Duborn’s replacement, Nick Allen, hit .283, is younger, and is less expensive, but Dubon was part of the “secret sauce” that made the Astros win a lot of games and I too wish he was still here.
Nick Allen’s stats were respectable but for the roughly 10 basis points you earn in BA and slugging % you give up mountains of RBI’s with Allen.
Dubon has played almost all positions on the field and I bet (in a huge pinch) he would get behind the plate for a couple of innings - if he hasn’t done so already.
Not an Allen hater by any measure but Dubon is the more potent roster guy. Now, if you wanna talk $ for payback there might be an argument for Allen. JMHO - Dubon is much more than a friendly face.
My question about the Dubon/Allen talk, does Crane still want to win, or does he want to pinch pennies? Choose one
That was 4-5 wins. Trading him was a huge mistake.
Who cares about a .283 average? Or his age? Nick Allen will not be here long term so age is irrelevant……He has absolutely zero pop and has nowhere near the versatility that Dubon has.
Less expensive? How did saving a few bucks work out for Crane?
It was a horrible decision to let him walk……and this is not coming from a Dubon “homer”……the team was weaker.
If he still wants to win he is going to have to go over the tax for a couple of years until the MiLB difference makers are ready.
Yeah, the issues with swapping out Dubon for Allen were versatility, leadership, experience and power. Allen was respectable as a replacement IF and he was better at getting on base than I expected, but the Astros obviously didn’t like what they saw from in in the OF.
Dubon would have been a huge help in the OF, where the Astros were hurting the most. But the Astros certainly didn’t foresee all of the injuries, and I’m sure they expected more development from the OF on the roster, so they looked at Dubon as a luxury rather than a need.
Brother RobDob from the Church of the Holy Diamond preaching from on High!!! Drink it in my brothers!!!

BTW, after watching the last three years does anyone truly believe that just trying to get in the playoffs because “anything can happen” have any merit?
Because I’ve seen what can happen.
Don’t like that strategy at all. It’s been embarrassing (specifically for the Astros) and highlights all the warts that were hidden during the season. I blame it on opening up the playoff field to too many teams and watering the playoff field of teams down. But that genie is out of the bottle, it makes MLB too much money.
I think of the 2019 Washington Nationals and believe it.
Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. The good news……
Dubon is an unrestricted free agent for the 2027 season.
It would be a weak way to run your organization. The even bigger question is how did Brown, Crane, and Bagwell get the franchise in the top ten in payroll and let it get it’s ass kicked three years running by teams paying $100 million plus less than them?
I know…I know…injuries
He’d have gotten a better result letting RobDob be the GM. You’d have had some bad press from injuries on the stripper pole in the lobby but your farm system would be a damn sight better off.
I don’t think “just get into the playoffs” was the strategy in the offseason. I think it was the decision made during the season when they had to make a call on whether to sell-off.
Unfortunately, if Cranewell continues making personnel decisions, this is what the future holds.
I kinda meant that. The way I see it, if you’re an “under the cap” team you’ve got three choices.
- Completely re-build every 8-10 years.
- Spit and bailing wire and hit the bong occasionally.
- Fire your GM/and his goodfellas and hope he (the new one) can blend the first two with fairy dust.
But when you get indebted to loyalty (old guys) it’s impossible to do #1
Denouement: “Cranewell” has been put into the storied lexicon of this thread.
Had we not had that nice little winning streak right before the deadline this team would look drastically different……probably would have seen Schivione and a few others.
Critics of moving Correa to the OF.
Altuve did not work out. But Altuve is older, overweight and has weak arm.
Coogman91 “worse OF than Yordan.” What evidence do you have to support this statement?
Correa is much faster and has stronger arm.
GooseCreekCoog and rtcoog: moving Carlos Correa to OF will increase his chances of getting injured. Couldn’t Correa get hurt playing SS or 3B? Stats have shown that baseball players are more vulnerable getting injured playing the infield than outfield(esp SS or 3B).
“Correa is much faster” BS, he is not.
And calling Altuve “fat” is dumb….he has matured with age but he is not close to being fat.
I keep waiting for you to say “gotcha”……just such a really bad take.
I tried to be respectful, but I’m just not gonna engage in this nonsense.
It’s a stupid idea, and it won’t happen because it’s a stupid idea. Doesn’t matter how many posters you @ with more questions - this isn’t ever going to be a thing.
That was one of multiple reasons I gave. I’m not sure what you said is true in any cases but I think there’s no way Correa is at more risk getting hurt at 3B vs OF.
Also, Altuve isn’t and wasn’t fat. Be serious.