Did anyone see how Whitley looked last night? Strange no one has said anything about our #1 prospect making his first MMP appearance.
Yeah, but apparently not too well in his MiLB career. He and Diaz were both error-free in ST, if mlb.com's stats are to be trusted. So sure, I suppose it's not out of the question that he and Diaz get swapped out if the latter struggles for a couple of months or so. In Whitley’s first start at Minute Maid Park, the Pirates tagged him for three runs in the first inning, including a two-run home run by catcher Francisco Cervelli. Whitley didn’t allow another run in a three-inning, 67-pitch stint to finish Spring Training with a 3.00 ERA. “This outing was pretty weird,” he said. “I haven’t had one of these in a while. I kind of had everything but my fastball. Kind of hard to pitch without the fastball. Just had a hard time pitching off that, locating off that. It was a real struggle. But I found a way to bounce back a little bit. That was encouraging. But I need to have the fastball next time.”
Yeah, this definitely isn't what you want to see with only two more days before Opening Day. We'll see if it's anything serious, but for a guy that can't seem to stay healthy for extended periods of time this isn't a good sign.
It's especially concerning since his injuries have been back and now neck issues and he's only 24 years old...if this continues he's not getting a 10 year type deal regardless of how well he plays when he is healthy. It's too bad him and his agent were so adamant that he was "never going to do an early multiyear contract", he may look back one day and have some serious regrets about that decision. I know there has been some debate about Bregman's deal and whether or not he should have taken it but personally I don't understand why you wouldn't want to do a deal like that as quickly as possible. $100M is generational money, his great, great grandkids won't have to work a day in their life if that money is properly spent and invested. Sure an extra $100M is nice, but it's not necessary and even a <5% risk of getting $0 isn't worth the gamble IMO.
I've said it before but I view Correa as damaged goods. I hope the Astros never extend him long term. I had a back injury at age 23-24. I was never the same and one wrong step and it can flare up again. Maybe his injury is different, but the risk of paying him a mega contract with that lingering over him is not a risk I think the Astros should take. Especiall at SS where he is 6 ft 4 and dives all over the field.My back hurts just thinking about that. He also has a swing with a lot of torque in his torso. Bregman's deal makes plenty of sense. He gets 100 million guaranteed without worrying about having an injury and dealing with the same arbitration situation Correa found himself in this year. Bregman will also be a free agent at age 30 and could score another big contract. He made a smart move.
I think Correa’s career will end up like Tulowitzki. Oft-injured but consistently good when he’s on the field. It’s shame because he could have been another A-Rod or Ripken.
If he's gonna do it go all the way like Bonds "allegedly" did. Start with Winstrol. Then Deca-Durabolin, HGH, testosterone (cream), Norbolethone (clear), insulin, andriol, trenbolone, and clomid. Can't argue with the results....
Damn I miss Marwin. I’ve been on record since the season ended that letting him go would be a huge mistake. He is the ultimate glue guy IMO. Would be real nice to have him with Correa out. Luhnow will regret not signing him.
The vast majority of the ESPN "experts" picked the Astros the win the AL and then also win the WS...still seems so weird being a fan of a team that has been picked by so many to win the WS the past couple of years. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ision-picks-playoff-field-world-series-winner
Over the last couple days, I looked at predictions from all over. While all agree we win our division, many pick NYY for the ALCS winner while Boston is a distant third. In the AL east, most pick NYY over Boston. But I did see that NYY has had some spring training injury to their pitching staff. Dont have details. Another area of nearly total agreement is that who ever comes out of the AL defeats the NL NLCS winner and wins the WS.
On the picks, I'd say Houston, Boston, New York, and the Indians are reasonable picks to win the ALCS. I'd give Houston a slight edge as we're likely better than Cleveland by a small margin, and NYY and Boston play in the same division.
Kind of have to disagree about the bolded. It's not a small margin. Cleveland was essentially sellers this offseason. They still have the rotation but they're worse than they were last season. They're going to win a fair amount of games because the AL Central is just terrible. But they are not "slightly" worse than the Astros. There's a big margin.
