wangus12 said:

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As streaky as this team has been all year, it seems it's about time for the bats to go cold again

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We were at home, where the bats have died every series for the past 6-7 weeks.

Bright spots. Altuve is hitting well, Alvarez hit another HR. Pena has looked good for the most part. Uncle Mike is still a threat every time he steps up. Every AB has been competitive from him.

Bregman is spending more time complaining about pitches than he is trying to hit. He needs to stop watching the edges for strikes, and start looking for balls he can hit. Tucker has looked mediocre, but he hasn't gotten much to hit. With Abreu behind him, they're pitching around him. His main role so far has been to make them pitch to Yordan by being right after him.

Chas is a mystery. He has had some bad ABs, but he's still getting hits, just not when it matters. I'd like to see him moved up to 5 behind Tucker, with uncle Mike batting 6th. It think that would help him get some pitches to work with, and also relieve some pressure knowing Brantley is behind him. He's young, and the trust would benefit him. Abreu is a seasoned vet, and an accomplished player, moving him down to 7th won't hurt his feelings, and he won't be less effective because of it.

More on Bregman. He is reminding me of Morgan Ensberg. Morgan had 1 great season, he was an all-star that year and he deserved to be. He was aggressive, looking for pitches he could hit, and he was playing care free baseball. He fell back into his old ways of looking for the perfect pitch and he fell back to being a mediocre hitter because of it.

Bregman can be a great hitter when he is being aggressive and looking for pitches he can hit. When he comes up to bat, I really think his mindset right now is that he's about to get screwed by a bad call, instead of how he's going to drive it opposite field and get on base.

He has a good eye, and his complaints are usually justified, but his mind is a mess right now focusing on that.

kb2001 said:

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More on Bregman. He is reminding me of Morgan Ensberg. Morgan had 1 great season, he was an all-star that year and he deserved to be. He was aggressive, looking for pitches he could hit, and he was playing care free baseball. He fell back into his old ways of looking for the perfect pitch and he fell back to being a mediocre hitter because of it.

Bregman can be a great hitter when he is being aggressive and looking for pitches he can hit. When he comes up to bat, I really think his mindset right now is that he's about to get screwed by a bad call, instead of how he's going to drive it opposite field and get on base.

He has a good eye, and his complaints are usually justified, but his mind is a mess right now focusing on that.

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So just to be sure I understand. Your opinion on how Bregman should improve is by watching for his pitch and being aggressive but just don't watch too closely because he needs to be aggressive and swing more.

We sure stayed on brand this weekend. Verlander dealt and Framber crapped his pants. We left with a 1-1 record and now get to look forward to the less oppressive confines of any road stadium

3-9 at MMP with Maldy catching over the last 12

Runs given up in those games: (7,6,6,11,5,4,6,8,1,7,4,6)

average 5.91 runs allowed

That's not gonna allow for sustained success. there's a clear disconnect between our pitching staff execution and whatever the gameplan is going in

Boiling Denim said:

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We sure stayed on brand this weekend. Verlander dealt and Framber crapped his pants. We left with a 1-1 record and now get to look forward to the less oppressive confines of any road stadium

3-9 at MMP with Maldy catching over the last 12

Runs given up in those games: (7,6,6,11,5,4,6,8,1,7,4,6)

average 5.91 runs allowed

That's not gonna allow for sustained success. there's a clear disconnect between our pitching staff execution and whatever the gameplan is going in

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Just think if Framber started game 1...we'd be in the same boat as the Orioles.

I said earlier starting Diaz at catcher wouldn't have mattered but actually it could have made a difference. Not only do you get a big bat in the middle of the lineup but you might actually get some more calls as Maldy still hasn't learned not to jerk his mitt up a foot to try to "fool" the ump on a low strike that's actually a strike.

Last World Series Javier pitched to a catcher not named Maldy on the road as part of a historic no hitter. I hope Dana is reminding Donkey of that very fact.

The Porkchop Express said:

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The point, and one I think you know despite the snarky meme, is that the Astros are not even a .500 team at home. No playoff team, no team that won 90 games, should be this bad at home.

Frok said:

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I was at the game last night and I know we sucked but man MMP sure is a dead atmosphere for the playoffs now. I guess we've been spoiled and don't get as excited as we used to.

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That and the game sucked. Twins took the energy out of there.

houag78 said:

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This weekend was a microcosm of the Astros season. Look great, hitting on all cylinders one day; take a big step back the next. Ran into a great pitcher yesterday, so not surprising. Worried that our playoff fate is in the hands of our #3 and 4 starters (vs their 2&3).

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I'm not sure Framber is a 2 anymore.

tjack16 said:

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Boiling Denim said:

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We sure stayed on brand this weekend. Verlander dealt and Framber crapped his pants. We left with a 1-1 record and now get to look forward to the less oppressive confines of any road stadium

3-9 at MMP with Maldy catching over the last 12

Runs given up in those games: (7,6,6,11,5,4,6,8,1,7,4,6)

average 5.91 runs allowed

That's not gonna allow for sustained success. there's a clear disconnect between our pitching staff execution and whatever the gameplan is going in

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I cant stand Maldy trust me… I talk bad about him all the time, but the pitching issues aren't on him. Our pitchers are just insanely inconsistent. They've also sucked the second half of the season when Diaz was behind the plate

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Well that's the conundrum then. If you're admitting the catcher has no impact on the pitching then only an idiot would start the worst offensive catcher when the gap is so wide between the two players.

Farmer1906 said:

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Bregxit said:

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BadAggie said:

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houag78 said:

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This weekend was a microcosm of the Astros season. Look great, hitting on all cylinders one day; take a big step back the next. Ran into a great pitcher yesterday, so not surprising. Worried that our playoff fate is in the hands of our #3 and 4 starters (vs their 2&3).

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I'm not sure Framber is a 2 anymore.

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He sure dropped a 2 last night. A big steaming 2.

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It wasn't great, but Framber is easily a 2. Closer to a 1 than 3.

81 ERA-(ahead of Lopez 87)
83 FIP- (ahead of Verlander 90)

That's good for 16th in baseball (min 150 IP)

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When he's on and rolling he's a bona fide #1. But mentally it doesn t take much to totally derail him. Bad plays in the field do it. Bad calls by blue do it. Last night that set him off with all the borderline non strikes. That zone was very tight and you could tell he was upset. Then the bunt he didnt field well was the carry over. If he fields that cleanly hes got the easy out at 3B.

I really think he has suffered from the pitch clock more than any pitcher I have seen this season. He just needs to be able to walk around the mound and regroup some times (ok a LOT of times) and he cant do that now. and so little mental things eat him up because he cant leet them go

kb2001 said:

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More on Bregman. He is reminding me of Morgan Ensberg. Morgan had 1 great season, he was an all-star that year and he deserved to be. He was aggressive, looking for pitches he could hit, and he was playing care free baseball. He fell back into his old ways of looking for the perfect pitch and he fell back to being a mediocre hitter because of it.

Bregman can be a great hitter when he is being aggressive and looking for pitches he can hit. When he comes up to bat, I really think his mindset right now is that he's about to get screwed by a bad call, instead of how he's going to drive it opposite field and get on base.

He has a good eye, and his complaints are usually justified, but his mind is a mess right now focusing on that.

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I totally see it.

One had a 9 year career with 14 WAR. The other is in year 8 of his career with a 35.2 WAR.

One has a 116 career wRC+. The other has a 137 career wRC+ Better than HOFers Brooks Robinson, Scott Rolen, Wade Boggs, & Paul Molitor.

One is basically non-existent in the postseason record book. The other leads all 3rd basemen in RBI and HRs.

Cromagnum said:

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Too late to address it this year but we need to figure out why we are so horrible batting at home. Do we need to completely revamp centerfield?

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BRING BACK TAL'S HILL!!!