Not ready to throw in the towel until we see where we are at after the Rangers and Mariners beat up on each other for 7 games. Plus we have 3 vs Arlington and 3 vs Seattle. A lot can happen between now and then. This definitely is the weakest Houston team since 2016, though.
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Teams and people in general take their que from their leaders.
Chas and Yainer have been 2 of the Astros 6 best position players all season. Both are perfectly healthy.
Dusty has benched Chas 3 of the past 5 games and PH for him in a crucial spot with a vastly inferior players in another.
Diaz has started only 2 of 3 games each of the past 3 series.
Its clear that Dusty has no sense of urgency and/or no idea how to fonish this season as the AL West division champion.
Unfortunately its rubbing off on the players. If their manager isnât playing the guys that give them the best chance to win how do they combat that mentally?
Especially when there is no logical reason (like in Chasâ case)
This is starting to feel like 2020 all over again, when the team dimply didnât have the horses to finish the job (Alvarez hurt, Verlander hurt, Altuve hurt, Bregman hurt, Reddick at the end of the line, pitching too young and unproven).
The most frustrating part is that the players are there but the manager refuses to play them.
This team is still in position to win, but somebody has to strp in and save them from Dusty.
I have not thrown in the towel, but I think I am being realistic after this awful series when they had a chance to take charge. Maybe they will flip the switch and go on a winning streak, but I do not expect it. Dusty wonât change either.
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I was a big Dusty supporter and really liked the hire.
But as the year has gone on, I get more and more disheartened by his choices.
Especially with Chas.
I have heard whispers for 2 years that its personal and Dusty doesnât like him.
I hate to think THAT about the man. That is much worse than simply being a bad manager but Iâm running out of other reasons.
And its the exact opposite with Dubon (and Julks when he was up). He is obviously a level below Meyers and Chas in the OF and at the plate, but Dusty continues to start him regardless.
Swept by Seattle in Houston not too long ago also.
This thing has been screaming ânot this yearâ the whole season.
But I agree, if they get hot etc. To this point though âŠ
I believed in the beginning this team was better than 2022, except for the SP. Then injuries to Altuve, Alvarez, and Brantley, Abreuâs struggles until he figured out his mechanics, Peñaâs regression, and Bregmanâs inexplicable non-production decimated the team I thought we had. Add to that, Framber and Javierâs failures to become true aces and injuries to Garcia and Urquidy. Dubon and France kept the team afloat. I thought when we got the injuries healed, the team would be ok, and then Abreu began to hit, and later Brown got JV and Graveman back. Oh, boy! Here we go!
But no. The inconsistency was the most consistent part of this team. Dustyâs awful lineups and his perplexing and terrible in-game decisions, if anything, worsened. I am generally not a naysayer, and I always have loyalty-driven hope, but I just do not this team suddenly turning things around and becoming the champion Houston Astros again.
âNot this yearâ may be the correct reason after all is said and done.
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2023 isnât done. The team still has the talent to win and we continue to hope and cheer.
Also if they can just find a way to get in, then hopefully the front office takes away the managerial decisions again.
And 2024 is looking like it, too could be a great year.
Edit- fixed my typo
I KNEW IT WAS ALL TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! PLEASE LET ME NEVER WAKE UP FROM THIS DREAM!
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At least setting my fantasy lineup should be easy today, because I doubt Bochy will sit Garver for the sin of hitting two homers yesterday. That might put him on the bench for a week in some clubhouses.
Injuries are not an excuse. Theyâve been healthy enough the last few weeks.
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Injuries didnât make Javier the worst pitcher in baseball the last couple months.
Injuries didnât make Dusty give so much time to lesser players.
Injuries didnât make the front office decline to get pitching help before the season.
Injuries didnât make the team throw away any semblance of home field advantage.
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They got Verlander and graveman. Otherwise agree.
A consistent lineup while playing your best players would go a long way.
The starters have been a mystery most of the season.
Inconsistency has really hurt this team on every level this season.
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Donât worryâŠtoday Brantleyâs ass is back on the bench so that Dubon can take his rightful spot in CF.
Itâs been a long season. He needs his rest.
Well, that was suboptimal.
It was like a sauna up in the 400 level, the hottest game Iâve ever been to at Minute Maid.
We spent the whole time getting roasted, literally and figuratively⊠there was a big group of Yankee fans behind us who got ever more vocal as the game turned in the wrong directionâŠ