COUNTDOWN TO FOOTBALL
Del Olaleye: The week's events in college football
Del Olaleye
Jun 20, 2018, 5:13 am
Kyler Murray will be a one and done at OU. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Kyler Murray update
Oklahoma’s Murray previously told the world that he would continue to play football for the Sooners despite being a top 10 pick in the MLB Draft. His future franchise has now chimed in and we know the particulars of Murray’s future. The Oakland A’s and Murray have to come an agreement that they will make official on Friday. Under terms of the agreement Murray will play one year of QB at Oklahoma before turning his attention to play baseball professionally full-time. Murray would have one year of eligibility remaining after the 2018 season but it appears the Sooners will have their third starting QB in three seasons when the 2019 season begins.
A recruit finesses the game
Anthony Gordon is my favorite recruit of the current cycle. Much respect. You don’t know who he is and I didn’t know who he was before this week. Hell, only some truly devoted University of Virginia fans might have known who he was until he made a statement on twitter this week. Gordon is a senior to be out of Philadelphia that took to twitter to announce his commitment to the Virginia Cavaliers. The problem? He didn’t have a scholarship offer from UVA. They hadn’t talked to him for months. He didn’t call any coach on the staff to confirm his standing with the team either.
I can see Gordon working here. He’s a lightly recruited guy with at this point one scholarship offer. If he believes he’s more talented than the attention he’s getting would imply, do something to garner that attention. Tell the world who you are. Maybe get that junior film in front of some new eyes. He’s got a full season of games to show that he is deserving of an ACC offer. I have my doubts that offer comes from Virginia though.
Mike Gundy takes to twitter after his boss questions his recruiting methods
Mike Gundy has always had this unsettled relationship with his alma mater. From the outside looking in it doesn’t make much sense. He played QB for Oklahoma State. He was promoted to head coach after Les Miles took the LSU job in 2004 and under Gundy the Cowboys have had unprecedented success. Six double-digit win seasons in Gundy’s 13 seasons at the helm and a Big 12 title in 2011. That hasn’t stopped Gundy and Oklahoma State’s biggest booster T. Boone Pickens from having issues and making them public as well. Gundy’s latest back and forth with a member of the Oklahoma State executive branch involves Athletic Director Mike Holder.
Holder after complimenting Gundy while doing a popular OSU podcast went on to question Gundy’s recruiting. He thinks Gundy and his staff settle and that puts a ceiling on what they can achieve on the field. Oklahoma State has never been a recruiting power but being the second school in the state and watching Oklahoma make two College Football Playoffs in three seasons might have people a little testy. Gundy responded the only way you can in this era. He used twitter to send a message. Whether it was quizzical emojis or pictures of the Cowboys staff in front of a private plane on a recruiting trip, Gundy let it be known that he heard what Athletic Director Holder said. Gundy hasn’t beaten Oklahoma since 2014 and the ongoing losing streak to his in-state rival has prevented the Cowboys from winning a couple of Big 12 titles. Everyone in Stillwater feels a lot better when they beat the Sooners. Coach might want to get on that.
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After finishing up with the Guardians the Astros have a rather important series for early May with the Seattle Mariners heading to town for the weekend. While it’s still too early to be an absolute must-win series for the Astros, losing the series to drop seven or eight games off the division lead would make successfully defending their American League West title that much more unlikely.
Since their own stumble out of the gate to a 6-10 record the Mariners have been racking up series wins, including one this week over the Atlanta Braves. The M’s offense is largely Mmm Mmm Bad, but their pitching is sensational. In 18 games after the 6-10 start, the Mariners gave up five runs in a game once. In the other 17 games they only gave up four runs once. Over the 18 games their starting pitchers gave up 18 earned runs total with a 1.44 earned run average. That’s absurd. Coming into the season Seattle’s starting rotation was clearly better on paper than those of the Astros and Texas Rangers, and it has crystal clearly played out as such into the second month of the schedule.
While it’s natural to focus on and fret over one’s own team's woes when they are plentiful as they have been for the Astros, a reminder that not all grass is greener elsewhere. Alex Bregman has been awful so far. So has young Mariners’ superstar Julio Rodriguez. A meager four extra base hits over his first 30 games were all Julio produced down at the ballyard. That the Mariners are well ahead of the Astros with J-Rod significantly underperforming is good news for Seattle.
Caratini comes through!
So it turns out the Astros are allowed to have a Puerto Rican-born catcher who can hit a little bit. Victor Caratini’s pedigree is not that of a quality offensive player, but he has swung the bat well thus far in his limited playing time and provided the most exciting moment of the Astros’ season with his two-out two-run 10th inning game winning home run Tuesday night. I grant that one could certainly say “Hey! Ronel Blanco finishing off his no-hitter has been the most exciting moment.” I opt for the suddenness of Caratini’s blow turning near defeat into instant victory for a team that has been lousy overall to this point. Frittering away a game the Astros had led 8-3 would have been another blow. Instead, to the Victor belong the spoils.
Pudge Rodriguez is the greatest native Puerto Rican catcher, but he was no longer a good hitter when with the Astros for the majority of the 2009 season. Then there’s Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado’s hitting stats with the Astros look Mike Piazza-ian compared to what Jose Abreu was doing this season. Finally, mercifully for all, Abreu is off the roster as he accepts a stint at rookie-level ball in Florida to see if he can perform baseball-CPR on his swing and career. Until or unless he proves otherwise, Abreu is washed up and at some point the Astros will have to accept it and swallow whatever is left on his contract that runs through next season. For now Abreu makes over $120,000 per game to not be on the roster. At his level of performance, that’s a better deal than paying him that money to be on the roster.
Abreu’s seven hits in 71 at bats for an .099 batting average with a .269 OPS is a humiliating stat line. In 2018 George Springer went to sleep the night of June 13 batting .293 after going hitless in his last four at bats in a 13-5 Astros’ win over Oakland. At the time no one could have ever envisioned that Springer had started a deep, deep funk which would have him endure a nightmarish six for 78 stretch at the plate (.077 batting average). Springer then hit .293 the rest of the season.
Abreu’s exile opened the door for Joey Loperfido to begin his Major League career. Very cool for Loperfido to smack a two-run single in his first game. He also struck out twice. Loperfido will amass whiffs by the bushel, he had 37 strikeouts in 101 at bats at AAA Sugar Land. Still, if he can hit .225 with some walks mixed in (he drew 16 with the Space Cowboys) and deliver some of his obvious power (13 homers in 25 games for the ex-Skeeters) that’s an upgrade over Abreu/Jon Singleton, as well as over Jake Meyers and the awful showing Chas McCormick has posted so far. Frankly, it seems unwise that the Astros only had Loperfido play seven games at first base in the minors this year. If McCormick doesn’t pick it up soon and with Meyers displaying limited offensive upside, the next guy worth a call-up is outfielder Pedro Leon. In January 2021 the Astros gave Leon four million dollars to sign out of Cuba and called him a “rapid mover to the Major Leagues.” Well…
Over his first three minor league seasons Leon flashed tools but definitely underwhelmed. He has been substantially better so far this year. He turns 26 May 28. Just maybe the Astros offense could be the cause of fewer Ls with Loperfido at first and Leon in center field.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.