THE PALLILOG
Despite tough week, Astros should cruise into postseason
Jun 21, 2019, 6:52 am
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Welcome to summer! In sports that does mean the dog days, as for the next two months-plus baseball is the only mainstream major team sport in season. Despite stinking this week and losing five games in a row, the Astros are wonderfully worthy of having the stage to themselves until late-August. Think what a depressing sports stretch this is in Baltimore, Kansas City, or Miami, where the baseball season has been effectively finished since Easter. Heck, it was utterly miserable here for several years running before 2015.
Big series between Astros and Yankees
The Astros-Yankees series this weekend could certainly wind up being a precursor to them meeting in the American League Championship Series matchup for the second time in three years. The Astros should cruise into the postseason as the winner of the AL West. The Yankees are in a battle for the East with the Tampa Bay Rays, and the reigning World Series Champion Red Sox are definitely within striking distance.
Before this week's hiccup the Astros had rolled on despite the extended absences of Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Carlos Correa. The Yankees have rolled just as well, and their injury toll this season makes the Astros look like they've been a paragon of health. Giancarlo Stanton has played in five games. Aaron Judge just 20. 2018 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Miguel Andujar played only 12 before being lost to season ending shoulder surgery. Their best starting pitcher each of the last two seasons was Luis Severino. He hasn't thrown a pitch in 2019, neither has four-time All-Star reliever Dellin Betances. Domingo German leads the Yanks with nine wins, now he's on the IL.
We'll presume that Jose Altuve has plenty of good baseball ahead of him. With five years 151.5 mil kicking in next season the Astros darn sure hope (pray?) so. It's extremely likely that Altuve's best seasons (2016 and 2017) are behind him. The Altuve of 2014, 2015, and pre-injury 2018 is an outstanding player, but not worth 31 mil per season.
Rockets spectators at NBA Draft again
When the highlight of an NBA team's draft night is unveiling revised uniforms, you know draft night was a dud. Behold the Houston Rockets who had zero picks. It's the fourth year in a row the Rockets had no first rounder. This year was a straight salary dump, the pick a necessary attachment to get Cleveland to take Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss off of the Rockets' hands. Last year's pick was a piece of the Chris Paul trade, the 2017 pick went to rent Lou Williams. The 2016 pick given up for Ty Lawson is the one that smarts most in hindsight. Lawson stunk, the Rockets finished 41-41 making the pick number 15. Among the players who went later than 15th in 2016 before the Rockets selected Chinanu Onuaku and Zhou Qi in the second round: Malik Beasley, Caris LeVert, Pascal Siakam, Dejounte Murray, and Malcolm Brogdon. Oops.
Who knows what to believe about the extent of hard feelings between Paul and James Harden. Of course the Rockets are doing to deny, deny, deny that it's messy or problematic. Especially as they try to find a dumping ground for Paul's contract. There may not be one. Paul is still a capable NBA point guard but his superstar days are done, making the three years 124 million left on his deal a nightmare. Ask Tilman Fertitta.
Clown show tendencies on display for Texans
When, as Clay Walker sings, it's football time in Houston, what will the Texans look like? The answer should be at least a decent team. Though the last couple of weeks they made themselves a punch line. Two weeks ago they fire general manager Brian Gaine, trying to bury the story best they could when they did. Then they target New England Patriots exec Nick Caserio for the job. They evidently clumsily and ignorantly make their move, resulting in the Patriots filing a tampering charge against the Texans, then two days later the Texans humiliatingly announce they are dropping their pursuit of Caserio. You wonder if the Patriots also took the Texans' lunch money, or maybe gave them a wedgie.
The Texans have never been a top tier football organization. They have never sustained excellence. They have rarely achieved excellence. But they have not been an incompetent clown show of an organization. Clown organizations don't win five division titles in eight years, regardless of softness of the division over some of those years. A clown organization doesn't go a full decade without having back-to-back losing seasons. Through this episode the Texans have looked like a clown organization.
Winning big is the best deodorant in sports. This coming season the Texans better win big or the sentiment of many around here will be that they stink, even if they don't stink.
Buzzer Beaters:
1. Zion Williamson averages 18 & 10 as a rookie. 2. Properly grilled corn-on-the-cob needs no butter, no salt, no pepper, and NEVER mayo. 3. Greatest "Summer" athletes: Bronze-Champ Summers Silver-Pat Summerall Gold-Summer Sanders
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A new challenge awaits, and the Astros know what’s at stake
Jun 27, 2025, 2:05 pm
The Houston Astros didn’t just sweep the Philadelphia Phillies. They sent a message.
In three tightly contested games against one of the best teams in baseball, the Astros leaned on their elite pitching and timely offense to secure a statement sweep. Hunter Brown was electric in the finale, shutting down the Phillies’ lineup and showing the kind of dominance that’s become a defining feature of his game. Bryan Abreu slammed the door with four strikeouts to close out the win, and rookie Cam Smith delivered the deciding blow — an RBI single in the eighth to drive in Isaac Paredes, lifting the Astros to a 2-1 victory.
It wasn’t a series filled with offensive fireworks, but that’s exactly the point. Both teams sent out top-tier pitching throughout the series, and Houston was the team that kept finding a way. For much of the season, the Astros’ inconsistent offense might’ve been a concern in a series like this. But this time, it felt different. The bats showed up just enough, and the pitching did the rest.
Now, with Houston on pace for 96 wins at the halfway point, the question becomes: Is the league officially on notice?
Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing is certain, the Astros have the third-best record in baseball, they’re 17-7 in one-run games, and they’re playing with the kind of rhythm that’s defined their near-decade of dominance. Unlike last year’s uneven campaign, this version of the Astros looks like a team that’s rediscovered its edge. Whether or not they need to take care of business against the Cubs to validate it, their recent run leaves little doubt: when Houston is clicking, there are very few teams built to stop them.
Off the field, however, a bit of long-term uncertainty is starting to creep in. Reports surfaced this week that extension talks with shortstop Jeremy Peña have been put on hold as he recently signed with super-agent Scott Boras. The combination has led many to wonder if Peña might follow the same free-agent path as Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and others before him. Boras clients rarely settle early, and Peña, now one of the most valuable shortstops in the game, could command a price tag the Astros have historically avoided paying.
If Peña and even Hunter Brown are likely to get priced out of Houston, the front office may need to pivot. Isaac Paredes could be the most logical extension candidate on the roster. His approach — particularly his ability to pull the ball with authority — is tailor-made for Daikin Park and the Crawford Boxes. Last year, Paredes struggled to leave the yard at Wrigley Field, but in Houston, he’s thriving. Locking him in long term would give the Astros offensive stability and the kind of value they’ve typically targeted.
As for Cam Smith, the breakout rookie is far from free agency and will remain a cost-controlled piece for years. That’s exactly why his contributions now, like his clutch eighth-inning knock to beat Philadelphia, matter so much. He's one more reason why the Astros don’t just look good right now. They look dangerous.
And the rest of the league is starting to feel it.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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