marshall
Veteran
21st Century Luddite
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...
Posts: 4,358 
Likes: 446
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Post by marshall on Mar 9, 2019 14:56:16 GMT -6
God, the Cardinals TV announcers suck. Furren' 'nouncers always lose sight of the GREATNESS of the ASTROS! |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on Mar 9, 2019 14:59:18 GMT -6
SuperJack went yard
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on Mar 9, 2019 15:16:42 GMT -6
I saw somebody else posted that Maldonado turned down a two year offer from us early in the off-season. I'm surprised he would do that given his horrible postseason and unimpressive 2018 season. He might be lucky to get a minor league deal at this point... Today's players, or their agents, are really doing a poor job assessing their real value.  LMAO  |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on Mar 9, 2019 15:24:20 GMT -6
Y'all remember to set your clocks forward tonight.
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Post by thomasj13 on Mar 9, 2019 15:27:20 GMT -6
LMAO I never seen a catcher have so much of a defensive meltdown in a series...it was like he was paid off, or a family member was being held ransom, so he had to tank...I couldn't imagine him in an Astros uniform again...thank you Baby Jesus for Maldonado in turning down the Astros offer....Luhnow, this is where Corch logic applies.. don't care what the stats are, after watching the play - the play outweighs the stats. |
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Post by Hunter McCormick on Mar 9, 2019 15:41:00 GMT -6
Y'all remember to set your clocks forward tonight. Dumbest thing ever. Makes me wanna move to Arizona. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 9, 2019 16:31:23 GMT -6
LMAO I never seen a catcher have so much of a defensive meltdown in a series...it was like he was paid off, or a family member was being held ransom, so he had to tank...I couldn't imagine him in an Astros uniform again...thank you Baby Jesus for Maldonado in turning down the Astros offer....Luhnow, this is where Corch logic applies.. don't care what the stats are, after watching the play - the play outweighs the stats. After the 23 passed balls he had in the postseason for us, I was like, “Bye, Felicia!” |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 9, 2019 16:32:18 GMT -6
Serves Maldonado right for being a fool.
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 9, 2019 16:43:21 GMT -6
I hate to say this but we're so due to have the bullpen completely suck the entire season. Not since Borter was the manager. The front office seems to think there's enough arms in the minors to patch
it up though I like Luhnow’s style of prioritizing SP’s over relief, but I think he’s neglecting the bullpen a tad much. Relying on Devenski and Harris is asking for trouble sooner or later. Kudos to him for getting rid of Giles and getting Pressly (I’m still unsure about Osuna), but getting one more good reliever wouldn’t hurt. |
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marshall
Veteran
21st Century Luddite
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...
Posts: 4,358
Likes: 446
|
Post by marshall on Mar 9, 2019 18:06:16 GMT -6
I hate to say this but we're so due to have the bullpen completely suck the entire season. Not since Borter was the manager. The front office seems to think there's enough arms in the minors to patch
it up though I like Luhnow’s style of prioritizing SP’s over relief, but I think he’s neglecting the bullpen a tad much. Relying on Devenski and Harris is asking for trouble sooner or later. Kudos to him for getting rid of Giles and getting Pressly (I’m still unsure about Osuna) , but getting one more good reliever wouldn’t hurt. I'm thinking Valdez and Deetz are looking better and better to make the club. Maybe Cy and McCurry as well.
McHugh hasn't started out well, so he may be on a short leash as well.
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Post by nathangarza29 on Mar 9, 2019 21:48:27 GMT -6
Castellanos batting very well in Spring Training
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Post by nathangarza29 on Mar 9, 2019 21:52:15 GMT -6
I wish the astros couldmake a offer on Alfaro of the Marlins.
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Post by blcoach8 on Mar 9, 2019 23:06:44 GMT -6
I wish the astros couldmake a offer on Alfaro of the Marlins. I am sure you are still crying because we didn't get Realmuto or sign Harper.  I hope we don't pay for Luhnow failing to get pitching help other than Miley. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 9, 2019 23:44:10 GMT -6
Castellanos batting very well in Spring Training I don’t understand what Detroit is trying to do with him. They might as well sell high. What if he’s not as good this season? They’re putting too many eggs in the July 31st basket. |
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Post by Hunter McCormick on Mar 10, 2019 0:20:02 GMT -6
Castellanos batting very well in Spring Training I don’t understand what Detroit is trying to do with him. They might as well sell high. What if he’s not as good this season? They’re putting too many eggs in the July 31st basket. From what I had read a while back, Al Avila was trying to trade him but there wasn't much interest. www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/02/al-notes-castellanos-stroman-rangers-calhoun-royals.htmlWith only one year of team control, I can't imagine trading Nick will bring a stellar return but something decent would be required. Else Detroit will just keep him and the teams who offered scraps in return can just pound sand. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on Mar 10, 2019 2:44:57 GMT -6
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 2:52:43 GMT -6
I like Luhnow’s style of prioritizing SP’s over relief, but I think he’s neglecting the bullpen a tad much. Relying on Devenski and Harris is asking for trouble sooner or later. Kudos to him for getting rid of Giles and getting Pressly (I’m still unsure about Osuna) , but getting one more good reliever wouldn’t hurt. I'm thinking Valdez and Deetz are looking better and better to make the club. Maybe Cy and McCurry as well.
McHugh hasn't started out well, so he may be on a short leash as well.
The fact that McHugh had only pitched one inning in ST prior to yesterday's awful start suggested to me that he may well start the season on the DL. Oops sorry, "Injured List". |
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 3:22:07 GMT -6
If McHugh were to spend April on the DL, what would that look like, barring a trade/FA acquisition?
Basic rotation of JV/Cole/Miley/Valdez/Armenteros (bc James is presumably in the bullpen)
But with all the off days, Armenteros wouldn't actually have to start much in April.
Looking at the March/April schedule, there are 30 games in total interspersed with 4 off days. And while Sempersmom will assure that the Astros will go 30-0 regardless of which pitchers take the mound (and I thoroughly support that idea!), if every starter gets at least 5 days rest between appearances, those 30 starts should be able to be apportioned like this:
Verlander - 7 starts
Cole - 7
Miley - 6 starts
Valdez - 6 starts
Armenteros (or Peacock/Sneed) - 4 starts
Let's even try to predict the March/April record based on that breakdown. If the Astros win 70% of games started by JV/GC, 60% of games started by Miley, and 50% of games started by Valdez/Armenteros, that comes out to:
5 wins from JV's starts
5 wins from GC's starts
4 wins from WM's starts
3 wins from Valdez's starts
2 wins from Armeteros' starts
For a total March/April record of 19-11. That should be pretty achievable considering there are only 11 games against what I'd consider good teams (3 vs NYY, 4 vs CLE, and 4 vs TBR -- TBR isn't great but I think Snell and Morton are going to be tough as nails).
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 3:30:02 GMT -6
Besides Harris and Devo looking iffy as to whether they will be able to contribute positively this season, Rondon is another reliever raising question marks.
Of those 3 iffy relievers, odds would say that at least 1 (and maybe 2) of them ultimately prove to be serviceable. My money would be on Rondon to do all right, followed by Harris, and then Devo would be the riskiest.
I just say that because Harris, for all his faults, has very solid career numbers and tends to pitch well for long stretches in between meltdowns; whereas Devo has been trending in the wrong direction for 3 years now and he isn't showing any signs of reversing that trend.
There will definitely be some good relievers on the trading block in July, but Luhnow needs to envision what the Astros bullpen would look like in a plausible though unlikely, near-worst-case scenario such as all three of Devo/Harris/Rondon being unusable outside of garbage time.
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 3:46:03 GMT -6
If the bullpen really does suffer the loss of 3 veteran arms that used to be able to keep their ERA under 3.25 or so and give 60 IP/year, this is not a far-fetched picture of what the bullpen stats could look like at the end of the season:  That assumes Peacock and Armenteros won't be asked to make too many starts. If they were to get called into the regular rotation, it might not be realistic for them to also give 60-70 innings out of the bullpen. That would force Hinch to dig even deeper into the minor league system and consider bringing up guys like Bielak, Bailey, and Bukauskas. While those are all intriguing prospects, the bullpen ERA could quickly balloon to 4.50. |
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 3:48:57 GMT -6
Last season, a total of 18 Astros pitchers took the mound in relief. The hypothetical table above (with 15 projected relievers) might even be a little short on personnel.
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 3:55:23 GMT -6
Among the pitchers who stand to benefit from more objective ball/strike calling in the Atlantic League is our old friend Ashur Tolliver, who now plays for the Long Island Ducks.
Alongside Tolliver on the Ducks is another former Astro, Fernando Abad, and also the now 37-year-old Francisco Rodriguez, aka 'K-Rod'.
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 4:08:49 GMT -6
Incidentally, Fangraphs predicts the Astros to allow 4.07 runs per game, so that estimated bullpen ERA of 4.08 sounds pretty close to what the Fangraphs computer imagines.
Fangraphs has the Astros starters' ERA at 3.82 and the bullpen ERA at 3.57. The gap between those earned runs and the 4.07 RA/G figure has to do with unearned runs, which usually average out to 0.4-0.5/game. Depends a lot on defensive ability.
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Post by astrosdoug on Mar 10, 2019 4:17:51 GMT -6
Depending on how SFG and SDP do in the first half, guys like Will Smith, Tony Watson, Craig Stammen, and Kirby Yates might be available in July. And then there's always Raisel Iglesias from the Reds, who always comes up in trade discussions near the deadline.
Maybe Luhnow is sufficiently impressed with what he's seen from Bailey, Scheetz, Sneed, Bielak, McCurry, Bukauskas, and Solomon in the minors last year plus ST this year to think that at least two of those seven could step up and take the place of a Rondon/Harris/Devo who loses the plot in the regular season.
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Post by thomasj13 on Mar 10, 2019 7:03:46 GMT -6
Keuchel better sign a deal quick |
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Post by paastrosfan on Mar 10, 2019 9:27:45 GMT -6
LOL We will finally see Crotch arguing with an inanimate object. |
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Post by blcoach8 on Mar 10, 2019 10:24:39 GMT -6
LOL We will finally see Crotch arguing with an inanimate object. And just like clockwork, we see punkass astros fan, that victim of such abuse from me on the old board, show up to make an ass of himself. As I have said before, this old piece of shit follows me around posting remarks like this while claiming I am the problem and that I need to be put off this board. Those who have been around awhile see through you, punkass, and know what you are............a damn lying fraud. F*ck You.
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Post by bannedfan on Mar 10, 2019 11:01:24 GMT -6
I saw Harris pitch the other day and he started off throwing 8 balls. Why is he with the Astros?
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Post by thomasj13 on Mar 10, 2019 11:09:26 GMT -6
I saw Harris pitch the other day and he started off throwing 8 balls. Why is he with the Astros? To spite Sherwin....Bortaz still has Jake....lucky for me, Sipp is gone. |
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Post by bannedfan on Mar 10, 2019 12:25:05 GMT -6
I saw Harris pitch the other day and he started off throwing 8 balls. Why is he with the Astros? To spite Sherwin....Bortaz still has Jake....lucky for me, Sipp is gone. Lol. And we still have Rondon and Devo😂😂😂 |
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I hope we don't pay for Luhnow failing to get pitching help other than Miley.
