39-33
It is what it is.
We are who we are.
Sure, could we make excuses?
We lost Verlander this year to free agency.
No Brantley to date.
No McCullers for the year.
No more Garcia for the year.
Serious IR stint for Altuve to start season.
Serious IR stint for Urquidy who is still out.
Alvarez likely out through trade deadline.
The above all replaced with household names like Beilak, France, Blanco, Kessinger and Julks. Meanwhile, the Abreu signing has been an absolute disaster, eclipsed in Astros’ history only by the Montero signing, which is perhaps eclipsed only by the Jim Clancy signing. For the young guys……
Perhaps there is some irony that the terrible Abreu and Montero signings were made / sponsored / approved by the guy we traded Larry Anderson for, a trade eclipsed only by the one that sent Justin Fields to the Dodgers.
All that said, it is no surprise we are 5 1/2 games out in West. No that bad when you consider we have had two four-game losing streaks in the past 12 games, right?
Of course, some would look at this team and its record and conclude the sky is falling. Many of us already have, although most hedge saying the season is not a total loss ….. yet. And therein lies the dilemma. Give up or be patient. After all, if the season ended today we would be the third wild card and a team no one really wants to play.
In a worst-case scenario, we are building depth and allowing guys like Dubon and France to prove themselves as future assets (can’t really add Diaz yet since Dusty is so stingy with his playing time). Remember, a similar thing happened in 2020 and we ended up relying on guys named Javier and Garcia, among others, which turned out to be the ultimate blessing in disguise. That said, under the worst-case scenario I would really like to see Drew Gilbert getting some reps at the major league level.
In a best-case scenario, we hang on until Uncle Mike, Yordan and Urquidy come back rested in early August. Bregman and Tucker pull their heads out of their asses, and Diaz gets more time at first if Abreu has not come around. We settle on Chas back in CF if Meyers does not become consistent. This would give us the following stretch rotation, bullpen and lineups on the field when it matters (assuming we have not fallen so far behind it doesn’t actually matter):
Framber - playoff starter
Javier - playoff starter
Brown - tbd
Urquidy - tbd
France - playoff depth
Altuve - 2B
Peña - SS
Alvarez - LF
Tucker - RF
Bregman - 3B
Uncle Mike - DH
Diaz/Abreu - 1B
Chas - CF
Maldy - C
Pressly
Abreu
Neris
Maton
Stanek
TBD
Either way, the season still has the promise of being productive, albeit the former worst-case scenario not one we are used to.
To be fair, for four years running, we have been able to sustain the annual big loss to free agency - Springer, Morton, Cole, Correa, Verlander, and Yuli
. No team can rightly expect that to continue. In other words, we have sustained success all the while losing an all-time elite three-man playoff rotation, one of the best center fielders / leadoff hitters of this generation and a couple of gold glove type infielders. Yet, it appears the loss of Yordan for a long stint could be the final difference maker …. but I am not willing to give up in June.
Maybe, just maybe, we need a step up in “competition” to generate some focus. The ballpark should be lively this week. Here are the matchups for our series with the Mets (33-38; 12 ½ back of Braves):
Monday: 7:10 p.m. – Roof closed
Scherzer 5-2; 4.45 ($43.3M)
Brown 6-3; 3.35 ($725k)
Tuesday: 7:10 p.m. – Roof closed
Verlander 2-3; 4.40 ($28M)
Framber 6-5; 2.27 ($6.8M)
Wednesday: 1:10 p.m. – Roof closed
Megill 6-4; 4.83 ($750k)
Javier 7-1; 2.90 ($3M plus $2M bonus)
I miss our friend @magnahorn, and often wonder what wisdom he would be sharing had he been here with us. It’s not players-only meeting time just yet. Certainly no need for a Mark Grace slump-buster. Instead, I think we are just one bucket of KFC chicken away from turning this thing around.
Let’s go Astros! We remain the champs until we aren’t, whenever that may be.
It is what it is.
We are who we are.
Sure, could we make excuses?
We lost Verlander this year to free agency.
No Brantley to date.
No McCullers for the year.
No more Garcia for the year.
Serious IR stint for Altuve to start season.
Serious IR stint for Urquidy who is still out.
Alvarez likely out through trade deadline.
The above all replaced with household names like Beilak, France, Blanco, Kessinger and Julks. Meanwhile, the Abreu signing has been an absolute disaster, eclipsed in Astros’ history only by the Montero signing, which is perhaps eclipsed only by the Jim Clancy signing. For the young guys……
Perhaps there is some irony that the terrible Abreu and Montero signings were made / sponsored / approved by the guy we traded Larry Anderson for, a trade eclipsed only by the one that sent Justin Fields to the Dodgers.
All that said, it is no surprise we are 5 1/2 games out in West. No that bad when you consider we have had two four-game losing streaks in the past 12 games, right?
Of course, some would look at this team and its record and conclude the sky is falling. Many of us already have, although most hedge saying the season is not a total loss ….. yet. And therein lies the dilemma. Give up or be patient. After all, if the season ended today we would be the third wild card and a team no one really wants to play.
In a worst-case scenario, we are building depth and allowing guys like Dubon and France to prove themselves as future assets (can’t really add Diaz yet since Dusty is so stingy with his playing time). Remember, a similar thing happened in 2020 and we ended up relying on guys named Javier and Garcia, among others, which turned out to be the ultimate blessing in disguise. That said, under the worst-case scenario I would really like to see Drew Gilbert getting some reps at the major league level.
In a best-case scenario, we hang on until Uncle Mike, Yordan and Urquidy come back rested in early August. Bregman and Tucker pull their heads out of their asses, and Diaz gets more time at first if Abreu has not come around. We settle on Chas back in CF if Meyers does not become consistent. This would give us the following stretch rotation, bullpen and lineups on the field when it matters (assuming we have not fallen so far behind it doesn’t actually matter):
Framber - playoff starter
Javier - playoff starter
Brown - tbd
Urquidy - tbd
France - playoff depth
Altuve - 2B
Peña - SS
Alvarez - LF
Tucker - RF
Bregman - 3B
Uncle Mike - DH
Diaz/Abreu - 1B
Chas - CF
Maldy - C
Pressly
Abreu
Neris
Maton
Stanek
TBD
Either way, the season still has the promise of being productive, albeit the former worst-case scenario not one we are used to.
To be fair, for four years running, we have been able to sustain the annual big loss to free agency - Springer, Morton, Cole, Correa, Verlander, and Yuli
. No team can rightly expect that to continue. In other words, we have sustained success all the while losing an all-time elite three-man playoff rotation, one of the best center fielders / leadoff hitters of this generation and a couple of gold glove type infielders. Yet, it appears the loss of Yordan for a long stint could be the final difference maker …. but I am not willing to give up in June.Maybe, just maybe, we need a step up in “competition” to generate some focus. The ballpark should be lively this week. Here are the matchups for our series with the Mets (33-38; 12 ½ back of Braves):
Monday: 7:10 p.m. – Roof closed
Scherzer 5-2; 4.45 ($43.3M)
Brown 6-3; 3.35 ($725k)
Tuesday: 7:10 p.m. – Roof closed
Verlander 2-3; 4.40 ($28M)
Framber 6-5; 2.27 ($6.8M)
Wednesday: 1:10 p.m. – Roof closed
Megill 6-4; 4.83 ($750k)
Javier 7-1; 2.90 ($3M plus $2M bonus)
I miss our friend @magnahorn, and often wonder what wisdom he would be sharing had he been here with us. It’s not players-only meeting time just yet. Certainly no need for a Mark Grace slump-buster. Instead, I think we are just one bucket of KFC chicken away from turning this thing around.
Let’s go Astros! We remain the champs until we aren’t, whenever that may be.
