They won't blow up the team at the deadline --- I could see them move Pena or Brown if the offer is really high. They did that with Tucker, they did not intend to move him when they did. I think it would take a team like Boston, Detroit or LA coming in and offering high level prospects to convince the Astros to start moving guys early..... then they would probably dump someone like Walker.... and in the off season listen on others.
Walker/Paredes/Meyers/relief pitchers (whoever is worth a damn at the time and has no future with the Stros) However, I'm still waiting for the July Tombstone to get dropped from the "Writer of Wrongs".... Because that's when this season will all turn around
To me, this is the reverse order of what needs to happen. At this point, I don't know that they need to rebuild vs get healthy. But one way of finding that out is seeing if a different manager gets better results with this set of guys. I don't think anyone believes Espada is some kind of a huge plus, but before deciding to blow it all up, they need to find out if he's just leading the team to where they should be, or if he's making them worse. The only way to find that out is to see how the team does under someone else. That's useful data to guide your 2027 plans, regardless of how 2026 works out. You can't make smart decisions in the offseason without ever having seen how good your talent is with a different manager. You could end up blowing up the team for no reason, or keeping it together for the wrong reasons. I guess that's where I disagree with the team. I think they should be panicking to some degree, and a potential turnaround depends on new voices. We've had a year-plus of the Espada-leading-an-injured-team-poorly status quo. I don't think we're learning anything more watching it for another few weeks or months.
Every yr the Stros start out slow and make the playoffs except when Espada is the manager and every yr the same posters want to blow things up and rebuild. Difference this yr is Espada has ruined the pitching staff.
Say the Astros fire Espada and bring in ... checks notes ... Alex Cora and the Astros record gets worse, then we would know that Espada was not the issue. Make this make sense.
I don’t think it makes sense to fire Espads yet, but there is logic behind the idea that Espada is responsible for a lot of the pitching woes: He allowed Hunter Brown to throw 102 pitches on opening day, which could have led to his injury. He frequently used Josh Hader for multiple innings, which could have led to his injury. He failed to prevent/treat/identify whatever the issue is with Bryan Abreu; here is a guy with a long track record of success suddenly becoming a complete failure. Espads either failed to confront the fact that Abreu is hurt or has not been able to work with Abreu to get him right mentally. Espada has left guys in to get rocked when they were clearly laboring. This is very subjective, but it’s easy to see how a more perceptive/lucky manager would have used pitching changes more effectively. A healthy/effeftive Brown, Abreu, and Hader probably gives this roster 4-5 more wins and has them in first place in the division. It’s very debatable how much responsibility Espada bears for that, but I can see why someone might blame him.
I get that ^^^ but ... The pitching staff may be more responsible than Espada for the injuries. The pitching might have said ... that Hunter was good for one more inning opening day ... that Hader was good for occasional 2 innings ... that we need see if Munoz et al can pitch their way out of a jam (especially at the start of the season when the pitchers are not in mid-season form). This is the same pitcher staff that is praised by the fans for pulling rabbits out of their hat. Espada also has the play the cards that the GM/FO has dealt him wrt pitchers on the roster. It is not like Espada has all star pitchers in the dugout that he is refusing to pitch. And the GM/FO can in turn look at the owner and say "hey this is the budget you gave me".
We have no way of knowing what was said between the players, pitching coaches, analytics staff, medical personnel, Espada, and the front office. But at the end of the day, Espada is the final word on who plays. Like I said, I’m not saying that I blame Espada; he has certainly not managed the pitchers the way I would have, but I also think he’s been put in an extremely difficult situation with injuries and poor performance (and maybe some poor roster management by the GM). I just can see how the logic in blaming him.
Exactly - that tells us the players are really this problematic and it wasn't the manager. If Cora (or really some cheapo manager - not sure you need to pay Cora) does well, though, then it tells you that the players are better than they've shown. Either way, Espada is unlikely to be here next year but either answer gives you information about what to do in 2027. Without that info, you're going to be making decisions for 2027 with much less info, meaning much poorer decision making.
Espada is not "THE" issue, but he is "AN" issue. They guy is a milksop, the Astros have never gotten off to a good start, even when healthy, with him as manager. I hold him responsible for over-deploying Hader. I don't trust Dana to handle the deadline if we are sellers. Look at his acquisitions...Burrows - sucks, Imai - sucks, Weiss - sucks. Despite the cash savings, the Dubon trade looks terrible right now. His pride and joy in Matthews - sucks. Cam has his hot streaks, but he's just another guy. Paredes has been his best pickup and he's been trying to trade him, unsuccessfully, forever. Walker has been much better this season, but not worth that contract. Hasn't extended Pena or Hunter, blows smoke out of his ass talking to fans and media like we're idiots. None of his draft picks are impressing anybody in the minors. Fire Dana and Espada, TODAY.
Getting to the point where as much as it sucks to watch the Astros lose, each April/May loss is a blessing in disguise because it lessens the odds of the Astros throwing good resources into a bad team. Time to rebuild. Fire Espada and bring in somebody smarter. Fire Brown or bring in a POBO above him. Tank 2026 and 2027. Trade everybody worth anything. Try to talk Yordan and Hader and Correa into waiving their no trade clauses. Get Altuve to buy into being a mentor for the young guys. Aim to be a winner again before Altuve retires.
I thought it was Dana Brown who said “we have depth” regarding SP or hell, just pitching in general… snake oil now I see & understand that Brown-Espada are gonna be the ones who ruined *this run* and quite possibly demolish this org from the inside out, bc neither one can get right.
I would call today's start "disappointing" They had at least a 5 run lead every pitch that he threw. Even if he threw a no-hitter, 4 walks gives you a "disappointing"
I blame most of Espada's pitching management on the front office just as much as Espada. If he was misusing pitchers and still has a job, that's the front offices fault. I guarantee if Luhnow didn't want Hader pitching 2 innings, AJ Hinch would not have used him for 2 innings.
Your standards for 2026 LMJ are way way too high if this was a disappointment. Any start where he can give you 5 innings and less than 4 runs is a gift. He is closer to being out of the league than he is to being a #3 SP.
I've explained this a few times before. Having Hunter throw 102 pitches in his 1st start was insanely dumb. He used Hader for multiple innings multiple days in a row and now I doubt Hader ever pitches again. If he does I doubt he will be anywhere near as effective as he was before his injury.
