I’m not saying otherwise.
But Dusty said many of the veteran pitchers asked for Maldy to start over Diaz.
Dusty said he changed to Maldy starting Brown’s starts. “So Maldy can straighten him out”
Whats to stop that stuff in 2024 if Maldy is on the roster if things don’t go as planned?
The manager decides who starts. I guess that is what you call “that stuff.”
Dusty said a lot of shit that just him bullshitting to cover up his decisions.
So what?
I guess if the main worry is that you’re creating a potential conflict between Espada and the pitching staff by having Maldonado on the roster, that’s fair. But Espada is a professional and it’s his job to manage those issues.
It all comes down to establishing clearly defined roles and setting expectations. During free agency, if the Astros are interested in having Maldonado return as their backup catcher, they need to be clear about what his role will be. If Maldonado returns, Espada will need to reinforce those expectations during Spring Training and throughout the season.
We don’t know that Diaz is deficient in terms of preparation. We do know that naturally he lacks experience and that Maldonado was exceptionally prepared.
And as far as I know, neither do we know that pitchers specifically preferred Maldonado. What we know is that Dusty says they did.
I’m upbeat about Diaz being the every day catcher next year, and I’m not going to worry about who the back up ends up being.
I am not guessing. Diaz said he was and said he was learning from Maldy. That is why I want Maldonado around in some capacity. I agree Diaz should be the catcher every day no matter who his backup is.
Thanks for the news i could use.
Is there a story behind this? Seems like a demotion, at least in title, and certainly a demotion in franchise quality.
Called cold hard cash.
Rome says it’s a promotion, I guess because he’ll be a VP. I’m sure it’s a hefty raise.
And given that Brown’s probably calling more shots on the amateur scouting side than his predecessors, I can understand Gross being open to going somewhere else.
From Rome’s piece on this:
Though Gross ran the draft in July, Brown had a far heavier influence than his two predecessors.
Brown, the former vice president of scouting with the Atlanta Braves who also ran drafts for the Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals, did not hide how involved he planned to be in the Astros’ draft process. Brown said he took 18 in-person scouting trips before the draft in preparation for Houston’s first pick at No. 28. The team selected Nebraska shortstop Brice Matthews.
“I told (Gross) when I first came in, don’t feel that I’m looking to replace you,” Brown said before the draft. “The Astros have done a good job and we’re going to do what we do with everyone else — just evaluate you. Don’t be nervous about your job, just go get it, get it done.”
By all accounts, Brown and Gross developed a good working relationship, shared ideas and delivered a good blend of by-the-gut scouting and analytical viewpoints for which the Astros have been long renowned.
My “friend” has spoken often of Kris Gross. I’m sure he will post something about this
Hmm, I assumed Scouting Director was over both amateur and professional, while VP of Amateur Scouting would be lower on an org chart.
Understandable—Gross’ official title in Houston is/was “Director, Amateur Scouting” and I guess the report above used the more colloquial “scouting director” instead.
This can’t possibly be right. No one would want the guy assessing and funneling amateur talent into the worst minors system in the league for the last 5+ years.
Aren’t VPs usually the second to the top tier?
Admittedly I’m blissfully ignorant of corporate structure.
Not really, most organizations have multiple VPs.
Yeah, I meant a tier of VPs just below the chiefs (VP of this, VP of that). Or are there VPs on multiple tiers in some orgs?
On second thought fuck the steM.
I was once named VP of a consulting firm I worked for. I was advised that it came with no ownership and no extra extra pay, however. They just needed an officer of the company in Texas. It wasn’t overwhelming.
