The story comes from a quote from Correa at spring training today.
https://twitter.com/markbermanfox26/status/1363945601424048131?s=21
Thanks for linking it! I tried but realize now it didnāt work.
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Dumb postā¦I know Click has a great track recordā¦and of course knows what he is doing. Click was handed a roster a year agoā¦one that has $30+M sitting on the sidelines with an injured Verlander. Heās hamstrung and has to gambleā¦I guess Iām just worried about injuries piling up and therefore I said what I said. Gives no merit to my post but at least an explanation. Hopefully last year was the worst weāll see in terms of injuries. Fingers and toes crossedā¦oh, I knocked on some wood as well.
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The team is having Souza take grounders at 1b today. Interesting versatility play.
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Good for him with the weight loss and hereās hoping he has a bounce-back year. But worn down during a 60-game season?
They basically went from isolate at home for 3 months to playing games.
I think a lot of players were out of shape.
Why that would translate into soul-crushing double play grounders from Yuli I donāt know.
Iām still convinced Yuli was dealing with some injury at the end of last year. Perhaps heās just old and in need of repair, but poor guy just wasnāt himself in October, and I donāt think it was just being out of shape. His swing went right in the shitter, quickly.
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It was his hand if memory serves.
The first month of the season, Yuli was his usual self, batting .292/.348/.517 through August. That was basically in line with his 2019 season stats.
Then the double-headers started. A double-header on Aug 25, then Aug 29, then Sept. 5, then Sept. 8. And then he injured his hand sliding into second on Sept. 12. He didnāt go on the IL for the hand injury, but he was still complaining about the injury 10 days later and there were news reports that he started wearing a hand wrap that he said was uncomfortable and affected his grip. Maybe that affected his entire swing. Whatever was going on, in the 12 āregularā season games after the hand injury, he batted a putrid .111/.130/.111. The post-season was pretty bad too: .114/.245/.114.
Between the sudden start to the season, the lack of a proper spring training, the cramming in of games via double-header, and the stress and strain of traveling and trying to play road games while thereās a pandemic going on, I could see that wearing him down pretty fast.
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Hamate bone, iirc.
McCullers is a FA after this season and has been quite open about wanting to sign an extension with Houston. On Twitter yesterday, he said that:
āI actually would prefer to reach an agreement with the Astros before FA. The entire organization knows I want to be there and I have not heard a word.ā
I think extending him before FA is a good idea, but can only come up with wild ass guesses on terms. Is 4 yrs/$60M way too much? Insultingly low? I honestly donāt know.
Iām not surprised Lance hasnāt heard anything. Itās just too early to start those discussions. Once heās been back on the mound a while they can start talking numbers, but it makes very little sense for team or player to push for a deal right now.
Edit: 2020 is a blur, forgot he had pitched as many innings as he did. Still would want to see how he comes back for ā21 before signing.
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Astros have claimed utility infielder Robel Garcia off waivers and moved Verlander to the 60-man to make room for him on the roster. Garcia, who I think I read is joining his 5th team since July, can also play left.
This move makes me nervous. Doesnāt make a ton of sense to me with Diaz and Toro there. Though it doesnāt have to make sense to me now does it! I remember Twins fans wondering why they signed Romine a few days ago. About 24 hours later they found out Royce Lewis had torn an ACL. Hope something similar isnāt why this move is being made.
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Maybe a trade is in the works.
From McTaggart tweets:
Lance McCullers Jr.: āMy velocity is way better than it was last year at this time.ā
He was around 95, 96 mph yesterday.McCullers Jr.: āHouston is where I want to be. This is my homeā¦ I undoubtedly want to be here well into the future, but the real question is āDo the Astros see me as part of their future?āā
āI havenāt been this happy coming to the ballpark in quite a few years,ā McCullers said.
McCullers: āLegitimate big-league starters donāt grow on trees. I am a legitimate big-league starter ,and Iāve worked pretty hard to get to this point.ā
What WAS his velocity last year? Anyone remember?
Numbers Iām looking at say he averaged 94.1 on his fastball last season, down 0.5 MPH from his 2017ā18 mark. (Different sites seem to have different numbers but everywhere seems to agree that his average was about that much lower than the preceding years.)
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My sense is that it would be a wise move to resign both Correa and McCullers in terms of rehabilitating the clubās image and perhaps some day recovering some of the Luhnow squadās rightful prestige (which is to say the teams of 2015-2019). Correa because he stands up for the team and that can slowly have an effect, McCullers because he is pretty well universally admired (as far as I can tell) and a savvy sort of 21st century celeb-athlete.
But they may not care about that stuff, especially if it conflicts with what their numbers tell them.
Is it just me or is the Click crew quiet as shit?
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I think I have been looking at the 2021 outfield wrong.
Straw does not need to replace Springerās production. He needs to replace Reddickās.
On August 6, Tucker hit a walk off homerun vs Seattle. We all remember that. Before that he was struggling
From then on, the last 2/3 of the ( abreviated) season he had an OPS over 1000.
If he can stay anywhere close to that HE replaces George and Straw has much pressure taken off him.
Reddickās OPS was under 700 last season and hasnāt been over 728 since 2017.
Straw may be able to do that.
There were exactly four players in all of MLB to put up a 1.000 OPS last year. In 2019, there were six. If youāre expecting Tucker to be Mike Trout, youāre going to be really disappointed.
As for replacing Reddick, I was really hoping thereād be a pretty big upgrade from his production from the last few years. I donāt expect there will be. The outfield will be a pretty big big drop off offensively. Hopefully a healthy Alvarez and a bounce back from Altuve and Bregman will make up for some of that.
I wasnāt suggesting that at all, I was merely pointing out HOW good he was for a stretch last season
To give us hope of his possibilities as a run producer for this team and lineup.