Why did the Astros not do more? I think they could use another starting pitcher.
They weren't going to overpay for a starter. Not sure if they felt Gray was any better then Keuchel and McCullers. If Gray wasn't any better then those 2 then Lynn wasn't for sure. Would have cost Houston more then what L.A. paid to get Darvish from Texas. Their GM said they wouldn't gut their minor league roster to make a trade. Verlander is making too much money as well. I also said it in the Liriano thread. They were close to getting Britton but the owner kept upping the price.
Tried to get a lot done today, working on many things simultaneously. Acquiring a pitcher like Liriano was a priority for us. Not only a starter but reliever & postseason experience. Really think he can help this club out in an area of great need. Think he'll get some big outs for us down the stretch & in the postseason if we're fortunate enough to make it. Got experience & stuff & will be a positive for us.
Role?
Will leave it up to AJ & Brent Strom. His numbers against LHH, he's been extremely effective. We'll face good lefties down the stretch. We need someone to get those guys out. He's got that experience. He can do anything. Pitch multiple innings, start, relieve, be a specialist.
2nd consecutive deadline without a big move. Why not this year?
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed in not getting some of the moves done we were working on. We had some close to & almost over the finish line. At times, I would have put them at 90%+ that we would have gotten them done. There's a lot of dynamics happening with these deals & for reasons I can't talk about, they didn't happen. I believe this team has what it takes to win in the postseason with the players we have. Doesn't mean we didn't try hard to improve those chances, even just a little bit. Each little bit you can improve helps. We tried. Early in the trading season, cost was high on all players. They did come down a little bit in certain areas where we thought we had some deals done & we were excited about. They didn't happen so we move on.
These guys are professionals & want to win. It doesn't affect their desire to win one bit. They'll continue to do their job & we have a good chance to win a lot this year. They know we tried.
Luhnow said Fisher asked about in "almost every deal." Said other prospects were, too.
n using Liriano in the bullpen. He has some experience doing a little of everything: multi-inning relief, starting & LH reliever. He should be here tomorrow. He pitched Saturday. Could be a couple days before he pitches.
Disappointed you guys didn't add more?
You're always curious what is possible. Our job in the clubhouse is to rally around the each other & be the team we are. We have issues to address when it comes to getting healthy & getting our team back together. Down here, our job is to play our ass off & win as many games as we can. Additions, subtractions, the trades, there's a lot going on around baseball that people are curious about. The 25 guys in the clubhouse, our coaches, me, our staff inside have to focus on what we have & not what we don't have. It's important we try to win games.
We'll feel better once we right the ship health wise. There's always concern when your best players are unavailable. Doesn't mean we can't win games or series. July has turned into a month where everyone pays attention to outside the clubhouse. Now that this has passed, not that teams don't change in August or September, but I'm glad we can get back to focusing on who's here & what lies ahead.