HE'S HAD ENOUGH

Here's why Astros tension with Dusty Baker is about to reach a boiling point

With about two months left in the regular season, the Astros still trail the Rangers in the AL West. The Rangers are adding as many pieces as they can before the trade deadline to make a hard push to win the division.

The Astros are still in a good place, and perhaps they can just make a few tweaks to the existing team that could give them a boost moving forward. One of those tweaks has to be using Yainer Diaz more often, and playing Martin Maldonado less. Which is something manager Dusty Baker seems unwilling to do.

When questioned about his head-scratching decisions, Baker is starting to get chippy with the media. And just the other day, Baker took issue with a question when asked if the team would carry three catchers, which would allow Dusty to start both Diaz and Maldonado together.

Astros fans have certainly gotten used to the strange lineup decisions, but his comments about Maldonado being a similar hitter to Diaz outside of batting average, is just factually incorrect.

Via: The Athletic:

“Him and (Maldonado) have about the same amount of at-bats… Other than batting average, they've done pretty close as far as production is concerned…”

Yainer Diaz is currently slugging .507 with Maldy at .302. How about OPS? Diaz is sitting at .789 with Maldonado at .541.

Not to mention Diaz is the better defensive catcher at this late stage of Maldy's career. And to put the cherry on top, the Astros team ERA is lower with Diaz catching.

So what exactly has to take place to get Yainer in the lineup on a more regular basis?

Be sure to watch the video above as we lay it all out.

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The Houston Astros are coming off a big win over the Orioles and hopefully things are getting back on track as the club makes their final push for the playoffs with only nine games left.

While we're all excited about the latest walk-off win, we can't ignore the fact that the team has dropped three straight series. Two of which were against the two worst teams in baseball (the Royals and A's).

We've all heard the reports about Chas McCormick's playing time, the batter's eye in center field causing the Astros to struggle, and three team meetings over the past month.

With that in mind, are these distractions a factor in how the team is performing on the field?

Be sure to watch the video as we break it all down.

If you enjoy the videos, subscribe to SportsMap Houston on YouTube.

And listen to ESPN 97.5 and 92.5 FM for Houston's best sports talk.

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