Sustained success by the Astros has put Houston fans in an unfamiliar position

Dear Astro Fan: Quit whining and embrace your inner villain

Dear Astro Fan: Quit whining and embrace your inner villain

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." – A quote by Harvey Dent in The DarkKnight.

Since the playoffs began there has been a constant rumble among Astros fans about the perceived bias by the national media against the team. This includes more than one "accusation" that pitch tipping by opposing pitchers has artificially augmented the Astros' success. I duck as I say this, but Houston fans have a proclivity to whine - often - about the coverage their teams receive by national outlets; and when it comes to criticisms by those outsiders, well, Houston fans aren't necessarily the toughest bunch. Whether the "hate" in these playoffs is real or just simply perceived it is something Houston fan needs to come to grips with. So with a best in the majors 107 win team still alive and kicking in the playoffs I ask of Houston fans: Why So Serious?

The time has come for Houston fan to embrace the role of the villain

Having a team occupy the villain role in the national discourse is uncharted territory for Houston sports fans, because honestly none of the Houston teams have had serious shots at a championship for multiple years in a row before. Sure you can argue the Rockets have had good stretches but they have never been the odds on favorite to win the title for 3, 4, 5, or more years in a row. Even in the years they did win back-to-back championships they are more or less remembered nationally as the placeholder champions for the years Michael Jordan decided to be a baseball player.

Now with a World Series title, multiple consecutive 100 win seasons, three consecutive ALCS appearances, and a championship potential window that looks to be open for at least a few more years the Astros aren't so beloved outside of Houston anymore. Sure in 2017 they were national darlings as they were a young likable team who were the end result of a long painful losing process. But now people outside of Houston are tiring of their domination. If the Astros are able to move on to the World Series this year I can promise you very few people outside of Houston will want to see them win. The Nationals will be the scrappy team of Avengers and the Astros will be Thanos. But hey, don't worry – Thanos wouldn't be Thanos if he didn't do a whole lot of winning.

The great thing about having your team be the villain though (not including vilification for off the field issues) is that unlike movie villains, sports villains win, and win a bunch. A team only comes to occupy that "bad guy" role among those outside of its fan base by consistent winning. Think of how hated the Yankees, Patriots, Warriors, and Crimson Tide are. Well guess what, their fans are slurping it up and it's time for Astro fan to do the same.

Going back to the Harvey Dent quote at the beginning of this article - the Astros didn't die as heroes in 2017, they have lived long enough with sustained success to become the villain. So next time the Astros get disrespected, whether its from A-Rod, Joe Buck, or an anonymous twitter egg, relish in it, channel your inner villain and think of this:



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Jose Abreu is heading to Florida. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros will option slumping first baseman José Abreu to their spring training facility to try and get the 2020 AL MVP back on track.

General manager Dana Brown made the announcement Tuesday, saying that they’d make the move Wednesday. The 37-year-old will report to the Astros complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Brown said the decision was made after a meeting that included himself, Abreu, coaches and front-office personnel.

Abreu, in the second season of a $58.5 million, three-year contract, is hitting .099 with just one extra-base hit and three RBIs. In 77 plate appearances across 22 games this season, Abreu has just seven hits.

Brown said Abreu was very receptive during their conversation and had a good attitude about the move.

“Jose Abreu is an outstanding human being,” Brown said. “He is unselfish and he’s a teammate’s guy and he wants to get himself back to what he was doing last fall. And so, in the midst of this conversation, you could see that this guy is passionate and determined to get back to helping his team.”

“And so he unselfishly was on board with an agreement with going back to West Palm Beach and getting some extra bats, getting some detailed instruction on what we could do to get him back,” Brown continued.

The Astros selected the contract of Joey Loperfido from Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday and he will likely play some first base, but Brown indicated that he’d mostly be used in the outfield. The 24-year-old was set to make his major league debut Tuesday night against the Guardians in left field, leaving Jon Singleton to fill in for Abreu at first base. Singleton entered Tuesday hitting .238 with 10 hits and no RBIs.

Abreu was the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year and is a three-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger award winner. He in his 11th big league season.

“He got to the point where he was frustrated,” Brown said. “It’s rare to do it. But I think it tells us about his dedication and commitment and I don’t think he sees this as a long term and I don’t think we see it as a long term thing. I think it’s more like… let’s go down, let’s make some adjustments. Let’s get the rhythm and timing back. And I think in his eyes, he’s looking at it as I’ll be back in a couple of weeks or whatever it takes to get better.”

Abreu hit .237 with 18 home runs and 90 RBIs last season in his first year in Houston after nine seasons with the White Sox. He had four homers and 13 RBIs in 11 postseason games.

“The bat speed is still pretty good,” Brown said. “So, we’ve got to get his timing right and we’ve got to get his rhythm right, so that he can consistently do it. And so I still feel very optimistic about it.”

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