2023 Houston Astros Thread

[Scraps 13461]

Altuve with the bad hand and Bregman are going to have mediocre years. 

[Wulaw Horn 18917]

That lineup was craptackular today. Nice to see the rookie 3rd string catcher score a run in his first plate appearance. I am a sucker for guys getting their first taste in the bigs. 
Robert and Rucker trading web gems at each other. He wins 2-1 this series. Might have been the difference in the game. 
Also- bullpen doesn’t look like it will live as charmed w life as last year. It’s early. Be interesting to see how Martinez bounces back. Will show if he’s a jag or a guy you can pitch in the 5th/6th inning of a close game as opposed to mop up duty. 

[Gut Wagon 8017]

31 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

Tucker, Yordan, and Pena are the only reliable hitters. 

We might be OK at 1B, as well. 

[Hank Chinaski 6305]

30 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

Altuve with the bad hand and Bregman are going to have mediocre years.  I'm not hopeful for the aging injured Brantley either.  Tucker, Yordan, and Pena are the only reliable hitters. 

Bregman will be fine; Altuve will hit when his thumb is ready. And you totally forgot about Abreu.

I agree that the lineup isn’t quite what it’s been because of the injuries; but it will still be good when at full strength.

[HtownHorn 14285]

We saw the difference, even with a split, between a real MLB lineup and what the Astros are throwing out there. Julks would be ok if he was the worst hitter in the lineup, but when you follow him with Dubon and Maldonado, there is just too much rest for the starting pitchers.

It still boggles my mind that given the injury history with Brantley and Alvarez, the Astros didn't sign a real MLB quality OF. Profar was there for the taking, and he'd have been perfect to play at 2nd and LF.

[tx 3 putt 74771]

I don’t get the fascination with profar other than he was available. No way am I go I him $7 mil for a year 

I’d rather see the options at the trade deadline or see what drew does 

Edited April 3, 2023 by tx 3 putt

[Scraps 13461]

Kind of like i dont see the fascination with Brantley at this point

[Wulaw Horn 18917]

30 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Kind of like i dont see the fascination with Brantley at this point

It was so fucking stupid to give him 12M and count on him did a roster spot. I don’t think I’d have given him a NRI to spring training. Should have cut ties. Should have used that money to fix the longterm problem at catcher. 
I hope I’m wrong on Brantley. I really doubt it. 

[txduck87 972]

It was so fucking stupid to give him 12M and count on him did a roster spot. I don’t think I’d have given him a NRI to spring training. Should have cut ties. Should have used that money to fix the longterm problem at catcher. 
I hope I’m wrong on Brantley. I really doubt it. 

You aren’t. Brantley’s done. Such a waste of money and so easy to see. Baffling.

[Gourmand 7761]

4 hours ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Bregman will be fine; Altuve will hit when his thumb is ready. And you totally forgot about Abreu.

I agree that the lineup isn’t quite what it’s been because of the injuries; but it will still be good when at full strength.

are you ok?

[tx 3 putt 74771]

I think there will be better options at the trade deadline, than profar 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Scraps said:

Kind of like i dont see the fascination with Brantley at this point

It's because they remember what he WAS, and cannot recognize what he has become( on the field only.)

[TonyTexas 10378]

Why are so many so sure Brantley is done, to the point as stating it as a fact?   He was very good at the plate last year until he went down.  .288/.370/.416. He’s always been somewhat a liability in the field so that’s not new. He’ll be the DH most of the time anyway. 

[kevwun 15192]

Because he's an old guy who had lost his pop before he had a major shoulder injury.  Father time unfortunately doesn't give a fuck.

Edited April 3, 2023 by kevwun

[Guest]

It's about availability as much as it is about his (extreme) skill.

[Wulaw Horn 18917]

27 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Why are so many so sure Brantley is done, to the point as stating it as a fact?   He was very good at the plate last year until he went down.  .288/.370/.416. He’s always been somewhat a liability in the field so that’s not new. He’ll be the DH most of the time anyway. 

Playing the odds. 36 year old that had been in a power decline for years coming off a major surgery. 

[Hank Chinaski 6305]

8 hours ago, Gourmand said:

are you ok?

I’m good. My rants last week weren’t about the ability of Yordan, Altuve, Tucker, Abreu or Bregman to produce when they’re healthy - there’s no reason to think they won’t.

My rants were about the rest of the roster and how the front office actively chose not to address weaknesses. 

[tx 3 putt 74771]

5 or 6 out of brown tonight would be nice. Start the season right  

[tx 3 putt 74771]

Alex Bregman, Career OPS by month:
March/April: .759
May: .854
June: .848
July: .850
August: 1.003
Sept/Oct: .856

[tx 3 putt 74771]

 

[Wulaw Horn 18917]

38 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Alex Bregman, Career OPS by month:
March/April: .759
May: .854
June: .848
July: .850
August: 1.003
Sept/Oct: .856

Mr. August!

[Gut Wagon 8017]

Seeing how it often goes, this board is now so certain of Uncle Mike's demise that I feel he has a real shot at a decent year. 

[tx 3 putt 74771]

1 minute ago, Gut Wagon said:

Seeing how it often goes, this board is now so certain of Uncle Mike's demise that I feel he has a real shot at a decent year. 

The opposite of the surly astro thread, brantley might make an mvp run 

On one side, you have the Astros front office, backed by an analytics dept. on the other side you have the surly astros thread. 
 

was he a risk yes, hopefully he bounces back 100% 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by tx 3 putt

[tx 3 putt 74771]

 

[tx 3 putt 74771]

probable pitchers for the Detroit series:

Tonight: Hunter Brown (Space City jerseys)
Tuesday: Framber Valdez
Wednesday: Cristian Javier

[runthebone 7874]

I agree Brantley's money could have been spent elsewhere, but maybe give him April before saying he's done.

[Scraps 13461]

 
was he a risk yes, hopefully he bounces back 100% 
 

Well he already failed this

[Guadaloopy 10757]

18 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

That lineup was craptackular today. Nice to see the rookie 3rd string catcher score a run in his first plate appearance. I am a sucker for guys getting their first taste in the bigs. 
Robert and Rucker trading web gems at each other. He wins 2-1 this series. Might have been the difference in the game. 
Also- bullpen doesn’t look like it will live as charmed w life as last year. It’s early. Be interesting to see how Martinez bounces back. Will show if he’s a jag or a guy you can pitch in the 5th/6th inning of a close game as opposed to mop up duty. 

Bullpen didn't look great at the start of last year and didn't really round into shape until August.  Pressly looked cooked to start the season.  Abreu was still struggling with control.  The only one who came out hot and stayed that way all season was Stanek.

[UTexasFight 9288]

I see this board’s postseason form has carried over to the regular season

(overanalyzing every single inning/game, alternating from “we’re never going to win again!” to “we’re never going to lose again!” after every game…and sometimes multiples times within the same game)

 

and we haven’t even had an off day yet!

 

[txduck87 972]

I see this board’s postseason form has carried over to the regular season
(overanalyzing every single inning/game, alternating from “we’re never going to win again!” to “we’re never going to lose again!” after every game…and sometimes multiples times within the same game)
 
and we haven’t even had an off day yet!
 

[Wulaw Horn 18917]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

The opposite of the surly astro thread, brantley might make an mvp run 

On one side, you have the Astros front office, backed by an analytics dept. on the other side you have the surly astros thread. 
 

was he a risk yes, hopefully he bounces back 100% 

 

When they signed Brantley crane was playing grabass with Reggie and Jeff and they were think about hiring ass-munch. 
bradley is exactly the kind of guy guys like Bagwell miss on all the time and why guys like Bagwell suck as a GM. 
but maybe he defies all odds and is awesome and has a 340 average and a 350 OBP with a 360 slugging while playing 74 games. 

[TonyTexas 10378]

Wulaw, why so salty this early in the season? You get yourself so worked up over things that only might happen not what actually happened. Let things play out. Then come hard if your opinions prove to be correct. 

[Scraps 13461]

We were over here dicking around all weekend with the White Sox and the Giants just hit 4 homers in one inning against them and 5 on the day so far

[Hank Chinaski 6305]

8 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Wulaw, why so salty this early in the season? You get yourself so worked up over things that only might happen not what actually happened. Let things play out. Then come hard if your opinions prove to be correct. 

I mean, this lineup actually happened in game 4:

[DaysOff 7671]

That's because our lineup is ass my dude. Fucking dog fight to win the division this year.

[Hornsbay22 446]

Wearing my breggy bomb salsa shirt to the game today to show support.   If that don't work nothing will.

[Scraps 13461]

Game 5

[tx 3 putt 74771]

7 minutes ago, Hornsbay22 said:

Wearing my breggy bomb salsa shirt to the game today to show support.   If that don't work nothing will.

you need the breggy bomb big hat 

 

[tx 3 putt 74771]

congrats ?

[uoftorange 1383]

Damn, I truly forgot how much of a beating this thread can be.

There was literally nothing wrong with the Brantley signing.  It wasn't huge money and the guy is a real legit hitter.  His power wasn't there, but people forget he was dealing with the shoulder for quite some time when he went out.  There were a handful of guys they could have signed, but no one for only one year that has the upside he possibly has.

Bregman has spent his entire Astros career sucking ass in April and May.  He was 1 for 38 to start his career.  He does this almost every year.  Sometimes he has a good first week like last year then sucks for months after.  He will be fine.  We all make the joke every year that he would be the greatest player of all time if the season started in June

Pitching went up against a healthy, very good Sox lineup that wasn't infighting with LaRussa like last year.  That is one of the best lineups in baseball.   Like someone said, if Pressley has a normal Pressley outing, we're 3-1 right now.

I'll reserve judgement on Julks till I see more than 12 ABs.  He hasn't looked great, but plenty of you have wanted to give up on guys that have been pillars of this org in their first few games.  I bet more than a few of you on Bregman 

Altuve is going to be fine.  It's a broken hand, not an arm or muscle issue or lower body.  Yeah he'll wear a protector and get at bats to get going, but it's not like the guy didn't play a lot of the WBC and hasn't proven himself year after year.

Let's get off the ledge being 2-2 against another solid team.  

PS.  We won the freaking World Series last year

[Mitch Hedberg 2086]

Here for the bludgeoning. Thanks to Wulaw 🤘🏻

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

I think Lee should be the starting catcher next season.  He’ll be 25 with three years of Power 5 baseball, and four years in the minors. Stop calling up 28 year olds. If they can’t play at 25, they probably can’t play.
 

Hopefully they can move Maldy into a coaching position. While I think pitch framing is valuable, Maldy isn’t going to throw many guys out with giant bases and a pitch clock. His offense will probably be historically bad this season. 

[LCHorn 2527]

3 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I think Lee should be the starting catcher next season.  He’ll be 25 with three years of Power 5 baseball, and four years in the minors. Stop calling up 28 year olds. If they can’t play at 25, they probably can’t play.
 

Hopefully they can move Maldy into a coaching position. While I think pitch framing is valuable, Maldy isn’t going to throw many guys out with giant bases and a pitch clock. His offense will probably be historically bad this season. 

I think there's a very realistic scenario in which Maldy is a third catcher before the end of the season. 

[Guest]

Edited April 3, 2023 by slorch

[tx 3 putt 74771]

First Minnesota game ‘might’ be moved back, per radio @Scraps

[Scraps 13461]

It should be, but we will see

[Dondrysdale1 363]

4 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

First Minnesota game ‘might’ be moved back, per radio @Scraps

Teams in the northern part of the country sans roof shouldn’t have a home game before the last week of April.

[Snake Diggity 4545]

2 hours ago, uoftorange said:

Damn, I truly forgot how much of a beating this thread can be.

There was literally nothing wrong with the Brantley signing.  It wasn't huge money and the guy is a real legit hitter.  His power wasn't there, but people forget he was dealing with the shoulder for quite some time when he went out.  There were a handful of guys they could have signed, but no one for only one year that has the upside he possibly has.

Bregman has spent his entire Astros career sucking ass in April and May.  He was 1 for 38 to start his career.  He does this almost every year.  Sometimes he has a good first week like last year then sucks for months after.  He will be fine.  We all make the joke every year that he would be the greatest player of all time if the season started in June

Pitching went up against a healthy, very good Sox lineup that wasn't infighting with LaRussa like last year.  That is one of the best lineups in baseball.   Like someone said, if Pressley has a normal Pressley outing, we're 3-1 right now.

I'll reserve judgement on Julks till I see more than 12 ABs.  He hasn't looked great, but plenty of you have wanted to give up on guys that have been pillars of this org in their first few games.  I bet more than a few of you on Bregman 

Altuve is going to be fine.  It's a broken hand, not an arm or muscle issue or lower body.  Yeah he'll wear a protector and get at bats to get going, but it's not like the guy didn't play a lot of the WBC and hasn't proven himself year after year.

Let's get off the ledge being 2-2 against another solid team.  

PS.  We won the freaking World Series last year

My man.  Rules of thumb:

No hitter should ever be judged on a sample size of less than 50 plate appearances.

No SP should ever be judged on a sample size of less than 20 innings pitched.

If you want to needlessly flip out about some shit, wait until a RP melts down then fuck it.  No sample size is too big or too small to judge those fuckers.

[UTexasFight 9288]

Not watching yet but have the sounds on in the background.

heard Kalas say “maton” and swear my initial reaction was “omfg. Dusty fucking reads this thread and actually started maton to fuck with us like someone posted the other day.”

[WBT 20132]

that's my roy