EVERY-THING SPORTS
Here are the advantages, challenges with this defining stretch for Houston Astros
Aug 31, 2022, 1:14 pm
The injury bug has been an issue, but the schedule should help the Astros. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
The Astros are on a roll. As of this writing, they're 11.5 games up on the Mariners for the AL West division lead. They're also four games up on the Yankees for the best record in the AL. It's clear the road to the World Series will go through Houston. While they're eight games behind the Dodgers for the best overall record, they have a psychological advantage over the blue team from LA. What's puzzling to me is the inexplicable losses the Astros have had against bad teams.
The Orioles, Red Sox, Rangers, and A's have all beaten the Astros recently. The Orioles are the only team on that list above .500 on the season. The others are closer to the number one overall pick in the draft. Perhaps the worst of it was getting swept by the A's at the end of July in a three game series. Sure they were on the road playing a division rival, but losing three straight to a team that's 34 games behind them in the standings is a tough pill to swallow.
Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. Those of you who live and die with every loss are crazy. The ones who felt the season was over when the team wasn't in the division lead early on and thought when different players were in a slump it would last forever are even worse. Water will always find its level, and this team has found theirs. The only concern is them tripping over their own feet from time to time.
My only explanation is that they get bored and/or lose focus. Playing a team you know you've beaten up plenty of times before or seeing a starter you know your lineup should thrash seems to give this team a false sense of security. They'll slip up here and there, then get right back on track. For example: just before they dropped those three games to the A's, they won five straight against the Yankees and Mariners.
Their next 20 game stretch features only three games against a team above .500, the Rays. This will be a defining stretch as they have the chance to put more distance between themselves and the rest of the AL. It'll also be a challenge for those dog days of summer people always talk about in baseball. If they can find the proper motivation and keep up their expected level of play, there's no reason why this team can't find a way to win at least 15 of the next 20 games, or more.
The postseason is near. However, the fear that this team will be booted from the party early on is unnecessary. They play up to their competition. The pitching, primarily the starters, are the backbone of this team. Any time Framber Valdez sets a record for most consecutive quality starts by a lefty with 22, and he still isn't the Cy Young frontrunner because his teammate, Justin Verlander, is having the greatest comeback season after Tommy John surgery, that's saying something. Throw in the guys who can't crack the top 3 in the rotation, and you have a very spicy staff.
Once the playoffs start, their experience will kick in. Nerves will be tamed. Concentration will be at a premium and these guys will show up to play. The rest of the league better be on notice.
The Houston Texans addressed their most glaring needs by selecting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and a pair of Iowa State receivers in the NFL draft.
“The idea was to try to add good players, good people that are young, tough, hungry, that want to win, that put the team first,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “These picks exemplify that.”
The Texans got players that could help them quickly despite not picking in the first round for a second straight season. They didn’t have a first-round pick last year because of trades, including the one to move up and get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
This season they shipped the 25th overall pick to the Giants on Thursday in exchange for several picks.
Their first selection in this draft was receiver Jayden Higgins, who was taken with the second pick of the second round. They added Ersery later in the second round with the 48th overall selection and picked up Higgins’ teammate Jaylin Noel in the third round.
Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after the offseason trade of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Ersery started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota where he was a third-team All-American last season.
He comes to Houston to help shore up a line that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, which was the second most in the NFL.
The Texans added veteran tackle Cam Robinson this offseason and Ersery will compete with him to protect Stroud’s blind side as the Texans attempt to reach the playoffs for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans.
The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Ersery, who was the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, can’t wait to play with Stroud.
“C.J. Stroud is a baller,” Ersery said. “I’m so honored to be a guy to help out and come in and help protect him. I’m just super stoked and I know I’m going to a great organization.”
Cyclones teammates
Higgins and Noel join the Texans to add more depth at receiver to complement star Nico Collins with Tank Dell recovering from a serious knee injury and Stefon Diggs gone to the Patriots.
Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.
After Higgins was drafted, Noel never imagined he’d be heading to Houston, too. He shared on social media a fortune he received from a Chinese restaurant that read: “Look forward to an unplanned reunion with an out-of-touch friend.”
Noel later shared his feelings about joining Higgins on the roster.
“I was surprised,” Noel said. “But they’ve seen that 1-2 punch all year. They’re going to be very happy with those selections for sure.”
Caserio said a talk with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Friday helped him make his final decisions on the receivers.
“He was effusive in his… belief and praise of both Higgins and Noel,” Caserio said.
The Texans now have three receivers from Iowa State on their roster after drafting Xavier Hutchinson in the sixth round in 2023.
Overcoming obstacles
Ersery and his four siblings were raised by a single mother and experienced homelessness when he was a child despite her working multiple jobs. He is thrilled to have put those struggles behind him as he embarks on his next chapter.
“I’ve got that hardworking mentality from her,” he said. “So, growing up times were tough but now I’ve got my foot in the door and I look forward to trying to change some things around.”
Caserio loves guys with work ethic like Ersery’s and said that’s one reason why they believe he’ll fit in with the Texans.
“If you come in and put your head down and work and just get better, take advantage of your opportunities, you’re going to have a shot to have success and do a lot of good things for the organization,” he said.
What’s in a name?
Along with Noel, the Texans added another Jaylin in this draft with they picked USC cornerback Jaylin Smith in the third round.
“We got Jaylins, and we got all these guys around. It’s going to be hard to keep them straight,” Caserio joked on Friday after they picked Smith.
Then on Saturday, the Texans added another player with the same name, albeit with a different spelling, when they took Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round.
That gives them four players with the same name and three different spellings as the three rookies join starting safety Jalen Pitre on the team.
Doubling up
Along with drafting two players from Iowa State, the Texans also added a pair of players from Southern California when they picked running back Woody Marks in the fourth round after drafting Smith in the third.
Marks ran for a career-high 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns for the Trojans last season after transferring from Mississippi State.
Be sure to watch the video below as NFL.com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein shares his thoughts on all the Texans' picks!