THE PALLILOG

Identifying possible reasons Astros deal with Justin Verlander remains unsigned

Astros Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander still hasn't signed his contract. Composite image by Jack Brame.
correa-jv

A long, cold baseball winter is upon us with the owners imposing a lockout which seems to have zero chance of ending before February at the earliest. No more free agent signings until a deal is struck, with Carlos Correa still unemployed after not getting any 10 year 350 million dollar offers. The Correa market should still be robust enough when negotiations can resume as to make it a long shot that the Astros wind up keeping him. It would be something if he winds up a Yankee. Or a Dodger.

Curious item first noted by MLB reporter Jon Heyman: Justin Verlander has to yet to sign the agreed upon two year 50 million dollar deal. There are multiple plausible simple and harmless possible explanations for that. But what if Verlander thinks he could command even more after seeing the the Mets give Max Scherzer three years 130 million? What if Verlander’s required physical raises a question mark that gives the Astros pause? As a pure hypothetical, if Verlander’s physical shows fine but the Astros could pivot and take that money to sufficiently sweeten a Correa offer that Carlos signs for say, seven years 250 mil…who do you sign?

Speaking of physicals, interesting note from ESPN’s Buster Olney that Correa has been reluctant to show teams his medical records until they make whopping offers. If accurate that makes little sense, and raises the question what’s in those records, particularly about Correa’s back which while holding up fine the last three years, caused him to miss a chunk of time and play very pedestrian ball in 2018. A la the Mets ridiculous 10 year 341 million dollar deal with Francisco Lindor last winter, that the Rangers were desperate and financially flexible enough to give Corey Seager 10 years 325 million does not make it incumbent upon some team to match or exceed that for Correa.

College coaches on the move

What a week on the college football coaching front with Lincoln Riley bolting Oklahoma for USC hours after failing to win the Big 12 for the first time in his five seasons with the Sooners, then Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame in the rearview mirror for the LSU job while the Fighting Irish are still alive to make the College Football Playoff. When filthy rich, living somewhere in L.A. seems a bit more desirable than Norman, especially with the Trojans in the much more easily negotiable Pac-12 as opposed to the Sooners once they move with Texas to the SEC. Riley’s denial of the SEC factor rings hollow. The Sooners very easily can become very average once in the SEC. The OU job fundamentals are not better than those at Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Texas, or Texas A&M. See Nebraska in the Big 10, though one wouldn’t think the Sooners plunge to Cornhusker depth of despair.

Can UH take down Cincinnati Saturday? Of course. Will it? Probably not. The Coogs have beaten largely nobody this season, though winning 11 straight is impressive regardless. 12-0 Cincinnati has been clearly more impressive. While UC gets to play at home, weather won’t be a factor. Temperature will be in the mid-50s at kickoff.

Rockets are going streaking!

Props to the Rockets for winning four in a row after their humiliating 1-16 start. With the injury ravaged and lousy Orlando Magic at Toyota Center Friday night and still Zion Williamson-less New Orleans next on Sunday, the Rocket roll could reach six. But to be real, it’s not like they’re turning the corner toward becoming a good team. It’s not as if they’re approaching the corner. Three of their five wins are over sorry Oklahoma City which is on the ground floor of a rebuild like the Rockets. It may seem counterintuitive but it’s not a coincidence that the Rockets winning some games coincides with the absence of the single most important player on their roster going forward. Rookie Jalen Green being out with an injured hamstring has made the Rockets better in the short term. Of course the Rockets’ short term success is largely irrelevant, so as soon as Green is healthy he should resume getting big minutes to hopefully accelerate his development.

Buzzer Beaters:

1. So if Georgia beats Alabama AND Iowa beats Michigan AND Houston takes down Cincinnati AND Baylor topples Oklahoma State, any chance the Bears could vault all the way from number nine into the top four and the playoff? Doubtful. The three teams immediately ahead of the Sic Ems are non-conference champions who don’t play this week (Notre Dame, Ohio St., Ole Miss). Here’s to that level of chaos putting the selection committee on the spot.

2. In the last decade is there a bigger jerk athlete on as many fronts as Antonio Brown?

3. Best Christmas season food or drink treats most people have never heard of: Bronze-wassail Silver-stollen Gold-pfeffernusse

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Will the Texans get back on track against the Colts? Composite Getty Image.

This week, the Houston Texans take on the Colts in a matchup with division supremacy on the line. If the Texans are able to come away with a victory, they will own the tiebreaker over Indy and enjoy a comfortable lead in the division.

However, a loss to the Colts means the Texans will be in a virtual tie with Indy in the AFC South. So what do the Texans need to do to secure a win?

On offense, they'll have to do a much better job of protecting CJ Stroud. In their last game against the Packers, Stroud faced immense pressure on third downs, with 12 of his 14 dropbacks resulting in pressure.

During one series, Stroud was flushed from the pocket and forced to scramble on three straight plays. They have to clean up the protection, or it will be another long day for the offense.

Fortunately for the Texans, this game is at home. So hopefully the communication issues the Texans o-line dealt with on the road last week won't be an issue at NRG.

Rushing attack

Houston can't afford to rely solely on Joe Mixon and the run game to carry the offense. While Mixon has been terrific, contributing significantly in recent weeks, the Texans will need a balanced attack. Which means Stroud must have time to operate in the pocket.

Bulls on parade

The defense last week was another story for the Texans. They played well against Green Bay, limiting them to 24 points. This week, they face a very different type of quarterback. Anthony Richardson is dead last in passer rating and completion percentage, so that's definitely working in their favor.

We know what Richardson can do with his legs, and Indy is expecting running back Jonathan Taylor to return from an ankle injury, so the rushing defense will be tested.

Richardson's accuracy is certainly a weakness, but he does throw a good deep ball that gave the defense problems in Week 1 this season.

What does Vegas think?

The Texans are favored by 5 points and the total is set at 45.5 points.

This is one video you don't want to miss as we share our in-depth breakdown of the game, as well as our predictions for Sunday's contest.

For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube

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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.

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