Javier

TalkZone
1

He deserves his own thread. What a stud. So is Abreu, by the way, and Montero ain’t bad either. Much of the fun for me in following this team is watching these pitchers with big arms, who I have liked for quite awhile, mature. The Astros excel developing pitchers and know to be patient with big arms.

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2

I loved the shot of Javier in the dugout with his eyes closed.

I don’t know if he was praying, meditating, or just going thru his to do list when he gets back home, but whatever it was worked.

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3

Vazquez called a great game. He and Javier were in sync.

Pretty remarkable considering that’s the first time (I think) they’ve made up the battery together.

4

Javier just keeps getting better and better. We are very lucky to be able to watch and root for this team.

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5

I just read Vasquez has caught for Javier 5 of his last 7 starts.

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6

Yeah, Dusty said Vazquez caught Javier more than anyone else.

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7

What Javier did last night is about as big as it gets. Superlatives are not enough.

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8

This is not a thought that originates with me, but it’s pretty amazing that the Astros went out and drafted guys like Appel, Aiken and Whitley, yet here we are, the best staff in baseball, anchored by a bunch of kids the team signed out of the Dominican for ten grand apiece.

The TV broadcast has touched on this, but it’s noteworthy that most if not all of these guys were signed relatively old, late teens, which means no other organization saw anything in them, and it means that in tandem with each of these guys’ enormous natural talent, the Astros developed the shit out of this group.

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9

Agree, they each have a story that shows a lot of inner strength. I do not think it is the draft keeping this train moving it’s the latin (for lack of the appropriate term) scouts. They are unlike any others.

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10

While this is no doubt true, it’s also a reminder that projecting/predicting baseball success is really, really hard.

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11

Oz Ocampo is responsible for signing Valdez, Javier, Garcia, and Urquidy. Here’s hoping the next person to wear his shoes is half as good.

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12

Thanks

Often wrong…

13

I wonder why the Astros did not offer him an Asst. GM job? Maybe they did not know he wanted one. My scout friend turned down more than one because he wanted to remain a scout.

14

I’ve elected to put off worrying about his departure.

Of course, he’s left before only to return.

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15

Could also be that he saw a shakeup coming on the baseball operations side and wanted out. Doesn’t matter much right now though.