said:
I agree. Abreu's production thus far has not been much worse than Yuli's last season. But like someone said above, the contract difference is rearing its ugly head right now
But if his OPS was at this career average of .852, you'd be saying every single dollar is worth it.
His OPS is a freaking .534. If you knew he was going to do that before this season, then good on you.
Again, that still doesn't fix Altuve or Uncle Mike being out and Bregman having a ridiculously slow start to this season.
AggiEE said:Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:Big Al 1992 said:
This team misses Yuli. Can't put a price on leadership in the locker room or the lineup.
What is Yuli doing to make up for Altuve's .900 OPS being out of the line up? Or Uncle Mike being out of the lineup? Or Breggy having a really, really slow start? Or Abreu seemingly haven fallen off a cliff?
Yuli helps with none of those. In fact, outside of the post season, last year Yuli and this year Abreu you have looked pretty similar offensively.
Signing Yuli would save us nearly $20M this year we could put towards areas we need more help.
Did you think before this season the Astros were going to need help at 1B? Be serious.
I was always iffy at letting Yuli go. He's a streaky hitter and won the batting title the year prior. He's no longer hitting for much power but he's just generally a very good hitter and had a fantastic playoffs.
Like everyone I was excited once we signed Abreu but a little apprehensive about the power decline and signing him to a contract like that at his age. I was really disappointed we didn't sign SP which was a bigger need than 1B.
I mean, this board has talked about SP as well though. Can we put our minds back in that time frame for a minute? You knew you had Framber, Javier, LMJ, Garcia, Urquidy, and Brown. Maybe you sign one other guy with the thought about LMJ's injury history. But did you really think starting pitching at that point was the bigger need than CF, 1B or catcher based on the way past season went?
the Astros did not draw a walk tonight
which is another enormous problem on this team
thankfully Altuve & Brantley will help in this area considerably
which is another enormous problem on this team
thankfully Altuve & Brantley will help in this area considerably
Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:Big Al 1992 said:
This team misses Yuli. Can't put a price on leadership in the locker room or the lineup.
What is Yuli doing to make up for Altuve's .900 OPS being out of the line up? Or Uncle Mike being out of the lineup? Or Breggy having a really, really slow start? Or Abreu seemingly haven fallen off a cliff?
Yuli helps with none of those. In fact, outside of the post season, last year Yuli and this year Abreu you have looked pretty similar offensively.
Signing Yuli would save us nearly $20M this year we could put towards areas we need more help.
Did you think before this season the Astros were going to need help at 1B? Be serious.
I was always iffy at letting Yuli go. He's a streaky hitter and won the batting title the year prior. He's no longer hitting for much power but he's just generally a very good hitter and had a fantastic playoffs.
Like everyone I was excited once we signed Abreu but a little apprehensive about the power decline and signing him to a contract like that at his age. I was really disappointed we didn't sign SP which was a bigger need than 1B.
I mean, this board has talked about SP as well though. Can we put our minds back in that time frame for a minute? You knew you had Framber, Javier, LMJ, Garcia, Urquidy, and Brown. Maybe you sign one other guy with the thought about LMJ's injury history. But did you really think starting pitching at that point was the bigger need than CF, 1B or catcher?
Yes, because SP is much more important than any of those positions. We had serviceable options at all of them (with obvious areas to improve), but you can't easily just "get" someone to fill a starter role.
AggiEE said:Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:Big Al 1992 said:
This team misses Yuli. Can't put a price on leadership in the locker room or the lineup.
What is Yuli doing to make up for Altuve's .900 OPS being out of the line up? Or Uncle Mike being out of the lineup? Or Breggy having a really, really slow start? Or Abreu seemingly haven fallen off a cliff?
Yuli helps with none of those. In fact, outside of the post season, last year Yuli and this year Abreu you have looked pretty similar offensively.
Signing Yuli would save us nearly $20M this year we could put towards areas we need more help.
Did you think before this season the Astros were going to need help at 1B? Be serious.
I was always iffy at letting Yuli go. He's a streaky hitter and won the batting title the year prior. He's no longer hitting for much power but he's just generally a very good hitter and had a fantastic playoffs.
Like everyone I was excited once we signed Abreu but a little apprehensive about the power decline and signing him to a contract like that at his age. I was really disappointed we didn't sign SP which was a bigger need than 1B.
I mean, this board has talked about SP as well though. Can we put our minds back in that time frame for a minute? You knew you had Framber, Javier, LMJ, Garcia, Urquidy, and Brown. Maybe you sign one other guy with the thought about LMJ's injury history. But did you really think starting pitching at that point was the bigger need than CF, 1B or catcher?
Yes, because SP is much more important than any of those positions. We had serviceable options at all of them (with obvious areas to improve), but you can't easily just "get" someone to fill a starter role.
Currently, our starters, the ones I listed out, are 6th in runs given up this year according to baseball reference. The teams ahead of them at all well over .500.
That's without LMJ.
How many starting pitchers did you want to sign? You had 6 you were already going to have to work spots in before the season even started. Were you going to trade Urquidy? You had to get Brown in there to see what you have - he earned it. So you sign two more guys after trading Urquidy, then you have 7 guys. Who are you cutting from the starting rotation?
Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:AggiEE said:Beat40 said:Big Al 1992 said:
This team misses Yuli. Can't put a price on leadership in the locker room or the lineup.
What is Yuli doing to make up for Altuve's .900 OPS being out of the line up? Or Uncle Mike being out of the lineup? Or Breggy having a really, really slow start? Or Abreu seemingly haven fallen off a cliff?
Yuli helps with none of those. In fact, outside of the post season, last year Yuli and this year Abreu you have looked pretty similar offensively.
Signing Yuli would save us nearly $20M this year we could put towards areas we need more help.
Did you think before this season the Astros were going to need help at 1B? Be serious.
I was always iffy at letting Yuli go. He's a streaky hitter and won the batting title the year prior. He's no longer hitting for much power but he's just generally a very good hitter and had a fantastic playoffs.
Like everyone I was excited once we signed Abreu but a little apprehensive about the power decline and signing him to a contract like that at his age. I was really disappointed we didn't sign SP which was a bigger need than 1B.
I mean, this board has talked about SP as well though. Can we put our minds back in that time frame for a minute? You knew you had Framber, Javier, LMJ, Garcia, Urquidy, and Brown. Maybe you sign one other guy with the thought about LMJ's injury history. But did you really think starting pitching at that point was the bigger need than CF, 1B or catcher?
Yes, because SP is much more important than any of those positions. We had serviceable options at all of them (with obvious areas to improve), but you can't easily just "get" someone to fill a starter role.
Currently, our starters, the ones I listed out, are 6th in runs given up this year according to baseball reference. The teams ahead of them at all well over .500.
That's without LMJ.
How many starting pitchers did you want to sign? You had 6 you were already going to have to work spots in before the season even started. Were you going to trade Urquidy? You had to get Brown in there to see what you have - he earned it. So you sign two more guys after trading Urquidy, then you have 7 guys. Who are you cutting from the starting rotation?
I just wanted 1 SP signing. JV was expensive but why not? Crane says he'd open the checkbook. If not JV why not someone else?
We needed a little more depth given injury risk especially with LMJ
Beat40 said:Aggie8587 said:
I agree. Abreu's production thus far has not been much worse than Yuli's last season. But like someone said above, the contract difference is rearing its ugly head right now
But if his OPS was at this career average of .852, you'd be saying every single dollar is worth it.
His OPS is a freaking .534. If you knew he was going to do that before this season, then good on you.
Again, that still doesn't fix Altuve or Uncle Mike being out and Bregman having a ridiculously slow start to this season.
When every season is a slow start and your seasons are worse than the ones before them, it's not longer a slow start. Bregman was a terrible investment. Bregman has a one tricky pony swing that depends solely on pitcher mistakes over the middle. He lacks any ability to hit good pitches. His only redeeming factor is that he's a great 3rd basemen. But his complete lack of leadership weighs in as well.
Should have traded him at his peak. Could have gotten a massive haul.
Brantley and Altuve have to hit at their top level or this season will go by faster than you think with us playing from behind against the division.
Montero can't keep living off of his success last year. He needs to earn that spot back by pitching well in mop up duty first. He can't keep getting high leverage situations right now.
It's also time to accept that the Rangers will be a thorn in our sides all season. They made good off-season moves and they are paying off.
Montero can't keep living off of his success last year. He needs to earn that spot back by pitching well in mop up duty first. He can't keep getting high leverage situations right now.
It's also time to accept that the Rangers will be a thorn in our sides all season. They made good off-season moves and they are paying off.
Is this a running bit I don't know about?zagman said:Beat40 said:Aggie8587 said:
I agree. Abreu's production thus far has not been much worse than Yuli's last season. But like someone said above, the contract difference is rearing its ugly head right now
But if his OPS was at this career average of .852, you'd be saying every single dollar is worth it.
His OPS is a freaking .534. If you knew he was going to do that before this season, then good on you.
Again, that still doesn't fix Altuve or Uncle Mike being out and Bregman having a ridiculously slow start to this season.
When every season is a slow start and your seasons are worse than the ones before them, it's not longer a slow start. Bregman was a terrible investment. Bregman has a one tricky pony swing that depends solely on pitcher mistakes over the middle. He lacks any ability to hit good pitches. His only redeeming factor is that he's a great 3rd basemen. But his complete lack of leadership weighs in as well.
Should have traded him at his peak. Could have gotten a massive haul.
This can't possibly be a serious post. Apologies if the joke went over my head.
The trade deadline will be interesting this year. We'll find out a lot about Dana Brown and his influence.
and as long as Trout, Ohtani, and Rendon stay healthy...the Angels will hang around too
So Montero still sucks...
Yall need to reign it in a little. This is getting ridiculous. We're not playing well. No doubt. But the hot takes are getting wild.
May 16th of 2022, the Angels were 10 games over .500. We were tied, but they had a 7 game lead over Seattle. Seattle finished 17 games ahead of LAA. The Braves were 4 games under .500 and 7 back from the Mets too. They came roaring back and won the division even though the Mets won 101. These things happen every year. This team is too loaded to not figure it out.
May 16th of 2022, the Angels were 10 games over .500. We were tied, but they had a 7 game lead over Seattle. Seattle finished 17 games ahead of LAA. The Braves were 4 games under .500 and 7 back from the Mets too. They came roaring back and won the division even though the Mets won 101. These things happen every year. This team is too loaded to not figure it out.
Didn't Abreu hit a couple of bombs in Spring Training
Yup.
I still have faith in Abreu. Everything about his struggles say mechanical issue. Hell, even the hitting coaches say the same thing. Only question is why is it not getting fixed?
Mechanical issues are extremely difficult to fix during the season. He needs a day off badly. It blows my mind why that hasn't happened yet.kegstand said:
I still have faith in Abreu. Everything about his struggles say mechanical issue. Hell, even the hitting coaches say the same thing. Only question is why is it not getting fixed?
I think a decent comparison would be trying to fix a small mechanical issue in your golf swing mid-round. That's really hard to do. Usually you head to the range to sort it out.
Yep. Aggie football struggles/anxiety seem to bleed over into every other board. Especially some newer names.Farmer1906 said:
Yall need to reign it in a little. This is getting ridiculous. We're not playing well. No doubt. But the hot takes are getting wild.
May 16th of 2022, the Angels were 10 games over .500. We were tied, but they had a 7 game lead over Seattle. Seattle finished 17 games ahead of LAA. The Braves were 4 games under .500 and 7 back from the Mets too. They came roaring back and won the division even though the Mets won 101. These things happen every year. This team is too loaded to not figure it out.
I've avoided the thread more than in past and it's really helped my mood. When I do hop on, I get sucked into the negativity a lot.
On a more positive note, I keep hearing more and more about how the organization thinks Ryan Clifford is a star in the making. He got promoted to Asheville yesterday afternoon. It's going to be interesting to see how well he does playing high-A ball as a 19 year old. The kid is still so young and very well could end up being the steal of that draft.
The general consensus among the front office is that Clifford has a higher ceiling than even Drew Gilbert. And they love Gilbert.
The general consensus among the front office is that Clifford has a higher ceiling than even Drew Gilbert. And they love Gilbert.
I would have 100% thought our current lineup would be .500.Aggie8587 said:
Man. I would never in a million years thought this lineup/roster could be under .500 through 35 games.
Regardless of injuries, this team has drastically underperformed and Dusty continues to suck as a manager. Gonna have to really earn the division title in '23.
I don't think it's surprising at all considering who has & hasn't played.
Exactly. When this team gets hot, they get HOT.
If they can stay around .500, they'll be in great shape once they get healthy. Is it frustrating? Definitely. But it's not even Memorial Day. Those who have been around baseball for a long time are always told not to look at stats or standings until June 1st. The 'Stros will be just fine.
If they can stay around .500, they'll be in great shape once they get healthy. Is it frustrating? Definitely. But it's not even Memorial Day. Those who have been around baseball for a long time are always told not to look at stats or standings until June 1st. The 'Stros will be just fine.
1) we can still win this series against the Angels
2) the schedule sets up nice over the next 9 games
3) it's a great time to be getting some of our better players back
4) mean reversion would tell you Bregg and Abreu won't stay slumping forever. It's not an accident the one time Bfregg looked pretty good was our 5-1 against Atl and Rays
2) the schedule sets up nice over the next 9 games
3) it's a great time to be getting some of our better players back
4) mean reversion would tell you Bregg and Abreu won't stay slumping forever. It's not an accident the one time Bfregg looked pretty good was our 5-1 against Atl and Rays
Harry Dunne said:I would have 100% thought our current lineup would be .500.Aggie8587 said:
Man. I would never in a million years thought this lineup/roster could be under .500 through 35 games.
Regardless of injuries, this team has drastically underperformed and Dusty continues to suck as a manager. Gonna have to really earn the division title in '23.
I don't think it's surprising at all considering who has & hasn't played.
I do think Abreu was a big surprise. Him being his past self to start the season wouldn't solve all our problems, but it would be an offensive boost for sure.
Agree with your main point that with Altuve and MB out, the offense was going to have issues when you combine that with the usual slow Bregman start.
Baseball is not for *******. Nut up.
Teddy Perkins said:
Baseball is not for *******. Nut up.
I will say that it is wild with Altuve and MB out you're not finding AB opportunities for your top hitting prospect.
Farmer1906 said:
Yall need to reign it in a little. This is getting ridiculous. We're not playing well. No doubt. But the hot takes are getting wild.
May 16th of 2022, the Angels were 10 games over .500. We were tied, but they had a 7 game lead over Seattle. Seattle finished 17 games ahead of LAA. The Braves were 4 games under .500 and 7 back from the Mets too. They came roaring back and won the division even though the Mets won 101. These things happen every year. This team is too loaded to not figure it out.
as much as everyone wants to bash Dusty (and I think he sucks as well and should've rode off into the sunset) he isn't the reason why the team is slumping. The players are the ones who deserve the hate right now. They have to step it up.
Honestly, we need a good bench clearing brawl to get there piss going. They look like beat cats right now. I see zero energy out of them. Like they are trying way too hard to win. They need to relax and have some damn fun.
Honestly, we need a good bench clearing brawl to get there piss going. They look like beat cats right now. I see zero energy out of them. Like they are trying way too hard to win. They need to relax and have some damn fun.
You know what's funny about the Dusty thing is the players actually LOVE him. I guess you don't hang around this long if otherwise. You would think some guys would be frustrated with playing time, etc. But from what I've been told, even Yanier Diaz is growing really close to Dusty... and this is a kid who has butted heads with tons of coaches and managers through the years.AustinCountyAg said:
as much as everyone wants to bash Dusty (and I think he sucks as well and should've rode off into the sunset) he isn't the reason why the team is slumping. The players are the ones who deserve the hate right now. They have to step it up.
Honestly, we need a good bench clearing brawl to get there piss going. They look like beat cats right now. I see zero energy out of them.
As much as we complain about his lineup every day (and often rightfully so), I do think there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that we don't know about.
I agree. It is obvious he's a terrific people person, but I'd rather not have him manage the team anymore simply from his in game game decisions.
And that's absolutely valid
We hear the "this team doesn't have any fire" every year. These guys are professionals and they're the same guys that have played here for 3, 4, 5 years. We've had a slew of injuries and a slightly longer than normal slow start due to them. I like that our guys aren't pressing. They'll figure it out.
Here is a wild stat to play off of one W posted earlier about walks.
We have 105 base on balls this season. 41% of them are Bregman & Tucker.
This one may be worse though. We only have 9 players that have hit at least1 HR. we have 2 players with 131 & 147 PAs without a HR. That has to be a modern record.
We have 3 everyday players that have been above avg (100+ wRC+) and 1 missed a bunch of time. Alvarez, Tucker, & McCormick. For comparison, the Angels have 9, Rangers have 10, and the '22 Astros had 8. That tells you that 1. we need more contribution up and down the lineup 2. some teams are playing on a level that won't be sustained.
If you guys want some hope, here it is. We're 5th as a team in difference from xwOBA vs wOBA. That gap is made up of Diaz (-.088), Tucker (-.063), Bregman (-0.048), Hensley (-0.042), Abreu (-0.034), & Maldy (-0.032) predominantly.
We have 105 base on balls this season. 41% of them are Bregman & Tucker.
This one may be worse though. We only have 9 players that have hit at least1 HR. we have 2 players with 131 & 147 PAs without a HR. That has to be a modern record.
We have 3 everyday players that have been above avg (100+ wRC+) and 1 missed a bunch of time. Alvarez, Tucker, & McCormick. For comparison, the Angels have 9, Rangers have 10, and the '22 Astros had 8. That tells you that 1. we need more contribution up and down the lineup 2. some teams are playing on a level that won't be sustained.
If you guys want some hope, here it is. We're 5th as a team in difference from xwOBA vs wOBA. That gap is made up of Diaz (-.088), Tucker (-.063), Bregman (-0.048), Hensley (-0.042), Abreu (-0.034), & Maldy (-0.032) predominantly.
I have hope in that I don't think the offense can continue to be this bad all season. Just don't think it's going to happen.
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