He started last season with an injury hangover from a ST oblique injury. Then he was hit on his right hand/knuckle by a 96mph sinker. He was 34, that **** lingers a lot more then it used to. You could tell. He just wasn’t close in bat speed. His swing looks a ton better starting off injury free but he can be streaky as hell so fingers crossed he can have a big year for us.
Why are you so worried about another man’s tattoos lol… He could have a dick tattooed on his forehead and I wouldn’t care if he was helping the Astros win
Astros have proven their pitching skills over the years.. so I'm not concerned until further extended notice. The offense though should be good *with* Yordan. Walker's start has been great. If we can get 230 OPS+ between him and Correa (which isn't far-fetched), the offense can be good even with Altuve and Cam only being league average. Guys like Peña and Meyers could drop a little from season and we'd still be good, like Top 10 good. Walker's 97 last season was disgusting.
[Late, but] Better Altuve there, really, than others like Walker & Cam who are better off low in the order Altuve, Pena, Yordan, Correa are top of the order hitters. Pena & Yordan are generally highest up. Paredes has been #3 every game. If that's the standard, that leaves Altuve or Correa at #4. It doesn't seem ideal. But if Pena, Yordan, Paredes are just better at this point in their careers, even if Astros can use another bat, that's kind of a positive sign that hitting depth can keep Altuve lower
'Fido and walker being early offensive cogs was NOT on my 2026 bingo card, but I'll take it. That would be amazing if they continue to rake.
In the way to soon to tell anything but I am going to overreact, I got bad vibes this weekend as a whole, the pitching wasn't great from the starters, and I think we can blame the newness of the season, Hunter was OK but everyone else struggled, I think Ime will be ok. Altuve already has 5 walks and Walker looked good...........The Angels are not that good but dam they looked good VS us. Boston will be a good test.............hard to describe, I just didn't get a good vibe from the team as a whole
They came back from down 6-0 on Saturday and then again Sunday after blowing a 4-0 lead…how did you leave this weekend with “bad vibes” from the team? Honestly, I was sure they were going to quit Saturday.
Am I the only one that isn’t worried about our pitching. Brown was Brown, Burrows and Imai were throwing stuff that were effective when they could throw strikes, and Javier had his velocity up near 94 mph which is where he was at his peak. The bullpen looked good minus Abreu. Abreu not throwing over 95 is worrisome. He was throwing 98-99 at his peak. That’s a 5 mph dip.
Yeah I’m not too worried. Like you I still have a lot of confidence that Imai, Brown, and Burrows will be good. Imai and Burrows are still very new to the system, catchers, and coaches; they should be fine and potentially dominant once they get settled in. I’m also optimistic about the bullpen depth. King is one of the guys I was worried about coming out of ST and he’s looked great. I have mild concern about Javier, not because of stuff but because of command and overall effectiveness. He deserves some runway because he’s coming back from serious lengthy injury but I do harbor some doubts he will get back to his peak. I have serious concerns about McCullers but he did show at least some sign of life in the spring. Abreu’s velo is just something to watch for now; gotta trust that Houston wouldn’t be running him out there if he was hurt. Pulling him for King was one of the best moves Espada has made in his time as manager.
I think Arrighetti will be up soon. I can't see both Javier and McCullers keeping their starting spots either due to injury or due to suckiness. I have concerns.
so did Lance show you more signs of life? As an Astros fan, I’m so happy for him and the team. @Nook what do you think of Lance’s performance?
Far beyond anything I could have hoped for. I can’t believe Espada sent him back out there for the 7th and think that was royally stupid especially with Weiss ready to throw 50+ pitches. Lances command was unbelievable and so good that he was dominant even with his FB topping below 94. If nothing else, he showed it’s possible for him to be effective. What a great night.
Sending out Lance in the 7th was a bonehead move, no matter the outcome. It just shows me that Espada still has no clue on how to manage a pitching staff. You would think he would learn from his mis-handling of Hader. We don’t need to be worried about over-working our bullpen this early in the season, especially when concerning a pitcher that hasn’t been able to stay on the field for years.
Disagree but I understand your view. Of course we need to be worried about over working the bullpen. Every game. But to me Lance actually getting through that inning and striking out the final batter with 2 on base is huge. He has always been a confident guy, but years of injury and ineffectiveness wear on anybody. Now he KNOWS his stuff can get him out of a tough situation with runners on base. Know he KNOWS he has not been reduced to a 4 inning, 80 max pitch pitcher. This is another building block in the 2026 Lance McCullers Jr. If the bullpen hadn't pitched more innings than the starters along with 3 of the 6 best relievers on the IL then you just call it a good day, but this was a rare opportunity and the benefits made it worth the risk. Lance and the team could benefit the rest of the season.
