By the way, did I mention this? I think I told Ty, I might not have said anything here. The genius who bought that house promptly cut down that mango tree. I guess he hates shade and hates fruit.
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People suck.
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Playing like champions. Hunter Brownâs turnaround from the beginning of the season is the best storyline of the year so far. Letâs go Astros!
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Letâs not start sucking each others popsicles yet.
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Are we going to trade for Vlad while in Toronto?
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Knowing how Jim Crane operates, I wouldnât put it past him.
It took a long time, but Iâm just happy the Astros are above .500.
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My personal wild ass crackpipe theory is that the trade has already happened but the Jays asked for it to not get out today. Canada day and all. Vlad Jr was scratched today after all, the Astros wouldnât want their new 1B to play against them.
I am mostly likely 100% wrong about this but I want it to be true, so it must be.
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Altuve didnât play today either.
HOLY SHIT!!!
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Altuve took today off as stand against Canada
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I think Crane is going to insist on Brown bringing in an All Star level hitter to add the the middle of the order.
I think Vlad or Robert make a ton of sense because they have control beyond this year. With Bregman leaving this lineup will be short another proven run producer in 2025.
I donât think they have the prospects to get Robert.
I think there is an excellent chance they trade for Vladdy but no way Toronto wants the fan backlash of him wearing an Astros uniform vs them in Toronto.
If it happens it will be after the series, maybe even after the ASB.
FYI my âfriendâ says he has heard they have asked about him, Robert, and Alonzo among others.
Singleton has surprised me, and good for him. That said, if they can get Vlad, PLEASE do it. Bregman for Vlad? If not, who?
Apropos to nothing, I found yesterdayâs Athletic article about Hunter Brownâs resurgence very interesting. In this era of four-seam fastballs at the top of the zone, especially the Astros, Brownâs use of a two-seamer to pitch inside has fueled his amazing turnaround. Apparently Pressly and Bregman were instrumental in his working through his troubles on the mound.
I threw a two-seamer exclusively as a Longhorn reliever. Time to get out my glove to prepare to be ready for The Call.
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There was a great BP article on it tooâit sounds so simple in retrospect, everything else he threw moved glove side, so hitters only had to cover one direction. Whatâs incredible is that it didnât take him from âbadâ to âokayâ or âokayâ to âgood,â it took him from âunplayableâ to âace.â Great development story with credit due all around, the coaching staff, his teammates, and of course Brown himself.
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Thatâs what is so funny about pitching development. Sometimes itâs as simple as âstop throwing that terrible pitch you big dumb dumbâ or âstart throwing this pitch more you big dumb dumbâ and everything locks into place. Like when Charlie Morton stopped throwing his sinker or Blanco started using his changeup.
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The conversation with Morton went:
âYeah, you throw five pitches, but three of them suck. From now on, you throw the four seam fastball up and the curveball down.â
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Toronto will be looking to reload and try again in 2025. That means they will want players who are likely to contribute in 2025 but also have more control than Vlad, or else they have no incentive to move him.
Bregman has no value to them if they are throwing the white flag on 2024.
I think Meyers and Arrighetti are the 2 most likely.
A young SP w/ 5+ years of control who misses bats is always valuable. The team has had trouble finding RH OF bats who can play CF and w/ Kiermeier a FA it makes sense since Jake has shown he can be at least average in the box and exceptional on the grass.
The only way it works is if the Astros replace Spencerâs spot too.
I think a guy like Flaherty who is a rental can be had for a couple of mid level prospects and Detroit also needs CF help - Kenedy Corona and A.J. Blubaugh maybe?
Loperfido becomes primary CF w/ Leon replacing Meyers on the roster as back up or short side platoon partner. Leon also adds RH power and PR ability to the bench.
This all makes me hyperventilate a bit. Fundamentally alter the hottest team in the last month and one of the top 3 best teams in the last 7 weeks? Why? The largest gap on this team is SP and it looks like there will be incremental improvements there just by waiting for people to come off the IL.
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Correct. I was not thinking.
This is not a stand pat team.
Be on the lookout for a delivery soon. Iâm buying you a keyboard that zaps you every time you type the words âPedro Leon.â
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