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.