Now Schwab is saying he's staying. Apparently people told him he was leaving for the Angels to join Washington but apparently it's false.
I was in neutral for the hiring, but hearing him at the press conference, we got the right man. I love that he said this is home which gives me the Demeco vibe. Most important asset is his spanish language so he can communicate with Framber, Luis and C.Javier. Maybe this is where Dusty failed in his last 2 games with the Stros.
Espada did by saying he's going to put the best players on the field. ...I guess the next Robel Garcia isn't starting at leadoff.
I just watched the press conference and a few things really stood out. At one point Joe said "I will play the best players" Dana said, "I think the most important quality of a leader is humility" They both talked about collaboration. There were many hints about how different this will be from the Dusty experience.
When I heard Espada was the one to make the Singleton and Diaz PH decisions, I knew I wanted him as our next manager.
I would be shocked if Dusty has not picked up enough Spanish to have a basic conversation with any and all of the players. By all accounts Dusty was exceptional with the people aspect of the job and his players would go to war for him. It was his decision making, stubbornness, and ego that caused the Astros to lose that series.
To those that have been upset or concerned that the Astros have moved away from analytics - Joe Espada is very big on analytics. Dana Brown pushed hard for Espada... he wanted a manager that used analytics as well.
It could have been 100% Espada. PH Singleton sure seemed like a Dusty move. If it was Dusty there's no way we would know and hopefully will never know in the future because it would be the sign stealing scandal all over again. A manager who was thrown out makes managerial decisions from the clubhouse that led to a win in a playoff game...that would be bad.
He earned his shot, I like that he's a direct connection to the Luhnow/Hinch era, which I so sorely miss.
