The 2 Hole

[HudsonHawk]

As allergic Springer is to contact, they can't keep him hitting second any longer. But, as discussed in the GZ today, who would you put there. Personally, I'd put Lowrie there, but if not, why not try Marisnick in the lead off soo and Altuve in the two. After the first inning, this is what you have anyway, why not try starting the game that way?  That gets Springer down to to the 6 or 7 spot, which is where he belongs.

[NeilT]

The only reason Marisnick isn't hitting 2nd Is because things are working brilliantly with him at 9th. If the rose goes in front, don't screw with it.

[austro]

That seems like a reasonable strategy to me. I agree that Springer at the 2 (even if you're trying to pretend that it's a pseudo-3) is not viable; certainly not now, and probably not ever. He's just not that kind of hitter. If Gattis and Carter would get their shit together, that would put Lowrie at 3, Gattis/Carter at 4/5, and then Springer at 6. Or maybe Valbuena at 6 and Springer at 7. Or something like that. But if Gattis and Carter continue to be black holes, I don't really know what to do. Maybe today's performance indicates that Gattis is starting to pull out of the slump, but his approach is so Tarzan-like that I don't think he's ever going to be a very satisfying 4. We really need the Carter from last year's second half to return.

[Lefty]

Correa

[doyce7]

Ideally lowrie would be in the 2 hole with gattis or Carter or even Springer at 3. Springer would probably work best at 7 but they won't do that. Marisnick would be a good leadoff hitter or 2 hole guy but if it ain't broke don't fix it. He's hit so well from 9 that I wouldn't want to move him. Marwin would make the best 2 hitter other than lowrie and with lowrie probably being the best 3, I'd have it be Altuve marwin(when he starts) lowrie(2 against rights and 3 against lefts).

[HudsonHawk]

Ideally lowrie would be in the 2 hole with gattis or Carter or even Springer at 3. Springer would probably work best at 7 but they won't do that. Marisnick would be a good leadoff hitter or 2 hole guy but if it ain't broke don't fix it. He's hit so well from 9 that I wouldn't want to move him. Marwin would make the best 2 hitter other than lowrie and with lowrie probably being the best 3, I'd have it be Altuve marwin(when he starts) lowrie(2 against rights and 3 against lefts).

But it is broke. Severely. Something has to change.

[doyce7]

But it is broke. Severely. Something has to change.

My "it ain't broke" line was referring to marisnick.

[HudsonHawk]

My "it ain't broke" line was referring to marisnick.

The problem is the #2 hitter. It needs to be fixed. Moving Marisnick is an option, I think.

[doyce7]

The problem is the #2 hitter. It needs to be fixed. Moving Marisnick is an option, I think.

If hinch was gonna move marisnick he would have already. I feel like he is the 9 hitter and that's that. If that's the case then discussing it is pointless.

Fixing one hole by creating another isn't exactly a winning strategy. The offense is finally starting to look like coming around. Let's not change too much and potentially take another step back.

[NeilT]

Marisnick is an option, except right now with Marisnick in 9th you've moved Altuve to the 2 hole for everything after the 4th inning.  if you really wanted to fix what's wrong now, you'd move Marisnick to 1 and Altuve, who is the perfect 2 hitter, to 2.  You want to do that?

[doyce7]

Marisnick is an option, except right now with Marisnick in 9th you've moved Altuve to the 2 hole for everything after the 4th inning.  if you really wanted to fix what's wrong now, you'd move Marisnick to 1 and Altuve, who is the perfect 2 hitter, to 2.  You want to do that?

Probably would be an ok idea but do you think there's any chance they do that? I don't. Also in this scenario who bats 9th?

[HudsonHawk]

Fixing one hole by creating another isn't exactly a winning strategy.

Sure it is, depending on where the hole is.  Not all holes are the same size. A number 2 hitter who can't make contact ain't a winning strategy either.

[NeilT]

Probably would be an ok idea but do you think there's any chance they do that? I don't. Also in this scenario who bats 9th?

Abraham Lincoln.

[HudsonHawk]

Marisnick is an option, except right now with Marisnick in 9th you've moved Altuve to the 2 hole for everything after the 4th inning.  if you really wanted to fix what's wrong now, you'd move Marisnick to 1 and Altuve, who is the perfect 2 hitter, to 2.  You want to do that?

No. I want Lowrie in the 2. And right now, Altuve only leads off the first inning. After that, he hits behind Marisnick anyway. But as I've suggested, moving Marisnick to the leadoff could help with your Springer problem.

[doyce7]

No. I want Lowrie in the 2. And right now, Altuve only leads off the first inning. After that, he hits behind Marisnick anyway. But as I've suggested, moving Marisnick to the leadoff could help with your Springer problem.

Where you putting Springer hawk? I agree with lowrie being great as a 2. But who bats 3? You gonna put Springer 3? Gattis? Carter? Lots of swing and miss black holes there. There's only about 3 guys in this lineup on a daily basis who are not strikeout machines. Were just gonna have to live with that to a certain extent.

[Jacksonian]

No. I want Lowrie in the 2. And right now, Altuve only leads off the first inning. After that, he hits behind Marisnick anyway. But as I've suggested, moving Marisnick to the leadoff could help with your Springer problem.

Marisnick can't keep this pace though. His history suggests that at the end of the season his batting average will be around .270 and obp about .315 with about the kind of pop he's showing now.

[HudsonHawk]

Where you putting Springer hawk? I agree with lowrie being great as a 2. But who bats 3? You gonna put Springer 3? Gattis? Carter? Lots of swing and miss black holes there. There's only about 3 guys in this lineup on a daily basis who are not strikeout machines. Were just gonna have to live with that to a certain extent.

I put Gattis 3, Carter 4, probably Valbuena 5 and Springer 6 or 7.  And I realize there's a lot of strikeout machines. I just don't like having one in a contact spot in the order.

[NeilT]

Marisnick can't keep this pace though. His history suggests that at the end of the season his batting average will be around .270 and obp about .315 with about the kind of pop he's showing now.

NTTAWWT.

[HudsonHawk]

Marisnick can't keep this pace though. His history suggests that at the end of the season his batting average will be around .270 and obp about .315 with about the kind of pop he's showing now.

So you're of the opinion that players can't improve?

[doyce7]

Marisnick can't keep this pace though. His history suggests that at the end of the season his batting average will be around .270 and obp about .315 with about the kind of pop he's showing now.

Marisnicks doesn't have enough of a track record to say that just yet. Still only 24 and hasn't had a full major league season uninterrupted

[Jacksonian]

So you're of the opinion that players can't improve?

If he hits .270 that's a big improvement over his previous major league work.  I'm reporting what his minor league history suggests.

[geezerdonk]

Tucker? 24 RBIs in 17 games, 70 ABs. 1 OPS.

[Reuben]

Tucker? 24 RBIs in 17 games, 70 ABs. 1 OPS.

No place for him to play, unless they trade/bench/demote Carter, Springer, Gattis or Rasmus. And I don't see them doing something that rash this early in the season.

[Lefty]

They should just bat the pitcher 8th, problem solved.

[roadrunner]

If he hits .270 that's a big improvement over his previous major league work.  I'm reporting what his minor league history suggests.

I am usually skeptical of mid-tier prospects outperforming their minor league history, but to me Marisnick's game looks "real".  He is a tremendous athlete who always has been known to have upside.  If he has really figured out the hit tool like he has shown in the first month of the season, then I think he could be a surprise star - which is something that could push this team from pretender to contender.

I could be wrong....and I probably am because I just picked him up on my fantasy team.

[JimR]

Sure it is, depending on where the hole is.  Not all holes are the same size. A number 2 hitter who can't make contact ain't a winning strategy either.

so they just lost 3 straight?

[roadrunner]

so they just lost 3 straight?

They've lost 2 of the last 10.  Something must be done.

[HudsonHawk]

so they just lost 3 straight?

No.  But have you not seen Springer's at bats?  You think he's a good #2 hitter?

[bubba]

But man, he is an amazing right fielder!

[mrpink]

But if Gattis and Carter continue to be black holes, I don't really know what to do.

For the record, Carter hit .300/.400/.450 this past week. 

[MusicMan]

so they just lost 3 straight?

Seriously.  This team is 11-7 with their 3 (theoretical) best sluggers struggling.

[Fredia]

boggles the mind sacrifices all the kfc she can find

[hostros7]

from Grantland http://grantland.com/the-triangle/mlb-the-30-marlins-astros-rays-cardinals-bad-luck/

Say it loud and say it proud, Houston fans: The Astros are in first place. And while multiple division rivals boast better talent, you can’t chalk up the team’s hot start to good luck. In fact, they’ve been spectacularly unlucky in multiple ways.

For starters, they’re getting hosed on balls in play. The average batting average on balls in play so far this season is .290, and Houston is batting just .272 on those, 21st in the majors. With runners in scoring position, things get even worse: The Astros are holding just above the Mendoza Line, ranking 27th in baseball in those high-leverage spots.

Go through the lineup and you’ll see some loopy individual results, too. Shortstop Jed Lowrie and no. 9–hitting center fielder Jake Marisnick are both off to hot starts. But Chris Carter, George Springer, and Evan Gattis, the three hitters you’d expect to lead the team in home runs, have more than negated those good early tidings. The three boppers combined to bash a home run for every 14.8 at-bats last year, and they’ve managed just four round-trippers among them so far this season. Throw in some microscopic batting averages for the trio, and they’ve roughly equaled the batting production of a one-armed pitcher.

Gattis has been the worst of the bunch. In his first five games as an Astro, he went 0-for-20, striking out 12 times, including one two-game stretch in which he whiffed in eight straight at-bats.3 After he got shipped out by the Braves over the winter, you could argue that Gattis is getting used to AL pitchers and still adjusting to the day-to-day life of being a DH. But whatever the reason, he’s looked lost so far, hitting a brutal .156/.194/.250 while posting the eighth-highest swing-and-miss rate in baseball.4

If you’re wondering who’s whiffed more than Gattis, Carter ranks no. 5 on that swing-and-miss list. The hulking slugger batted just .227 last year with 182 strikeouts, but he still enjoyed an excellent season, swatting 37 home runs in 145 games, including a thunderous second-half stretch in which he seemed to homer every night. This year he’s again swinging at lots of air, as he’s struck out in more than one-third of his at-bats. However, he’s no longer pounding pitches when he does make contact the way he did last year, and that’s how you get an overall batting line of just .150/.261/.200. In 2014, Carter ranked among the AL’s leaders with a Well-Hit Average5 of .194, compared to the leaguewide average of .167. This season, Carter has struggled to square up pitches, posting a weak .125 Well-Hit Average versus the leaguewide average of .153.

After notching back-to-back multi-hit games over the weekend against the A’s, Springer has at least started to dig his way out of his early trench.6 After he fanned 114 times in just 295 at-bats during his 2014 rookie campaign, we expected Springer to strike out a bunch, and sure enough he’s whiffing in nearly one-third of his at-bats, too. The big difference is that, compared to last year, his power pace is way down, and his .188/.284/.333 batting line makes him 24 percent worse than league average after adjusting for park effects.

In sum, we have a lineup that can’t find holes when it puts the ball in play, can’t do anything in RBI situations, and can’t get any power out of three players expected to make a run at 90 combined home runs. Yet we also have a team that’s two games over .500 and leading the AL West. Given all that has gone against them so far, some better luck — like one or all of Gattis, Carter, and Springer finally waking up — might even help the Astros hold near the top of the division for a little while longer.

[Noe]

And while multiple division rivals boast better talent, you can’t chalk up the team’s hot start to good luck.

The dumbest thing I've read so far on the Astros. Doesn't anybody believe that pitching and defense with just enough offense wins baseball games any more? *sheesh*

[Reuben]

Sarc meter... tingling...

[Noe]

Sarc meter... tingling...

If the writer would have just once mentioned "pitching" and/or "defense", he would have had the whole world come at him at once. It's frustrating how pitching and defense is taken to the back of the bus nowadays. Instead it's all about "luck" or "unlucky" on offense as if offense is all there is in baseball. It's not hard to really see that the key to their success so far (*knock on wood*) is a better bullpen and solid rotation. The offense, while spotty, has a chance every night to contribute even though they struggle becausethe pitching and stellar defense affords them that. I think the defense in the outfield is great and I wish the shortstop play would be just a tad better, but over at third and second, Houston is getting outstanding play. First base... ahum... moving on.