After the good vibes from a 16 inning walk-off win on Wednesday. The Astros followed that up scoring one run, off the RedSox losing 11-1 less than 24 hours later.
One of the big problems the Astros have had since the season started, played a big part in the loss again Thursday. Leaving men on base was an issue against David Price (who has given up his fair share of runs), the Astros got guys on base, but again could not get them in. This has been a problem for a while and even in wins it's an issue that keeps popping back up.
It's about time for the Astros to start taking a look at ways to manipulate their way to more runs. It's pretty clear drastic methods like calling a bunch of guys up or making trades is out of the question, for now at least.
What the Astros can do, is start moving the lineup around. They can start spreading some of that top of the lineup hitting wealth, to the rest of the batting order.
The Astros only have one player batting over .300, Jose Altuve's batting .326. Aside from him they only have two guys that are batting over .250, Carlos Correa batting .269 and George Springer batting .255. That's the 1-2-3 of your lineup. The rest of the batting order is .235 or lower and a few guys are even below .200.
When a Cowboy wants to take down a bunch of Outlaws, he's going to have a tough time, if he only has three bullets in his gun. He better hope the bad guys are having off days if his going to be able to come out on top.
That's a lot like the Astros now, they are winning games because the pitching most nights are doing enough to keep them close, and then when the timing is right they can put one or two guys across the plate. Some nights that is enough for a win, most nights it's not.
The Astros as a team are batting .229, only better than the Braves, the Phillies, and the Rays. All but one of the four is below .500 (Phillies are just playing out of their mind).
The Astros are getting production from four guys, Colby Rasmus, Altuve, Springer, and Correa. The rest of the lineup is hit and miss. To help get guys more fastballs and help kickstart them into gear, the Astros need to consider breaking up that four.
Spread the four throughout the order and mix in Carlos Gomez, Tyler White, and Preston Tucker higher in the lineup. I am not saying this will be the magic potion that will cure all the lineup woah's but it's worth a shot.
New lineup
1st - George Springer
2nd - Preston Tucker
3rd - Carlos Gomez
4th - Jose Altuve
5th - Carlos Correa
6th - Colby Rasmus
7th - Marwin Gonzalez
8th - Jason Castro
9th - Tyler White
The short seconded basemen is the team's best batter, you get someone on base for him you have faith he can get the run/runs home. Just think about how long innings can go with Correa and Rasmus right behind him.
Of course, that's the same thinking with them in the top of the order. The problem is the guys behind them aren't doing anything, so if you move Tucker and Rasmus in front of them they get fatter fastballs. You hope that they will be able to shake free the rust from the bats and start producing.
This would be a shake up and right now maybe that's what the bats need. The Astros have seen what this lineup has been able to do this season with minor tweaks here or there, but maybe it's time for a major tweak.
Let me begin by saying that I have so much anger towards the way that this team is being run. I just can’t stand it, man. Your heart is in the right place, but I find some of your selections to be poor. Here are a few questions/comments:
ReplyDelete1. Carlos Gomez? CARLOS FREAKING GOMEZ?!?! You really think that guy deserves a spot in the lineup? He needs to be sent to the minors. He has no business batting, even in this dreadful Astros lineup. At least 2 strike outs a game, but closer to 3. That, mixed in with a hot head attitude and lazy centerfielding doesn't deserve an Astros uniform. He needs to get his head on straight in the minors. I prefer to feed him to the sharks, but I don’t think that Hinch is considering that.
2. Production from Rasmus? Not any recent production from the batter’s box.
3. George Springer leading off? The guy swings way too hard and has proven himself as a 5 or 6 spot hitter, but for some reason our Harvard grad coach puts him at number 2.
4. You don't think that Marwin Gonzalez is a producer? He is one of our ONLY producers over the past dozen games. The guy needs more at bats so he needs to be pushed up in the order. His slugging % over the past 3 to 4 series is only topped by Altuve.
5. No Valbeuna in the lineup? Again, one of our only producers of late. Plus he is good on the other side of the ball.
Basically, I like your selections of starting players, with the exception of Gomez. I like that you believe that the lineup needs to be shaken up. I completely agree and have been barking at that dumdum Hinch on Twitter (unfortunately the only way to contact him for me) about it. That said, history shows that the most runs come from your better batters being in the top half of your lineup. I don’t want to go against the statistics on that one. I want Hinch to play the players that are currently playing well (better than what other options we have), and sit the players that are not. Coaching 101. Unfortunately, I feel that this team is doomed until Hinch is fired. He makes unbelievably poor coaching decisions every single day. He has zero basic understanding of baseball and talent. I don’t know how this guy has a job. He is completely killing this team with his over coaching. Baseball HARDLY needs a coach, and this one is just plain awful. Let’s forget the fact the he consistently takes our starting pitchers out in the 5th, 6th and 7th when they are pitching well and under 100 pitches to put our not so reliable bullpen in. Our starters, if pitching well, should NEVER be removed until 115 + pitches pitched.
Here is my lineup: Note that I like your idea to put Altuve in a meatier spot so I am changing that to match yours.
Gonzalez – 1st base
Rasmus - center
Altuve – 2nd
Correa – short
Springer - right
Valbuena – 3rd
White - DH
Tucker - left
Castro – Catcher (Stupid Hinch should bunt Castro EVERY SINGLE TIME! A major league baseball player should be able to get on base 1 out of 5 times by simply bunting. That is a better batting average than he has right now and it will force the defense to make a play and most likely advance whoever is on base, if anyone is.)
Sincerely,
@themikoras
Two things here, you really need to have a better understanding of the rules before making suggestions or demands that are impossible. Carlos Gomez CANNOT be sent to the minor leagues because the club does not have any options on him. He can be put on the bench, traded or released (in which case Houston would end up paying him to play for another club)..but he can't be sent to the minors. Get that idea out of your head.
DeleteSecondly, Rasmus is a much better hitter with men on base (look up the stats) than he is with the bases empty. In your proposed lineup he would rarely hit with guys on base. A total waste. He's an RBI man, he belongs somewhere in the lineup BEHIND Altuve, Springer or Correa. I have no problem moving guys around and I do like Altuve hitting 3rd but you don't put a low OBP guy like Gonzales at the top of the order. Bat Springer lead-off.
You are correct; I haven't put in the research on whether we can send Gomez down. It appears that no one has, which includes most all opinions on the web as well as the voices of Houston sports radio. You might be the only one, other than Hinch and Jeff that are aware of this.
DeleteRasmus' spot in the lineup is interchangeable. I'm not hard set on that exact lineup. I really think that we as a ball club should veer away from all this overdone statistical analysis. There are basic statistics that we should of course play ball with regards to, but I really can't imagine that Rasmus truly becomes a better hitter when guys are on base. In my opinion, statistics like that are just over analyzed. Thank you for the comments and thank you for correcting my misunderstanding of Gomez being sent.
@themikoras
Unknown,
DeleteI am at this time retracting my apology. You are 100% incorrect just as I initially thought that you were. Carlos Gomez is currently playing AA ball in Corpus Christi. Two things that you really need to have a better understanding of before making suggestions that are dumb: 1.) Have an idea of what you are speaking about 2.) Don't slam someones opinion when they are dead on accurate and insightful
Good day,
@themikoras
Castro has a great OBP, why the hell you want him to bunt?
ReplyDeleteI see his point about moving guys over, no outs I'm down for a bunt, one out I guess I wouldn't really worry about it.
DeleteThanks for the comment @Themikoras
ReplyDeleteThe thing about Carlos Gomez, is as much as fans dislike him, he's not going anywhere. So you have to do something to try and get him going, giving him a prime spot in the lineup might/might not help, but it's worth a try.
I agree about Rasmus which is why I have him down in the order. The good thing about him is he is one of the few guys that can drive guys in, so I would feel ok with him there.
Springer has done well in the past batting leadoff, now was that because he was hot or because it suits him? I don't know but I'd like to find out.
About Marwin Gonzalez and Luis Valbuena I consider them a little interchangeable. It's hard to nail down exactly where to put them. MarGo is a good contact hitter, maybe he should be a little higher. Valbuena on the other hand I view as a little like Chris Carter.
About Hinch I will ask, did you not like the way he was running the team last year as well? Because not a lot has changed, he's running it pretty much the same way he did last year. Aside from a willingness to try new things and be a little more experimental I don't have a huge problem with Hinch.
I feel he will stick with things a little to long i.e. lineups and then not stick with things long enough i.e. pitching. How much is him, how much is Jeff Luhnow?
I am fine with your lineup just for the sake of change, I'd rather see Rasmus bat lower in the order but we are splitting hairs... I agree with your note on bunting.
My feelings towards Hinch were mirrored last season as well. Our ball club made the playoffs and we were successful due to having arguably the best pitching staff in MLB. That mixed with the outrageous number of home runs from sporadic hitters lead us to the playoffs. It most certainly wasn't our meteoric demise after the All-Star break. Let's not forget that Hinch is the reason that we lost to KC with a considerable lead at HOME while on our way to the World Series. Nice pitching choices that game, Hinch. You can't give up a lead like that late in the game at home on your way to the World Series. That is entirely on the coaches shoulders.
DeleteResponding this morning allows me the opportunity to also point out what happened on Saturday AND Sunday. Hinch solely lost the game for us by pitching to Ortiz....TWICE!!! The guy is a loser. We are doomed to lose until he is gone. My distaste for him runs very deep and I am passionate about my opinion regarding this matter. We will not be truly successful (as successful as we were projected to be) until Hinch is gone. Oh, and I can only give Gomez 50% of the blame for losing the game yesterday. The other 50% has to go to Hinch for putting him in the lineup. A couple of losers losing games for our beloved Astros. This was an embarrassing weekend for our team. We absolutely should have gone 3-1 but instead went 1-3. Pitiful.
@themikoras