How shortsightedness on Astros’ needs has rehashed familiar refrains, remedies

How shortsightedness on Astros’ needs has rehashed familiar refrains, remedies
Jeremy Peña has been a hot topic of conversation. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

The name on the lips of so many Astros fans of late has been Jeremy Peña. Sports (and the debates that are sparked from them) often unfairly position certain guys as lightening rods for dramatic storylines. Through no fault of his own, Peña finds himself filling the shoes of the greatest SS in team history and now leading off in the order in replacement of the team’s greatest second basemen ever. The latter or which sparked conversations on air:


How did Peña respond to that pressure? Here’s his first home run at home in MMP:

Besides that mammoth shot, he’s also putting up some impressive numbers already.


So while Houston fans understandably spent the winter arguing over whether the Astros would miss Correa, now find their concerns shifting to missing guys like Lance McCullers Jr and Jose Altuve.

McCullers is on the 60 Day IL. Altuve is on the 10 Day IL with a strained hamstring. The Houston sports gods giveth and taketh.

Interestingly, that infamous deal that didn’t get done, an extension for Correa, has overshadowed the deal that did: Justin Verlander’s extension. And THAT one is looking like classic Jim-Crane-doing-Jim-Crane-things: specifically, out-maneuvering the Yankees. The only difference between the Astros’ & Yankees’ offer to Verlander was the extra guaranteed year. How much do you think Brian Cashman would LOVE to have Justin Verlander’s dominance distracting New Yorkers from Gerrit Cole’s current spiral?

Meanwhile in Houston, Jim Crane’s feeling some heat of his own as fans continue to watch the team shed a considerable amount of payroll and team depth. He had some interesting quotes for Mark Berman you can hear here:

Say what you want. Jim Crane’s the best owner this city has ever seen. Admittedly, that’s not historically been a “super” high bar, but it is now. He’s also one of the best owners in MLB as evidenced by the 5 straight ALCS appearances and going to 3 of the last 5 World Series. Both the money he DID spend over the offseason (JV) and the money he didn’t (Correa) both look good in early returns.

But Houston’s cold offense and shaky bullpen in a small sample size have some fans speculating on what might have been if the Astros were more aggressive. Make no mistake, if you’re betting against Jim Crane, you’re betting against the trend. As the gambler’s saying goes: the trend is your friend.

Prosperity berths high expectations. Yes, the Astros are coming off winning the pennant again, but what have you done for me lately, Mr. Crane?

We just expect the Astros to flip a switch every year at the beginning of the season and turn on the winning machine. And for the most part, that’s exactly what they do. But not every season plays out the same, and even the best seasons have their struggles.

So yes, in this time of Astros uncertainty, in this stupidly young season, take heed of perspective.

If there’s one thing we can all be certain of, the fans will always be patient and level-headed.

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The Astros beat the Blue Jays, 7-0. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Hunter Brown struck out a season-high nine in seven innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0 on Monday night.

Brown (3-1) allowed two hits and walked one while extending his scoreless streak to 24 consecutive innings. Forrest Whitley finished the two-hitter.

It was Houston's second shutout of the season. Toronto was blanked for the second time this year.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run double, helping the Astros win for the third time in four games.

Brendan Rodgers had two hits and two RBIs, and Zach Dezenzo had two hits and scored twice.

Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman (2-2) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings.

Houston grabbed control with four runs in the fifth. Dezenzo doubled in Cam Smith and scored on Altuve's double off the scoreboard in left. Isaac Paredes added a run-scoring single.

The Blue Jays have been held scoreless in three of their last four games in Houston, including losses of 10-0 and 8-0 last April.

Key moment

Rodgers closed out the scoring with a two-run double in the eighth.

Key stat

Brown is 2-0 in his last three starts, striking out 16 in 19 innings while walking just three.

Up next

Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (2-0, 0.77 ERA) is slated to make his fifth start of the season on Tuesday against Houston right-hander Ronel Blanco (1-2, 6.48 ERA).

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