Monday Morning Manager

This will be a new weekly segment that will drop sometime when I wake up on Monday mornings.

Everyone on the Twitter timeline LOVESSSSS to play manager or general manager because they watch the game in their own comfort in their own home with zero experience past playing little league 20+ years ago. A perfect resume, they would argue, and as the grind of 162 began to rear its ugly head this past month, the village was ready with their pitchforks to usurp everyone. We all love to play armchair QB, we all love to believe we would never pull Zach Greinke for a relief arm that pitched in all 7 games, we all know we can manage 26 different egos and humans from all around the world better than Dusty Baker. Let me tell you right now that you can’t. Has there been bonehead decisions this year? Absolutely. Have there been decisions made because we don’t understand the dynamics of a locker room? You’re damn right. We saw it this past weekend; Kendall Graveman was clearly not feeling himself or was fighting his mechanics and asked not to be pitched the first game of the series, the second game when he entered, we saw him struggle mightily with his command and mechanics and was bailed out by really at-bats by the Rangers. Look at the quote; that’s a skipper protecting his guy and giving you, the reader, a peek behind the curtains if you interpret his quote.

We have won 3 straight series, and it is amazing how a team can come together when you get back an Alex Bregman and a Kyle Tucker back in the lineup. You move a Diaz who has been such a catalyst for this team this season back to the bench for depth, or he starts to give a guy a breather; you don’t have your AAAA players starting but now back on the bench for depth after they have done more than enough to stay in the show. You have a bullpen that is starting to find itself a bit? Stanek-Graveman-Pressly has gelled and shortens games, but they can’t pitch every day in October. Down this sprint of games, you have to find those bridge guys and other leverage arms to get you where you want to be, and that’s downtown in a sea of confetti. How do you figure that out while not punting winnable games you need to make the playoffs and secure the home-field advantage you so desperately need. You have to tight rope walk between two high-rise buildings while juggling 26 egos and current form and navigating an alleged scandal with the ghost of AJ Hinch roaming the halls. It ain’t easy.

Weekly Recap

Astros vs. Royals

KC has been a thorn in every team’s side over this last month playing spoiler, and we saw that first hand when they took 3 of 4 from us earlier in August. It was a series that started with an L and ended with a Jake Meyers walk-off fielder’s choice to secure a series win. A win is a win.

Astros vs. Arlington

A series win ended with a bad taste in our mouth, but as I said, a win is a win. Meyers is thriving, Yordan is getting hot, Correa is a bad man, Bregs is healthy, and Framber, the staff ace, is back. We are off to Seattle to put them away.

-@ApolloDez1

P.S. GET YOUR NEW MEYERS GEAR