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There are weekly and monthly honors handed out to players over the course of a season, but the managers have to wait until the end of the season before they get league-wide recognition. However, A. J. Hinch deserves an award for the job he did as manager of the Astros during August.
From late July and all throughout August, the Astros roster was almost constantly in flux. The big news of August was Ken Giles replacing Will Harris as the closer, the team finally deciding to give up on the Carlos Gomez project, and Yulieski Gurriel making his American baseball debut, but were you paying enough attention to notice all the other moves going on throughout the month?
There were times when multiple guys were day-to-day, leaving Hinch with one bench player who could run but not hit and another bench player who could hit but not run. Players went on the DL, came up from Triple-A, came off the DL, made their MLB debuts, got designated for assignment, went on paternity leave, were sent back to Triple-A, and had season-ending surgery.
While most of us could barely keep track of who was actually on the 25-man roster on any given day, A.J. Hinch had to craft a lineup good enough to win on a nightly basis with a constantly changing bank of players. He had to know exactly who was in the bullpen and when best to use them while guys were going on and off paternity leave and nursing injured ankles.
Well, A.J. Hinch did all this and he did it pretty well in my opinion, steering the Astros to a 16-13 record in the month of August. Recall that when the calendar turned from July to August, Alex Bregman had only 1 hit in his first 6 MLB games, Carlos Gomez was day-to-day with a hamstring injury, Luis Valbuena was on the 15-day DL, and Marwin Gonzalez was also day-to-day. Then this happened:
| 8/1/2016 | Joe Musgrove called up from Fresno |
| 8/2/2016 | A.J. Reed recalled from Fresno |
| 8/2/2016 | Carlos Gomez back in the lineup after missing 4 games with injury |
| 8/2/2016 | Ken Giles is named the closer |
| 8/2/2016 | Joe Musgrove makes his MLB debut |
| 8/2/2016 | Lance McCullers pulled from start with elbow injury |
| 8/2/2016 | Luke Gregerson placed on 15-day DL, retroactive to 7/28 |
| 8/2/2016 | James Hoyt called up from Fresno |
| 8/3/2016 | Brad Peacock is recalled from Fresno |
| 8/3/2016 | McCullers is placed on 15-day DL |
| 8/3/2016 | James Hoyt makes his MLB debut |
| 8/4/2016 | Marwin Gonzalez returns to the lineup after dealing with soreness in right hand |
| 8/6/2016 | Brad Peacock optioned to Fresno |
| 8/7/2016 | Carlos Gomez not in the lineup due to illness |
| 8/7/2016 | Colby Rasmus placed on 15-day DL |
| 8/7/2016 | Joe Musgrove makes his 1st MLB start |
| 8/7/2016 | MarGo is away from the Astros, dealing with an issue at home |
| 8/7/2016 | Tony Kemp is recalled from Fresno |
| 8/7/2016 | Tyler White is dealing with a knee injury |
| 8/9/2016 | Luis Valbuena ran outside and resumed hitting |
| 8/10/2016 | Carlos Gomez is designated for assignment |
| 8/10/2016 | Jandel Gustave is called up from Fresno |
| 8/11/2016 | Kevin Chapman recalled for double-header against Twins, then optioned after game |
| 8/12/2016 | Ken Giles placed on paternity leave |
| 8/12/2016 | Luke Gregerson activated from the DL |
| 8/12/2016 | Preston Tucker placed on the 15-day DL with strained right shoulder |
| 8/12/2016 | Teoscar Hernandez called up from Fresno |
| 8/14/2016 | MarGo departed the game after being HBP in the left knee |
| 8/15/2016 | Jandel Gustave optioned to Fresno |
| 8/15/2016 | Ken Giles activated from paternity leave |
| 8/17/2016 | MarGo returned to lineup from knee injury |
| 8/18/2016 | Ankle injury leaves Luke Gregerson day-to-day |
| 8/19/2016 | Brad Peacock recalled from Fresno |
| 8/19/2016 | Luis Valbuena suffered a setback while running |
| 8/19/2016 | James Hoyt optioned to Fresno |
| 8/20/2016 | Tyler White optioned to Fresno |
| 8/21/2016 | Yulieski Gurriel recalled from Fresno, makes MLB debut, leaves game with tightness in hamstring |
| 8/23/2016 | Announced that Valbuena will undergo season-ending surgery |
| 8/25/2016 | Successful surgery to repair Valbuena's right hamstring |
| 8/26/2016 | Gurriel back in the lineup after hamstring soreness |
| 8/28/2016 | McCullers played catch with no discomfort |
| 8/29/2016 | Gregerson expected to be available |
| 8/30/2016 | Peacock optioned to Fresno |
| 8/30/2016 | Rasmus activated from 15-day DL |
| 8/31/2016 | Marwin Gonzalez left game due to right hamstring discomfort |
Despite roster changes and injury updates almost every day throughout August, A.J. Hinch was still able to put together a winning lineup and help rookies contribute to a playoff contender.
The fact that the Astros, guided by Hinch, could make it through an ever-changing month like August with a winning record is one of the big reasons I still believe that they are playoff-bound in 2016.