DONE DEAL

Houston exhales: Astros make easiest offseason move yet

Houston exhales: Astros make easiest offseason move yet
They're back! Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Altuve's late homer helps lift Astros over Yankees in finale

In a move that brought a collective sigh of relief among Astros fans, the World Series champs announced they are bringing back their entire broadcasting team for the 2023 season.

On the TV side, Todd Kalas will return for play-by-play on AT&T SportsNet, along with color analyst Geoff Blum and, according to the team's press release, "sideline reporter" Julia Morales. We’ll discuss that baseball doesn’t have sidelines later. Blum and Morales will be entering their 11th season with the Astros, Kalas his seventh.

“Thrilled and honored to be back for another season of Astros baseball with my good friends Blummer and Julia along with the rest of our incredible Astros fan base. Crazy to think about how much success this team has had during our previous six years together, and looking forward to calling many more special moments in the future,” said Kalas.

Robert Ford and Steve Sparks will enter their 11th season calling games for the Astros Radio Network. During their time with the Astros, Ford and Sparks have broadcast six American League Championship Series and four World Series, 86 postseason games in all.

Of course Kalas, Blum and Morales don’t get to call postseason games because the national networks pay big bucks to inflict their announcers on Astros fans. It’s a great injustice.

Spanish language announcers Francisco Romero and Alex Trevino are entering their 16th season together on Univision, one of the longest-running radio duos in the big leagues.

“We are incredibly fortunate that our broadcast teams love this city and love our fans and that comes across. They’re genuine and authentic people. They don’t just broadcast our games, they are an important part of the Astros,” said Anita Sehgal, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications for the Astros.

They’re an important part of Astros fans’ lives, too. I watch or listen to a hundred Astros games every year and I never get tired of our broadcasters. That’s the thing about the Astros. From early spring to later and later each fall, when there’s nothing else on, there’s usually an Astros game. All told, the Astros play more than half the days of the year. Add ‘em up.

"What’s fun about watching TK, Blummer and Julia is they’re almost like a little family unto themselves. Geoff is like a big kid. TK has a good sense of humor, too, but he’s just an old soul. They complement each other very well. Julia, too. They’re good friends. They care about each other. Their banter is very natural. So you’re entertained when you hang out with them,” Sehgal said.

Sehgal added that the Astros haven’t finalized a slate of guest announcers for 2023 but she anticipates that Jeff Bagwell will be making visits to the TV broadcast booth.

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The Texans have struggled to run the ball in recent weeks. Composite Getty Image.

One of the main areas of improvement for the Texans this season, has been the running game with the addition of Joe Mixon.

Mixon rushed for 100 yards or more in 5 of his first 6 games with the team. But unfortunately for Houston, Mixon hasn't been nearly as effective recently.

When looking at his recent numbers, Mixon has failed to rush for more than 46 yards in 3 of his last 5 games. Posting only 26 rushing yards against Miami on Sunday.

With this in mind, is the state of Houston's run game a major concern, especially when the playoffs begin?

Don't miss the video above as ESPN Houston's Joel Blank and special guest Barry Laminack share their thoughts.

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