mtutiger

Not to mention that Mitch probably won't be majority leader beyond 2026. Even if he were to stay consistent on the filibuster, there's no reason to believe his successor would share his views

Yep.... 100%. They've been hit with the injury bug (with Kreidler / Reyes), but even so, they aren't even in the position that led to Willi getting playing time in left in 2021 (ie. Hill and Baddoo colliding with one another in Baltimore and losing games, Niko Goodrum being lost to a hamstring in the same series). I get why they are keeping Willi around, and that may be as much of an Al thing as an AJ thing, but the experiment of putting him out in left should have been left behind in 2021. It's not like this is a new criticism.

I'd start here.

Picked up Blackburn in Fantasy BB... would love to be proven wrong, but doubt it. L

An idea which isn't inconsistent with thinking Al isn't a good GM and should go. Or even that AJ, on the whole, is a good manager. Both things can be true at the same time. Some just seem to get really touchy when you question AJ on game decisions and the possible impact on the outcome.

The current dynamic reminds a little of the Millen/Mariucci era for the Detroit Lions where people's (accurate) views on Millen really clouded or impeded a lot of justified criticism of the coaching staff, particularly a coach coming from a winning culture/franchise into a less successful one. I suspect that it will work out more successfully in this case, but from my recollection, similar dynamics at play.

Not sure who you are referring to, probably me, but I honestly don't care if Avila goes or not. My only point is the new hires in minor league development are a tell that its not going to happen. The team wouldn't be doing a big reorg if Al's departure was imminent. Regarding your comment about the press, Cody Stavenhagen at The Athletic, who is pretty independent on his reporting and not above criticising the front office, has reported extensively on this. And no, it hasn't been reported as being a novel concept. AJ is great, hope he manages here for a long time. But he isn't above criticism, especially for in game decisions. Nor is everything that positive that happens on him or negative on Avila. This team, whatever it's talent level, is populated by professional athletes with track records. And, to G2s earlier point, at some level, the guys need some scrutiny too when they don't match up with track record.

Gord's Gold... that's the good stuff there!

Warren Morris and Ramon Santiago? Well, they could pick it anyway... lol

And he can't play defense, of course. If you are coming off the bench, and you're hitting skills are a mirage, that's a must. I know nothing will supplant the Eric Haase play in Minneapolis as far as being the most embarrassing defensive play of the season (decade? century?), but the misjudged fly ball on Friday has gotta be the next worst play... it's a crime that he couldn't earn an error for it.

I honestly don't know what Willi brings that either Kody Clemens or Zach Short dont, other than being a switch hitter and Clemens not being a shortstop. I'd rather they really try something new and bring up Clemens for that role. He may not work out, but we know what we have in Willi and it isn't very good. The roster clearly needs a shakeup, and Clemens has earned a look based on his play in Toledo

Even factoring out advanced stats, just from a purely qualitative standpoint, Willi has played somewhere around 10 games or so in left field (mostly at the end of last year) and people recognized then that he was awful out there and took terrible routes. And yes, I know that quantitative analysis is preferable, but coming from an engineering background, qualitative analysis can greatly supplement quantitative analysis. So, we have a guy on the bench who, for all intents and purposes, is an infielder who has barely played the outfield and hasn't been good while doing it. And we have another guy who, while not the best defensive outfielder in the world, has always played the position and is passable in route running in left field. Neither one is very good with the bat at the moment. The fact that we are playing the infielder with a. 600 OPS in that situation over the outfielder and people are here defending that decision (even after the misplay that cost them Friday's game!) is crazy to me. I dont get it... and I'm skeptical that if Gardy or Ausmus or any other former manager were making that kinda decision that people would defend it.

Put Baddoo in left and Hill in Center? If you are gonna carry a backup outfielder on your team and, when a starter goes down with an illness, you turn to the emergency outfielder instead of the backup outfielder, what are we doing here exactly? At that point, why not just option Baddoo and try someone else out? Bring up Kody Clemens?

It's not about you, Chas. It's about being honest when AJ makes a mistake. If Gardy did that, we'd all call a spade a spade.

Didn't follow today's game closely past the grand slam... that's crazy

They have Oakland and Baltimore these next eight games. It'll tell a lot about whether they can at least get the SS Tiger at least moving in the correct direction

There was a better choice here... don't put Willi Castro in the outfield. Especially given that he's really no better with the bat than Hill or Baddoo at this juncture

Or even at replacement level on defense! Seriously, the the Astros broadcasters spent the better part of Friday and Saturday lampooning the fact that AJ sent him out there. And I can't blame them... he just can't play the position

Pretty much. If AJ makes a decision that literally everyone knows is dumb, like playing Willi Castro in left, he can't be blamed because he's "trying something new". I'm sorry, Friday wasn't Willi's first rodeo with misjudged fly balls. He did it quite a bit in 2021 when they initially experimented with it. He's not above criticism for going to the well again when there are actual outfielders on the team who can at least be above replacement level out there.

Not to mention that Willi isn't exactly Babe Ruth

They would have won that ball game with Hill's meager bat in the lineup. It's not even about whether the roster is good or not, but i find it hard to defend putting Willi in LF under any circumstances.

Will Vest needs to start getting Joe's leverage opportunities...

Ding ding ding. Fangraphs doesn't tell you everything. Castro cost them badly on Friday even if it wasn't an error

Playing Willi Castro in left field?

'Slumping' implies guys aren't playing to the level they should based on their track record... if that's the case, I'm not sure why the players who are slumping don't get some blame (over either Al or AJ) for why things are going the way they are.