Well - or someone really steps up and Abreu or Hader are moved at the deadline for something the Astros want. It’s not likely - but I’ll just say the Astros have a number of flawed but talented arms and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two of them grab an opportunity and run with it.
If that happens then the first half of the season went poorly and we are sellers. Teams that are trying to make the postseason and win a WS aren't selling off bullpen arms regardless of whether others step up. We won in 2022 primarily because the game was over if we had a lead after five innings.
Maybe? I have seen a lot of people projecting around .500%. I am just going to enjoy the season. I agree with your larger point but I also believe in exceptions, especially if the Astros get something they want in return.
Astros liked Salazar a lot at one point. No one will say it, but I wonder how much of this is because of last year.
That's how I feel, too. 2 rings made it so I don't live and die with every pitch any more...at least not until the ALCS. I still think this is a good team and I think that as long as we aren't as injury ridden as last year, we'll be right back in the playoffs. If not, so be it. I'm just glad baseball is back.
Baseball is very cultish and has its own weird set of rules and beliefs in the locker room and in the clubhouse. This is especially true for catchers, pitchers and young or I established players. We don’t know what the pitchers behind the scene were saying or even the coaching staff. Valdez was a veteran that won a WS where he was the best pitcher in the series - he pitched here for years. It wouldn’t be the first time that a young marginal player was the scapegoat. Contreras was catching for the Cubs for years and would not even know what his pitcher threw. He would call for a slider from a pitcher that didn’t even throw a slider. A young Cubs pitcher complained and the coaching staff and players black balled him. Comtrwras finally got caught and punished in St Louis. AJ Pyrzinski was playing for the Giants or Twins as a youngish catcher. He was playing cards in the locker room killing time and waiting for the next game starter to get him to go over the game plan. The pitcher saw AJ playing cards and told AJ “I want to go over the plan later.” AJ kept playing cards waiting and the pitcher came back like 20 minutes later and attacked AJ claiming he didn’t care about winning… it led to AJ having a bad reputation and leaving his team… when he literally was waiting patiently on his pitcher. The game is weird and not always fair to some people in it. I hope I am wrong, but I remember after the Valdez thing happened, thinking that Salazar was going to be hurt.
