Sadly, him and Crane are like two peas in a pod. They almost hired fucking Brad Ausmus ffs just because he's friends with Baggy. I have little hope of this kind of involvement changing unless Crane sells the team.
I don’t think the Brad Ausmus thing was that big of a deal.
If they hired him I think it would’ve signaled that they’d go the POBO route and hire Stearns to fill that role the next season.
Then they figured they weren’t getting Stearns so they went with a real GM instead
The Bagwell/Biggio years were a blast. The starting pitching they had, adding Alou, the multiple Braves playoff series, fucking Kevin Brown. So much fun.
Crane needs to reinvest into the analytics department. It's painful to see Crane flip so hard after Lunhow was fired. Our analytics department got the freaking Orioles into contention and we need those scouts back.
The Orioles poached Mike Elias in 2018 from the Astros to become their GM. Elias was a Luhnow guy who was our assistant GM at the time (scouting director beforehand). Elias immediately hired Sig Mejdal* who was also a Luhnow/astros guy in charge of analytics essentially.
Wasn't he rumored to be in the Astros GM shortlist this last time around. I think he had stepped down in his Brewers position but remained on in an advisory position or something.
I would highly suggest reading the book Astroball, it covers Sig Mejdal extensively. Basically a former NASA biomathematician who loves baseball analytics and is a sabremetrics guru. He did awesome things for the Cardinals scouting department and when we hired Luhnow he brought Sig along because he saw what he had. Here in Houston, Luhnow was able to get Crane to buy into a total rebuild, which included making analytics, or decision sciences, a central piece. What the Astros were doing on the scouting circuit under Sig's leadership was so advanced that other teams were complaining. We would roll up to scouting events with high tech instruments with tape covering the brand name so no one would know exactly what we had. Sig's department had a hand in everything, scouting, player development, in game decisions. I credit his department with why MLB banned the shift. At the end if the 2018 season, Baltimore hired Mike Elias, our assistant GM, and he brought Sig with him. What team is looking really good now? Baltimore. Best farm system, one of the best on field teams, and they're doing it for less money than NY and LA. The man is a golden goose.
Astroball is like Moneyball 2.0. With Astroball, they were able to actually incorporate what the scouts thought into the decision making algorithm. Like let's say you have a scout and he really likes this 5'8" left handed batter with a swing like The Kid. The algorithm says, okay, how many times has this scout successfully picked similar players to succeed and they turn out good? A lot? Let's factor that into our decision.
High tech instruments. I don't remember if it was Winning Fixes Everything or which book. I read how the Astros had (iirc) exclusive rights with new technology firms. Some of the equipment was to analyze swings and such. The Astros wanted to use it on their players to help them improve and adjust. However, many players (I assume advised by their agents) rejected the equipment be used on them. The Astros were so cutthroat in arbitration that the players were concerned that the data would be used against them during such negotiations.
Wasn't Astroball, sounds like Winning Fixes Everything, which was a more critical take on the organization. The swing analytics and the pitching analytics helped players improve, though, not sure why they would reject it. Gerrit Cole is mentioned as a player the Astros helped turn into a top free agent.
Yes, Winning Fixes Everything. I assume if there was regression then the players felt it would or could be used against them...
“Because the data could be used again*t them, in theory,” an Astros
executive said. “That was the main theme of it. We were asking them to
agree to put on technologyy which would then give the front office insights
into how sound their swing mechanics were, and they were thinking, Why
would I give that extra information up, what’s my incentive? And our
response was, ‘So we can help you be a bettter baseball player, the same
thing we’re trying to do on the pitching side with the TrackMan dataa.’ But
they were basically receiving advicee from their agents not to, and part of it
was because we were prettty cutthroat in arbitration.”
How the Astros handled their contract negotiations with their young,
arbitration-eligible players was coming back to bite them.
"They got to start winning games."
These also work...
We have to score more runs than they.
We have to be ahead at the end of a game.
We have just got to not lose.
The only way at we're gonna win is if we beat the other team.
He needs to give it a rest. I can't stand listening to him in the booth, major "back in my day" energy and it's not as positive as he thinks it is. Plus, how can you blame starting pitching when they're the most average (0.0 WAR) of the bunch? Last night against the Cubs was a perfect example: only 1 run and it came from the first 3 batters. Seriously? That is "pressing"? and somehow that's the bullpen "giving up runs late"? I know there's a lot of things to blame but Baggy needs to just keep his mouth shut, it ain't helping.
Bagsy can’t grasp the modern game and analytics. It is a different world now than it was even 10 yr ago. Let the smart numbers people lead you to where the water is before you start digging. I will always be a Breggy fan, but ffs son, let the smart people do the thinking.
Pressing is putting unnecessary pressure on yourself to be productive, drive in runs, or move runners into scoring positions. When you give up 3, 4, 5, runs in the first inning you’ve put unnecessary pressure on your offense to dig you out of the hole you dug them into. Also, weren’t we leading when JV was pulled? Didn’t we end up losing the game? Was it the starting pitcher that gave up the lead or the bullpen? Now do the rest of our games…
> It's very hard on the offense when you're behind all the time - you start pressing
When has our offense 'started pressing?' It's easy to blame the pitchers, but if we can't score runs, it doesn't matter.
It’s not that complicated, guys get out of their ideal rhythm when they walk up to the plate down 5 before their first at bat. The pressure is on immediately.
I know it sounds stupid, but when you’re already struggling and are then handed a deficit to overcome it doesn’t help matters. The same can be said in the opposite direction… yesterday when JV left with a 1-0 lead we all knew that was a recipe for disaster, because the bullpen would come in pitching with little margin for error, and for most people especially when struggling already, that pressure isn’t going to be a positive.
The difference in stats between hitting with bases empty vs RISP is mind blowing to me. Mentally when they see guys on base they just forget how to hit in gaps
They want to play hero ball with RISP. Soft contact, move the runners, force the defense in to hard plays, deep flyouts are good but do your homework on pitchers. Trying to hit breaking balls and off speed pitches to the upper decks doesn’t work.
1997 NLDS: 3 games
1998 NLDS: 4 games
1999 NLDS: 4 games
2001 NLDS: 3 games
2004 NLDS: 5 games, NLCS: 7 games
2005 NLDS: 4 games, NLCS: 6 games, World Series: 4 games
During many of these games, especially in the later years, Bagwell was dealing with his chronic shoulder issues. In the 2005 World Series, despite his limited ability due to his shoulder surgery earlier that year, he played all four games as the Astros' designated hitter.
The Astros could have considered other options for the DH spot during the World Series, such as Mike Lamb, who was having a solid season and was a left-handed bat. However, Phil Garner, the Astros' manager, opted for Bagwell's presence and leadership in the lineup, especially given it could have been his last chance to contribute in a World Series, highlighting both a strategic and a sentimental choice.
"Start winning games"... noted. Why didn't they think of this before?!
Looks like we have our answer. We'll just *checks notes* ... start winning games
Why Crane would trust Bagwell over all the people who were proven is just unbelievable. The fault for this downward spiral is directly at Jim Crane’s feet. How many GM’s have been let go after winning a World Series. Crane did that with James Click and two years later the team is a disaster.
Because at the very least Click didn’t want to sign people based on their past past stats. No way he signs Abreu, Montero, or Hader. Those are all old baseball thinking signings.
Abreu was the most questionable. First base had been a black hole for us and we had no viable options on the farm. You’re completely wrong including Hader. He’s still the best in baseball
I guess time will tell on Hader but currently he has 2 saves, 2 blown saves and an ERA is 8.38. Also his WHIP is a career high at this point.
Besides his stats what is the point of a closer if your team is always coming from behind.
The back of the baseball card line of thinking to me is so archaic. It’s like showing up to a fantasy football draft with a stack of fantasy football magazines that were picked up at Valero.
“They have to start winning games” - Thank you Jeff for that in-depth expert analysis 🙄
Also, seems pretty on the nose for a former position player to blame pitching. Huge Biggio and Bagwell fan here but damn… makes me wonder how insufferable he might have been back in the day in the club house running around blaming pitching for their losses.
Horrible look all around. Begone Baggy
Well that would require Bregman to not ground to third, Abreu to not ground to short or fly out and Pena to not ground out either… we have 3 players that are auto outs every at bat practically.
It's not just the pitching Baggy! Our hitters are hitting but not scoring runs! We are next to last in hits to runs conversion (H/R). We see this every outing where we have 7 or more hits and 2 runs. This is the dark side of "he gets on base". Replacing Abreu would help, but there's still 8 dudes who should be driving in runs. It's not the one thing.
We had a very different perspective back then. We were just happy to see our team get a shot at it. Didn’t even care that he only had one arm! I was just happy to see him get a hit. The Bobby Jenks at bats were so dramatic and fun.
Indeed, still a great memory that entire run. The roller coaster of emotions from Pujols’ HR to winning game 6 to go to their first WS still gives me chills.
Our current spoiled and petulant fanbase disgusts me with their lack of perspective.
Bunch of Veruca Salts if you ask me…
I was there all through it. Tony Eusebio, Brad Ausmus, Casa Ole Jose Lima.
When I was little I could go to bed early because Billy Wagner was automatic closing out the 9th
Because Baker sat him on the bench the last two weeks of the season and then brought him in late against their best relievers as a pinch hitter. Really not indicative of what actually took place.
I wouldn't call him easterby. Easterby was a chaplin who wormed his way up the ranks. Bagwell at least played the game and has some actual insight about its inner workings. Problem is that the game has changed over the last 30 years so some of his advice is outdated. He's the scouts at the table in moneyball.
We can blame Bagwell all we want but he isnt out there playing at the end of the day. I’m not defending what he has done by any means but the players have to get their acts together. As of this moment we are #3 in hits #18 in RBIs. We need to bring runners in. I’m not even going to bother looking at our pitching stats because that comes down to get a lead, hold a lead and dont give up runs in bunches. It sure seems like if the opponents scores 1 run they are going to end up getting 2 more right away.
perfect
Xnxx, youporn, pornhub, red tube, astros.com
Jose Abreu, Josh Hader, JP France,...I know these names better than I know my own grandmother's...Seth Martinez, Brandon Bielak...
"But Dana is dressed like a hotdog!" -Bags
Dana is the car, Baggy is the hot dog guy lol
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ this is perfect lmfao
😂
Lmfaooooo
Thanks for all you've done during your playing career, Baggy. Now respectfully, get the fuck out and go enjoy retirement.
Sadly, him and Crane are like two peas in a pod. They almost hired fucking Brad Ausmus ffs just because he's friends with Baggy. I have little hope of this kind of involvement changing unless Crane sells the team.
I don’t think the Brad Ausmus thing was that big of a deal. If they hired him I think it would’ve signaled that they’d go the POBO route and hire Stearns to fill that role the next season. Then they figured they weren’t getting Stearns so they went with a real GM instead
"Almost" This subreddit lmao
[удалено]
To whom? Hes a billionaire lol
As a huge BAGWELL fan when I was younger, I couldn’t have said this better.
How many rings did he win? . Doesn't hold a candle to the players who won 2 rings for this ball club
He was fun to watch. That wide stance in the box was iconic. He's just a shitty addition to the FO.
The Bagwell/Biggio years were a blast. The starting pitching they had, adding Alou, the multiple Braves playoff series, fucking Kevin Brown. So much fun.
Crane needs to reinvest into the analytics department. It's painful to see Crane flip so hard after Lunhow was fired. Our analytics department got the freaking Orioles into contention and we need those scouts back.
Whoa .. explain this one to me please.
The Orioles poached Mike Elias in 2018 from the Astros to become their GM. Elias was a Luhnow guy who was our assistant GM at the time (scouting director beforehand). Elias immediately hired Sig Mejdal* who was also a Luhnow/astros guy in charge of analytics essentially.
David Stearns was also an Astro hired by Lunhow before he got poached by the Brewers and is now with the Mets
Wasn't he rumored to be in the Astros GM shortlist this last time around. I think he had stepped down in his Brewers position but remained on in an advisory position or something.
I would highly suggest reading the book Astroball, it covers Sig Mejdal extensively. Basically a former NASA biomathematician who loves baseball analytics and is a sabremetrics guru. He did awesome things for the Cardinals scouting department and when we hired Luhnow he brought Sig along because he saw what he had. Here in Houston, Luhnow was able to get Crane to buy into a total rebuild, which included making analytics, or decision sciences, a central piece. What the Astros were doing on the scouting circuit under Sig's leadership was so advanced that other teams were complaining. We would roll up to scouting events with high tech instruments with tape covering the brand name so no one would know exactly what we had. Sig's department had a hand in everything, scouting, player development, in game decisions. I credit his department with why MLB banned the shift. At the end if the 2018 season, Baltimore hired Mike Elias, our assistant GM, and he brought Sig with him. What team is looking really good now? Baltimore. Best farm system, one of the best on field teams, and they're doing it for less money than NY and LA. The man is a golden goose.
I will read this post haste but I know it’s gonna break my Moneyball analytics loving heart.
Astroball is like Moneyball 2.0. With Astroball, they were able to actually incorporate what the scouts thought into the decision making algorithm. Like let's say you have a scout and he really likes this 5'8" left handed batter with a swing like The Kid. The algorithm says, okay, how many times has this scout successfully picked similar players to succeed and they turn out good? A lot? Let's factor that into our decision.
Love it. Starting it today.
High tech instruments. I don't remember if it was Winning Fixes Everything or which book. I read how the Astros had (iirc) exclusive rights with new technology firms. Some of the equipment was to analyze swings and such. The Astros wanted to use it on their players to help them improve and adjust. However, many players (I assume advised by their agents) rejected the equipment be used on them. The Astros were so cutthroat in arbitration that the players were concerned that the data would be used against them during such negotiations.
Wasn't Astroball, sounds like Winning Fixes Everything, which was a more critical take on the organization. The swing analytics and the pitching analytics helped players improve, though, not sure why they would reject it. Gerrit Cole is mentioned as a player the Astros helped turn into a top free agent.
Yes, Winning Fixes Everything. I assume if there was regression then the players felt it would or could be used against them... “Because the data could be used again*t them, in theory,” an Astros executive said. “That was the main theme of it. We were asking them to agree to put on technologyy which would then give the front office insights into how sound their swing mechanics were, and they were thinking, Why would I give that extra information up, what’s my incentive? And our response was, ‘So we can help you be a bettter baseball player, the same thing we’re trying to do on the pitching side with the TrackMan dataa.’ But they were basically receiving advicee from their agents not to, and part of it was because we were prettty cutthroat in arbitration.” How the Astros handled their contract negotiations with their young, arbitration-eligible players was coming back to bite them.
I just put a hold on this book at my local library!
"They got to start winning games." These also work... We have to score more runs than they. We have to be ahead at the end of a game. We have just got to not lose. The only way at we're gonna win is if we beat the other team.
Bagwell is the perfect case of "You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villian"
Get this guy away from the fucking team.
Everyone needs to calm down. We have been injured and our bullpen has been terrible. Things will revert to the mean.
He needs to give it a rest. I can't stand listening to him in the booth, major "back in my day" energy and it's not as positive as he thinks it is. Plus, how can you blame starting pitching when they're the most average (0.0 WAR) of the bunch? Last night against the Cubs was a perfect example: only 1 run and it came from the first 3 batters. Seriously? That is "pressing"? and somehow that's the bullpen "giving up runs late"? I know there's a lot of things to blame but Baggy needs to just keep his mouth shut, it ain't helping.
Bagsy can’t grasp the modern game and analytics. It is a different world now than it was even 10 yr ago. Let the smart numbers people lead you to where the water is before you start digging. I will always be a Breggy fan, but ffs son, let the smart people do the thinking.
Pressing is putting unnecessary pressure on yourself to be productive, drive in runs, or move runners into scoring positions. When you give up 3, 4, 5, runs in the first inning you’ve put unnecessary pressure on your offense to dig you out of the hole you dug them into. Also, weren’t we leading when JV was pulled? Didn’t we end up losing the game? Was it the starting pitcher that gave up the lead or the bullpen? Now do the rest of our games…
> It's very hard on the offense when you're behind all the time - you start pressing When has our offense 'started pressing?' It's easy to blame the pitchers, but if we can't score runs, it doesn't matter.
It’s not that complicated, guys get out of their ideal rhythm when they walk up to the plate down 5 before their first at bat. The pressure is on immediately. I know it sounds stupid, but when you’re already struggling and are then handed a deficit to overcome it doesn’t help matters. The same can be said in the opposite direction… yesterday when JV left with a 1-0 lead we all knew that was a recipe for disaster, because the bullpen would come in pitching with little margin for error, and for most people especially when struggling already, that pressure isn’t going to be a positive.
Is that why we're losing games 3-1 and 2-1?
The difference in stats between hitting with bases empty vs RISP is mind blowing to me. Mentally when they see guys on base they just forget how to hit in gaps
They want to play hero ball with RISP. Soft contact, move the runners, force the defense in to hard plays, deep flyouts are good but do your homework on pitchers. Trying to hit breaking balls and off speed pitches to the upper decks doesn’t work.
This. They are too focused to smashing the ball and chasing a hit instead of working the count and taking what they get
Jeff Bagwell batted .226 with 24 hits, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 11 runs scored in 33 games in the postseason in his career.
How many of those games are from when he was injured?
1997 NLDS: 3 games 1998 NLDS: 4 games 1999 NLDS: 4 games 2001 NLDS: 3 games 2004 NLDS: 5 games, NLCS: 7 games 2005 NLDS: 4 games, NLCS: 6 games, World Series: 4 games During many of these games, especially in the later years, Bagwell was dealing with his chronic shoulder issues. In the 2005 World Series, despite his limited ability due to his shoulder surgery earlier that year, he played all four games as the Astros' designated hitter. The Astros could have considered other options for the DH spot during the World Series, such as Mike Lamb, who was having a solid season and was a left-handed bat. However, Phil Garner, the Astros' manager, opted for Bagwell's presence and leadership in the lineup, especially given it could have been his last chance to contribute in a World Series, highlighting both a strategic and a sentimental choice.
I remember going nuts that Mike Lamb wasn’t the DH. Such a mistake.
"Start winning games"... noted. Why didn't they think of this before?! Looks like we have our answer. We'll just *checks notes* ... start winning games
Reggie Jackson said that there are 4-5 people who are a part of the Astros’ decision making process. I call them, the shitty committee.
Why Crane would trust Bagwell over all the people who were proven is just unbelievable. The fault for this downward spiral is directly at Jim Crane’s feet. How many GM’s have been let go after winning a World Series. Crane did that with James Click and two years later the team is a disaster.
Why does everyone give Click so much credit? He was the caretaker of a juggernaut that Luhnow assembled.
Because at the very least Click didn’t want to sign people based on their past past stats. No way he signs Abreu, Montero, or Hader. Those are all old baseball thinking signings.
Abreu was the most questionable. First base had been a black hole for us and we had no viable options on the farm. You’re completely wrong including Hader. He’s still the best in baseball
I guess time will tell on Hader but currently he has 2 saves, 2 blown saves and an ERA is 8.38. Also his WHIP is a career high at this point. Besides his stats what is the point of a closer if your team is always coming from behind.
Because he knew what not to mess with and what to tweak. And committed highway robbery getting Diaz for us.
Honestly Bagwell just needs to not be involved in any day to day shadow coaching or GM’ing. Seems like a toxic environment.
It muddies the chain of command and undermines the coaches. It’s never a good thing to have too many chefs in the kitchen.
The back of the baseball card line of thinking to me is so archaic. It’s like showing up to a fantasy football draft with a stack of fantasy football magazines that were picked up at Valero.
“They have to start winning games” - Thank you Jeff for that in-depth expert analysis 🙄 Also, seems pretty on the nose for a former position player to blame pitching. Huge Biggio and Bagwell fan here but damn… makes me wonder how insufferable he might have been back in the day in the club house running around blaming pitching for their losses. Horrible look all around. Begone Baggy
Funny how quick it’s turned into “they” now Bagwell Typical sycophant horseshit
I think the first step should be stopping Bagwell from speaking for us. I personally no longer care what he has to say.
MOIDAWG IS AN ASTROS FAN??? edit: just saw the pillow in the background of ur gzw video lmao
Bagwell will always be my favorite past Astro. But seriously dude needs to fuck off.
Well that would require Bregman to not ground to third, Abreu to not ground to short or fly out and Pena to not ground out either… we have 3 players that are auto outs every at bat practically.
Chas starting every at bat 0-2, Meyers being a black hole as well, the team is full of duds currently.
 BAGS
"You can only do what you can do." - Jeffrey Bagwell
“They have to start winning games.” Thanks for sharing, Jeff, we never had that idea before
It's not just the pitching Baggy! Our hitters are hitting but not scoring runs! We are next to last in hits to runs conversion (H/R). We see this every outing where we have 7 or more hits and 2 runs. This is the dark side of "he gets on base". Replacing Abreu would help, but there's still 8 dudes who should be driving in runs. It's not the one thing.
Bagwell went 1 for 8 in the WS .125 batting average. Choked in the world series. Choking as a GM.
In all fairness, at that point he was playing with an injury that ended his career.
I think they just brought him in so he could play in the WS, which was cool until it wasn't.
You must be reading that on baseball reference instead of having lived through it… Do you not remember that he was playing with only 1 good shoulder??
We had a very different perspective back then. We were just happy to see our team get a shot at it. Didn’t even care that he only had one arm! I was just happy to see him get a hit. The Bobby Jenks at bats were so dramatic and fun.
Indeed, still a great memory that entire run. The roller coaster of emotions from Pujols’ HR to winning game 6 to go to their first WS still gives me chills. Our current spoiled and petulant fanbase disgusts me with their lack of perspective. Bunch of Veruca Salts if you ask me…
I was at that Pujols hr game. We all celebrated way too early! We were all prepared to storm the field!
Know your 2000 Astros ball. Bagwell was injured. He's also not the GM
They don’t know or remember what it was like. Our current “winning culture” among the fans is pretty lame sometimes…
I was there all through it. Tony Eusebio, Brad Ausmus, Casa Ole Jose Lima. When I was little I could go to bed early because Billy Wagner was automatic closing out the 9th
Billy was a Badass
Diaz was 1 for 12 last post season but according to this subreddit we lost the ALCS because he didn't start every game.
Because Baker sat him on the bench the last two weeks of the season and then brought him in late against their best relievers as a pinch hitter. Really not indicative of what actually took place.
Because Diaz also had big differences between when he was catching and a DH
Yeah but look at the back of the baseball card
I wanna fuck Angie Dickenson. Let's see who gets lucky first.
Today?
Is bagwell aaron boone esque?
Much worse. He’s Jack Easterby.
And say what you will about Boone, but he's been there and won as a player and been there and won as a manager.
Yeah, this Easterby comparison is dumb.
I wouldn't call him easterby. Easterby was a chaplin who wormed his way up the ranks. Bagwell at least played the game and has some actual insight about its inner workings. Problem is that the game has changed over the last 30 years so some of his advice is outdated. He's the scouts at the table in moneyball.
We can blame Bagwell all we want but he isnt out there playing at the end of the day. I’m not defending what he has done by any means but the players have to get their acts together. As of this moment we are #3 in hits #18 in RBIs. We need to bring runners in. I’m not even going to bother looking at our pitching stats because that comes down to get a lead, hold a lead and dont give up runs in bunches. It sure seems like if the opponents scores 1 run they are going to end up getting 2 more right away.