EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ASTROS ANALYST
Mike Stanton on MLB's return & Astros chances of winning another championship
Jul 2, 2020, 9:47 am
Photo by Getty Images.
Baseball fans aren't quite sure what to call Major League Baseball's second attempt at starting the 2020 season but Wednesday marks the start of Spring Training 2.0 or MLB Summer Camp. Most MLB teams are preparing for the upcoming 60-game season at their home city ballparks instead of their usual Spring Training locations, but not every player will be playing for their team in 2020.
Multiple players have decided to opt-out of playing the 2020 season for various reasons regarding health concerns or potentially exposing the virus to an at-risk person in their family. The Nationals Ryan Zimmerman, announced earlier in the week he was opting out of playing because he has a newborn child and a mother suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.
But will the rest of the players on those teams losing key members support or resent these decisions?
Former MLB All-Star reliever and current Houston Astros analyst on AT&T SportsNet Mike Stanton joined The Jake Asman Show on Gow Media's SB Nation Radio Wednesday to discuss this situation. When asked if what players say publicly about supporting their opting-out teammates differs from what they may think privately, Stanton said that could definitely be a factor.
"I think there could be some resentment," Stanton said. "I don't know if it ever becomes public or if it ever becomes known by the player that opts-out, but yeah there is going to be some of that here or there. I'm not going to say it's going to be rapid because I think the players that do opt-out will be dealing with inner turmoil with that decision. It's not going to be a decision that is made on a whim, a snap decision, it's not going to be an emotional decision, there's going to be a lot of things that go into that. I think most players are going to understand why these players are going to be opting out but there might be some players that go 'man I wish Mike Stanton' was here today."
Unlike other sports attempting to return, MLB will not be playing games in an isolated bubble meaning that it will be on the players to police themselves and abide by the social distancing guidelines when they are away from the ballparks. Stanton says veteran players are going to have to lead the way to ensure that the younger players follow in-line.
"There is going to have to be accountability," Stanton said. "Those conversations need to be had in between the players... You can't be on the road and be like 'I'm tired of this hotel room, I'm going to go out to lunch today' you just can't do that. You have to maintain your discipline and not get too comfortable in your situation because that is when mistakes happen."
How does the current Astros analyst on AT&T SportsNet feel about the 2020 Astros chances of winning another championship?
"I think they are definitely one of the top two or three teams in the American League," Stanton said. "I think they have as good of a chance as anyone… Especially in a short season, really anything can happen."
Great insight from @MikeStanton29 on the #Astros and the rest of MLB's chances of winning in 2020 when Mike joined the @JakeAsmanShow earlier. pic.twitter.com/qRI8skBNg1
— Jake Asman (@JakeAsman) July 1, 2020
You can listen to The Jake Asman Show weekdays from 8 AM -10 AM Central on SB Nation Radio.
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After a two-game sweep of the Rockies in Mexico City, a heart-thumping, extra-inning win Tuesday night over the Guardians in Minute Maid Park, the surprising demotion of first baseman Jose Abreu to the bottom rung of the minor leagues and the call-up of fan favorite rookie slugger Joey Loperfido … suddenly the Astros season seems turned around.
Even if their record still is 10-19 and they remain dead last in the American League West.
Ah, but only six games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners. That’s just a hot streak away.
The Astros are in it … and right now aren’t you thinking to win it?
One thing is for sure. There is no doubt who is running the Astros ship and is the voice in owner Jim Crane’s ear. It’s Dana Brown, the general manager.
Since the last pitch of the Astros disappointing 2023 season when they “only” made it to Game 7 of the ALCS, Brown has made the 2024 Astros team in his mind’s image.
Gone is last year’s manager Dusty Baker with whom Brown fussed and fought with over Baker’s insistence on playing weak-hitting Martin Maldonado over rookie Yanier Diaz.
Baker resigned (thank you for saving us the trouble) and was out the door shortly after the season ended.
Gone, too, is Maldonado. The Astros never made a serious attempt to keep him in Houston.
Now Abreu is dispatched, too. After an April of historic batting futility, Abreu, a 37-year-old veteran, consented to go back to the minors to find his batting stroke. He leaves the Astros, for public consumption temporarily, hitting .099 with no home runs and 3 RBI in 71 at bats.
The Astros signed Abreu to a $58.5 million, three-year contract before last season – before Brown arrived in Houston. Crane offered the megabuck contract at the urging of then-de facto general manager Jeff Bagwell. At this time last year, it was an open question, who is the real Crane-whisperer, newly hired Brown or Astros legend Bagwell?
Next question?
If Baker had been retained and Brown held sidelined in key decisions, it’s likely that Maldonado would be in the Astros lineup and Diaz again the catcher-in-waiting. With fans still frustrated up to here.
Maldonado eventually signed with the Chicago White Sox where he is batting an even .100 and has Southside fans wringing their hands over his offensive impotence. Defensively, he has thrown out only two of 20 base stealers for a 10-percent success rate.
Meanwhile, Diaz is batting a solid .287 with three homers and 13 RBI. He is one of MLB’s elite hitting catchers. He’s also thrown out six of 23 base stealers for a 26-percent success rate.
Maldonado did have value when he played for the Astros, though. He was a leader in the clubhouse. He led team meetings when times were tough. Pitchers had confidence in him. Fans liked him, at least on a personal level.
Abreu never made that connection during his time in Houston. Despite Brown’s repeated urging to read the back of Abreu’s baseball card, and his kind and confident words announcing Abreu’s departure for West Palm Beach, do you expect to ever see him in an Astros uniform again? Abreu still will be owed $19.5 million next season, so there is that.
When Astros fans woke up Wednesday morning, they had visions of Alex Bregman and Jon Singleton smacking three-run homers, of Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena’s continued hot hitting, of rookie Loperfido driving in two go-ahead runs and reserve catcher Victor Caratini sending a big crowd home happy with a dramatic two-out, walk-off blast over the right field fence.
Hope is a good thing, and it’s back.