r/Astros • u/Hairygrim Andre Scrubb • 3d ago
NLCS game chat/offseason discussion thread (Oct 11, 2026)
Use this thread to discuss today's NLCS game, and for any miscellaneous conversations, Astros-related or otherwise.
Today's game:
Dodgers @ Brewers at 19:00 CT on FOX
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u/TempestDrive Houston Astros 3d ago
Made The Cut predicts the Astros to have a rough half decade ahead of this season. Thoughts?
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u/Guilty_Pineapple_557 Alex Bregman 3d ago edited 3d ago
We don't really know what's gonna happen for sure. Sure, we might have aging players, we could make some trades, maybe to bolster our farm system, but that's not gonna guarantee the prediction, as none of us really know for sure, especially as baseball is random, we can't really tell what the league's economic landscape is going to be yet, and so there's so much uncertainty and unknowns. Trades and signings could address our roster problems too on paper, but that doesn't guarantee it will work.
And let's not forget these are predictions. Just because Made the Cut predicted it doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. Could happen and will happen are very different things. Like I've said, baseball is baseball, and there's so much unknowns that could tip the scales in either rough half decade or otherwise
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u/Boomllinnial 1d ago
Agree with them. Crane has turned into Jerry Jones and thinks he knows how to run a team. Expect him to hire another empty shirt as cover while he continues to run the team into the ground. Can’t replenish a system or improve future with bad drafts, atrocious FA signings and trades that aim to bolster the ML roster.
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u/NOLA1987 Lance McCullers Jr. 3d ago
Come on, Brewers. I need y'all to be God's warriors and take down the Dodgers.
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u/Guilty_Pineapple_557 Alex Bregman 3d ago edited 3d ago
Brewers are pretty fun to watch. I'd love to see them win, but tbh I'm at the point where I don't even care anymore and I'm just gonna be a casual viewer
Still don't like the Dodgers but damn it can they run a good team, have good scouting, and invest in their players financially and development-wise. If they win, I wouldn't be surprised honestly
P.S. TEXANS WTF ARE YOU DOING
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u/AgentMulderFBI 3d ago
They are in LA. You can have the worst scouting and farm in all of baseball and still win cause players wanna play in LA. We need the lock out.
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u/Guilty_Pineapple_557 Alex Bregman 3d ago edited 3d ago
Honestly, your point doesn't cancel out mine. If anything, it complements it.
I also think the revenue structure across all 30 teams matters, because not every team has the same capacity to generate revenue. Forbes estimated the Dodgers' 2025 revenue at $850 million. That gives them considerable financial resources to invest in players, free agents, and the organization itself, plus add scouting, excellent resource allocation, roster management, team culture and style of play in. Add LA's market size and appeal to players, as you mentioned, and those advantages reinforce one another. They're not mutually exclusive.
As for the lockout, I'm pretty neutral on it. It's a negotiating tactic and a consequence of a major disagreement over how baseball's economics should work
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u/AgentMulderFBI 3d ago
Good response, I wasn’t trying to cancel your point, just saying the situation of it all. We can look back to when the Dodgers were horribly mismanaged and they still were winning 85-90 games a year.
At the end of the day they have to play the games and until another team takes them down again it’s their WS to lose.
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u/manbags Craig Biggio 3d ago
damn it can they run a good team, have good scouting, and invest in their players financially and development-wise
The three other teams in the playoffs are able to run good teams, draft and trade well, and develop players. They just don't have the benefit of playing in the 2nd largest media market in the country with an owner committing financial fraud to pour even more money into the team.
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u/Guilty_Pineapple_557 Alex Bregman 3d ago edited 3d ago
Market size and financial resources give the Dodgers an advantage. I was getting at that in my other reply about revenue structure. But I also think there's a distinction between having the resources to spend and allocating them effectively. Teams in smaller markets can build competitive rosters through drafting, development and smart trades, while big-market teams can spend heavily and still fall short because of roster construction, front-office decisions or resource allocation.
The financial investigation is a separate issue, though
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u/manbags Craig Biggio 3d ago
I guess its just annoying every time people talk about "how well run" LA is. I get it, but at the same time, there are several other teams that are just as well run, but also have to work much smarter and harder with the financial restrictions they have. What the Rays, Brewers, and Guardians (and the Lunhow era Astros) do with what they have is far more impressive and worthy of praise than anything LA is doing.
LA has never had to deal with the inequalities of moneyball.
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u/Guilty_Pineapple_557 Alex Bregman 3d ago
Yeah, I think you have a point about the financial advantages LA has compared to smaller-market teams. I can't pinpoint exactly how much each factor contributes, but having a global superstar like Ohtani, the market's commercial appeal, and the financial resources to invest in players all give them advantages. Then you have the other factors you mentioned, like scouting, development, roster construction, and organizational philosophy, which can reinforce those advantages.
The Rays, Brewers, Guardians, Luhnow-era Astros, and even the 2015 Royals absolutely deserve praise for what they've accomplished with their resources. They show that you don't need to spend at the level of the biggest-market teams to build a contender. Scouting, drafting, development, trades, and smart roster construction can go a long way, especially when you don't have the same financial margin for error.
But I think that raises a bigger question heading into the CBA negotiations: how should MLB address the financial disparities between teams? The success of smaller-market teams shows that good baseball operations matter, but it doesn't necessarily mean the financial playing field is equal. And the fact that some big-market teams, including both New York teams and the Astros in certain periods, have spent heavily without consistently getting the results they wanted shows that spending alone doesn't guarantee success, either
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u/GimpyLawyer 3d ago
Every year a pick off situation happens that makes me ask myself, wtf is a balk? lol
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u/Tiberius-Dawn Jeff Bagwell 3d ago
Yall think Ohtani wears #17 because his favorite player is Lance Berkman?
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u/Infinite-Gold187 3d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/Pl8AWP79c5ZwrUPrNW