I'm hoping that Myers is also going to be putting in extra effort for a contract after this upcoming season. I'm still wanting to cry after the 15 million dollar contract we gave Lyon.
Man, it's good to be talking baseball again. Loved reading that last page. Can't wait for opening day!!
you already know the answer to this. don't kid yourself into thinking that you don't. the towles miracle story continues. he won himself a starting catcher's gig by having a red hot first 3 weeks of spring training (and has since, predictably, gone ice cold, which will undoubtedly continue in to the games that count), just like he bought himself 2+ more years of chances on the team by having an 8-rbi game as a september callup which included a long ball off an opposing 2nd baseman. the guy flat out sucks, and the astros long history continues of having no concept of when to cut their losses and stop giving opportunity after endless opportunity to bums who can't play. but, hope springs eternal for the other 24 (well, probably not paulino either). :grin: GO STROS!
Don't forget that HR he hit early last season that they didn't credit him for! That would've upped his OPS to about .510! :grin:
Kind of like how they should have given up on Michael Bourn as well? Since his horrendous 2008 season, where he couldn't hit a lefty if his life depended on it, and ended up batting around .220. A lead off hitter who hit .229 and rarely walked was certainly a reason to keep him around for most of the season right? Michael and J.R. were given two completely different opportunities. Towles was given 54 games, while Bourn was given 138 in that 2008 season. After both in their previous years hit for around the same average in the minors, with J.R. I believe a bit higher than Bourn. Hopefully this year we'll stick by our word about giving J.R. his at bats.
yup. michael bourn is the rule, not the exception. great point. you always need to give players at least 300 games before you make a judgment on them.
I was just as frustrated as everyone else when watching J.R. swing a bit in 2008, but I had the same feeling while watching Bourn. However, it's going to be just as hard for J.R. this year, because if he doesn't produce to start the season, people are going to be hollering for Castro, which I don't have a problem with it's part of the game. Just seems J.R. wasn't given the same shot as others like Bourn. Oh well, whatever helps the team though. Sure am anxious to see what Castro can do in the majors, but I hope J.R. can get it going.
You ain't kiddin. Even though it may not be our greatest season, should be fun watching some of the young guys get a shot. I'm excited enough at the thought of watching Norris throw an entire season alone. Not to mention Castro/J.R./Paulino/Tommy ect.
Do you believe 250 at bats, much of it in part time duty, is enough to evaluate a player? Towles may very well suck. But we haven't remotely been given the opportunity to find out yet.
Towles deserves the full-time gig. He's earned it with his performance in the minors and in ST. Maybe he'll be good, and maybe he'll suck 2 months into the season and Castro replaces him. Personally I remain hopeful that he will play well this season.
may as well say that for every player in out farm system. he's a nothing defensively, and we have out catcher of the future waiting in the wings. he's a waste of time at this point, and has been given a far greater chance than anybody who has shown as little as he has deserves.
Um, no. Towles was considered the best (yes, out of a very weak) in the entire system as recently as two years ago, and was considered by scouts across the board to be, at worst, a serviceable major league catcher. May as well say that for every player in the farm system? Well, if they absolutely crush AAA pitching and are considered to have major league starter talent by scouts, then yes. Otherwise, apples and oranges. If you're going to give up on major league-caliber prospects over 250 at-bats, you better have a Yankees-level payroll because you'll be giving up on a lot of cheap production. We don't.
you're saying you should blindly dismiss his first 250 atbats, i'm saying you should give up on him after showing virtually nothing in 250 atbats. my decision is far, far closer to the right and smart decision than yours will ever be if you handle every single mid-level prospect that exact way. oh, and by the say, saying that he is "considered by scouts across the board to be, at worst, a serviceable major league catcher"...yeah, um...you completely made that up (not that it would mean diddly poo at this point even if "they" all said that anyway). also, how hard is it to see that even if lightning strikes, his upside is severely limited anyway. once again, the guy is borderline lousy defensively. it cracks me up how many of you same worshippers of brad ausmus and people who say that defense is all that matters at the catching position are somehow completely dismissing the fact that towles isn't a good defensive catcher, and are just worried about him getting more atbats.
by the way, you do understand that the astros were going to give up on him after 250 abs if he layed an egg over his first 20 abs of the meaningless spring, yes? if that doesn't end the conversation, i can't help you.
let me beat your dick and fart humor to the punch: "sure is ironic that he misspelled 'laid', ain't it?"
Here's one evaluation of him from this spring, even after the struggles of the past two years. And if you notice, his defense is scouted as above average as well. In fact, you're pretty much the first person I've heard to bag on him behind the plate. http://attorneydonhecker.com/views/2010/03/23/remember-j-r-towles/ Also, I love the creative way you throw out your insults. See, you talk out your ass and accuse me of making things up, when you know good and well I can find you at least 10-15 prominent scouts' evaluations of Towles in 2008 listing him as a solid starter, while you can't find a one to the contrary. But there's no reason for me to even spend the time collecting the links for you, because in the next breath you say it wouldn't mean diddly poo. What a perfect way to insulate yourself! I look forward to bumping this when Towles is league average or better (.720 OPS ish) for catchers this year.
Not sure if anyone is truly asking for your help. However, I'm not sure what their argument may center around, but mines is the fact that J.R. was not given the same opportunity as Bourn after both struggled in the 08 season. Oh well, we'll see what happens.
If you honestly think there was an open "competition" between Towles and Castro, you're as delusional as they come. The Astros will say things like that and "hype" Castro a lot, to boost the opinions and interest of the casual fan who relies on names... but they weren't going to let him skip an entire level in his development unless something drastic took place. Towles was going to start opening day almost regardless of what he did this spring.
Oh you think so? Because to me, that would have been a pretty big mistake considering the arbitration situation involving Castro.
eh...scouts across the board, attorney don hecker - 6 of one, half a dozen of the other i guess. wait a minute, you're going to bump this thread when his OPS gets to .720 (ish of course, way to insulate yourself!)? so his measure of success IS his offense, and we can disregard his defense?
