Yep. If he had even performed at 50% of his regular season, we probably would have been prepping for the next series. I know Altuve had a terrible playoffs last year (until the World Series) and remember Springer also having a terrible few rounds back in 2017. But we couldn't afford a terrible performance from a key player this postseason with Maldy playing every damn game and Baker not willing to PH at early opportunities. Do we chalk this up as just a slump and hope that next season will be different?
We probably win the series if Tuck is even just average/serviceable at the plate which is the most painful part.
Kyle Tucker is one of the most frustrating players on this team. Even moreso than Maldonado (Maldy sucks, but at least you know what to expect with him, and I do appreciate Maldy's fire.) I have never liked Tucker's body language from the moment he was called up several years ago. Never looked happy here. Nice guy, but just seems soft. No swag. He's the type of guy that fans of certain franchises would be quick to boo. Looks like he's just counting down the days before the big payday. I also don't like Tucker's mechanics in swinging the bat. Altuve had a bad postseason at the plate in 2022 (in terms of not driving in runs), but he never sulked and consistently gave a strong effort.
Goodness. Kyle Tucker is one of the best hitters in baseball and a really good defensive outfielder. But we're upset he doesn't have more "swag"?
Yes. To be more specific, I hope the next postseason will be different. Regular season Tucker is getting MVP votes. I would like, for once, that his season gets off to a better start than it historically does. But this was just a slump at the worst possible time and he was clearly sunk deep into his head and couldn't get out of it. I trust some time off away from baseball will do him well and he'll be the player we expect him to be in 2024.
A lotta luck involved in baseball so even the best players are susceptible to playoff slumps, but Tucker’s body language makes it a lot harder to swallow as a fan. Lazily tracking balls in the outfield, non-chalant about failure at the plate. Zero enthusiasm for his teammates’ success. He’s a very good player and could very well win an mvp sometime in the 5 years, but I don’t want Houston paying him $200M+ and will miss him way less than I miss Springer or Correa.
I think so. As bad as he was, it happens. Unfortunate timing, and his body language didn't help, but I have no reason to believe this was anything more than a horribly timed slump. It doesn't help that Maldonado did his usual nothing, Pena wasn't much, etc. You hope Tucker can pick up the dead weight, but when he's part of that dead weight it's hard to overcome. Maybe he will grow from it.
Offense just never seems to be firing on all cylinders in the post-season. We've won through pitching and grinding. Not being red hot bombers like a lot of other champions recently. I want to be the red hot bombers one year.
Tucker is fine. Upset fans are looking for reasons and blame. It sucks that he had a bad post season but it's only 11 games. It could happen to anyone, and he was slumping in September too. Baseball players have ups and downs. It's the nature of the game. As for his personality, what does it have to do with his value to this team. I know that every at bat and every defensive play he was trying 100%. Just because he isn't a demonstrative, fiery, energetic guy does not mean he isn't giving 100% effort. He will still be among the top outfielders and run producers in baseball next year and hopefully it carries over to a good post season. I'm thrilled he is a Houston Astro. *however since he is not willing to sign an extension, I would be happy if they were able to trade him for impact players that could extend the window of contention and be the future of this franchise, but if not then 2 more years of MVP votes is fine by me.
The teammate thing stood out to me last night when Altuve scored in the 1st and was high fiving. Tucker was the one player that looked like he could care less meanwhile everyone else was fired up
I've always wanted Crane to pay and keep Tucker, especially since we traded our potential future star outfielder away...but his lackluster attitude and demeanor this playoff really rubbed me the wrong way. He was like that throughout the season, especially early. Wonder if contract negotiations is effecting him....or the fact he lost that arbitration, and probably more pissed off than he let on. Still want to re-sign him though.
I remember in the dugout footage, Tuck didn't even celebrate after Tuve's big homer in game 5. I don't know if he has the disposition to raise his game in the playoffs. His post-season numbers are very pedestrian.
I noticed that too, and found it a bit unusual, but then again not too surprising. Sometimes I wonder if he is on the high end of the spectrum. He seems a bit robotic and OCD a lot of the time.
I don’t think he’s going to resign, but we still got two years to persuade him, and if it’s not looking good after next season maybe start thinking about a move. We’ve let too many players just walk and eventually we have to start getting something back and restocking the farm. Either to keep the run going or to make the rebuild period short.
Agree fully with your post, btw - but wanted to discuss this part... The Astros have let a slew of good players walk over the years, in large part because they were valuable up to the minute they left - they weren't going to trade pending-FAs like Cole or Springer or Correa in the middle of a pennant run. That meant they'd often leave with minimal compensation - but that was mostly mitigated by the fact the Astros' MLB roster was stacked and their farm generally had a replacement in waiting. This offseason, though - I think we've entered uncharted territory. The MLB team isn't as deep as it's been and needs some help; it's farm system has been devastated by trades and penalties, making it harder to address the MLB needs. The team is older and they're entering a tricky stage of how to manage the first extensions for the younger players and the last extensions for the older players. All that to say, it sounds like they want to extend Kyle Tucker - but if they can't, I wonder if he becomes a very valuable, very useful trade chip? His highest value is right now, with two years of control left, and I believe he would fetch a fairly significant return. I don't think the return would be *as* good - but Tucker being made available would be in the same ballpark as Juan Soto being dealt in '22 (Soto was younger and under club control for 2.5 years so it's not apples-to-apples - but it's close). A Tucker trade could, theoretically, address 2-3 issues with this team. And I wonder if it's an idea they've kicked around...
The Astros have gotten chances at winning the World Series for not trading players. If the injuries that happened this year happen in 2025 and it is unlikely the Astros will make the postseason, the Astros will consider trading away guys with expiring contracts at the deadline. Considering the state of the Astros, I'd say there is a good chance the Astros are contenders for a while, and end up having to do a massive rebuild due to being good for so long. I just don't see the Astros rebuilding until 2026 at the earliest without massive injury problems as the odds the Astros win the World Series in 2024 and 2025 combined is probably about the same if not more as 2026-2028 combined.
