Other tidbits from The Athletic:
I am not gnashing my teeth over “overpayment” issues media types are bashing the Astros with. The Astros were desperate for a SP, and everyone knew it. The other clubs had Houston over a barrel, and they knew it. If we overpaid for the pitcher the brain trust wanted, so be it. Calling Bloss “major league ready” as the writers are doing is a joke. He should have been developing at AAA, but the rash of pitcher injuries promoted him. Maybe we overpaid, but as my great friend HH has said often, the season was over if Brown had not traded for a pitcher.
I hope Kikuchi is that guy.
Does not really matter. He is who they wanted.
Jim, this very much matches what I thought was a good point from Ben Clemens at FanGraphs:
The more I mull this over in my head, the more I think the Astros wanted Kikuchi specifically. If they were calling every team in baseball and saying “We need starting, and we’ll offer Jake Bloss plus…” someone would have dealt them an arm in fairly short order. I’d trade some of the starters who haven’t yet been moved (Jack Flaherty and Zack Littell spring to mind) for less than this return, and I suspect that their teams might too. This only makes sense to me if the Astros wanted Kikuchi specifically and weren’t willing to miss their guy. That’s how you end up making an offer that makes analysts across the board go “Whoa, really?”
Well now its over. ( trade season)
This team may very well have to win like the 2022 team did - a shallower lineup than you would like but exceptional pitching.
This team DOES have the arms for that if they can get healthy and reduce the workload so they aren’t toast heading into October.
Thats a big ask while in a dogfight just to get in.
I gave this season up long ago. Anything good from here on is gravy.
This is some combination of being a triple short of the cycle and drawing to an inside straight.
Getting a healthy Tucker back soon will help immensely.
Someone like McCormick is underperforming, hopefully his bat turns around as well.
Would love to see Espada flop Bregman and Pena around in the batting order as well.
In the playoffs, timing is everything. Sometimes the best contributions come from the players you are least expecting it from.
I’m an optimist.
Maybe, but the Braves beat us in the WS with a lesser team than this squad IMO. They won with solid starting pitching, a fantastic back end of the bullpen and about 3 players that decided to go all Jeremy Pena in the post season. This team just has to find a way to get in and let the chips fall where they may.
Tucker? I don’t believe he exists
Vegas says it’s even money which Tucker gets the next MLB AB between Kyle and Tanya.