THE PALLILOG

Astros secret weapon could be the key to pulling away from A's

Astros Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker
The schedule gives the Astros an edge over the A's. Composite image by Jack Brame.
3 reasons the Houston Astros newest lineup is raising eyebrows

Off a disappointing three win three loss homestand the Astros are now on the road for seven, with the Oakland Athletics closing in on them in the American League West race. While going 3-3 at home against the Twins and Rockies grades the Astros a D, Oakland has been making straight A's the past week winning seven straight games to draw within a game and a half of the Astros. Just over two weeks ago the gap was six games.

The schedule could be the Astros secret weapon

A 162 game season has plenty of ebb and flow. The A's are flowing right now, but the Astros should win the division unless the A's whip up on them in the six remaining head-to-head games they'll play in the last week and a half of the season. The Astros have the much easier remaining schedule. While the Astros have been confoundingly average against sub-.500 teams, you'd still rather have the chance to slaughter lambs than face a steady diet of really good teams. The A's play the awful Rangers three in Arlington this weekend but then have 13 in a row against winning teams: four at Chicago (White Sox), then three vs. the Giants, two vs. the Mariners, and four vs. the Yankees. Over the Astros' next 16 games only three are versus a winning team, the Mariners at Minute Maid Park next weekend.

No need to nickname Alex Bregman "Godot" just yet but boy have the Astros and Astros' fans been waiting for his return. And waiting. When Bregman finally plays in an Astro uniform again it will have been more than two months since he went down. Bregman's lingering quad issue coupled with his prior history of quad and hamstring problems seems to make it unlikely he becomes the Astros' everyday shortstop should Carlos Correa leave via free agency. Shortstop is more physically demanding than third base. Just a couple of years ago it was plausible to think Bregman would be at least as good defensively at short as Correa if not better. Not now. The Astros didn't move Cuban center field prospect Pedro Leon to playing mostly at short this year by accident. Unfortunately Leon has been out himself since late July with a broken pinky. The minor league season started late this year and hence will end later. In fact the Sugar Land Skeeters' regular season is scheduled to end the same day as the Astros'. So Leon should be back to play the final three to four weeks. If Correa is gone, Leon as the Opening Day '22 shortstop is pushing it, but top tier prospects are supposed to be pushed.

For the season the Astros have outscored their opponents in every inning one thru nine. In extra innings they've been outscored 23-14.

In one run games this season the Astros are 12-12. In two run games they are 8-10. In games decided by three or more, 48-26.

Rocket launch

Coming off what was arguably the most miserable season in franchise history the Rockets and their fans can use any sort of uplifting action. Two summer league games are barely a snack, but man did top draft pick Jalen Green whet the appetite. His athletic burst coupled with skill level are extremely promising. Green was off to a third excellent game Thursday night before leaving with a sore hamstring. The regular season is more than two months away but man that better be minor.

Texans vs. Packers

The Texans play their preseason opener Saturday night at Green Bay. The Packers have smoked at least a one more season peace pipe with reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers. The Texans, not so with Deshaun Watson. At least there are only three preseason games now, ahead of the new 17 game regular season.

The Texans credibility level more or less matches their talent level these days. New General Manager Nick Caserio gives them a chance to rebuild both, but at this point they have little. So it was an extra lame move of the Texans to attempt to cut off media access to practice two weeks earlier than NFL rules dictate. That attempt seems highly unlikely to have occurred without Caserio's stamp of approval. Who knows about Jack Easterby's involvement. Or maybe it was just a misunderstanding…

Buzzer Beaters:

1. The Texans list Deshaun Watson fourth on their quarterback depth chart this week. Then why list him at all?

2. Nothing whatsoever against Iowa, but I don't recall ever thinking "Wish I was in Iowa tonight." Until Thursday night. The "Field of Dreams" game looked amazing. The players entering the field out of the cornfield was fantastic. As was the 1989 movie. If never seen it, well worth finding.

3. Greatest Hawkeyes: Bronze-Benjamin Franklin Pierce Silver-Harry Kalas Gold-Nile Kinnick

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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