I don’t know about Brown, but see Blanco went 2 scoreless with 3 punchouts. Quite interesting given Dana’s comments from a week or so ago.
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Yep. After his comments about Blanco starting and stretching him out (you probably know this if you saw it), he said “maybe I am giving away my secrets.”
Yep. That’s what I was referring to. Let’s hope Brown is fine and Blanco gets a shot to work on becoming rotation insurance at AAA.
Just like when we were kids. Or hell, we’ve done this in Denial League. Best called games we’ve had, with the fewest arguments.
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I know that reading much into ST lineups is foolish. But Tucker leads off again today. With the rule changes and Tucker’s SB skills, am I the only one intrigued by the idea of leading off with him and dropping Altuve to 2?
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Getting him more ABs in a ST game when he will only play a few innings. That is what I think anyway. He is a run-producer, not a leadoff man, imo.
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They have said exactly this on telecasts. He is trying to get more ABs early in ST so he can be ready for WBC.
I agree. This is about at bats. No way he should not be in a prime RBI spot.
Most projections I have seen for USA WBC lineup have Tucker batting 5th. Most projection for the Astros line up this year having 6th. This says something about the depth of the Astros lineup, when he moves up a spot on a team of all stars.
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Looks like game today not televised same as yesterday. If anyone knows different please let me know.
I think there are only a handful of games being televised on ATT SportsNet (or whatever the Astros network is). During the broadcast the other day I think they said their next broadcast would be next week. Other than that you just have to get lucky on MLB or ESPN.
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Yeah, 6th is where I’d spot him.
What’s the story on C - Cesar Salazar? He has gotten a lot of playing time early in the spring. He bats lefty and has had pretty good offense numbers in the minors. Not sure about him defensively but saw him make a very quick exchange on a throw out at second base on a stolen base attempt a couple days ago. I wonder if he might come out of no where to win the backup C spot to open the season? That would allow Diaz and Lee to get more seasoning in the minors.
McTaggart said to “keep an eye” on Salazar, and that he’s “opened some eyes in camp,” in his roster prediction piece (while still projecting Maldonado & Diaz as the two C’s on the Opening Day roster):
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He was drafted out of the University of Arizona back in 2018. Not a great hitter, but above average defensively. UofA coaching raved about his maturity, how well he called a game and his rapport with a pitching staff, so not entirely surprised he’s making a strong impression in ST.
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He’s hit pretty damn well in the minors though.
I wouldn’t say pretty damn well, but, yes, for his career he’s hit above the Mendoza line and has a bit of pop in his bat (33 HR across four seasons). For a guy who’s about to turn 27, though, there hasn’t been one breakout season. It’s been a steady progression through the minors.
Regardless, I hope he becomes an Astro (#beardown) and an even more useful back up catcher. God knows the team needs one.
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He has also gotten significant time in LF. He tends (iirc) to struggle a little on promotion, then get back into it when sent down a level – and that has happened a lot, as he seems to be the “traveling man” when roster adjustments are needed.
Here’s my problem with spring training games. None of the weekend games are on TV, and the radio broadcast is all interviewing people, talking about upcoming stuff…there is no PBP. We’re in the bottom of the second, and I have no idea what has happened. There is not even Gameday on the MLB app.
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Saw a few videos on Twitter that seem to indicate a growing pitcher clock strategy.
- Get 2 strikes.
- Screw around the mound exhibiting no interest in pitching while the batter waits patiently in or near the box.
- Laugh when the batter is rung up for “not being alert to the pitcher”.