When I think of 2018 and 2020 I think of how proud I am of those teams battling through tons of injuries and adversity and I’m not the least bit disappointed in them.
Whatever happens, we’re all here for it.
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It’s remarkable that they are where they are, given all that’s happened. But the roster is not as deep as it was, and there is real competition in the division now. It’s much more of an uphill battle this time.
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Understood Jim. Tough luck this season for sure. That said I think if we can get in…and still have Framber and Javier, along with most of our bullpen…I’ll take my chances.
Yep, I am still rooting hard, but I have been involved with baseball teams enough to not ignore reality. If they make it to the WS this year after all of the bad luck and key player injuries, as Winston once said, this will be their finest hour.
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I think we are all still here to cheer and hope. And the chances are still solid.
That said, it just feels like one of those Murphy’s Law years.
I will still enjoy the highs and the future. I will be even more impressed and happier if they manage to overcome and win.
I will be sad if they don’t. But not surprised or devastated like times in the past.
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Yordan to IL, no corresponding move announced yet
Well, shit.
It’s Texas’ helium-filled performance which fuels the undercurrent of season pessimism. A nice Ranger losing streak should perk up the Astros faithful.
Only if it comes at the hands of the Astros.
Today has Dubon leading off in LF, Bregman/Tucker up to 3/4, and Diaz at DH, so that’s one possible solution.
My comments had NOTHING to do with any other team but the Astros.
Multiple Twitter sources are saying Salazar is recalled.
Wonder if that means Diaz is likely to get more (non-catching) playing time.
Yes it does. I can’t think of another reason to add Salazar.
That’s a good thing. Kid needs ABs!
My thought is that the team has a remarkable record given that they’ve lost between 40 and 80% of their starting pitching, however you want to calculate it, their bullpen has gone from infallible to merely very good, their two best hitters have missed and will miss considerable time due to injuries, their third best hitter hasn’t played at all, and the guy they brought in to be an offensive difference maker has made a huge difference, just not in the way they had hoped.
The organization needs to be honest with itself with respect to Brantley and Abreu. Is Brantley going to play this year and if so is there a chance that he’ll perform at a reasonably high level? If the answer is not a resounding yes, you have to act. And they have to be honest about Abreu. They have to acknowledge that they fucked that one up and move on from him sooner than later unless they think they can carry around a first baseman who’s got an OPS+ lower than Maldonado’s, which they can’t.
This is a salvageable season, still very possible to make a serious WS run, but they need to be real about the situation they’re in.
The best case scenario is that Abreu turns it around on his own. The next best scenario is that they find some kind of injury and can IL him for a while, meanwhile playing literally anyone else at 1B. Failing either of those two things, the Abreu decision is going to be a tough pill to swallow either way.
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I remember Carlos Gomez’ “rehab” stint in Corpus Christi. It didn’t help.
I thought about Gomez. An IL stint may not help Abreu, but it would at least help the team defer the decision to cut bait while a replacement-level player takes better ABs. Also, Gomez was in the last year of his contract. Cutting a player half a season into a three-year $58.5mm contract is a shrewd move, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Crane isn’t ready to do that yet.