Dude, that still haunts me. We were such a good team, but failed so hard in winning just one ****ing playoff game at home. Don't deserve the ring unless you can win at least a game at home. Give it to the Nationals, they did what we failed miserably to do. :|.
He was expected to make $10-12M on his last arbitration year. If we non-tender him, that's money we had previously assumed would go to Osuna that we can use towards keeping Springer or Brantley.
For all the "Astros love hitting at home" and "oh they're cheating" we have generally done better on the road (outside the 2017 Yankees ALCS). We outscored the Nats 15-2(!) in Games 4 and 5. That 2019 team was one of the best all-around teams I'd have ever seen assembled. Still can't wrap my head around Washington's mid-season turnaround, but very 2005 Astros-esque. Really gonna need to win another title within the next 3 years or less to change the narratives.
The good news is that with a decimated pitching staff, no one will be able to claim that this year proves we must of cheated due to our poor play. Roll over to next year.
The relief market is a fairly decent class this upcoming offseason. It would be ideal if Pressly or someone else could emerge as the closer so you don't have to spend closer money for next season. Devenski, Biagini, and Peacock will probably be gone as well. So that is another 6.9 million in savings. Here are some names that are likely to be available if they don't sign new contracts Betances (has a player option for 6 million) Pedro Baez Alex Colome Shane Greene Liam Hendricks Jeremy Jeffress Keona Kela Trevor May Yusmeiro Petit Blake Treinan Brandon Workman Kirby Yates Jose Alvarez
Love Yates, of the pitchers you mentioned. Had a great 18/19, gonna be 34 coming off this weird season so maybe we can get him on a decent deal.
I think it is way too early to know. Which rookies show they are capable of holding down a spot? Does Joe Smith come back next season? Is James moved back to the pen?
How is that good news? So having injury to guys just so randoms can't say something they will anyway is a good thing. Why would any true fan care what somebody else says about the cheating, it seems that you think it has some merit.
Reading through the comments, I'm shocked no one has said it yet, so I guess I'll be that guy: I'm kind of relieved. I've never enjoyed rooting for Osuna since he was acquired, I always felt weird rooting for him when he was on the mound, and I was looking forward to the day when he wasn't wearing an Astros uniform anymore. I never want to root for an injury, but this is a win-win for me. He was a huge piece of a lot of the negativity directed at the Astros in the last couple of years, and rightfully so. If they really wanted to rebuild their reputation, Osuna needed to be gone. I hope he never pitches another inning as an Astro. And on the plus side, this forces them to look for his replacement in a season that was already going to be kind of a bust anyway. Good riddance.
I agree. To me that trade was always unnecessary. Closers aren’t as important as they’re made out to be, especially come playoff time. And the baggage just wasn’t worth it. I think at the time Luhnow felt pretty invincible coming off a WS that seemingly validated his “all that matters is value” approach, and liked the idea of acquiring an asset below its value while simultaneously making a statement about redemption. But I think Luhnow undervalued the court of public opinion and underestimated what real redemption looks like for someone who beat the **** out of their child’s mother; Osuna couldn’t be redeemed by being traded to a contender and pitching well. He needed to admit guilt and take a LONG time away from baseball righting his wrong and proving his true character. A 2nd Chance isn’t earned without penance and Luhnow disregarded that fact. So yes, I didn’t like the trade, I didn’t root for Osuna, and I think that ordeal was a microcosm of Luhnow’s ultimately fatally flawed line of thinking. What the public thinks doesn’t always matter, but sometimes it does, because sometimes what the public thinks aligns with what is right. I don’t rejoice in the Astros losing their closer, and I don’t relish any athlete getting seriously injured, but the thought that Osuna has probably pitched his last inning in Houston makes me happy.
My thoughts on this as well: I was raised to never root for injuries in sports. However, as much as I love the Astros, part of me deep inside did not want Osuna to get a ring, and I had trouble rooting for him to get saves (and outs). I have a friend (female), who is also a big Astros fan, and spoke to me about, I'll just say, things that happened in her past, and why she and many other fans were uncomfortable with the trade. And I fully sympathize with that crowd. Luhnow, while he was a great GM, ultimately, this exposed his biggest weakness: he just did NOT care about the PR side of things. I do believe in second chances, and I also cannot say that I know Osuna in person, or exactly what happened, and they reached a settlement in court. But I was not happy that the second chance had to be with us given the backlash from the media, and the locker room too, don't forget. Also, building on SnakeDiggit's comment about closers, it's also important to note that MLB closers can be VERY volatile in terms of performance. They can go from unhittable to unservicable in about a blink of an eye (Edwin Diaz, Craig Kimbrel, Brad Hand, Raisel Iglesias, etc). I remember when I REALLY wanted us to trade for Hand that same year. Now Hand is shaky and makes Indians fans sick when he's on the mound (see also: Indians Twitter's reactions). Cubs fans were ecstatic when they signed Kimbrel. Now they can't wait for his contract to come off the books. Moral of the story, with closers, while I am a believer in a strong bullpen, be wary of giving up too much for one, because things can suddenly take a turn for the worst with them. Hopefully, that's the end of the road for Osuna as an Astro. Save some money, resign Springer or Brantley this winter, focus on developing the arms in our system for the pen, or maybe sign an FA if the price is right. No team needs to rebuild its reputation more than the Astros, and moving on from Osuna is a big step in that direction.
I would feel that way, too, if someone on this entire planet would complain about Aroldis Chapman or Addison Russell. Why are the Astros held to this high and mighty moral standard and every other franchise gets no press whatsoever for doing the same damn thing?
Can we start a "Go Fund Me" to raise money to hire someone to do lefthanded colorectal surgery on Rob Manafort?
