Neither should be taking up a roster spot at this point.....................hell, move our backup catcher to first or put Dubon at first until we can get this figured out but Abreau and John S are a black hole at first base (production wise)
I just wanted to say for the record that the reason I did not say anything ahead of time is that I was on about a 15 minute delay watching the game. I have been on record multiple times talking about limiting exposure of pitchers by not allowing them to face hitters multiple times. I have posted dozens of times on that since I joined this site.
The problem with Espada's bullpen use is the same with Dusty's. They are never prepared for when things go bad. They let opposing teams get into bases loaded jams before going out to get the pitcher. I can understand wanted to teach pitchers how to work out of jams, but doing that in close and late situations is just stupid. Brown going out for the 7th, was fine but he should have been on a 1 guy on base leash. Same with Dubin working the 3rd inning. Bringing in pitchers into no-win situations is r****ded management.
He definitely gave up a bunch of weak contact, and it was unfortunate, but I think it definitely can be questioned sending him out there for a third inning, even if he came out of it unscathed. The managers job is to put players in the best position to succeed and I don’t think in that situation he achieved that. The usage of the bullpen, especially Hader, has been questionable at best. That said, if the offense hadn’t went completely dead we wouldn’t even be taking about the Dubin decision. This team is just playing poorly right now.
Espada needs to maximize what he already has. Astros probably have 1-2 more wins these past two weeks with Singleton replacing Abreu.
Can three innings be questioned? Sure But there's a difference between questionable, versus, "Espada was so stupid"..... especially when nobody said anything until after the outcome.
Not just expectations (ave/obp/slgp) Singleton--.250/.333/.313 Abreu------.078/.158/.098 https://www.espn.com/mlb/team/stats/_/name/hou/houston-astros Its not even close.
I don't think Inchan was disagreeing with the statement that Singleton has been much better. It's just that much better, in this context, is still well below average. Singleton sucks, too, just not nearly as bad as Abreu.
