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Post by Saint on Apr 30, 2024 14:15:09 GMT -6
So do they bring Cabbage back?
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Post by thomasj13 on Apr 30, 2024 14:23:38 GMT -6
So Kessinger to the IL and Kuhnel DFAed.... still stuck with Abreu and Singleton. They must be high, at we least we know Singleton is |
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Post by Ashitaka on Apr 30, 2024 14:23:43 GMT -6
So huge that Abreu actually agreed to be optioned. Good on him for doing the right thing and realizing the team is simply better off without him until he can fix himself.
I would be surprised to see Cabbage back. You have Tucker, McCormick, Meyers, Yordan, Dubon, and now Loperfido who all play OF. Four of them can play CF. There are plenty of OF. But Dubon is the only backup SS (and INF in general) with Kessinger gone. Jesus Bastidas has been lighting it up, could he be the guy? Or Hensley, who has rebounded somewhat? Maybe even Will Wagner or Shay Whitcomb? Though I'd like those two to continue to get regular ABs and develop.
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Post by Saint on Apr 30, 2024 14:32:19 GMT -6
So huge that Abreu actually agreed to be optioned. Good on him for doing the right thing and realizing the team is simply better off without him until he can fix himself. I would be surprised to see Cabbage back. You have Tucker, McCormick, Meyers, Yordan, Dubon, and now Loperfido who all play OF. Four of them can play CF. There are plenty of OF. But Dubon is the only backup SS (and INF in general) with Kessinger gone. Jesus Bastidas has been lighting it up, could he be the guy? Or Hensley, who has rebounded somewhat? Maybe even Will Wagner or Shay Whitcomb? Though I'd like those two to continue to get regular ABs and develop. Can't Cabbage play 1B also? |
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Post by Ashitaka on Apr 30, 2024 14:35:44 GMT -6
So huge that Abreu actually agreed to be optioned. Good on him for doing the right thing and realizing the team is simply better off without him until he can fix himself. I would be surprised to see Cabbage back. You have Tucker, McCormick, Meyers, Yordan, Dubon, and now Loperfido who all play OF. Four of them can play CF. There are plenty of OF. But Dubon is the only backup SS (and INF in general) with Kessinger gone. Jesus Bastidas has been lighting it up, could he be the guy? Or Hensley, who has rebounded somewhat? Maybe even Will Wagner or Shay Whitcomb? Though I'd like those two to continue to get regular ABs and develop. Can't Cabbage play 1B also? Yeah but not 2B, 3B, or SS. I would think they would want someone like that since Kessinger is on the shelf. Maybe I'm wrong and they think differently but I don't see the value of a non-prospect taking playing time from Loperfido at 1B or McCormick/Meyers in the OF. |
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Post by Saint on Apr 30, 2024 14:40:38 GMT -6
Can't Cabbage play 1B also? Yeah but not 2B, 3B, or SS. I would think they would want someone like that since Kessinger is on the shelf. Maybe I'm wrong and they think differently but I don't see the value of a non-prospect taking playing time from Loperfido at 1B or McCormick/Meyers in the OF. They can stop using Dubon over Meyers and leave him as a utility infielder. Plus, Bregman can play some SS if we're desperate for a short amount of time. And you say non-prospect, but outside of his high K rate, what does Cabbage not do very well? It's obvious that he's too good for AAA, and he's barely had a chance in the majors. If we had somebody better I'd agree, but I don't think we do. Besides, Loperfido strikes out as much as Cabbage. |
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Post by Saint on Apr 30, 2024 14:41:20 GMT -6
At some point I hope Wagner gets a shot. He reminds me of Grossman but for the infield.
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Post by Ashitaka on Apr 30, 2024 15:54:38 GMT -6
theathletic.com/5461810/2024/04/30/astros-jose-abreu-optioned/HOUSTON — The Astros will option struggling first baseman José Abreu to their spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Wednesday, general manager Dana Brown announced on Tuesday, prolonging the staggering collapse from a three-time All-Star and former American League MVP winner.
Abreu, 37, is in the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million contract that makes it almost impossible for the Astros to cut ties with him so early in the season. He recorded just seven hits in his first 71 at-bats, struck out 18 times and could no longer be used as an everyday player.
Both sides agreed to the decision after what Brown described as a “great” conversation with Abreu, members of the Astros’ coaching staff and front office. Because Abreu has more than five years of major-league service time, he must give his consent before being optioned.
“José Abreu is an outstanding human being. He is unselfish and he’s a teammates’ guy and he wants to get himself back to what he was doing last fall,” Brown said. “In the midst of this conversation, you could see that this guy is passionate and determined to get back to helping this team. He unselfishly was on board and in agreement with going back to West Palm Beach.”
Brown did not offer a timetable for Abreu’s return to the major leagues but intimated it would be an extended stay. Brown said he may fly down to Florida to monitor Abreu’s progress, along with senior adviser Jeff Bagwell and farm director Jacob Buffa.
“He was frustrated. He was wearing it,” Brown said. “If you’ve been around these athletes any number of years, you can tell when they’re frustrated. You take it home with you. Sometimes you think they don’t take it home with them, but they take it home with them. He got to the point where he was frustrated. It’s rare to do it, but it tells us about his dedication and commitment. I don’t think we see this as a long-term thing or he sees this as a long-term thing. I think it’s more like ‘Let’s go down, let’s make some adjustments, let’s get the rhythm and timing back.'”
Abreu did not report to Minute Maid Park on Tuesday and, thus, was unavailable for comment. Because the move is not official until Wednesday, Houston could not make a corresponding move and played Tuesday’s series opener against the Cleveland Guardians a player short.
In an ESPN story published on Tuesday morning, Abreu said in Spanish that he “felt embarrassed” about his paltry production since arriving in Houston. The contract he signed last winter was, at the time, the largest in Jim Crane’s ownership tenure.
In 163 games since, Abreu has slashed .221/.280/.352 and, according to Baseball-Reference, been worth negative-1.4 wins above replacement. A resurgence last September offered at least some hope that Abreu could engineer a similar turnaround this season.
Already 10 games below .500 and 6 ½ games back in the American League West, the Astros could not afford to wait any longer. They entered Tuesday’s game against the Guardians with a .390 OPS from their first basemen. That Abreu became more prone to defensive blunders only made the Astros’ decision easier.
“It’s hard to watch a veteran player go through this,” Brown said. “When you watch him go through this and you know we need to get this guy fixed, it’s tough to get fixed at the major-league level. We can do a lot of different things on the minor-league level.”
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Post by Ashitaka on Apr 30, 2024 16:01:21 GMT -6
Yeah but not 2B, 3B, or SS. I would think they would want someone like that since Kessinger is on the shelf. Maybe I'm wrong and they think differently but I don't see the value of a non-prospect taking playing time from Loperfido at 1B or McCormick/Meyers in the OF. They can stop using Dubon over Meyers and leave him as a utility infielder. Plus, Bregman can play some SS if we're desperate for a short amount of time. And you say non-prospect, but outside of his high K rate, what does Cabbage not do very well? It's obvious that he's too good for AAA, and he's barely had a chance in the majors. If we had somebody better I'd agree, but I don't think we do. Besides, Loperfido strikes out as much as Cabbage. Cabbage is two years older, for one thing, but that doesn't even tell the full story. Cabbage signed out of High School. He's had the benefit of professional coaches, equipment, trainers, nutrition etc. for a long time. This is his tenth year of professional ball. Just the fourth for Loperfido. When Loperfido was just coming out of college, Cabbage was striking out almost 40% of the time against AA pitching in his sixth year as a professional. Cabbage's power is down and his strikeout rate slightly up compared to his AAA numbers last season even. I'm not saying it's impossible, but historically speaking, the chances of Cabbage being anything of use at the MLB level are astronomical. Any playing time he gets over someone with a chance to be an everyday good MLB player like Meyers is a terrible mistake IMO. To put it oppositely, if he becomes anything more than a toolsy backup corner OF, it would be one of the greatest surprises in baseball history and worthy of a full-blown "based on a true story" movie. I'm not willing to cut into Meyers, or anyone else's, development on a lottery ticket dream like that. |
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Post by Saint on Apr 30, 2024 19:30:31 GMT -6
They can stop using Dubon over Meyers and leave him as a utility infielder. Plus, Bregman can play some SS if we're desperate for a short amount of time. And you say non-prospect, but outside of his high K rate, what does Cabbage not do very well? It's obvious that he's too good for AAA, and he's barely had a chance in the majors. If we had somebody better I'd agree, but I don't think we do. Besides, Loperfido strikes out as much as Cabbage. Cabbage is two years older, for one thing, but that doesn't even tell the full story. Cabbage signed out of High School. He's had the benefit of professional coaches, equipment, trainers, nutrition etc. for a long time. This is his tenth year of professional ball. Just the fourth for Loperfido. When Loperfido was just coming out of college, Cabbage was striking out almost 40% of the time against AA pitching in his sixth year as a professional. Cabbage's power is down and his strikeout rate slightly up compared to his AAA numbers last season even. I'm not saying it's impossible, but historically speaking, the chances of Cabbage being anything of use at the MLB level are astronomical. Any playing time he gets over someone with a chance to be an everyday good MLB player like Meyers is a terrible mistake IMO. To put it oppositely, if he becomes anything more than a toolsy backup corner OF, it would be one of the greatest surprises in baseball history and worthy of a full-blown "based on a true story" movie. I'm not willing to cut into Meyers, or anyone else's, development on a lottery ticket dream like that. I'm not expecting him to be an everyday player, but he has more upside than who we're currently using at 1B. |
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Post by Ashitaka on May 1, 2024 0:51:28 GMT -6
Cabbage is two years older, for one thing, but that doesn't even tell the full story. Cabbage signed out of High School. He's had the benefit of professional coaches, equipment, trainers, nutrition etc. for a long time. This is his tenth year of professional ball. Just the fourth for Loperfido. When Loperfido was just coming out of college, Cabbage was striking out almost 40% of the time against AA pitching in his sixth year as a professional. Cabbage's power is down and his strikeout rate slightly up compared to his AAA numbers last season even. I'm not saying it's impossible, but historically speaking, the chances of Cabbage being anything of use at the MLB level are astronomical. Any playing time he gets over someone with a chance to be an everyday good MLB player like Meyers is a terrible mistake IMO. To put it oppositely, if he becomes anything more than a toolsy backup corner OF, it would be one of the greatest surprises in baseball history and worthy of a full-blown "based on a true story" movie. I'm not willing to cut into Meyers, or anyone else's, development on a lottery ticket dream like that. I'm not expecting him to be an everyday player, but he has more upside than who we're currently using at 1B. We should have Loperfido there every day now, but I'm not sure I even believe in Cabbage more than Singleton. Singleton at least draws walks. If you put Cabbage at 1B though, that forces Loperfido to the OF, which forces Meyers to the bench when Chas is back. If they end up demoting Loperfido again, then sure, give Cabbage a shot over Singleton if you want. But I'm not giving him looks if it's costing time from someone with a legitimate chance to actually be someone. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 1, 2024 13:37:54 GMT -6
Lettuce...er, Cabbage called up to take Abreu’s spot
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Post by This is dumb on May 4, 2024 17:29:05 GMT -6
Lettuce...er, Cabbage called up to take Abreu’s spot I was thinking more like “Sprouts.” Sprouts cause more fltaulance than lettuce and cabbage combined. |
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Post by Ashitaka on May 9, 2024 1:09:47 GMT -6
Bregman is literally hitting worse than Maldonado did last year.
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Post by Saint on May 9, 2024 7:37:04 GMT -6
It's just weird with Bregman because he had such a great ST. He looked poised for a fantastic year.
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Post by unionstation82 on May 9, 2024 8:13:50 GMT -6
Bregman is literally hitting worse than Maldonado did last year. How on earth does Bregman have a positive WAR? |
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Post by Ashitaka on May 9, 2024 8:41:41 GMT -6
Bregman is literally hitting worse than Maldonado did last year. How on earth does Bregman have a positive WAR? He doesn't. It's -0.4 with BR and 0.0 with Fangraphs. |
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Post by Ashitaka on May 9, 2024 8:55:40 GMT -6
A couple of graphs to highlight things. Everything is going wrong, and you notice that there's basically an equal-and-opposite-reaction thing going on with a bunch of his swing results. HR/FB ratio has tanked completely. He has no power. Line drives down, grounders and popups up (fly balls is about the same). No longer pulling, only opposite field (up the middle is about the same). Hard contact has dropped while soft contact has spiked (medium contact is about the same). He's a mess.   |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 9, 2024 9:56:32 GMT -6
How on earth does Bregman have a positive WAR? He doesn't. It's -0.4 with BR and 0.0 with Fangraphs. Wow I assumed the left column was Bregman. |
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Post by Saint on May 9, 2024 10:23:23 GMT -6
A couple of graphs to highlight things. Everything is going wrong, and you notice that there's basically an equal-and-opposite-reaction thing going on with a bunch of his swing results. HR/FB ratio has tanked completely. He has no power. Line drives down, grounders and popups up (fly balls is about the same). No longer pulling, only opposite field (up the middle is about the same). Hard contact has dropped while soft contact has spiked (medium contact is about the same). He's a mess. Well yeah we know all that's down. My question is why all of a sudden? You'd think he at least luck into a few additional hard hit balls.... |
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Post by Ashitaka on May 9, 2024 10:57:46 GMT -6
Trading time
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Post by Ashitaka on May 9, 2024 11:11:52 GMT -6
Chandler Rome chose violence in his piece this morning ROTFL:
"Power is one of León’s most prominent traits, but becoming infatuated with it can create bad habits. León’s swing grew too long and he became susceptible to high fastballs and breaking balls down and away. Too often, he sold out for power when situations simply required contact. Here, he faced another. The baseball exited León’s bat at just 66.7 mph, but it bounced in play. A groundout to third base allowed an insurance run to score and passed the baton to Sugar Land’s next hitter, a sequence Houston’s major-league lineup can’t master but León has learned is so valuable."
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 9, 2024 12:39:28 GMT -6
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Post by thomasj13 on May 9, 2024 13:31:04 GMT -6
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Post by Hunter McCormick on May 9, 2024 19:21:19 GMT -6
Stumbled upon this on Youtube. It's a couple of weeks old but I thought you might enjoy it.
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Post by unionstation82 on May 9, 2024 20:01:45 GMT -6
Chandler Rome chose violence in his piece this morning ROTFL: "Power is one of León’s most prominent traits, but becoming infatuated with it can create bad habits. León’s swing grew too long and he became susceptible to high fastballs and breaking balls down and away. Too often, he sold out for power when situations simply required contact. Here, he faced another. The baseball exited León’s bat at just 66.7 mph, but it bounced in play. A groundout to third base allowed an insurance run to score and passed the baton to Sugar Land’s next hitter, a sequence Houston’s major-league lineup can’t master but León has learned is so valuable." Complete facts. I’ve never seen a team struggle so mightily at contact RBI plays like these Astros. |
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Post by paastrosfan on May 9, 2024 22:21:45 GMT -6
Chandler Rome chose violence in his piece this morning ROTFL: "Power is one of León’s most prominent traits, but becoming infatuated with it can create bad habits. León’s swing grew too long and he became susceptible to high fastballs and breaking balls down and away. Too often, he sold out for power when situations simply required contact. Here, he faced another. The baseball exited León’s bat at just 66.7 mph, but it bounced in play. A groundout to third base allowed an insurance run to score and passed the baton to Sugar Land’s next hitter, a sequence Houston’s major-league lineup can’t master but León has learned is so valuable." Complete facts. I’ve never seen a team struggle so mightily at contact RBI plays like these Astros. If they would have dropped this game tonight after letting those couple opportunities go by the board would have really added to this misery streak. |
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Post by thomasj13 on May 10, 2024 10:54:55 GMT -6
Look, I have been very disappointed in the Astros this year, but if you take awaytheir 1-6 record against the Yankees, and being swept by the Royals, the Braves and the Cubs, they would be 12-9. That’s 3 games above .500. They would be on pace to win 93 games, and that could win the AL West. You would hope at least a Wild Card spot. Therefore, I, we all, should be way more positive about the team.
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Post by Ashitaka on May 10, 2024 11:11:51 GMT -6
Look, I have been very disappointed in the Astros this year, but if you take awaytheir 1-6 record against the Yankees, and being swept by the Royals, the Braves and the Cubs, they would be 12-9. That’s 3 games above .500. They would be on pace to win 93 games, and that could win the AL West. You would hope at least a Wild Card spot. Therefore, I, we all, should be way more positive about the team. The fact that you could take away four sweeps and another series lost and they would still be only 3 games over .500 is staggering. |
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Post by Saint on May 10, 2024 12:01:02 GMT -6
That's sadly funny, but there are some actual positives:
1. We have a Team OPS+ of 118 which means we ARE hitting...just not consistently. *Especially in situations with RISP or playing add-on.* That should balance out as the year progresses. Just look at Altuve: He was at .063 with RISP and now up to .259. He and the others will improve at this.
2. It's a weird year for offense throughout the league. A lot of good veteran hitters are struggling. Despite that, Tucker, Altuve, and Pena are looking like all-star candidates early on.
3. The revival of Singleton is very interesting. Maybe he's someone that we can actually continue to plug in at 1B for a couple more years for a reasonable price.
4. Our OF group of Meyers, Dubon, and Loperfido has actually been decently productive. Now if Chas can come back hotter...
5. Diaz is having some sophomore year struggles, but overall, the duo of Caratini and Diaz has been very productive at the catcher position.
6. Blanco is looking like a legit top of the rotation guy, and now the rotation is finally back healthy. Outside of JV's last start, the production from JV-Blanco-Framber-Javier has been very good.
7. The main bullpen guys are slowly improving. (Abreu 1 ER in his last 5.1 IP, Hader 1 ER in his last 6.1 IP, Pressly 1 ER in his last 4.2 IP)
The components of a good team are all trending in the right direction now. Now we just have to see if they can start all performing consistently AT THE SAME TIME.
P.S. I don't have much good to say about Bregman... He had two hits yesterday though.
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