I know alot of us Fans right now are feeling down and out about the 17-18 start, but is it too early to hit the panic button? Couple of obvious observations that I think will stabilize us going forward. 1) The big one is the injuries. We are VERY fortunate last year to have a healthy bullpen (which hasn't changed), and 6 Starters. Everyone struggles with injuries, but we had it made last season with the exception of Brantley being out. 2) The pitch clock is messing with both our hitters and our pitchers. Again, this is something that everyone is struggling with right now, but our hitters are timing up the pitchers in a shorter period whilst disrupting their rhythm. This has to rectify itself over the next few weeks, and will become better towards the end of the season. 3) The shift changes are impacting our infield. Last night was a great example of this where routine balls up the middle were gobbling up Dubon, and causing the double play to go away. Had Pena been able to shift over, there would have been two DP's last night. Really isnt any ways you can "adjust" to this, and they have to deal with it, but putting runs on the board will help. I for one do not think that it is time yet, as it is WAY too early in the season, but not gonna lie and say I feel comfortable. Sure is cute though watching the Arlington fans thinking they have the WS in the bag. I want the Stros to face them so badly in the Playoffs, to kill their delusions of grandeur.
Based on what evidence? Everybody is overcomplicating the problems we've had. Our offense is terrible due to injuries, Abreu and Bregman..that's it. Injuries and Bregman should rectify itself, Abreu I'm not so sure about. Most of the other PA have gone to guys like Dubon, Maldonado, Julks and Henlsey who simply aren't any good. The pitching has been fine. Not quite as dominant as last season, but really good.
Abreu logically has to come around at some point. The guy has borderline HOF numbers. This steep of a decline just does not seem realistic. Again, way too early to throw the towel in on him.
If the panic button is that the Astros have wasted a lot of their edge such that they need to play very well the rest of the season to get a bye, yes they should be pushing the panic button.
No reason you panic. This team has too much talent to stay around 500 for 162 games. Altuve is the key. The team simply does not have a leadoff man without him. Once Altuve returns, we will see an uptick in consistent run scoring. The pitchers will have less pressure on them. They have generally been good with a few blowup but more runs can only help. I worry about the loss of Garcia and Urquidy in the rotation. Brown is going to have growing pains and throw a stinker once in a while. If Urquidy and/or McCullers don't come back able to throw 6 innings consistently the pitching staff could get worn out. Then we end up with 2021 all over again. I would like to see the team bring in a starter who can help with that but besides that I like this team over the last 2/3-3/4 of the season and the playoffs.
Do you really think it'll be hard for them to finish with a better record than the central division winner? Or are you expecting them to not even win their own division? Thankfully, MLB will continue to reward division winners vs. just going to top records overall...
Umm if Dusty is being stubborn and trotting out below average hitters, then yea hit the panic button. I hope Crane and Bagwell never make a GM decision ever. The Abreu signing is a disaster. He trots around like Albert Pujols but hits like Tyler White/Robel Castro.
And yes, I think too early to hit the panic button. I'm not sure when to hit the panic button, but hopefully that won't be an issue with getting our team healthy again for the most part. Garcia/Urquidy aside.
Worried and disappointed but not panicked. The good news is that the Astros are only 4.5 games out of the division. If they fall 8-10 games back of the Rangers then I would start to really worry. But it’s not like panicking will do any good, by the front office or players much less by fans. The Astros roster is static. What are they going to do, release Abreu eat $50M+ and go out and massively overpay for a bat this far from the trade deadline? Same with the pitching, what are they to do, release Montero and eat his contract and go out and gut the already-thin farm to acquire pitching? Nope, they ran into some bad luck this year that they’ve managed to avoid for the most part of the last 7 seasons. They lost 3/5 of their projected rotation for an extended period of time. They lost the heart and soul of their lineup, a borderline hall of Famer, for 2 months. They lost one of their steadiest bats for 7 weeks. They had a borderline hall of Famer they signed be one of the worst players in baseball. They had a guy who has been a borderline mvp caliber player be very mediocre. More than anything, the Astros need some luck. They need Brantley, Altuve, and McCullers back. Get those 3 guys healthy and give it 3-4 weeks; if they’re 8+ games back in the division at that point or close to the deadline, it might be prudent to think about making this a reloading year. One thing this should be is a reminder that no matter how deep the roster looks, there’s a lot of luck involved in baseball, it’s a long season and a short playoffs, and we shouldn’t take the Astros success (past or future) for granted.
Panick time? No, not yet. The Astros are 4.5 games out of the division lead, and frankly they only need to make the playoffs to be dangerous. The Astros have had bad injuries - especially on the offensive side with McCormick/Brantley/Altuve not being able to play. Couple that with Abreu and Bregman being cold for a month and there are real issues on offense. The good news is that the offense when healthy will likely be better than last year.... Meyers is healthy, Abreu most likely turns in around, and Diaz is a good catching option...... Dubon can play the swing spot. As far as the rotation goes, they miss Verlander but Hunter Brown has been better than expected. Garcia and Urquidy are okay, but they were not spectacular and France and Bielak pitched well enough to win. The pen is having some regression with Stanek and Montero. I expect Montero to be solid but the pen just wont be as good as last year. The Astros have more money and assets to make moves at the deadline if necessary, and I expect them to make at least one big addition. Altuve Bregman Alvarez Abreu Tucker Brantley Pena McCormick/Meyers Maldonado/Diaz I expect the Astros to be really aggressive looking at catchers like Sal Perez and a few others - and the offense will be very deep and potent. The rotation really cannot stand an injury to Valdez or Javier - but that is true for any team........ McCullers will be coming back at some point too. There are also going to be some pitchers available at the deadline that could really help the Astros and the system right now is in a better spot than it has been in several years.
I expect the Astros will need to win >92 games to win Division and have more wins than the Central winner. Most likely if they win the division, they win 2nd bye. Odds are that at least one of the Rangers, Mariners, and Angels have a run at some point. Hopefully, the Astros don't have any more injuries to pitching or Yordan.
This season will probably come down to whether the Astros incur any other significant injuries and how well Altuve, Brantley, and LMJ perform once they return. I wouldn't panic yet, but I wouldn't complain if Brown becoming more aggressive to ensure the team is put in the best position to win each game. Wasting a roster spot on Salazar when you have a decent LHB in AAA is ridiculous even if the 40 man is full. The usage of Diaz has been preposterous. Brown should be nipping these issues in the bud not letting them fester as the team falls further behind in the standings.
This season will probably come down to whether the Astros incur any other significant injuries and how well Altuve, Brantley, and LMJ perform once they return. I wouldn't panic yet, but I wouldn't complain if Brown becoming more aggressive to ensure the team is put in the best position to win each game. Wasting a roster spot on Salazar when you have a decent LHB in AAA is ridiculous even if the 40 man is full. The usage of Diaz has been preposterous. Brown should be nipping these issues in the bud not letting them fester as the team falls further behind in the standings.
Agreed. Winning the division likely gets them the bye. I don't expect all the above teams to also be blessed with extreme health. If so, the Angels probably have the best overall chance of having enough firepower/pitching to maintain a healthy run differential over 162. But they will inevitably have health concerns. Not sold on Rangers bullpen and remainder non DeGrom starters all performing well over 162 either. Mariners are formidably grinding at the moment... and have a chip... but until they do it, they haven't done it.
I will say I'm not as optimistic as most on the season outcome. If we are depending on Brantley, Altuve and McCullers to right the ship that gives me jitters. Brantley is no spring chicken, and he has had his share of injuries in his career. McCullers is, well he is McCullers. Never one to go deep into games, and we all know about the injury history there. Altuve I feel the most confident about, but he is also no youngster. Who is coming from the minors to give a spark? Who do we legit have in the minors to make a splash trade with and not decimate the talent pool? How will Urquidy be when he is back? To many unknowns to be overly optimistic about the rest of the season. I truly hope I am wrong. Still watching. Still happy or sad nightly depending on the outcome.
This season will probably come down to PA by Abreu... ....you betting on "most likely"??? Getting real close to: "Bout damn time to take out the trash." I think the real question is: How many series against our division are they "allowed to lose" before Baker, Abreu, Maldonado get the notice to vacate? Questions ol' Ichabod & ol' Mr. Get on Up need to be solving / answering / presenting TODAY and making an impact on tomorrow. Yeah, cut the losses... bad bets. You got took. ol' Pat-a-Cake aint gonna last the entire season. Question is... who becomes the interim that could LEAD this team to the end of the rainbow.
