Hader should be able to pitch behind in the game without shitting his pants. His job is to get outs.
Also, I think he’ll be fine.
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Yeah, how dare he run a team that has made seven straight ALCS appearances and four World Series (winning two) in that time frame. Off with his head because the Astros are off to a bad first 18 games!
Give me a break. Also, no one here was bitching that the Astros signed Josh Hader this offseason. The excitement on the board was obvious. He’s an elite late-inning arm off to a rough start, in part because he’s been used far more often in non-save situations than to save games, so far.
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He and any closer should. I was just saying a lot of closers have bad outings when they are put in non-save situations. I don’t know if their adrenaline rush isn’t quite the same or what, but it feels like it happens far more than it should.
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The only things that give me significant concern right now are the starting rotation (especially Hunter Brown) and Jose Abreu.
Abreu because his bat speed looks like it is just gone (this feels like more than just a temporary slump), and the rotation because right now it is Blanco, Javier and hope the Astros get a good start. Hopefully, JV and Framber return soon and can stabilize two of the other three spots, with one of Arrighetti, France or Brown grabbing hold of the fifth spot.
With Rafael Montero and Seth Martinez pitching well to start the year, that makes me feel better about middle relief than I did a week or two ago.
Sarc-meter status = broken
I’d like to think the late innings are locked down but those three have been awfully shaky.
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Yes, this bullpen hasn’t been nearly as fun as we all thought it would be
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Not exactly Lidge/Dotel/Wagner so far
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This is rough to see for Abreu:
His average exit velocity 2020-22 was 92.9, 92.0, 92.2. Last year was 89, this year 86.5.
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FWIW, average EV isn’t very informative. I wish Savant would post percentiles based on max/90th percentile EV instead.
Of course, there’s no reason to think that information would be any more encouraging in Abreu’s case. The performance so far speaks for itself—nobody needs his 90th percentile EV to know how bad he’s struggling. But if anyone’s looking for signs of life in the data, there’s nothing there.
Just have to hope it’s another slow start and his hard work will help him outrun father time.
Edit: they do have max EV, just not in the headline sliders. Maybe they’ll add 90th percentile deeper into the season.
Uh, no. @HudsonHawk was being sarcastic to @The_Third_Man. And, I responded in a sarcastic manner, too.
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They have been, but all three have established track records of success, with Bryan Abreu’s being the shortest. I’m trusting their track records for now.
They didn’t forget how to pitch. Just sucks that they are all bad at the same tims
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Are you reporting on yours? because it looks to me like DV’s is working fine.
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Crane is too cheap to fund my sarcometer.
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It’s really quite shocking just how low his rankings are across the board. Hitting, fielding, running, in every single aspect of the game. Arm strength is “no data” even. I’m guessing he has not started a single 3-4-3 double play or had to throw home yet.
On the bright side, there’s only 1.9 seasons left on his contract.
Check your Artie Morenometer
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