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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 7:36:18 GMT -6
I'm trying to stay more positive. At least we're still a game up. On the plus side, Altuve hit the ball fairly well three times and came away with two hits. That's now two doubles in his last two games. And, White finally got on the board with an RBI. McHugh had one inning get away from him but it really wasn't that bad of a game for him. I know people are itching to get rid of some of our struggling players, but let's try to be patient. These guys have shown enough success in the past to warrant giving them a fair chance to work through their struggles. I would say if some of these guys are still struggling just as poorly by the end of the month we should do something, but let's give them a little while longer. We're in a good position to give them a chance while still being a successful team. You’re on a high from White’s RBI. I'll be on a high when his power wakes up. I'm confident that it WILL wake up. With us or with another team after we end up having to release him is the question. |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 7:42:30 GMT -6
You’re on a high from White’s RBI. I'll be on a high when his power wakes up. I'm confident that it WILL wake up. With us or with another team after we end up having to release him is the question. Whose weewee does Alvarez have to play with to get his shot? |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 7:44:12 GMT -6
I'll be on a high when his power wakes up. I'm confident that it WILL wake up. With us or with another team after we end up having to release him is the question. Whose weewee does Alvarez have to play with to get his shot? A. A+ for use of "weewee" B. I think they're going to hold off to save the service time. It's not like we're desperate anyways. We're in 1st place. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 8:37:02 GMT -6
These guys have shown enough success in the past to warrant giving them a fair chance to work through their struggles. I would say if some of these guys are still struggling just as poorly by the end of the month we should do something, but let's give them a little while longer. We're in a good position to give them a chance while still being a successful team. Every team has one or two marginal players. Unfortunately, the Astros have 4 or 5 of them. We all say things like "Joke isn't a problem as long as he's only used in <scenario>." but the problem is, Hinch doesn't use them in just <scenario>...they start game after game. We cannot afford to have 4 or 5 players trying to "work through their struggles" on the MLB team in the middle of a pennant chase. That's what the minor leagues are for. If they're out of options for the minors, then that means they haven't "worked through their struggles" for something like 6 or 7 years. Let's move on. |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 8:55:26 GMT -6
These guys have shown enough success in the past to warrant giving them a fair chance to work through their struggles. I would say if some of these guys are still struggling just as poorly by the end of the month we should do something, but let's give them a little while longer. We're in a good position to give them a chance while still being a successful team. Every team has one or two marginal players. Unfortunately, the Astros have 4 or 5 of them. We all say things like "Joke isn't a problem as long as he's only used in <scenario>." but the problem is, Hinch doesn't use them in just <scenario>...they start game after game. We cannot afford to have 4 or 5 players trying to "work through their struggles" on the MLB team in the middle of a pennant chase. That's what the minor leagues are for. If they're out of options for the minors, then that means they haven't "worked through their struggles" for something like 6 or 7 years. Let's move on. We have a backup catcher and a 4th OFer in that group you're referring to though. Every team in the league has those types of players. Nobody has good backup catchers or else they become starting catchers. No team has great 4th OFers. I wouldn't include those types of guys in your assessment. They're necessary evils. The only two players that we have that we could improve, in theory, right now are Kemp and White with Straw and Alvarez. You could argue that Kemp should be kept over Jake, but Jake is the better defensive player for late game substitutions. I know you don't like Jake (and I don't like him as a starter) but he does have value for the team when used properly. The problem is that both White and Kemp have shown to be average to above-average players overall when they're performing at their normal level. That makes it hard to completely give up on them since another team would likely pick them up and we would get nothing for them. Then we're stuck with the prospects bring up....and then what if they don't perform? You give up on depth if you give up on players so you need to be sure you're giving up on players that are no longer worth it. Both of those guys may no longer be worth it, but I think we owe them until June to find out for sure. Just my opinion. |
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marshall
Veteran
21st Century Luddite
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...
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Post by marshall on May 2, 2019 9:34:31 GMT -6
It's likely that the three Venezuelan team mates, Rondon, Altuve and Chirinos had special consideration given due to the events of the day in their homeland.
Sometimes there is more to management than just the clip board.
Then, why did Altuve play? Each player handles such things differently. Some need to play to get their minds off things and others are so distracted they can't focus. Each needs to be given extra evaluation under the circumstances, though the decisions on how to handle it may be different for each player. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 10:00:22 GMT -6
Every team has one or two marginal players. Unfortunately, the Astros have 4 or 5 of them. We all say things like "Joke isn't a problem as long as he's only used in <scenario>." but the problem is, Hinch doesn't use them in just <scenario>...they start game after game. We cannot afford to have 4 or 5 players trying to "work through their struggles" on the MLB team in the middle of a pennant chase. That's what the minor leagues are for. If they're out of options for the minors, then that means they haven't "worked through their struggles" for something like 6 or 7 years. Let's move on. <snip> Both of those guys may no longer be worth it, but I think we owe them until June to find out for sure. Just my opinion. The guys who probably should be replaced, according to me: The guys who could probably replace them, according to me: |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 10:28:34 GMT -6
<snip> Both of those guys may no longer be worth it, but I think we owe them until June to find out for sure. Just my opinion. The guys who probably should be replaced, according to me: The guys who could probably replace them, according to me: I don't disagree with any of that at all, and you'll likely end up exactly right. But....BUT...those bottom four prospects could also all suck. Tucker hasn't impressed yet. Stubbs' main value comes from his OBP which may or may not translate in the big leagues. Straw has shown signs of being a good 4th OFer but we don't know for sure. Alvarez looks great in AAA but so have a number of players who haven't worked out. Where as the top four guys have legitimately shown at the MLB level to be at least adequate players (even Jake had a very good 2017 season) when performing to their potential. Kemp proved me wrong in 2018 and looked very good. White has had two impressive runs with us in 2017 and 2018. Stassi has proven (if you believe the stats) to be a very good overall defensive catcher even if he doesn't hit well (but even then he has shown that he has impressive power when he makes contact...rare as that is so far this season). If we were sucking like Boston I would say we need to be a little more aggressive promoting this year, but we're not. As you pointed out before the game yesterday we were 18-12 in a not great month for what this team is likely capable of. We're still in 1st place and we're only 1.5 games out of being the top team in the AL, period. We have the time right now to give those guys a real chance and not rush the service time on the others. We would likely end up losing three of those guys you mentioned. That's a big hit to the organization depth-wise. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 10:32:18 GMT -6
The sucking ones need to be managed better. When you have three or 4 of white, kemp, stassi or joke in the same lineup, you shouldn't expect to win the game. Hinch is a popular manager, but his clipboard sucks sometimes.
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 10:41:24 GMT -6
I hate to judge a manager when we've been so successful, but I mostly agree. I feel like it can be better spaced out. I don't think Kemp or Jake should be starting nearly as much, period.
But, I think White should be getting more consistent playing time. He broke out for a couple games and then got benched for two days. It's hard to expect anybody to stay in a rhythm with such inconsistency. He has only ONCE started two days in a row. And those two days he went 4-7 with 3 walks. Then benched. Then came back and went 0-4. A guy hitting .297 with a .435 OBP got benched for two days right as he got hot. There needs to be less lefty-righty matchups/everybody has to get playing time bullshit and more of riding the hot hand.
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 10:44:39 GMT -6
Whose weewee does Alvarez have to play with to get his shot? A. A+ for use of "weewee" B. I think they're going to hold off to save the service time. It's not like we're desperate anyways. We're in 1st place. A. Thank you. It required a lot of wit on my part. B. We’re in first place...for now. It’s okay to make haste for certain things. If it were one or two players struggling, it’s fine, however, you have many who are struggling: Marisnick, White, Stassi, Gurriel, Kemp. You’ve got to plug up at least some of the holes. That’s what she said. C. Come on, the lineup was crappy yesterday. Admit it. |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 10:54:40 GMT -6
A. A+ for use of "weewee" B. I think they're going to hold off to save the service time. It's not like we're desperate anyways. We're in 1st place. A. Thank you. It required a lot of wit on my part. B. We’re in first place...for now. It’s okay to make haste for certain things. If it were one or two players struggling, it’s fine, however, you have many who are struggling: Marisnick, White, Stassi, Gurriel, Kemp. You’ve got to plug up at least some of the holes. That’s what she said. C. Come on, the lineup was crappy yesterday. Admit it. Are you really worried we won't win this division? I'm not. Even if we under-perform we should win this division. The key is to stay healthy and maybe add some pitching WHILE we win the division so we're ready for the postseason. It was crappIER, sure. |
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Post by thomasj13 on May 2, 2019 10:54:44 GMT -6
A. A+ for use of "weewee" B. I think they're going to hold off to save the service time. It's not like we're desperate anyways. We're in 1st place. A. Thank you. It required a lot of wit on my part. B. We’re in first place...for now. It’s okay to make haste for certain things. If it were one or two players struggling, it’s fine, however, you have many who are struggling: Marisnick, White, Stassi, Gurriel, Kemp. You’ve got to plug up at least some of the holes. That’s what she said. C. Come on, the lineup was crappy yesterday. Admit it. D. is looking for you |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 11:09:09 GMT -6
A. A+ for use of "weewee" B. I think they're going to hold off to save the service time. It's not like we're desperate anyways. We're in 1st place. A. Thank you. It required a lot of wit on my part. If you really wanted to be witty, you should have gone with ouioui. |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 11:10:02 GMT -6
A. Thank you. It required a lot of wit on my part. B. We’re in first place...for now. It’s okay to make haste for certain things. If it were one or two players struggling, it’s fine, however, you have many who are struggling: Marisnick, White, Stassi, Gurriel, Kemp. You’ve got to plug up at least some of the holes. That’s what she said. C. Come on, the lineup was crappy yesterday. Admit it. Are you really worried we won't win this division? I'm not. Even if we under-perform we should win this division. The key is to stay healthy and maybe add some pitching WHILE we win the division so we're ready for the postseason. It was crappIER, sure. I never said I was worried about winning the division but don’t sit around a month and wait for your DH to get an RBI. Don’t be cool with your catcher being a free out at the plate. The 1B production has been spotty for over a year now. Never settle is what they used to say, right? The starting pitching is another story. This is the worst they’ve had since before Verlander. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 11:10:38 GMT -6
A. Thank you. It required a lot of wit on my part. B. We’re in first place...for now. It’s okay to make haste for certain things. If it were one or two players struggling, it’s fine, however, you have many who are struggling: Marisnick, White, Stassi, Gurriel, Kemp. You’ve got to plug up at least some of the holes. That’s what she said. C. Come on, the lineup was crappy yesterday. Admit it. Are you really worried we won't win this division? I'm not. Even if we under-perform we should win this division. The key is to stay healthy and maybe add some pitching WHILE we win the division so we're ready for the postseason. It was crappIER, sure. All it would take to doom us would be an injury to JV, Cole, or both. |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 11:11:51 GMT -6
Are you really worried we won't win this division? I'm not. Even if we under-perform we should win this division. The key is to stay healthy and maybe add some pitching WHILE we win the division so we're ready for the postseason. It was crappIER, sure. All it would take to doom us would be an injury to JV, Cole, or both. An injury to one of them could easily start a team nosedive. |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 11:16:18 GMT -6
Are you really worried we won't win this division? I'm not. Even if we under-perform we should win this division. The key is to stay healthy and maybe add some pitching WHILE we win the division so we're ready for the postseason. It was crappIER, sure. I never said I was worried about winning the division but don’t sit around a month and wait for your DH to get an RBI. Don’t be cool with your catcher being a free out at the plate. The 1B production has been spotty for over a year now. Never settle is what they used to say, right? The starting pitching is another story. This is the worst they’ve had since before Verlander. We haven't even reached the quarter mark of the season yet though. You can't just give up on people that have had success before after such a limited amount of time. The pitching has been great overall. I'll be concerned if serious injury bugs start hitting them |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 11:17:11 GMT -6
Are you really worried we won't win this division? I'm not. Even if we under-perform we should win this division. The key is to stay healthy and maybe add some pitching WHILE we win the division so we're ready for the postseason. It was crappIER, sure. All it would take to doom us would be an injury to JV, Cole, or both. I don't know about doom, but it would be a problem. But, all teams have that same problem. We're better suited than most to deal with it though. |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 11:20:16 GMT -6
I never said I was worried about winning the division but don’t sit around a month and wait for your DH to get an RBI. Don’t be cool with your catcher being a free out at the plate. The 1B production has been spotty for over a year now. Never settle is what they used to say, right? The starting pitching is another story. This is the worst they’ve had since before Verlander. We haven't even reached the quarter mark of the season yet though. You can't just give up on people that have had success before after such a limited amount of time. The pitching has been great overall. I'll be concerned if serious injury bugs start hitting them Marisnick has been with the team since 2014. White has played in the majors since 2016. Stassi was brought here way back in one of those Lowrie trades. How much longer do you give them before you stop expecting replacement level production? These are the kinds of things that get Bortaz riled up. It’s not like this is their first crack at the big leagues. Out of all of them, White torpedoed his chances by ballooning himself. |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 11:25:13 GMT -6
We haven't even reached the quarter mark of the season yet though. You can't just give up on people that have had success before after such a limited amount of time. The pitching has been great overall. I'll be concerned if serious injury bugs start hitting them Marisnick has been with the team since 2014. White has played in the majors since 2016. Stassi was brought here way back in one of those Lowrie trades. How much longer do you give them before you stop expecting replacement level production? These are the kinds of things that get Bortaz riled up. It’s not like this is their first crack at the big leagues. Out of all of them, White torpedoed his chances by ballooning himself. Marisnick I agree with. Stassi is a different story. He never had real playing them before last year. This is essentially his sophomore season as a regular. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 11:29:05 GMT -6
Stassi is a different story. He never had real playing them before last year. This is essentially his sophomore season as a regular. And the last time I checked, he's batting under .100 EDIT: 0.94 |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 11:32:44 GMT -6
Marisnick has been with the team since 2014. White has played in the majors since 2016. Stassi was brought here way back in one of those Lowrie trades. How much longer do you give them before you stop expecting replacement level production? These are the kinds of things that get Bortaz riled up. It’s not like this is their first crack at the big leagues. Out of all of them, White torpedoed his chances by ballooning himself. Marisnick I agree with. Stassi is a different story. He never had real playing them before last year. This is essentially his sophomore season as a regular. Stassi should see the field as often as one of our starting pitchers. |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 11:42:21 GMT -6
Stassi is a different story. He never had real playing them before last year. This is essentially his sophomore season as a regular. And the last time I checked, he's batting under .100 EDIT: 0.94 Yeah but that's in a whole 10 games of irregular playing time. The backup catcher with 33 plate appearances is not going to make or break your first place team. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 11:46:21 GMT -6
And the last time I checked, he's batting under .100 EDIT: 0.94 Yeah but that's in a whole 10 games of irregular playing time. The backup catcher with 33 plate appearances is not going to make or break your first place team. A fan with little league experience could walk down out of the stands and hit 0.94. There is no excuse for a major league player to ever hit that shittily. |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 11:50:08 GMT -6
Yeah but that's in a whole 10 games of irregular playing time. The backup catcher with 33 plate appearances is not going to make or break your first place team. A fan with little league experience could walk down out of the stands and hit 0.94. There is no excuse for a major league player to ever hit that shittily. Well that's about how Altuve and Gurriel have been doing in their past 35ish plate appearances. Why shouldn't a lesser hitter be permitted a similar slump? |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 11:50:23 GMT -6
Yeah but that's in a whole 10 games of irregular playing time. The backup catcher with 33 plate appearances is not going to make or break your first place team. A fan with little league experience could walk down out of the stands and hit 0.94. There is no excuse for a major league player to ever hit that shittily. They can also look at strike three. |
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Post by unionstation82 on May 2, 2019 11:50:59 GMT -6
A fan with little league experience could walk down out of the stands and hit 0.94. There is no excuse for a major league player to ever hit that shittily. Well that's about how Altuve and Gurriel have been doing in their past 35ish plate appearances. Why shouldn't a lesser hitter be permitted a similar slump? It’s a bit ludicrous to make that comparison. What has Stassi ever done that’s noteworthy? |
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Post by Saint on May 2, 2019 12:03:27 GMT -6
Well that's about how Altuve and Gurriel have been doing in their past 35ish plate appearances. Why shouldn't a lesser hitter be permitted a similar slump? It’s a bit ludicrous to make that comparison. What has Stassi ever done that’s noteworthy? If we're talking about performance, why is it acceptable for a good player to have a slump but it's not acceptable for a worse player to have a similar slump? That logic doesn't make any sense. We're complaining about Stassi, White, Kemp, and Jake. Collectively making like $4.5 million to be roleplayers. Meanwhile Altuve and Gurriel are collectively making about $20 million to be everyday performers. |
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Post by ɮօʀȶǟʐ on May 2, 2019 12:25:19 GMT -6
It’s a bit ludicrous to make that comparison. What has Stassi ever done that’s noteworthy? If we're talking about performance, why is it acceptable for a good player to have a slump but it's not acceptable for a worse player to have a similar slump? That logic doesn't make any sense. We're complaining about Stassi, White, Kemp, and Jake. Collectively making like $4.5 million to be roleplayers. Meanwhile Altuve and Gurriel are collectively making about $20 million to be everyday performers. Because it's a career-long slump. You have to have done something before you can slump, too. |
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