A losing week that didn't cost the Astros that much. France and Tucker slump. The 3rd time through the order penalty burns this week. Rest days when variance swamps everything.
Regarding the rest comment near the end, I fear the Astros might not be as rested/fresh as perceived. Bregman has played 149/150 games this year and all but one of them have been on his feet at third base. Pena has played 139/150, Abreu 129/150 (10-day IL Stint), and Tucker has played 145/150. Sure, you want everyday use out of your everyday players but there hasn't been as much rest mixed in as you might think.
Further, on the bullpen side the absence of rest really shows up and will likely only get exacerbated in the final 12 games as Houston makes a critical push. Six of the Astros relievers have 60 or more appearances this year (Abreu, Graveman, Neris, Montero, Maton, and Pressly). That puts all six of them in top-25 in appearances for AL RPs. No other AL team has more than 4 RPs with 60 or more appearances (CLE: 4; TOR: 3; SEA: 3).
Now, come postseason there will likely be some long-relief help in the bullpen in the form of spare starting pitchers (probably two of Brown, France, Javier, and Urquidy depending on who wins the SP3 job). But I'm not certain how much run those guys will get in leverage situations. Houston really didn't use those extra arms all too much in the postseason outside of the marathon ALDS GM3 in Seattle or blowouts like WS GM3 in Philly. Brown, Garcia, and Urquidy barely appeared at all in the 2022 postseason.
Mostly the order but not necessarily the players! LOL.
In all seriousness though, Abreu has played 129/150 games this year and arguably it would be higher but for his 10-day IL for the neck injury, Pena has played 139/150, Bregman has played 149/150, and Tucker has played in 145/150.
I mostly meant the order of the lineup was different almost every game. The players had no consistency and had no idea what to expect. I even think this affected Peña more than what anyone imagines. Just look at the postgame lineups that he used. Dubon batted second in the lineup in game 5. Dubon is not even a starter on this team. Dubon doesn't hit for power, he doesn't walk, and if he doesn't get a hit, he's out. He is a great utility player on a WS contending team, but should not have ever been started over Chas. That and Maldonado playing over Diaz was a source of contention between Baker and the FO all season long.
Regarding the rest comment near the end, I fear the Astros might not be as rested/fresh as perceived. Bregman has played 149/150 games this year and all but one of them have been on his feet at third base. Pena has played 139/150, Abreu 129/150 (10-day IL Stint), and Tucker has played 145/150. Sure, you want everyday use out of your everyday players but there hasn't been as much rest mixed in as you might think.
Further, on the bullpen side the absence of rest really shows up and will likely only get exacerbated in the final 12 games as Houston makes a critical push. Six of the Astros relievers have 60 or more appearances this year (Abreu, Graveman, Neris, Montero, Maton, and Pressly). That puts all six of them in top-25 in appearances for AL RPs. No other AL team has more than 4 RPs with 60 or more appearances (CLE: 4; TOR: 3; SEA: 3).
Now, come postseason there will likely be some long-relief help in the bullpen in the form of spare starting pitchers (probably two of Brown, France, Javier, and Urquidy depending on who wins the SP3 job). But I'm not certain how much run those guys will get in leverage situations. Houston really didn't use those extra arms all too much in the postseason outside of the marathon ALDS GM3 in Seattle or blowouts like WS GM3 in Philly. Brown, Garcia, and Urquidy barely appeared at all in the 2022 postseason.
I disagree that Dusty has kept the lineups pretty much the same. Dusty changes his lineups all the time.
Mostly the order but not necessarily the players! LOL.
In all seriousness though, Abreu has played 129/150 games this year and arguably it would be higher but for his 10-day IL for the neck injury, Pena has played 139/150, Bregman has played 149/150, and Tucker has played in 145/150.
I mostly meant the order of the lineup was different almost every game. The players had no consistency and had no idea what to expect. I even think this affected Peña more than what anyone imagines. Just look at the postgame lineups that he used. Dubon batted second in the lineup in game 5. Dubon is not even a starter on this team. Dubon doesn't hit for power, he doesn't walk, and if he doesn't get a hit, he's out. He is a great utility player on a WS contending team, but should not have ever been started over Chas. That and Maldonado playing over Diaz was a source of contention between Baker and the FO all season long.