dcaggie04 said:

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Prosperdick said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Difficult for me to express how disappointed I am that we only saw this starting lineup ONCE, this entire season. 😭😭😭#Astros 2023 pic.twitter.com/S7BNFxn9Yl

— Travis Taylor (@LeftyTravis) October 25, 2023

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Was that the lineup we scored 12 runs in 6 innings before we stopped trying? I'll never understand Dusty to this day that we had a lineup that absolutely raked like a motherf***er and he was like, "oh no, can't do that again."

He was just going keep sticking Maldy in the 9 hole and then try to rearrange 1-8 to try to capture some kind of magic. Just f***ing baffling.

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I guess it depends on what you define "raked like an mfer". That lineup had an 8 run 6th, with hitting as such:
Altuve 1-4
Pena 0-4
Yordan 2-3
Bregman 1-4
Tucker 2-3
Abreu 1-3
Brantley 1-3
McCormick 2-4
Diaz 1-3

Overall 11-31 (0.355)

Compare that to a previous game where we scored 10 runs in the first 4 innings with hitting as such:
Altuve 2-3
Bregman 0-2
Yordan 0-4
Tucker 0-4
Diaz 2-5
Dubon 1-3
Singleton 3-4
Pena 3-4
Maldy 3-5

Overall 14-34 (0.412)

Making assumptions about how good a lineup is based upon a single game is pretty dumb.

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The fact that it was only one game is pretty dumb.

CFTXAG10 said:

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Dusty Baker retires as Houston Astros manager after 26 seasons as MLB manager: 'I'm gone' https://t.co/1deOtz3jqm

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 25, 2023

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Thank god

No matter what, we remember Dusty for two primary reasons:

1. Last years WS.
2. Defending us when MLB, their fans, the players, the media, etc. all....ALL...turned on the Astros. Turns out there was more to the story that, surprise ****ing surprise, didn't warrant that hate. But through it, Dusty got his players backs.

For these things, I thank you, Dusty Baker.

Goodbye Brisket Gloves

A recent interview described Banister as "old school and gruff" so that'll be a hell no from me, dog. His one managerial job, in Arlington, only lasted three years but he still found time to fire his hitting and pitching coaches. Hard to imagine needing scapegoats with that short of a track record.

No thanks, hard stop.

I will forever be thankful for Dusty. I think it's easy to argue that we could have/should have won more titles with a better in game manager, but how do you quantify the other variables. He brought legitimacy to the Astros after the scandal and continued to win at a historic clip. He is a wonderful person with a storied career in baseball. Enjoy retirement!

That being said, I look forward to Diaz starting the majority of games and not second guessing pitching changes.

So, I'm out of prison. What'd I miss?

2ndChanceAg96 said:

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It seems everywhere that Espada's name is number 1. What does he bring to the table? Just curious b/c I don't keep up with these things like some of you do.

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From my understanding (ketch can confirm or correct) Espada runs most of the show. He plans spring training, designed all the pregame routines, and positions our guys in the field. What I've heard others describe our prep work is top tier. Our hitters have already taken BP against what the starter is most likely going to throw to them.

Espada was hired away from NY by Jeff and/or AJ. If they wanted him, it's a good sign for me.

I have never heard a negative word from any of our guys about him. Not that they go around publicly talking **** about our coaches, but you can read between the lines on a few of them sometimes.

I have a hard time finding any major faults with him.

I'm pretty much in the Counsell or Espada or bust camp

I avidly remember cheering against him as a Giant, Red and Cub...

Buster Olney's Astros post-mortem:

"Organizational sources believe Michael Brantley will retire, and the Astros' front office may move on from catcher Maldonado, who has been a source of contention between Baker and club officials."https://t.co/N7lyQTD5nC

— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 25, 2023

bearkatag15 said:

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Buster Olney's Astros post-mortem:

"Organizational sources believe Michael Brantley will retire, and the Astros' front office may move on from catcher Maldonado, who has been a source of contention between Baker and club officials."https://t.co/N7lyQTD5nC

— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 25, 2023

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The world of 2023 journalism - posting something that a real journalist wrote.

Never change, Ben Dubose

Dusty is who I thought he was all along...

Seems like a legitimately great dude--after the WS wins last year, the team was chanting "Dusty, Dusty". They seem to love him. And, for the 2020 season, as others have said, he was the perfect man to lead the team through the $h!tflinging other teams fans decided was their job to dish.

As far as a day-to-day manager, he provided many opportunities for criticism from the fans and the media. His overuse of the "favorite" players was somewhere between aggravating and outright insane (anyone else remember the "Daily Raley" run? Heck, I'm a Raley fan and thought he was overused). His record in extra inning games over seasons was tepid at best. And, of course his lineups this year were infuriating. I swear the man used a Boggle dice shaker filled with roster names to fill out his daily lineup.

Either way, thank you Dusty for your leadership the last years, the 2022 WS win, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

The Porkchop Express said:

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bearkatag15 said:

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Buster Olney's Astros post-mortem:

"Organizational sources believe Michael Brantley will retire, and the Astros' front office may move on from catcher Maldonado, who has been a source of contention between Baker and club officials."https://t.co/N7lyQTD5nC

— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 25, 2023

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The world of 2023 journalism - posting something that a real journalist wrote.

Never change, Ben Dubose

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Keeps me from clicking on Buster's article. I kind of appreciate the cliff notes

Initial off-season thoughts

It's strange to think of a year which ended one win away from a World Series appearance as a 'down year' but that was very much the case. The team underachieved early and often, had a fair number of significant injuries, and otherwise did not perform at its normal level, with the exception of how it finished on the road, winning the last ten of its eleven road games, all crucial and looking invincible.

Maddening to think if it had gone 2-4 at home in its playoff games it would be in the World Series for a 3rd straight year.

So why? The first I think is obvious:



This was the third straight year of an extended playoff run, with this season beginning with the WBC. That is not only a lot of games but a lot of intense, high pressure. It takes a lot to compete at that level and a lot out of players even younger ones.

Adios Dusty, he had overall a good run and helped shepherd the team through a challenging time.

The next manager is going to walk into an excellent situation as long as the pitching staff gets appropriate rest.

Yet strange as it sounds the next manager will succeed to the extent they are able to change the team mindset day to day and that begins with:



More to come

Maybe I'm way off base and maybe it's a lot of people still hurting from the ALCS loss, but it's really hard for me to imagine Dusty is using his final press conference to "take a shot" at fans about analytics. The guy's been in baseball longer than most of us have been alive. I'm sure he's got some bones to pick, but being part of the extreme pettiness culture of the digital age is not something that I associate with Dusty Baker.

The Astros have hired Martin Maldonado as their new manager, per @TomDungESPN.

He is the first player-manager in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/5p4o7GgiMy

— FAX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFAX) October 25, 2023

2 tweets that sum up my thoughts on Dusty.

Sounds like people are starting to realize Dusty Baker might be the coolest guy on earth but cannot manage big games.

Soon to be 0-4 in Game 7s, losing his 13th straight elimination game, with a 1-16 record dating back to the 2002 World Series.

Too many costly pitching mistakes pic.twitter.com/FWg4TUUjyX

— Talkin Nats (@TalkinNats) October 24, 2023

Two things can be true:

1. Dusty was the right guy at the right time for the Astros in 2020. He's universally respected, the players (as far as I can tell) loved playing for him. A big part of me will miss him.
2. The Astros needed a new manager a while ago.

— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) October 25, 2023

irish pete ag06 said:

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As I dozed off last night…I had a vision.

The Astros spend like crazy. The lineup gets filthy. Pena bounces back and becomes a bottom of the lineup terror for the coming years. Our Astros get one more title to make the dynasty engrained as one of the all time greats sometime over the next 3 years.

Sometime around 2027-2030 it turns into rebuild time… Dana moves on and Jim crane with 3 rings and no damns to give decides to run it back for the rebuild.

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I choose to believe that Luhnow isn't actually running a soccer team in Mexico, he's on Crane's secret payroll and looking for the next market inefficiency, finding average soccer players with unnatural bat-to-ball skills.

agdaddy04 said:

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In elimination games


So, the one win was against Tampa in 2020?

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If that's the case we won 3 in 2020. We lost the 4th one.

bearkatag15 said:

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Buster Olney's Astros post-mortem:

"Organizational sources believe Michael Brantley will retire, and the Astros' front office may move on from catcher Maldonado, who has been a source of contention between Baker and club officials."https://t.co/N7lyQTD5nC

— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 25, 2023

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Maldonado showed poor leadership when he failed to mentor Diaz into the season in a starting role

He preferred to put himself over the team. We should move on.