MAJOR CHANGES COMING
Here's why today will be the battle for Houston sports fans' souls
Nov 3, 2020, 2:08 pm
Winds of change? Photo by Getty Images. Composite image by Brandon Strange
"These are the times that try men's souls."
Thomas Paine wrote those words in the winter of 1776 to spur on Continental Army patriots fighting for freedom against the British during the Revolutionary War.
Update: today is a day that tries Houston sports fans' souls.
George Springer, the possibly soon-to-be former Houston Astro is rated that No. 1 free agent on the market. Who wouldn't want a slugging centerfielder, a fan favorite, repeat All-Star and solid fielder who seems to get better each year and is still only 31? Springer reportedly doesn't want to return to the Astros. If so, there are plenty of teams willing and ready to cut Springer a nine-figure, long-term deal, even in this COVID penny-pinching season. George Chelston Springer III, even his name reeks of New England, grew up a Red Sox fan in Connecticut. If you close your eyes, you can see a Springer dinger sailing over the Green Monster. The Mets have a new owner, a bulging bank account and a spot in the outfield. Also in the running: the Phillies, Braves and Yankees. And don't think that new Tigers manager A.J. Hinch wouldn't love to stick it to his former employer and lure Springer to Detroit.
Meanwhile, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick are free agents, too. While Brantley might be convinced to stay in Houston, Reddick's a goner, and the Astros conceivably could lose their entire outfield. Not good.
Will the Texans make a deal at the deadline?
Today is the NFL's trade deadline, and while word from Kirby says no trades are likely, how would the Texans respond if a team offers a second-round pick for local hero J.J. Watt? Or a third-rounder for Whitney Mercilus? Or anything for anybody on the Texans' roster. The Texans are DOA and the cupboard, at least the top shelf, is bare for draft picks next year.
Losing Watt would be a heartbreaker for Texans' fans. He isn't just on the Mount Rushmore of beloved Houston athletes … Watt sits on top of the mountain. Houston fans might understand trading Watt to a Super Bowl contender, just so he has a chance for a ring. But that would be a distant second to watching Watt hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in a Texans' uniform. There's a lot of tread on Watt's tires, but he's still only 31. One can hope.
Rockets rumor mill
The Houston Rockets, nothing new, are in a state of flux. The Rockets have a new coach, first-time Stephen Silas, a new general manager, first-timer Rafael Stone, and new executive vice-president of basketball operations, first-timer Eli Witus. Owner Tilman Fertitta now has his guys in place. Let's just say that Fertitta is hands-on.
A few years ago, I sat in the lobby of a Hilton Garden Inn in Tyler and had an interesting conversation with Fertitta. His son Blake was playing for Post Oak in a Little League tournament. I was in the West U rooting section for a different division tourney.
Post Oak played Pearland and Fertitta told me about a home run his son Blake hit that morning. It was a towering shot that soared over the fence and crashed the back window of the Pearland coach's car. The ball wound up in the car's cup holder. That's what you call adding insult to injury. "I've never seen anything like it," Tilman said.
Fertitta was an intense Little League dad. He rattled off the boys' statistics, knew everything about the other teams and generally was on top of every detail. He hasn't changed, just bigger toys to play with now.
There are rumors that the Rockets are shopping Russell Westbrook and every other player not named James Harden. And there are whispers about Harden, too.
Oh, and if all that weren't enough pins and needles for you, there's a little election happening today. Good luck making it to tomorrow.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.