Framber Valdez putting Astros coaches on blast feels like his parting shot

It has always been awkward when everyone knows that a Houston Astros player is going to leave after a season, and both the team and player just pretend like it isn't a thing. In the case of Framber Valdez, the elephant in the room, going back to last offseason, has been that the Astros know they aren't going to give him a competitive offer, and Valdez knows he will be wearing a different uniform next season. On Monday, some of that divide appears to have spilled out into the public eye.

The Astros lost another game where the offense didn't show up, and that can be extremely frustrating for a pitcher who threw the ball well, like Valdez did. The lack of run support was a problem, but Valdez took issue more with some suspect defensive positioning on one specific play and did not mince words when throwing Houston's coaches under the bus for that choice.

Framber Valdez's public frustration over Astros' defensive positioning could be just the beginning

The play in question did look pretty rough. Left-handed batter Nathaniel Lowe was at the plate, and Astros coaches Jason Bell and Dave Clark decided to employ a "no doubles" defense with the outfielders deep that also shifted right fielder Taylor Trammell towards center field. Predictably, the lefty Lowe pulled a ball into right field where there was no one, and the famously slow Josh Bell managed to score the decisive run from first base. Again, understandably frustrating.

However, it is what Valdez said after the game that was pretty eye-opening. Not only did he sound irritated that Trammell was shaded so far over towards center, but he also thinks that he shouldn't have to talk to the coaching staff about his concerns. His exact quote to the media was, “I don’t have to ask the coaches about that. I feel like baseball is a game of common sense. With me as a lefty pitcher, they don’t hit a lot of fly balls against me. If they do hit a fly ball, it’s going to either be a home run or in front.”

No matter where you come down on that decision or no matter what data you have to support either side, it is remarkable that Valdez went to the media and expressed his displeasure so bluntly. There is no chance he would have done so if he weren't leaving after the season. Unfortunately, that is the reality we are all faced with, and now we have to wonder if Valdez has plans to air out any more dirty laundry.

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