Coming off another disappointing series loss on Monday, in which Jose Abreu once again went hitless, something occurred to me while watching the disappointed faces in the dugout.

What will it take for the Astros to call the Abreu experiment a failure, and move on? It doesn't seem like the manager or GM are making the call on this.

This decision will have to come from Jim Crane, and in part, Jeff Bagwell. But what if one of the veteran players spoke privately with Crane and/or Bagwell about what the plan is with Abreu.

Clearly, players typically stay out of these decisions for many reasons. You don't want to have the reputation of messing with other guy's money. We here that all the time in sports.

But as a thought exercise, how would Jim Crane respond if Jose Altuve or Justin Verlander just wanted some clarity on where this is headed and showed some concern for time running out on the season. It seems to me their words would hold more weight than a first time manager and general manager.

And it wouldn't be the first time a player allegedly went to Crane directly. We've all heard the reports about Carlos Correa asking Crane to change his mind about Verlander throwing out the first pitch a couple of years ago. If a Hall of Fame level player privately voiced concern to Crane, would he take it more seriously?

Let's be honest with ourselves, the guys in the clubhouse probably wouldn't broach this topic with Crane. But don't you think they're thinking it, and talking about it privately among each other?

Manager Joe Espada told the Astros flagship on Thursday that there is a timetable for Abreu, but the team is not going to share that with the public.

Which is fair, but one has to wonder how long they're willing to wait. Is it the All-Star break, the end of the season, the end of June. Who knows? Martin Maldonado kept his job all last season, with a legit better option already on the roster.

This all speaks to a bigger problem, it doesn't seem like the manager or the GM will make the call on Abreu. And they're the ones taking the most heat for his poor performance. Especially Espada.

And with so many fans calling for Espada to be fired, we legitimately wonder if a new manager would handle things differently and have more control over the roster and who plays.

Be sure to watch the video above as we examine the Abreu issue, and how much blame Joe Espada deserves for the Astros disappointing season.

Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.