txags92 said:Somebody behind Yordan is going to have to step up or he will continue to get trash pitches.AggiEE said:
If Alvarez, Walker, and Diaz get their **** together and post .800 ops and greater like they should be capable of (or close to it), the team starts looking a heck of a lot better then it is right now and is a contender
I wouldn't mind seeing Yordan and Paredes swap places just to see, but Paredes hasn't really been on a tear lately either. But long term, Paredes is a much better fit as a 2 unless Pena can get it together. Altuve, Pena, Yordan, Paredes, Walker/Diaz would be an ok 1-5 if one of Walker or Diaz can start elevating their hard hit balls.Phrasing said:txags92 said:Somebody behind Yordan is going to have to step up or he will continue to get trash pitches.AggiEE said:
If Alvarez, Walker, and Diaz get their **** together and post .800 ops and greater like they should be capable of (or close to it), the team starts looking a heck of a lot better then it is right now and is a contender
Yep. Who is it? Maybe Pena. I think we need to move Walker down until he figures it out.
Altuve
Alvarez
Pena
Paredes
txags92 said:I wouldn't mind seeing Yordan and Paredes swap places just to see, but Paredes hasn't really been on a tear lately either. But long term, Paredes is a much better fit as a 2 unless Pena can get it together. Altuve, Pena, Yordan, Paredes, Walker/Diaz would be an ok 1-5 if one of Walker or Diaz can start elevating their hard hit balls.Phrasing said:txags92 said:Somebody behind Yordan is going to have to step up or he will continue to get trash pitches.AggiEE said:
If Alvarez, Walker, and Diaz get their **** together and post .800 ops and greater like they should be capable of (or close to it), the team starts looking a heck of a lot better then it is right now and is a contender
Yep. Who is it? Maybe Pena. I think we need to move Walker down until he figures it out.
Altuve
Alvarez
Pena
Paredes
He is a businessman, who is not going to throw a bunch of good money after bad no matter how much he wants to win. He made a couple of bad decisions without the help of a GM to slap the pen out of his hand, and now he is limited in what he can do without shelling out a lot more money. I am sure in his eyes, paying out luxury tax money (which escalates if you are above it multiple years) is throwing good money away if it isn't going to potentially give us an immediate shot at a title.MaxPower said:
I can accuse crane of many things but not caring about winning isn't one of them. More likely he is out of touch with expectations based on the last decade.
AggiEE said:
If Alvarez, Walker, and Diaz get their **** together and post .800 ops and greater like they should be capable of (or close to it), the team starts looking a heck of a lot better then it is right now and is a contender
Big Al 1992 said:
Was really hoping we wouldn't spend the first 3-4 months chasing .500 like last year but here we are again.
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— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 16, 2025
Recapping the Astros' series loss in St Louis. What impressed us, concerned us. Also discussed Nolan Arenado's comments
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Frok said:
I understand the moves the Astros made and supported them, but man has it been a disaster so far. I wish Bregman and Tucker would go into a slump.
This makes sense to me. And having a rebuild without going through an entire gutting process, much like 2011-2013, would be much more ideal from a fan perspective.txags92 said:He is a businessman, who is not going to throw a bunch of good money after bad no matter how much he wants to win. He made a couple of bad decisions without the help of a GM to slap the pen out of his hand, and now he is limited in what he can do without shelling out a lot more money. I am sure in his eyes, paying out luxury tax money (which escalates if you are above it multiple years) is throwing good money away if it isn't going to potentially give us an immediate shot at a title.MaxPower said:
I can accuse crane of many things but not caring about winning isn't one of them. More likely he is out of touch with expectations based on the last decade.
We would have been in a much better position this offseason without having the anchors of Montero and Abreu's contracts wrapped around our neck. I suspect Crane had one eye on trying to make this year's team competitive and the other on 2-3 years from now when we will want a lot of draft picks, prospects, and luxury tax space to rebuild.
This team should ultimately be competitive, but it is not built for a title run. His insistence on staying below the cbt threshold is likely done more with an eye towards future budgets than a lack of desire to be competitive. One year below the CBT resets the tax levels so we will see how he feels next offseason.
Derek Bell, until he turned 30 and apparently died. He hit .334 his first year with the Astros and had a couple of 100+ RBi seasons during the Killer B era.GigEmMortis said:Carlos Beltran in 2004. That's itMAROON said:It sure seems like when guys join the astros their offensive numbers go down. Now it might just be due to such a small sample of guys but I'm trying to recall someone who came in and improvedEastCoastAgNc said:Through 18 games, the Astros are slashing .216/.300/.317 (.618 OPS). They’ve scored 3 runs or fewer in all but 5 games.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 16, 2025
I know we have been instructed not to besmirch the good names of our "hitting" "coaches", but at some point, someone needs to lose their job over this. This is a continued pattern over more than a year. If I were Crane, I'd be looking for some kind of staffing change immediately.
MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt Hit In Head By Line Drive, Leaves Game | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/WFkTWwJS5J
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 16, 2025
I could be wrong on this, but I think the lower revenue and smaller market clubs get chances at a draft lottery. If there is a penalty to the teams over the CBT threshold, I am not aware of it.Mr. Awesome Time said:
Plus there are draft pick penalties I believe for teams that exceed the CBT in consecutive seasons, but Crane may not care as much about that as Dana.
Hope he is ok, but I also hope it improves his accuracy.EastCoastAgNc said:MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt Hit In Head By Line Drive, Leaves Game | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/WFkTWwJS5J
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 16, 2025
Booma94 said:"I look like a banker in this"BadAggie said:
Man, Reddick looks like he is buying the good drugs these days
TarponChaser said:AggiEE said:
If Alvarez, Walker, and Diaz get their **** together and post .800 ops and greater like they should be capable of (or close to it), the team starts looking a heck of a lot better then it is right now and is a contender
Yordan's career OPS is .966 and Walker's is almost .800- to think they won't approach their career averages is overly pessimistic IMHO.
HoustonAg9999 said:Crane is counting his money stros are still a huge draw he doesn't care as long as the park is sold outEastCoastAgNc said:Through 18 games, the Astros are slashing .216/.300/.317 (.618 OPS). They’ve scored 3 runs or fewer in all but 5 games.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 16, 2025
I know we have been instructed not to besmirch the good names of our "hitting" "coaches", but at some point, someone needs to lose their job over this. This is a continued pattern over more than a year. If I were Crane, I'd be looking for some kind of staffing change immediately.
He has done it several times. He typically has done it to add a single critical piece that was needed for a legit run, like adding JV. But doing it multiple years in a row increases the penalty to 50% in year 3 and goes higher if they are too high above the threshold. He doesn't have the money to throw it around just to get better. It really needs to be a choice he makes strategically when it will make a significant difference in the club's trajectory for the season.BadAggie said:HoustonAg9999 said:Crane is counting his money stros are still a huge draw he doesn't care as long as the park is sold outEastCoastAgNc said:Through 18 games, the Astros are slashing .216/.300/.317 (.618 OPS). They’ve scored 3 runs or fewer in all but 5 games.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 16, 2025
I know we have been instructed not to besmirch the good names of our "hitting" "coaches", but at some point, someone needs to lose their job over this. This is a continued pattern over more than a year. If I were Crane, I'd be looking for some kind of staffing change immediately.
Crane has carried payrolls over the tax threshold a few times no?
I mean not a fan of everything he's done but he has shelled out some cash over the years.
Caved way too much with the Luhnow/Hinch decisions but the pressure was insane
The penalties vary. If you are $40+M over then your first draft pick moves back 10 picks. Otherwise, the draft penalties are mainly just if you sign a free agent with a QO and you are over the threshold or you don't get as good a compensation if your free agent who got a QO signs elsewhere. If you are over the threshold but not active in free agency and don't have any major free agents the penalties are really just financial.txags92 said:I could be wrong on this, but I think the lower revenue and smaller market clubs get chances at a draft lottery. If there is a penalty to the teams over the CBT threshold, I am not aware of it.Mr. Awesome Time said:
Plus there are draft pick penalties I believe for teams that exceed the CBT in consecutive seasons, but Crane may not care as much about that as Dana.
If Crane was more focused on 2-3 years from now Framber wouldn't have been on this team for opening day. I go back to him being unrealistic with all the success we have had. He's trying to thread a fine needle between wining now and winning later. I'm obviously not opposed to winning now but the main focus should be on success in 2026-2028. You have Jose, Yordan and HB as your core for that timeframe. Anybody who will either a) be gone (Framber) or b) you think you can reasonably replace (Abreu?) should be on the trade block. If we trade those guys and only win 80 games this year instead of 84 who cares?txags92 said:He is a businessman, who is not going to throw a bunch of good money after bad no matter how much he wants to win. He made a couple of bad decisions without the help of a GM to slap the pen out of his hand, and now he is limited in what he can do without shelling out a lot more money. I am sure in his eyes, paying out luxury tax money (which escalates if you are above it multiple years) is throwing good money away if it isn't going to potentially give us an immediate shot at a title.MaxPower said:
I can accuse crane of many things but not caring about winning isn't one of them. More likely he is out of touch with expectations based on the last decade.
We would have been in a much better position this offseason without having the anchors of Montero and Abreu's contracts wrapped around our neck. I suspect Crane had one eye on trying to make this year's team competitive and the other on 2-3 years from now when we will want a lot of draft picks, prospects, and luxury tax space to rebuild.
This team should ultimately be competitive, but it is not built for a title run. His insistence on staying below the cbt threshold is likely done more with an eye towards future budgets than a lack of desire to be competitive. One year below the CBT resets the tax levels so we will see how he feels next offseason.
I think they tried to deal him, but they (Crane and Dana) weren't willing to settle for "whatever we could get" for him. They probably had specific players or prospects in mind and when they couldn't get them, they decided to try again as the trade deadline approached.MaxPower said:If Crane was more focused on 2-3 years from now Framber wouldn't have been on this team for opening day. I go back to him being unrealistic with all the success we have had. He's trying to thread a fine needle between wining now and winning later. I'm obviously not opposed to winning now but the main focus should be on success in 2026-2028. You have Jose, Yordan and HB as your core for that timeframe. Anybody who will either a) be gone (Framber) or b) you think you can reasonably replace (Abreu?) should be on the trade block. If we trade those guys and only win 80 games this year instead of 84 who cares?txags92 said:He is a businessman, who is not going to throw a bunch of good money after bad no matter how much he wants to win. He made a couple of bad decisions without the help of a GM to slap the pen out of his hand, and now he is limited in what he can do without shelling out a lot more money. I am sure in his eyes, paying out luxury tax money (which escalates if you are above it multiple years) is throwing good money away if it isn't going to potentially give us an immediate shot at a title.MaxPower said:
I can accuse crane of many things but not caring about winning isn't one of them. More likely he is out of touch with expectations based on the last decade.
We would have been in a much better position this offseason without having the anchors of Montero and Abreu's contracts wrapped around our neck. I suspect Crane had one eye on trying to make this year's team competitive and the other on 2-3 years from now when we will want a lot of draft picks, prospects, and luxury tax space to rebuild.
This team should ultimately be competitive, but it is not built for a title run. His insistence on staying below the cbt threshold is likely done more with an eye towards future budgets than a lack of desire to be competitive. One year below the CBT resets the tax levels so we will see how he feels next offseason.
