You asked this question and I answered it. You are the one moving the target.
I’m not moving the target. I’m making the argument that the Astros didn’t somehow miss a great opportunity with Laureano, that 1) they were loaded with talent at the time, and he simply got squeezed out, and 2) he isn’t exactly a rare talent in the first place.
Exactly. He is a good player (now) and certainly better than Fisher. In terms ob pure value, the Astros lost that trade. But in context, they made a reasonable decision based on need (which is not permanent) and player evaluation (which is not always perfect). Any GM who sees a traded player be more successful than expected is going to feel like he “got away”. They can’t trade on hindsight though.
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On a side note…the one Astro trade that will always haunt me personally as “the one that got away” is the aforementioned Lofton. I really think he could have been a major difference maker on what were some good Astros teams, the kind of difference that pushed them to the top.
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Very much this. Thanks for this post, Bob. I am on HH’s side, as I usually am, and on yours re Laureano.
The Milwaukee trade will always be my worst, not just because of Fiers, but because I feel confident that we win in 2019 if we have Hader instead of Osuna.
How does Osuna get the blame for 2019??? Our two Cy Young pitchers won ONE of their four starts, and three of them were in Houston.
2019 will always haunt me because I think that’s the best Astros team ever, and they were oh so close. They win Game 7 if Yordan’s 419 ft fly ball goes 420 ft. They win if Harris throws that pitch 0.001 mm higher. They win if they get a double play in the 7th. I don’t blame that on Osuna. Other than the BBGs being pissed.
I should have phrased that as two things. 1, I think Hader’s multi-inning ability puts him in the game 7 slot instead of Harris. 2, I think we never acquire Osuna if we have Hader, and thus avoid the “I am so glad we got Osuna!” fiasco. But maybe that drunken idiot would have said something just as offensive.
Man, that is a fucking stretch. Anything to blame Osuna.
Again, it’s not a blame of Osuna - it’s a regret that we didn’t have Hader.
Even that is a stretch. I want Hader too, but that is not Osuna’s fault.
Well, I’m only on my second cup of coffee. My mind isn’t in peak form yet.
Harris was fucking nails that entire season and Postseason up until his second pitch of 7th inning of Game 7. There was no reason to not go to him in that situation.
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Totally agree. There also was no reason for that pitch to wind up a HR. Fuck Taubman.
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Often times decisions are evaluated by the outcome. More important to me is to know the thinking which resulted in the decision. Sometimes good decisions turn out bad.
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I agree, Hind sight is always 20/20
Old Auburn coach Pat Dye story: Fourth down, he decides to kick a field goal, hope the defense holds, get the ball back, kick another and win. They did not get the ball back and it ends a tie. in the press conference he is asked “in hindsight you should have gone for the first down”. He says hindsight is 50/50 and the press says don’t you mean 20/20? He said “Naw cause if I had gone for it, not made it and lost the game you would all be in here asking me why I did not kick a field goal”.
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Always have to like the beauty in words. I think it was rabbit maranville who went to a game hung over, ended up hitting a home run. It was some before my time SS…