THE WAITING GAME

Weighing critical context, uncomfortable truths driving Alex Bregman dilemma

Astros Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez
Alex Bregman and the Astros are running out of time. Composite Getty Image.

There’s a sign outside of McDonald’s that keeps track of the millions and millions of hamburgers they’ve sold.

There could be a sign outside Minute Maid Park that keeps track of the millions and millions of dollars Alex Bregman is losing by having the worst season of his career in his contract year.

Maybe instead of appearing in H-E-B commercials he could sign an endorsement deal with Rice Krispies and be part of Snap, Crackle and Pop Out.

Tuesday night, Bregman went 0-4 against the Yankees and his batting average dropped below .200 into Martin Maldonado territory.

Bregman entered this season claiming to be in the best shape of his life and promising big things for 2024.

“My body feels in incredible shape,” Bregman said at the start of spring training. “Swing feels better than ever. And looking forward to a great, healthy season. And I expect to have the best season I’ve ever had.”

And remember when Astros general manager Dana Brown assured fans, don’t worry, we’re going to offer Bregman a contract to stay with the Astros?

“Look, we love Alex, we’d love to have him here. As far as a timeline, we just don’t have it, but we will at some point make him an offer. We know how good he is and how good he’s been for this franchise. It would be tough to look out at third base and not see that elite defense. And so at some point we’ll circle back and have those conversations,” Brown said.

Godot will show up before the Astros put a contract on the table for Bregman. (For those who didn’t read Waiting for Godot in English Lit 101 … Godot never appears in the book.)

With the season nearly a quarter over, Bregman is batting .195. He’s been hitting at the top of the order the entire year, either in the No. 2 spot or cleanup. His power outage would make the Texas grid system look good: 6 runs, 11 RBI and one home run.

Stop saying “Bregman always has a slow start.” Start ended a couple of weeks ago. And stop saying “He will snap out of it.” In his last 10 games, Bregman’s average has dwindled from .216 to .195.

Bregman’s hitting woes actually are part of a five-year trend. In 2019 he had his best season, hitting .296 and smacking 41 home runs.

Since then:

2020: .242 and 6 home runs (Covid season).

2021: .270 and 12 home runs.

2022: .259 and 23 home runs.

2023: .262 and 25 home runs.

If Bregman’s struggles continue, this will be his fifth below-average season in a row. Back in spring training, there was talk of him getting a super long-term deal worth $200 million-plus when he hits free agency at the end of this season.

Chances of that happening: none. As things stand now, Bregman has a better chance of becoming Jerry Seinfeld’s latex salesman.

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Nuggets defeat the Rockets, 116-111. Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.

Jamal Murray had 39 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points and nine rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat Houston 116-111 on Sunday night to snap the Rockets' nine-game win streak.

Murray, who scored 17 in the first half, had 17 in the third quarter as Denver outscored the Rockets 39-22 in the quarter to take a 96-79 lead.

Russell Westbrook had 14 points off the bench, Aaron Gordon scored 13 points with eight assists and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets, which shot 51% and were 10 of 21 on 3-pointers.

Jalen Green scored 30 points, and Dillon Brooks added 21 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun had 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Steven Adams finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, which shot 44% and were 11 of 34 from behind the arc.

Trailing 109-100 with 1 ½ minutes left, Houston used a 7-1 run to cut the lead to three on a Sengun layup with 21 seconds left, but Christian Braun made two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to push the lead back to five.

Takeaways

Nuggets: Nikola Jokic missed his fourth straight game with left ankle impingement, and Denver improved to 2-2 with him out of the lineup.

Rockets: Houston remains in second place in the Western Conference with 10 games left, but the Nuggets closed to within a game of Houston.

Key moment

Sengun made one of two free throws with 14 seconds remaining, and Murray made two free throws two seconds later to push the lead to 114-108.

Key stat

Houston finished 22 of 34 from the free throw line, while Denver made 18 of 26.

Up next

Denver hosts the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, while Houston hosts the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.

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