I am obviously a homer and am a glass is half full guy. I also hope I am realistic about baseball games. Baltimore is one of the elite teams in MLB, and most of us would have been happy with a split before the games were played.
Think of this though: it could have been a sweep…in Baltimore. Friday night, a failure to turn an easy DP brought the winning run to the plate with no outs. That play especially galls me. The runner at third is coached to run on any ground ball to stay out of a DP, and Abreu took the bait and did not get anyone. My HS teams would have known where to throw the ball on a comebacker with a 3-run lead.
Saturday a routine third out turned into a bases loaded problem because the 1B was lackadaisical, and the P did not cover first. A P did not break to cover first on a grounder to the right side? What??!!? Was the C yelling “Get over there?” ANY HS team would have gotten that out.
Tip your cap to the Os for getting the big hits when they were needed, but the Astros gave them extra outs. I will not say the Astros would have won Sat because there were 9 outs still to get, but the game Friday would have been a win if Abreu makes a basic fundamental play.
There is much to look forward to this season, which astonishes me, and I am not believing where the Astros are this close to the end. I wrote this season off long ago, and they are in the lead with smoke, mirrors, baling wire, castoffs, minor leaguers, and a winning culture. If the starting rotation keeps up the current performance and if someone reminds the defense of basic fundamentals, this team has a chance to make us happy. I already am proud of the turnaround.
Just think how close a sweep of Baltimore was. This team can be good.
So glad Neris is back. Keep him here! Neris, Abreu, Pressley, and Hader is a formidable pen. As Doyce aptly pointed out, the Cubs released Neris for $ reasons, not because he was pitching badly.
I told myself after ‘22 that no matter what happens next (decline) I’d be happy with this run. That’s been harder sometimes than others but ultimately has kept me from losing my shit several times the last two years. Every season has its own ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, and even personalities. The grind of this team, and the way they’ve pieced it together has already been worth the price of admission and personally, I just need to remember this has been a HELL of a ride. This season included.
If I were an opposing team in the playoffs, I would hate to face a rotation of Verlander, Valdez, Brown and one of Blanco, Kikuchi and Arrighetti. I also like our bullpen a whole lot better with Neris back on the team.
The team really needs a healthy Kyle Tucker to finish the season. He just makes the lineup so much deeper.
Hopefully it all comes together and we will be lucky enough to see one more run by this group.
Obviously you want every player to make the best plays, especially the fundamental ones but things happen.
As for this series and the 2024 Astros, they came into this year as the team every other team circles and wants more than any other. The Rangers have never been that, regardless of last year.
The Orioles are modeled after them and know they need to go through them if they want to take that away.
They know a split, especially at home, doesn’t accomplish that. And winning only 2 of 7 for the season damn sure doesn’t accomplish that.
This is a brutal stretch of games. 4 more series in the next 14 days with playoff hopeful teams wanting to take down the king. Hopefull Tucker and Yordan get healthy soon but until then just keep on keepin’ on
32 games left.
If the Astros go 16-16 then the Mariners need to go 20-11 just to tie them.
Lots of silver linings to this season if one considers some of the questions that have been answered.
Crane is still all in. Despite the money spent on Abreu and Montero, when it became clear that they were not going to be able to help the team, Crane let Brown do what needed to be done.
Brown has a plan and can execute. He identified Blanco as a having the skills for a starter. He identified Kikuchi as the pitcher to target at the trade deadline. He’s now brought in Gamel and Heyward to address the weaknesses of the outfield withbTucker’s absence and Chas’ regression. (He was, afterall, part of the Altanta front office that helped them win the 2021 WS (ouch) after Acuna went down.)
The Astros pitching brain trust remains intact even with Strom’s departure. (Hopefully, they’ll be able to fix Montero.)
Espada has been the right manager for this version of the Astros. Despite some head scratching moves and lineups, he deserves credit for not panicking and for righting the ship. Obviously the veterans and the team’s culture have a role in this, but Espada as the manager, and perhaps because he has long been part of the culture, sets the tone. Also, as much as I thought Dusty was right for the '22 team, I can’t imagine him playing as many of the young guys and bench players as Espada has. Espada’s played some enough to demonstrate trade value - Loperfido and Bloss - and others enough to contribute (somewhat) - Dezenzo and Whitcomb.
The minor league system is not as bereft of talent as the pundits say. Brown has yet to put his mark on this, and I’m not saying there is a Pena-equivalent ready to take either Tucker or Bregman’s place. However, the system is still producing pieces that other teams value enough for an impactful trade, and has some potentially decent arms.
This year’s team has not been the juggernaut we’ve been spoiled by, but it’s been rewarding to watch them address each problem and come together. It’s nice to know that these last 27 games will all count, and they are still in contention for more games. Now if this mythical Tucker can ever be found…
I am of the opinion that the Astros are looking for something different thn pundits. Pundits look for ceiling. Astros are looking for floor of at least replacement level players. Replacement level players may not get ranked in the top 100 but it also means fewer misses.
Judging by what I have read and seen, Dana Brown is VERY focused on ceiling much more than floor. That is especially obvious in his drafting of Matthews and some of the high K power/speed guys.
That said, I think he understands the need for an organization that competes over a long period to have high floor guys who can fill in around the margins and this team has always had those. But so far, they have all been guys brought in by Luhnow or Click.
Lets hope that continues over the next several years when the organization is stocked with his guys.
This is without a doubt, my favorite time of year. Playoff baseball is right around the corner, college football is up and running, the NFL is gearing up… basically you’re guaranteed to turn the tv on and there will be something badass on to watch. Plus, the weather starts to cool off…
I agree with you. One could argue Janek is more of a high floor pick, but it’s clear Dana is ok with trading the high floor guys and wants to keep the guys with the highest potential (basically meaning hits for power at a premium position).
ETA: personally, I kinda reject the concept of “high floor” altogether, except for premium defenders. Usually “high floor” means “high probability of being a productive major leaguer” vs a “boom or bust” guy, but there’s no such thing as a floor with the bat. It’s all defense. Colin Moran was like the prototypical high-floor not-super-high-ceiling guy, but he ended up having almost no value in the bigs. When I think “high floor” I’d say someone like Jake Marisnick. The bat never clicked for very long, but he was so good in the OF that he finished his career with 12 WAR. Moran finished at -0.1 despite appearing in seven MLB seasons.