The Pallilog
Charlie Pallilo: At least some big names should be on the field for Texans this weekend
Aug 24, 2018, 6:53 am
J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney should see time. Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The third NFL preseason game is typically the least unwatchable of the four. The Texans-Rams game would fill that prescription provided J.J. Watt plays at least a few snaps. There are wackier predictions out there then one suggesting the Texans and Rams could meet in late August, then again in early February in Atlanta. It might take a meeting in Super Bowl LIII for the two quarterbacks taken first overall in the 2016 and 2017 drafts to share the field. The Rams Jared Goff was a bust of a rookie, then with much better coaching and talent around him a breakout star last year. The Texans have less star level talent, so their highest of hopes ride overwhelmingly on Deshaun Watson being healthy and fantastic.
Other than arguably the Jaguars, the Rams were the biggest team story in the NFL last season. After 13 consecutive years without a winning season, the Rams exploded into the highest scoring team in the NFL en route to an 11-5 finish.
Over their 82 seasons as a franchise from Cleveland to California to St. Louis and back to California, the Rams have won 555 games and lost 559. So if they match last season’s 11 wins they’ll climb back over .500 for their history. The only time the Texans’ franchise record has been over .500 was after their inaugural win over the Cowboys in 2002. The quickest the Texans can again get over .500 for their history is by going 16-0 this season, 16-0 next season, and then winning their first four games in 2020. Yeah, it’ll take a while longer.
Ringing it in again
When the Astros scheduled their fourth replica ring giveaway night for this coming Monday, it was not a coincidence that the pick was a Monday night game with the school year underway all across Houston. A game that would otherwise have had thousands of unsold tickets quickly became a sellout. It’s an absolute win-win; the Astros reap some nice additional profits and more fans get the coolest of ballpark giveaways.
Monday darn sure wasn’t picked with the idea that it would be the opener of a huge series with the Oakland A’s who are strongly challenging the Astros for the American League West title. But here we are. It’s late August not late September, but Monday’s game should have the most playoff feel to it of any at Minute Maid Park until the playoffs.
Growing pains
The Astros hoped for help Thursday night from St. Pius High School graduate Kohl Stewart who made a start on the mound against the A’s. Stewart didn’t get the win but his Twins did. In 2013 Minnesota drafted Stewart fourth overall. He had the option of going to play baseball and quarterback at Texas A&M. Aggieland was enticing, but a signing bonus from the Twins of more than four and a half million dollars was more enticing. Stewart was not having a good season in the minors, giving up well over a hit per inning with a 4.47 earned run average split between AA and AAA. Since the Twins’ season is down the drain, they called him up two weeks ago. Three starts in Stewart’s ERA is 6.94.
No shot of watching this
I’m not sure what if any television I’ll be watching come Nov. 23, which this year is the day after Thanksgiving. Could have the Big 12 regular season title on the line that night as Oklahoma plays at West Virginia. The Rockets will be playing at Detroit. I know what I will NOT be watching. Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson in their sure to be overhyped heads up match in Las Vegas. Billed as nine million dollars, winner takes all. In the spirit of Las Vegas, the best bet is it’s not really winner takes all. Sponsorship money, appearance fees, and other revenue streams. Former supermodel Linda Evangelista once said she wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning for less than 10-grand per day. You think Tiger or Phil would let a bunch of others profit while one of them gets zero? If so, can I interest you in some Las Vegas oceanfront property?
Nine million bucks is a notable chunk even to guys each worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but the selling of this as some golf ballsy stress test? Neither Tiger nor Phil is risking a penny. Worst of all, Woods-Mickelson will air on pay-per-view. Come on! And no thanks.
Buzzer Beaters
1. Urban Meyer sure seems the opposite of an honorable man. But hey, great football coach! 2. Big time college sports has cheating galore, but I’d still be surprised if Jimbo Fisher and his new A&M staff were brazen and stupid enough to have done what ex-Ag Santino Marchiol alleges. 3. Best ever palindromically surnamed NFL players: Bronze-Doug Harrah Silver-Jim Otto Gold-John Hannah (all o-linemen!)
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The easiest way to win in the American League next to an opponent forfeiting the game is getting to play the Chicago White Sox. The Astros are in the “Windy City” this weekend for three games against the woebegone White Sox, most notably featuring Lance McCullers hoping to make some sweet mound music as he pitches in a game that counts for the first time since 2022. In 1979 the White Sox actually didforfeit a game, thanks to Disco Demolition Night. In a marketing idea gone very wrong, the White Sox blew up a big bin of disco records on the field in between games of the scheduled doubleheader. After the explosion, thousands of fans stormed the field, ripping up grass, lighting fires, with several fights inevitably breaking out. The lunacy left the field unplayable, the Detroit Tigers got a free win. The Astros will have to actually play the Chisox to get wins. Sweeping the three isn’t mandatory, but only taking two out of three would actually seem mildly disappointing.
Speaking of disappointing, Yordan Alvarez has to be hoping the calendar turn to May gives him a figurative fresh start. Counting the three games of March with April, Yordan just finished the second-worst calendar month of his career. His anemic .670 OPS through 30 games tops only his August of 2022 (.638). Last season Alvarez never had a month with an OPS lower than .776. In 2023 in what could fairly be described as awesome, Yordan’s OPS was at least .900 every month of the season. Last year, May was his worst month with the .776 OPS. The big man then went off the rest of the way with a .331 batting average and 1.069 OPS.
It’s still fits and starts for Christian Walker, with the downside still winning overall. An almost everyday cleanup hitter still hasn’t reached double digit runs batted in 30 games into the season (Walker has 9). Batting .143 with runners in scoring position tells that tale. It was Walker’s crush job of a home run Monday that jumpstarted an Astros’ comeback win over the Tigers. He followed with a two-hit game Tuesday. Then Wednesday it was five hitless at bats and not once getting the ball out of the infield. Walker enters the weekend batting .196 with a .632 OPS. Jose Abreu’s miserable tenure with the Astros ended with a .217 average and .625 OPS. Too many Walker at bats continue to have him fall in a hole that he will rarely climb out of successfully. He has a whopping 36 plate appearances that have seen the count go to oh and two. That’s 33 percent more than any other Astro (Jeremy Pena has 27). In his at bats that have gotten to the 0-2 count, Walker is three for 32. To be fair, no one makes a good living hitting after the count gets to 0-2. Entering play Thursday the Major League Baseball average in such at bats was .163. Walker is at .094. The great Tony Gwynn posted a .338 career average. In his 706 plate appearances that saw the count get to 0-2, Gwynn hit .268. Jose Altuve is .249 career after facing an 0-2 count.
It’s been an outstanding start for Jeremy Pena in his move to the leadoff spot with Altuve dropping to the two slot. Pena successfully reached base eight times in the three games of the Detroit series. His season on-base percentage is up to .355. If sustainable that would be a substantial improvement over Pena’s weak career .307 OBP mark coming into this season. Pena is faster and a clearly better base runner than Altuve. If the OBP stays up, Pena should have a new long-term home in the batting order.
Garner’s grit endures
In closing, a paragraph in salute to Phil Garner, and also to the Astros for inviting him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday, on his 76th birthday. Obviously the magnificence of the past eight seasons trumps all before them in Astros’ history, but it should always be remembered that Garner skippered the Astros to their first ever pennant in 2005. Having gotten to know Phil a little bit through regular radio conversations in his time managing the Astros, a tip of the cap to one of the most engaging people I have met in sports, and a guy who is pretty much unsurpassed as a storyteller. If you missed it, this week brought public disclosure that “Scrap Iron” has been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year now. It’s a tough battle, but everyone who has ever known Phil is aware there was zero chance that he would back down from the battle. It was great seeing him Wednesday in great spirits. In 2029 the Pittsburgh Pirates will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their World Series winning team that was known for “We Are Family,” the Sister Sledge hit song of that time. Amusingly if not ironically, the hit that became Pittsburgh’s theme song came from a group that hailed from Philadelphia. Anyway, in the ‘79 postseason Garner batted a cool .472, .500 in the World Series on 12 for 24 as the Pirates rallied from down three games to one to beat the Baltimore Orioles.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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