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2022 Houston Astros Thread


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33 minutes ago, Macklemore said:

Listen to Clint & the Show right now. Dropping the truth on Dumbass Dusty. Dusty’s rationale given is Culley level stupid. Not many brain cells are left at his age apparently 

I'm sorry you take your info from talk radio dipshits, but it's not surprising given the Helobian-level reactionary takes you post regularly.

Baseball managers don't matter nearly as much as you like to pretend they do, but to acknowledge that is to neuter your entire complaint schtick.

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56 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

I'm sorry you take your info from talk radio dipshits, but it's not surprising given the Helobian-level reactionary takes you post regularly.

Baseball managers don't matter nearly as much as you like to pretend they do, but to acknowledge that is to neuter your entire complaint schtick.

Yeah- if you aren’t talking about someone who alienated the clubhouse and causes the team to play flat or disinterested (think Terry Collins with Bidge and Bags teams) and are only talking about strategic blunders you are probably talking about 2-5 wins a year, tops. 

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35 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yeah- if you aren’t talking about someone who alienated the clubhouse and causes the team to play flat or disinterested (think Terry Collins with Bidge and Bags teams) and are only talking about strategic blunders you are probably talking about 2-5 wins a year, tops. 

Talking about the playoffs man. Crappy managing decisions have already cost us 1 WS title in 2019 and that was with a manager who is head and shoulders better than Dusty. We’ll go into every series with a managing disadvantage 

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11 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Watching the Field of Dreams game. Contreras and Happ both in the lineup for the Cubs. Ownership should hang their GM. This is not how a franchise rebuilds. 

Really is baffling how they fucked that up. You could argue Happ wasn’t a fuck up bc he’s got another year, but they will get 25 cents on the dollar as to what they’d have got this year, and the plan won’t be to compete next year. Contreras should be cause for an immediate firing. 

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15 minutes ago, Macklemore said:

Talking about the playoffs man. Crappy managing decisions have already cost us 1 WS title in 2019 and that was with a manager who is head and shoulders better than Dusty. We’ll go into every series with a managing disadvantage 

Just because a move didn’t work doesn’t mean it was the wrong one. Greinke had been bad the 3rd time through the order, Coke on what- 2 days rest is dicey, and Harris made a really good pitch that got hit out- first XBH of the year on that location for the hitter. You cannot judge a manager on results- it must be process driven. There was nothing wrong about AJ’s process. Dusty has been fine here in the playoffs. To the point where I think he has to do what the needs in the cave tell him. I’m not worried right now too much about the playoffs, but am worried some guys will lose their edge/not grow into their role between here and there. 

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1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Just because a move didn’t work doesn’t mean it was the wrong one. Greinke had been bad the 3rd time through the order, Coke on what- 2 days rest is dicey, and Harris made a really good pitch that got hit out- first XBH of the year on that location for the hitter. You cannot judge a manager on results- it must be process driven. There was nothing wrong about AJ’s process. Dusty has been fine here in the playoffs. To the point where I think he has to do what the needs in the cave tell him. I’m not worried right now too much about the playoffs, but am worried some guys will lose their edge/not grow into their role between here and there. 

Except he did the opposite in 2017 and we won the title. You have to go into game 7 with a plan. That plan should have been Greinke and Cole. No exceptions. Besides we are seeing what Hinch actually is. Mediocre without the best talent in baseball. Same as he was in Arizona.

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7 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Except he did the opposite in 2017 and we won the title. You have to go into game 7 with a plan. That plan should have been Greinke and Cole. No exceptions. Besides we are seeing what Hinch actually is. Mediocre without the best talent in baseball. Same as he was in Arizona.

All managers are mediocre without talent, that’s the nature of the beast. 
I’m pretty sure Morton wasn’t pitching on 2 days rest in 2017 after throwing 100+ pitches. 
Just looked it up- Morton was pitching on 3 days rest after throwing 72 pitches. Completely different situation. 

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1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

All managers are mediocre without talent, that’s the nature of the beast. 
I’m pretty sure Morton wasn’t pitching on 2 days rest in 2017 after throwing 100+ pitches. 

It’s game 7. Cole was the better option. Washington won because they stopped using their shitty pitchers.

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8 hours ago, DaysOff said:


I'll never get over 2019. Never.

Same here, but unlike some (most?) I don't fault Hinch for going to Harris. Yes, Greinke pitched well and he got squeezed on the ball 4 call, but I think he was nearing the end of the line. Harris had been nails, and Cole on two days' rest was no guarantee. I suppose, in hindsight, it may have been easier to take the loss if Cole had pitched and the result was the same, but I think Hinch made the right call at the time. 

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1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Same here, but unlike some (most?) I don't fault Hinch for going to Harris. Yes, Greinke pitched well and he got squeezed on the ball 4 call, but I think he was nearing the end of the line. Harris had been nails, and Cole on two days' rest was no guarantee. I suppose, in hindsight, it may have been easier to take the loss if Cole had pitched and the result was the same, but I think Hinch made the right call at the time. 

Sorry.  EVERYONE KNOWS COLE WOULD HAVE PITCHED PERFECT

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8 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

With Detroit firing their GM, there’s lots of speculation that the Tigers will get the band back together and hire Luhnow. Also being mentioned is Astro assistant GM Pete Putila, who also worked closely with Hinch. 

I’d be so jealous if that happened. Hinch and Luhnow belong in Houston.

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My issue with bash-the-manager baseball Karens is the outsized importance they put on shit like daily lineups in the middle of the regular season and their belief that wins and losses are determined by managerial decisions as much as they are the players on the field. That's just nonsense but it's easier/more entertaining to second-guess baseball managers and play the what-if music than just admit outcomes are determined by pitching, hitting, and defense. AJ Hinch was less consequential to the 2019 World Series than Will Harris and Howie Kendrick. The guy hit a good pitch and also got a bit lucky. 

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Dusty and his staff just want to keep the fan base engaged. If we had the same record with a line up written in stone, we’d be bored

This way, we have something to talk about and some people can bitch and moan all pregame. 
 

all I know, come playoffs, we need as many bats as possible

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I think managers have very little to do with outcome as they are basically babysitters these days and just there to make sure people show up. The best teams lose 50 games and the worst teams win 50 games so everyone is 50-50 by default. There are 62 games that decide your season. Making lineups is the major job of a manager now as the DH and pitch count have eliminated most of the decisions of managers back in the day. Starter gets close to 100 pitches he comes out. No need to pinch hit or double switch because we have DH and position players are rarely pinch hit for these days, the Maldonados of the world notwithstanding. So both things can be true that managers have  little influence on the game but the one influence they have left is lineup construction. So if we bitch about a lineup mid season it’s because that’s really the only major job they have left besides late relief. But I do believe pitching, hitting, catching decides games and it always baffles me when a team sucks and makes a manager change and they win 10 in a row. That’s a clubhouse dynamic not field dynamic. And I think Dusty wins every clubhouse he’s in.

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2 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Same here, but unlike some (most?) I don't fault Hinch for going to Harris. Yes, Greinke pitched well and he got squeezed on the ball 4 call, but I think he was nearing the end of the line. Harris had been nails, and Cole on two days' rest was no guarantee. I suppose, in hindsight, it may have been easier to take the loss if Cole had pitched and the result was the same, but I think Hinch made the right call at the time. 

It’s not like any of his options were any better- they were all high risk 

Cole had never so much as pitched a game on 2 days rest and it wasn’t going to be a clean inning for him, which as a starter was going to be really weird  

Greinke was 2 full innings past where you thought he would be and running out of steam

Harris had been seen by them 5 times I think, in that WS. Anyone having a strong opinion one way or another with that many variables, to me, is simplifying/hand waving the very real downsides to each move. 
Thing with AJ is I never questioned the move because I trust his process and he had a well informed reason for what he did backed up by numbers.  That’s all I ask for in my managers. 

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1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

With Detroit firing their GM, there’s lots of speculation that the Tigers will get the band back together and hire Luhnow. Also being mentioned is Astro assistant GM Pete Putila, who also worked closely with Hinch. 

I would be very jealous of them. I suspect they would dominate that shit ass division for a decade. 

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48 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

My issue with bash-the-manager baseball Karens is the outsized importance they put on shit like daily lineups in the middle of the regular season and their belief that wins and losses are determined by managerial decisions as much as they are the players on the field. That's just nonsense but it's easier/more entertaining to second-guess baseball managers and play the what-if music than just admit outcomes are determined by pitching, hitting, and defense. AJ Hinch was less consequential to the 2019 World Series than Will Harris and Howie Kendrick. The guy hit a good pitch and also got a bit lucky. 

Is it ok to bitch about the manager making as decision that is likely to cost .02 wins per game and acknowledge that it’s both not a big deal but also infuriating because it doesn’t have to be that way?  

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25 minutes ago, Mitch Hedberg said:

I think managers have very little to do with outcome as they are basically babysitters these days and just there to make sure people show up. The best teams lose 50 games and the worst teams win 50 games so everyone is 50-50 by default. There are 62 games that decide your season. Making lineups is the major job of a manager now as the DH and pitch count have eliminated most of the decisions of managers back in the day. Starter gets close to 100 pitches he comes out. No need to pinch hit or double switch because we have DH and position players are rarely pinch hit for these days, the Maldonados of the world notwithstanding. So both things can be true that managers have  little influence on the game but the one influence they have left is lineup construction. So if we bitch about a lineup mid season it’s because that’s really the only major job they have left besides late relief. But I do believe pitching, hitting, catching decides games and it always baffles me when a team sucks and makes a manager change and they win 10 in a row. That’s a clubhouse dynamic not field dynamic. And I think Dusty wins every clubhouse he’s in.

Really really really well said. 

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