Apparently last night Dusty said it isn't a second opinion just a reevaluation. Take that for what it's worth.
I'm approaching this as if we can only rely on Valdez and Javier. Garcia = out for season Urquidy = out for extended period of time McCullers = always hurt Brown = never will have logged this many innings and will fade in postseason We are royally screwed come the postseason
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jose-abreu-547989?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb barrel rate dropped in half, exit velo lowest in career, woba bottom 4% of league, bb% lowest 6% in league.....damn
With Abreu, wouldn’t it make sense to move him down to 8th in the lineup to give him a chance to feel less pressure and be more selective with his swings? Seems like if he was batting 8th the opposing pitcher would be more like to dance around him knowing that Maldy is coming up and doesn’t represent a viable threat to drive Abreu in, so Abreu would walk a lot.
I get the sense that Dusty only disciplines the rookies and lets the older players do whatever they want. I have a feeling he is very much against moving Abreu down the order given that such a move would probably upset Abreu.
JP France has been brought up and not one of you has made a joke about the Astros surrendering? I know it's Friday people, but come on!
Well I'm thwarted by a metaphysic puzzle And I'm sick of grading papers that I know I'm shouting in my sleep I need a muzzle And all this misery pays no salary so Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe Sunny Santa Fe would be nice We'll open up a restaurant in Santa Fe And leave this to the roaches and mice
I get this sense too I read a tweet where a fan suggesting giving Abreu more time off ( a suggestion I have made here) like Dusty did with Altuve and Bregman in the past. "A work day" he called it. The answer from Berman, Rome, or McTaggart (don't recall which) was " That's exactly what he (Abreu) does not want." Abreu doesn't want to take a day off so Dusty isn't making him. Considering Hensley appears to be the only current option as his backup I don't mind him working through it. The team will need him before it's over. (Remember Dusty not even wanting Mancini to replace Yuli last year because "defense" means that I'm sure he doesn't want Diaz there) However it's stupid and criminal having Tucker hitting behind him. Even if Abreu turns it around, a world does not exist where he should hit above Altuve, Yordan, Bregman, and Tucker in a lineup
Is this considered somewhat of a make-or-break year for Forrest Whitley? Unfortunate he couldn't jump on a golden opportunity to get called up and solidify a spot on the roster. I thought he had turned it around with his performance in Spring Training.
First, it is extremely hard to repeat at any point in time. Second, their pyth. expected w/l at this point is 18 and 13....... wish means the Astros should be on pace to win 95 games, and that is with so many injuries through the first month of the season. Most of the advanced measures have the Astros with about a 20% chance of winning the WS, they opened the season with a 22% chance. A lot of these measures are debatable, but there really is nothing other than injuries that are "bad" for the Astros chances of repeating. The Astros overall are 2nd in ERA and the struggles are on the offensive end - which isn't surprising because 45% of their projected starters or platoon has or is injured. Injuries are unpredictable - but they should get back everyone that is hurt. If Urquidy or Garcia are out for the season, the Astros have the finances and assets to add another starter if necessary. Also, going into this season there were questions about CF, 5th starter..... the production from CF and Brown have been excellent. The Astros will have lots of depth offensively when they get healthy. Altuve Brantley Bregman Alvarez Abreu Tucker Pena/Dubon McCormick/Meyers Maldonado/Diaz
