Oft-injured Houston Astros star supports manager amid criticism

The Houston Astros aren’t having the year they expected after getting aggressive in the offseason when they handed out the most lucrative contract in league history.

While fans may be a little perplexed by what’s happening, it seems like there’s at least one person previously connected to the franchise who expected it and likes it.

Regardless, it didn’t seem like even a remote possibility that the Astros would be fighting for their postseason lives in mid-June, but as they enter the weekend slate of games with a 31-38 record, that’s their reality.

Because of this, many people started pointing fingers at first-year manager Joe Espada.

Although he’s a long-time coach and spent the last four seasons with Dusty Baker, a lot of confidence has been lost in his ability to bring about a turnaround on this team.

Some have even gone so far as to call for his job if Houston fails to make the playoffs.

However, Astros star pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is supportive of his manager, even though he’s not on the field and hasn’t played a game for him this year.

“I think the most important thing managers do is the relationship they have with the players… Joe does a great job at that… Joe does what Joe is supposed to do. I think we , as players, I “I’m not playing, I’m not trying to speak for them, we know we have to start playing better as a unit,” he said. Will Kunkel of Fox 26 Houston in an interview.

It’s an interesting prospect.

Espada always looked like he was going to get a managerial position at some point, having served as a bench coach under Baker and AJ Hinch previously.

As it turns out, he turned down other jobs and was able to get his first crack at manager where he had already established himself in the clubhouse as part of a culture of success.

But it’s clear that something needs to change.

The message has been the same every time there has been a tough stretch of play where they haven’t been able to fix their mistakes and catch up in the playoff race.

We’ll see if Espada is the man for the job, no matter how much McCullers and his other teammates like his communication style.