AustinCountyAg said:

---

ok. now compare passed balls

---

lol

Read the first sentence of my post. I don't disagree that Diaz is better than Maldy. Maldy's defense has fallen off a cliff this year which is especially frustrating since that's supposedly why he's playing.

But the argument about framing is pretty moot, imo. That's what I was pointing out. Not that he's a better defensive catcher.

Maldys defense has fallen off a Cliff similar to how Reddicks did his last couple of years

(And how Tuckers seemed to this year)

Amen. I agree with everyone on this thread that Diaz should get the bulk of the starts at catcher, His potential at the plate makes this a no brainer IMO but this constant harangues against Maldy are more than old. A ball gets past Maldy, over reaction. Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. Pitcher not getting a calls on the edges, all Maldy's fault. Same thing happens when Yainer is in the bucket, not a peep. Stolen bases, all Maldy's fault not a mention how well the pitcher is holding on runners. Every Maldy PA that is not productive, over reaction. Poor PA by Diaz, not a peep.

astros4545 said:

---

jkag89 said:

---

Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. .

---

Aren't we still waiting on his first

---

Didn't he recently have one that led to costly run(s)?

tjack16 said:

---

I blame the lack of caught stealing more on the pitchers. Many times they weren't even trying to hold runners… especially against the royals and orioles.

---

So, what contributed to them getting on base?

astros4545 said:

---

jkag89 said:

---

Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. .

---

Aren't we still waiting on his first

---

No. He has let at least a couple get past him in his last few starts, as rare as they are. Whether they were ruled a passed ball or wild pitch I don't recall but it wouldn't matter what it was ruled if Maldy was in the bucket, the blame would be placed on him.

I just find it funny that people are trying to justify or defend in anyway that a bottom 5 player at his position in all of baseball from both an offense and defense perspective should be starting over a player who is a plus offensive player and at worst an average defensive player. There is also not any meaningful correlation or positive difference to team wins/losses and/or pitcher ERA when the bottom 5 player is in the game versus the other player, which would be the only stats that could be used to try to argue there is some hidden intangible value not captured by the other statistics.

With all this said, I have fully accepted that Maldy will be our starter for most (if not all) of the playoff games so that I do not continue to get mad at this gross mismanagement of playing time.

Beat40 said:

---

Why do you keep yelling at the sun's rising?

---

Exactly.

jkag89 said:

---

astros4545 said:

---

jkag89 said:

---

Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. .

---

Aren't we still waiting on his first

---

No. He has let at least a couple get past him in his last few starts, as rare as they are. Whether they were ruled a passed ball or wild pitch I don't recall but it wouldn't matter what it was ruled if Maldy was in the bucket, the blame would be placed on him.

---

Not according to MLB.com

jkag89 said:

---

Amen. I agree with everyone on this thread that Diaz should get the bulk of the starts at catcher, His potential at the plate makes this a no brainer IMO but this constant harangues against Maldy are more than old. A ball gets past Maldy, over reaction. Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. Pitcher not getting a calls on the edges, all Maldy's fault. Same thing happens when Yainer is in the bucket, not a peep. Stolen bases, all Maldy's fault not a mention how well the pitcher is holding on runners. Every Maldy PA that is not productive, over reaction. Poor PA by Diaz, not a peep.

---

If a guy is in there with a terrible bat because of his defensive capabilities, shouldn't his defensive play be scrutinized more? Also, Diaz is a rookie so we are going to be more forgiving, hoping that he improves defensively while enjoying his superior bat.

AgLA06 said:

---

AustinCountyAg said:

---

ok. now compare passed balls

---

2023 Regular season

Mald 12 14 out of 100 caught stealing
Diaz 0 15 out of 50 caught stealing

---

This is egregious

Beat40 said:

---

Why do you keep yelling at the sun's rising?

---

I suppose equal parts catharsis and the somewhat futile hope that Dana and the FO can somehow convince Donkey to play him since they have final say (or something close to that) on personnel decisions in the playoffs.

AgLA06 said:

---

AustinCountyAg said:

---

ok. now compare passed balls

---

https://www.mlb.com/player/martin-maldonado-455117?season=2023&team=117&stats=career-r-fielding-mlb&year=2023

2023 Regular season

Defense

Maldy 12, 14 out of 100 caught stealing
Diaz 0, 15 out of 50 caught stealing (projected 30 out of 100)


Offense
AVG OBP SLG OPS
Maldy .191 .258 .348 .606
Diaz .282 .308 .538 .846

Twice the catcher, twice the hitter. Maldy Intangibles!

---

Farmer1906 said:

---

htxag09 said:

---

astros4545 said:

---

jkag89 said:

---

Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. .

---

Aren't we still waiting on his first

---

Didn't he recently have one that led to costly run(s)?

---

Yainer has an argument for the best blocking catcher in baseball. His per game #s are.

---

Everytime I look at catcher stats and see "opportunities", I just have to think Dusty is trolling the F out of us on his fairwell tour. Maldy is near the elite guys in PT while having average to bottom performing stats in nearly every category.

AgLA06 said:

---

tjack16 said:

---

I blame the lack of caught stealing more on the pitchers. Many times they weren't even trying to hold runners… especially against the royals and orioles.

---

So, what contributed to them getting on base?

---

In those series? Probably walks

Mr President Elect said:

---

jkag89 said:

---

Amen. I agree with everyone on this thread that Diaz should get the bulk of the starts at catcher, His potential at the plate makes this a no brainer IMO but this constant harangues against Maldy are more than old. A ball gets past Maldy, over reaction. Ball gets past Yanier, not a peep. Pitcher not getting a calls on the edges, all Maldy's fault. Same thing happens when Yainer is in the bucket, not a peep. Stolen bases, all Maldy's fault not a mention how well the pitcher is holding on runners. Every Maldy PA that is not productive, over reaction. Poor PA by Diaz, not a peep.

---

If a guy is in there with a terrible bat because of his defensive capabilities, shouldn't his defensive play be scrutinized more? Also, Diaz is a rookie so we are going to be more forgiving, hoping that he improves defensively while enjoying his superior bat.

---

You don't have to convince me. I have one major gripe against Dusty, not giving Diaz the bulk of the starts over Maldy.

Mr.Bond said:

---

jkag89 said:

---

I'm not defending Maldy, I'm just tired of the daily *****ing about him as if this never-ending harrumphing will change a damn thing. I guess yelling at clouds is cathartic for some and in hindsight this is exactly what I'm doing here by ranting against the ranting.

---

Its a message board sir..... its basically an online therapist

---

Fair enough but it doesn't seem to be working at least for Prosper,

AgLA06 said:

---

tjack16 said:

---

I blame the lack of caught stealing more on the pitchers. Many times they weren't even trying to hold runners… especially against the royals and orioles.

---

So, what contributed to them getting on base?

---

Bad pitching? It's no secret there has been runs of bad pitching at different times this year for the Astros.

Actually funny you're trying to imply runners are getting on base because Maldy is catching. Actually.

The blocking is what bothers me the most. I e had a problem with Maldonado with that since the 2018 playoffs vs Boston. One of the worst series of catching I e ever seen in my life and possibly a leading reason we lost.

It was my biggest worry when we resigned him. It hasn't gotten better of late.

But STILL I am an intangibles believer. I still think it should be be Diaz until he proves he can't do it but it's all in that unmeasurable metric I put the weight which most on this board so willfully just ignore

AgLA06 said:

---

AustinCountyAg said:

---

ok. now compare passed balls

---

https://www.mlb.com/player/martin-maldonado-455117?season=2023&team=117&stats=career-r-fielding-mlb&year=2023

2023 Regular season

Defense

Maldy 12 PB, 14 out of 100 caught stealing
Diaz 0 PB, 15 out of 50 caught stealing (projected 30 out of 100)


Offense
AVG OBP SLG OPS
Maldy .191 .258 .348 .606
Diaz .282 .308 .538 .846

Twice the catcher, twice the hitter. Maldy Intangibles!

Sorry, formatting sucked.

---

To make it even worse, Diaz has a near .900 ops since June as he had an awful start. You would think that would earn him more playing time, but nope, he had his least AB's since May in September, despite an OPS of .960 for the month.

Astros GM Dana Brown with us on @SportsTalk790: "If we can continue to get the pitching, the defense is there. We're gonna need quality ABs to get us over the hump. You have to have disciplined ABs. If we get that, I think we'll be on the winning side."@SeanUnfiltered

— Brian LaLima (@BLima790) October 4, 2023

VERLANDER* damn it.

— Brian LaLima (@BLima790) October 4, 2023

Dana Brown was also asked by @SeanUnfiltered about the usage of both Michael Brantley and Yordan as DH or LF. Brown mentioned "That will be a Dusty call" but expects both to be in the lineup.

— Brian LaLima (@BLima790) October 4, 2023

Astros GM Dana Brown on the 3rd starter for the ALDS - "Not sure yet. We'll meet this week and probably set the roster on Friday."@SeanUnfiltered @SportsTalk790

— Brian LaLima (@BLima790) October 4, 2023

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Minute Maid rocking this weekend." - Astros GM Dana Brown finishing up with us on @SportsTalk790.@SeanUnfiltered @SSalisburyShow

— Brian LaLima (@BLima790) October 4, 2023