I've got to admit, I thought hiring Espada would be a slam dunk. He either didn't pick up on anything from Hinch, Baker, and Girardi or is stubborn that his way is better.

so a limp hitting catcher who is a field general gets us back to .500 all of a sudden. Maybe a tad of truth but come on, we might be 9 games under .500 with him. And that's a maybe as we would lose Diaz bat at times. What a terrible take. If he was that critical why did we let him walk to the only other crappy team in the AL? Maldy doesn't fix the injuries or bregs and abrue playing like dog crap

I need to go back and read that long ass trade post someone made earlier today. It's time to start looking at what we need/want in our farm system.

agdaddy04 said:

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I've got to admit, I thought hiring Espada would be a slam dunk. He either didn't pick up on anything from Hinch, Baker, and Girardi or is stubborn that his way is better.

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No one could win with the way this team is performing

MaxPower said:

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What specifically is he doing you don't like? He's been mixing up his lineups. It's tough for a rookie manager to fire people a month into the season. That in and of itself sends a message that he's a hothead and I'm not sure what assistant coach wants to work for that.

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Continuing to hit Bregman in the 2 or 4 holes seems suspect at this point. Hitting .200 for a month should be long enough to move down the order until he finds his swing (if he does).

it's all part of the problem with a rookie manager

he's never been in this situation before with an underperforming team

I don't have an issue with Espada and his lineup and game management.

I think his demeanor and passiveness are a big issue. There's no fire.

Even Hinch ans Johnny B who were pretty laid back could get fired up and slam a fist, jaw a little at umps and opposing players.

Espada looks lethargic and maybe it's a deer in the headlights deal with the way they've started but man it bothers me.

Ag_07 said:

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I don't have an issue with Espada and his lineup and game management.

I think his demeanor and passiveness are a big issue. There's no fire.

Even Hinch ans Johnny B who were pretty laid back could get fired up and slam a fist, jaw a little at umps and opposing players.

Espada looks lethargic and maybe it's a deer in the headlights deal with the way they've started but man it bothers me.

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So is it true that "Attitude reflects leadership?" Hahah

I can't remember what game it was, and of the Astros player got K and he started questioning the ump they go a little back and forth and then they switch the camera to Espada and he's just there looking at them in the dugout.

As much as I hate Boone, he would've f******* ran to HP and pulled his player away and started with the ump.

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Do you want a blueprint for the 2024 Astros? Look at the 2023 Cardinals.

After Molina left, things went downhill.

It's truly incredible how much a field general type of catcher helps a team.

They dealt with injuries last year too. pic.twitter.com/spaYzqf8YO

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) May 8, 2024

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I would've been 100% fine with them keeping Maldonado as long as he was not the starter and if he barely ever played. He needed to be the defacto bench coach. I think his presence was huge. But he absolutely did not need to be the starting catcher ever again.

What's there to lose? Drop Bregman in the order.

tjack16 said:

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All I do is Nguyen said:

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Do you want a blueprint for the 2024 Astros? Look at the 2023 Cardinals.

After Molina left, things went downhill.

It's truly incredible how much a field general type of catcher helps a team.

They dealt with injuries last year too. pic.twitter.com/spaYzqf8YO

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) May 8, 2024

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I would've been 100% fine with them keeping Maldonado as long as he was not the starter and if he barely ever played. He needed to be the defacto bench coach. I think his presence was huge. But he absolutely did not need to be the starting catcher ever again.

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Schwab had me in the first half. This team is for sure the 2023 Cardinals and I said as much a few weeks ago. Maldy being the missing piece? lol.

Every star on this team except Tucker is asleep, there's no leadership, fight, or fire anywhere, every leverage arm in the bullpen has the yips, like seven starting pitchers are injured, and apparently the coaching is F-tier. But yeah, Maldy.

Embrace the suck, start a rebuild process you have some cornerstones in Yordan, Altuve, Javier, and for now Tucker. Out of your starting pitching you still have a few quality controllable starters. Give the Loperfidos and Cabbages an extended run, bring up Leon. Elevate Pena in the order he has all the tools to be in the top 3 in the order

Yeah Maldy isn't the key piece but I think he should have been hired on as a bench coach or brought back just to help the younger guys and pitching staff.

But you're also right in that this is pretty much the same roster that won a 2022 WS title… and you could argue with the addition of Hader they should be even better. How do you go from 106-56 to on pace to win 50 two seasons later

tjack16 said:

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But you're also right in that this is pretty much the same roster that won a 2022 WS title… and you could argue with the addition of Hader they should be even better. How do you go from 106-56 to on pace to win 50 two seasons later

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Organizational complacency, just like Luhnow said.

Throw in a few bucks to the Orioles. Three big league ready guys with good upside. Bonus we can help the Orioles skull f&** the Yanks. This is the way.

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Do you want a blueprint for the 2024 Astros? Look at the 2023 Cardinals.

After Molina left, things went downhill.

It's truly incredible how much a field general type of catcher helps a team.

They dealt with injuries last year too. pic.twitter.com/spaYzqf8YO

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) May 8, 2024

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If Maldy was all that the white sox would have the best record in baseball

The Mets are paying half the option next year regardless of which team. Even if he's just a mid rotation guy that's a reasonable one year commitment. We could also just agree to pay some of it for a better prospect.

This maldy theory is moronic.

Him leaving isn't the reason. Geez.

Salsa boy needs to be moved down

Failure of this magnitude happens for a multitude of reasons that just compound on each other

We lost multiple draft picks

We lost clubhouse leadership multiple years in a row

We made awful FA signings multiple years in a row

We have multiple starters injured

We have multiple All-star level players having career worst slumps at the same time

Add all of these together with an inexperienced manager and you get these results

Boiling Denim said:

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Failure of this magnitude happens for a multitude of reasons that just compound on each other

We lost multiple draft picks

We lost clubhouse leadership multiple years in a row

We made awful FA signings multiple years in a row

We have multiple starters injured

We have multiple All-star level players having career worst slumps at the same time

Add all of these together with an inexperienced manager and you get these results

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Yep. Everything that could go wrong, is going wrong, this season and it's stacking up

I blame a lot on Crane and potentially Brown for not addressing middle relief.

Better to spend $20M on a few "good enough" guys like Neris, Stanek, etc than on a single closer that doesn't pitch many innings to begin with.

Even if Hader was playing like a superstar this year (he's not), those other guys would have provided far more value collectively

Is it just the anger at the lack of Maldonado's hitting that makes people question everything about his value?

I have never understood the raging denial that he might have been worth something significant to the pitching staff.

Using the White Sox current pitching staff as a reason that Maldonado isn't a good catcher is pretty myopic. The White Sox are tanking for draft picks, and have already started Lee more than Maldy. If anything, they signed him in order to trade him to team that needs help with pitching inconsistency come July/August.

Certainly his absence has not turned the Astros from contender to pretender all by itself.

But you guys steadfastly refuse to believe the fact that Pressly, Abreu (the less ****ty one), Brown, France, Verlander, and Valdez all having significantly higher ERAs than last year could possibly have to do with a change with the guy behind the plate?

For a community where so many people thrive on analytics, that seems like a blatant omission based on personal dislike of a former player.

This will hopefully brighten your day

Jake Meyers as Neal McDonough's character is PRICELESS

🥺These 2024 Houston Astros pic.twitter.com/l4u18R5cr1

— Alex Castro (@Alex_castroTx) May 8, 2024