EastCoastAgNc said:Framber Valdez's elbow is sore. He's back in Houston seeing doctors. The club chose to exude optimism.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 8, 2024
"I asked him, ‘Was it a lot of pain, low pain, medium pain?’ He said it was a little below the medium side. I think it’s going to be fine.” -https://t.co/3XqjFu5TAz
“It can’t all be the clock.”
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 9, 2024
No one ignores the easy hot takes and hones in on the real trends and data better than @enosarris
So check out his fantastic look at what’s really causing MLB’s rash of pitching injuries https://t.co/zbBS6PmycO
We need France to eat some innings in the early and middle part of the season until reinforcements arrive then he can take on the Brad Peacock role of long relief and spot starter out of the bullpentexasaggie2015 said:
The problem is... it's still a pretty small sample size for France and Blanco.
They aren't high on France long term. It'll be interesting to see how the league adjusts to Blanco's changeup.
Pitching depth is a huge concern and if you have to rely on these guys to get you to the playoffs.. you're in trouble.
The good news is that help is coming. I just hope Framber's elbow is a big nothing burger. Dana seemed optimistic- but he loves to not tell the whole truth to the media as we've seen a handful of times before. And I get it.
I think it had more to do with all the games in so few days we have coming up.BCEDAg said:texasaggie2015 said:
They needed an arm that was properly rested. That was Henley. If it had been Arrighetti, he would have gotten the call. Same with Kouba or any other arm. Just bad timing.
I don't think Henley will see the big leagues again and it's a shame things went the way they did considering this was likely his one opportunity. But you never know. He's had a cup of coffee in the bigs and maybe if he gets another shot he'll be less amped next time around.
At the end of the day, his dream came true last night and the Astros won.
In hindsight they should have just started the game with "openers". The bullpen was awesome last night. Maybe they learned something if the same situation comes up again in the future.
SeriouslyiBrad said:EastCoastAgNc said:Framber Valdez's elbow is sore. He's back in Houston seeing doctors. The club chose to exude optimism.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 8, 2024
"I asked him, ‘Was it a lot of pain, low pain, medium pain?’ He said it was a little below the medium side. I think it’s going to be fine.” -https://t.co/3XqjFu5TAz
Keep preaching about the lack of depth and keep watching guys like France and Blanco step into the big league rotation and have success.
If anything, I think the Astros have shown that there's a great deal of pitching depth when you consider all the arms currently on the IL. Who stockpiles pitching to that extent?
If Framber hits the IL, you'll have a pretty damn good five man rotation on the IL in Framber, Verlander, Garcia, Urquidy, and McCullers. And yet, outside of a terrible HB start and a AAA fill in, our starting pitching has been great.
texasaggie2015 said:
Man, I will say... I was one of the biggest Abreu defenders last year and I was optimistic he would turn things around after his back healed up and he started to get hot late last season.
But he doesn't look "off" anymore. He just looks slow. I think he's done. It's crazy how fast father time caught up to him. I expected the power to go down but I thought he was a good enough hitter to give us .280 and 30-40 doubles. It's just beyond unfortunate and nobody could have seen it coming.
It'll be really interesting to see how they handle first base if he doesn't get going by mid-May or so.
texasaggie2015 said:
The problem is... it's still a pretty small sample size for France and Blanco.
They aren't high on France long term. It'll be interesting to see how the league adjusts to Blanco's changeup.
Pitching depth is a huge concern and if you have to rely on these guys to get you to the playoffs.. you're in trouble.
The good news is that help is coming. I just hope Framber's elbow is a big nothing burger. Dana seemed optimistic- but he loves to not tell the whole truth to the media as we've seen a handful of times before. And I get it.
We know everyone falls off eventually with age, but he went from one of the best to one of the worst in a single offseason.W said:
a bit surprising to see the "could not see it coming" comments regarding Abreu
it happens to older players frequently. Most notably Yuli after 2021 and Miguel Cabrera before that
the old guys can fall off a cliff very quickly
This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
EVERYONE was super excided for Abreu. Based on his past, how could you not be? The 3rd year was a question mark, but worth it if he gives you a strong 23 and 24 to make titles runs.Beau Holder said:
Yeah I don't blame Crane for signing him, but the third year at his age and that price was the big mistake. I'm glad he was willing to go into the tax this year given that it was him who did that and the Montero deal. Better be willing to do the same for Tucker.
Stuff doesn't mean much when you can throw strikes. France might not have the best stuff out there but he at least can get outsFarmer1906 said:This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
When Blair Henley's stuff grades out ahead of you, then you're probably not the dude we need in October.
Sure.Farmer1906 said:This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
When Blair Henley's stuff grades out ahead of you, then you're probably not the dude we need in October.
And eat really valuable innings.bearkatag15 said:Stuff doesn't mean much when you can throw strikes. France might not have the best stuff out there but he at least can get outsFarmer1906 said:This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
When Blair Henley's stuff grades out ahead of you, then you're probably not the dude we need in October.
Farmer1906 said:You're not wrong.AustinCountyAg said:It is pretty telling how they pitch him now. They just feed him fastballs and he has no chance at all to square them up. It is sad to say, but his signing was terrible and has put the club in a very tough spot. I may be in the minority, but I'd rather have big Jon getting the starts. He's got good plate discipline and at least has the ability to hit fastballs. It sure looks like Abreu no longer has the ability to hit anymore.texasaggie2015 said:
Man, I will say... I was one of the biggest Abreu defenders last year and I was optimistic he would turn things around after his back healed up and he started to get hot late last season.
But he doesn't look "off" anymore. He just looks slow. I think he's done. It's crazy how fast father time caught up to him. I expected the power to go down but I thought he was a good enough hitter to give us .280 and 30-40 doubles. It's just beyond unfortunate and nobody could have seen it coming.
It'll be really interesting to see how they handle first base if he doesn't get going by mid-May or so.
>60% 4 seam or sinker and he mainly just swings and misses.
Sure it does. If your stuff is subpar and you throw strikes then you get hit.bearkatag15 said:Stuff doesn't mean much when you can throw strikes. France might not have the best stuff out there but he at least can get outsFarmer1906 said:This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
When Blair Henley's stuff grades out ahead of you, then you're probably not the dude we need in October.
Are you trying to say he's better than a 4 and should be in the rotation in October?AgLA06 said:Sure.Farmer1906 said:This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
When Blair Henley's stuff grades out ahead of you, then you're probably not the dude we need in October.
Then there's also the fact that results on the mound matter after everyone's done geeking out about numbers on a paper. Practice and analytics are fun to hear about. They can also mean jack on game day.
Just ask Blair Henley after last night.
Location+ is why France is successful. There also is no measure for how competitive he is, and to my untrained eye he's a damn pit bull on the moundFarmer1906 said:This.texasaggie2015 said:
I don't disagree. But if you're relying on a couple #5 (or #4 best case) to carry you to the postseason.. that is less than ideal.
When Blair Henley's stuff grades out ahead of you, then you're probably not the dude we need in October.
