Photo by Getty Images. Composite image by Jack Brame.
We're into month number three of a mostly sports-less world. Breaking news: it's not fun.
To fill some space this week ESPN.com released its ranking of the 74 greatest players in NBA history. The currently suspended season is the NBA's 74th. Unless you simply don't like the NBA, it's a fun list to discuss and debate. The ground rules for such rankings are never clear. Whose career would you rather have had: A. 10 times first team All-NBA, eight times first team All-Defensive team, two MVP Awards, or B. Five times first team All-NBA, five times first team All-Defense, one MVP Award? Easy call right? Hence, it's a Houston homer-ism issue to rail at Tim Duncan coming in ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon. Duncan placed eighth, Olajuwon twelfth. At his best Dream was greater than Duncan at his best, but for accomplishment and the longer span of greatness Duncan is the ranking guy. At their best Halle Berry or Salma Hayek? You can't go wrong. Ditto Timmy and Dream. Shaquille O'Neal split the difference between them in landing at number 10.
Couple of other notes and thoughts on the ESPN rankings. James Harden was slotted at number 32, Russell Westbrook at 42, Tracy McGrady at 52, Clyde Drexler at 57. All four of those guys are/were greater than Allen Iverson who is too high at 29. Iverson was tough as nails, played with ferocity, and it is spectacularly impressive that at six feet 165 pounds he led the NBA in minutes played per game seven times. Iverson averaged more than 25 points per game for 10 consecutive seasons. By my tally only six other guys in NBA history have done that. Shaq also 10 seasons in a row. Jerry West, Karl Malone, Kevin Durant, and Michael Jordan did 11 (asterisk on MJ, one of his 11 was his comeback season in which he played only 17 games). Counting the currently suspended season LeBron James is at 16 (16!). Awesome company for AI, but he was also a low percentage shooting inveterate gunner who was sometimes referred to as "Me, Myself, and Iverson" with some justification.
MLB
As the only non-salary cap league of our major professional sports, Major League Baseball needs its owners and players to negotiate stickier financial terms if there is to be roughly a half regular season plus postseason. On the macro level shame on the billionaires and millionaires if they can't arrive at a compromise. On the micro level there are legitimate bones of contention, though the 36 million Americans who have lost jobs over the past two months (and plenty still with jobs) have zero sympathy for the owners or players. Early on in the shutdown, the players agreed to take 170 million dollars which was theirs to keep if no season wound up being played at all. Beyond that the players agreed to basically a pro rata season salary tied to what percentage of the season was played. The players' position is that's the deal. The owners now say, hey, that was before we knew no fans at games would be real, and as a result all ballpark game day revenue would be lost. The owners say park-related revenue accounts for about 40 percent of the overall take.
The players' union leadership says the owners' offer of a 50-50 revenue split for 2020 and 2020 only is still a non-starter. When owner profits are through the roof the players don't get additional cuts. So why should the players give back additional money in time of losses? Answer: because in a "bad deal" the players would still divide a couple of billion dollars (give or take). With no season the players get nothing beyond the 170 million already received.
GET A DAMN DEAL DONE!
Respect for former Astros
Sad news with the passing of Bob Watson at 74 years old. On the field he's perhaps the most underrated player in Astros' history. Off the field, a class act and the first black General Manager of a World Series Champion (1996 Yankees). As one frame of reference for the "Bull" as a player, he had a seven-year stretch with the Astros that was clearly better than Michael Brantley was last season. Brantley was outstanding last season. Watson's power numbers were dragged down by home games in the Astrodome.
Meanwhile, send good thoughts the way of former Astros' player and manager Art Howe. He's 73 years old and hospitalized fighting coronavirus. Howe was the first Astros' manager I covered way back when. What an absolute gentleman. His 23 game hitting streak in 1981 stood for 19 years as the Astros' franchise record. Three Astros since have topped 23. Name them? Answer below.
NASCAR is back
NASCAR returns this weekend. Outstanding for NASCAR fans, but the idea that we're all so starved for live competition that millions will suddenly become auto racing enthusiasts and hence NASCAR audiences will skyrocket? Come on. Similarly, the PGA returning next month is great for golf fans, but isn't going to create scads of new golf fans. The day-to-day heartbeat of sports is local teams that generate common passion and breadth of interest.
Buzzer Beaters: 1. Worst joke I heard this week (by far): what is Forrest Gump's login password? 1-Forrest-1. 2. My series catch up viewing this week has been HBO's Succession. Not family night viewing, but really good. 3. Astros' longest hitting streaks: Bronze-Tony Eusebio 24 Silver-Jeff Kent 25 Gold-Willy Taveras 30
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How Astros enter exciting stretch with familiar names in unfamiliar spots
May 15, 2025, 5:52 pm
The Houston Astros took a step in the right direction this week, securing a hard-fought series win over the Kansas City Royals with a strong combination of pitching and timely hitting. While the offense still isn’t firing on all cylinders, recent signs suggest the bats may finally be waking up—albeit slower than hoped.
Over the past seven days, Houston ranks 6th in OPS, 7th in slugging, and 10th in runs scored across MLB—a noticeable jump from their underwhelming season-long ranks of 13th, 18th, and 19th in those categories, respectively. But perhaps the biggest concern remains their lack of home run power. The Astros are just 23rd in home runs over the past week and 24th on the season. That’s a major problem for a team that has historically relied on slugging to fuel its October pushes.
Only two Astros hitters currently boast an OPS over .800: Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes. Peña’s breakout season has been one of the few bright spots for Houston’s offensive staff, while Paredes continues to deliver consistent production that aligns with his career norms. But beyond those two, it’s been a struggle.
Christian Walker has emerged as the biggest red flag in the lineup. After a hitless series with 7 strikeouts against Kansas City’s tough rotation, Walker’s strikeout total climbed to fifth-most in the American League with 50. His offensive regression now spans over a quarter of the season, drawing troubling comparisons to José Abreu’s disastrous 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
And he’s not alone. José Altuve, a longtime engine for Houston’s offense, is in a prolonged slump of his own—slashing just .220/.268/.297 over his last 30 games. Combined with Walker’s woes, the middle of the order has become a black hole that may soon force a change.
With 10 of their next 13 games coming against division rivals, the Astros must decide quickly whether it’s time for a lineup shakeup. Dropping Walker in the order feels increasingly necessary. And unless Altuve finds his rhythm, manager Joe Espada may need to explore new options in the two-spot to spark the offense.
The potential return of Yordan Alvarez could help remedy the power problem. When healthy, Alvarez is one of baseball’s premier sluggers and could be the missing piece that lifts Houston’s home run totals and extra-base hit production.
But even with Alvarez’s return looming, broader questions about the team’s hitting development persist—especially when contrasted with the pitching staff’s continued excellence. Houston's pitching coaches have consistently gotten the most out of arms, while the hitting side has seen a pattern of stagnation.
A recent reminder of that contrast comes from an unexpected source: Alex Bregman. Now thriving with the Boston Red Sox, Bregman is putting up MVP-caliber numbers after working with Boston’s hitting coaches on timing and mechanical tweaks. He credits their staff with helping him get back to his 2019 form—raising eyebrows in Houston. It’s hard not to wonder why those same adjustments never materialized under the Astros' watch.
To be fair, Jeremy Peña’s breakout could be considered a win for the current hitting coaches, but even that comes with caveats. Meanwhile, Isaac Paredes’ production isn’t a surprise—he’s done this before. And for every Peña, there are several Walkers or Abreus who join the Astros and regress at the plate.
As the Astros look to gain more ground in the AL West race, their pitching remains a strength and their offense is showing signs of life. But if the bats can’t fully turn the corner—and if the team’s approach to hitting development doesn’t evolve—the gap between Houston and the elite teams in the league may continue to grow.
We have so much more to discuss. 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!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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