The Astros should prioritize upgrading the offense. Composite Getty Image.
scs bregman
MLB's trading deadline is August 1st this season. As of this writing, the Astros are three and a half games behind the Rangers, and one game ahead of the Angels for the final Wildcard spot. Pretty unfamiliar territory for a team that's won this division five of the last six seasons. That one season they didn't win the division (2020 Covid season), they reached the ALCS for the fourth consecutive time and came this close to another World Series berth.
All that being said, this team needs help. While the Rangers lost their ace until sometime next season, they amassed so much talent this past offseason, they won't be going away. The Angels have always had talent, but haven't put things together until maybe this season. When Luis Garcia went down for the season, it compounded the Lance McCullers Jr injury. Michael Brantley not being able to come back healthy and productive compounded the slumps guys like Jose Abreu and others have been in offensively. Now Yordan Alvarez is hurt! He's expected to miss a month. The breaks they've caught this season have been bad ones for the most part.
The debate about the deadline centers around whether they need a bat or an arm. The lineup has been bad. They're 17th in batting average, 20th in on base percentage, 19th in OPS, 23rd in walks, 16th in hits, and 15th in HRs in all of MLB. That's bad considering they've been one of the better lineups in their current run. Pitching has been the other calling card. The depth of starters at one point called for a six-man rotation. They're currently leading MLB in ERA & earned runs surrendered, ninth in hits surrendered, and are seventh in WHIP. To me, all of this means they require more help in the lineup than in the rotation or bullpen.
“But Jermaine, we can't rely on the guys in our rotation and bullpen going into the postseason!” Yeah, well, how do you expect to get there if you DON'T rely on them?!? When Brent Strom left, he left behind two capable guys in Josh Miller and Bill Murphy. They've, so far, have been able to navigate the waters of the post-Strom era pretty well. I've come to the conclusion they can't count on LMJ anymore. However, when a guy like Hunter Brown steps up, it eases that blow. J.P. France and Cristian Javier have been good. Don't forget the Great Frambino and Ryan Pressly are still on this staff as well. Pssst! Jose Urquidy should be coming back soon too!
The lineup is another story. 16 of their 29 losses so far this season have been by one or two runs. Four of those came in extra innings where you get a man on second base to start off with. The numbers clearly say this team needs a bat, or two. GM Dana Brown said if they find a bat, manager Dusty Baker will find at-bats for them. His job is easier considering what the lineup is currently producing. So what if Abreu signed a bigger deal than what he should've. Who cares if Yuli Gurriel should've been brought back instead. Alex Bregman has started slow damn near every year. Jose Altuve has only been back in the lineup for about a month now. Either they'll take time to get right, or bring in some guys that'll help the cause.
Baseball is a numbers game. The offensive and pitching numbers indicate this team needs to boost the lineup. Argue all you want about the pitching staff needing improvement. If you can't score, you won't win. I see a lot of you forgot what the 2005 team looked like. Remember? The team that was left for dead, only to rise up and reach the World Series? Yeah...but they got swept by a total of six runs because THEY COULDN'T SCORE! If you've read this far, thanks. By now, I hope I've convinced you where the clear-cut need is for this team at the deadline this year. If not, seek help. I know a great therapist.
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Road teams made a stand on Monday, and a pair of series are suddenly knotted up.
Day 3 of the NBA playoffs was about the visitors. Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points — his most in any game since December 2023, his most in a playoff game since 2021 — to lift the Los Angeles Clippers past Denver 105-102. And in New York, Cade Cunningham scored 33 points, Dennis Schröder had a big 3-pointer with 55.7 seconds left and Detroit beat the Knicks 100-94 for its first playoff win in 17 years.
Those series are now tied at a game apiece, heading back to L.A. and Detroit.
There are three games on Tuesday, with Indiana playing host to Milwaukee, Oklahoma City hosting Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers hosting Minnesota. The Pacers and Thunder are seeking 2-0 leads; the Lakers will try to make it 1-1 before the series shifts to Minnesota.
Tuesday's national TV schedule
All times Eastern
7 p.m. — Milwaukee at Indiana (NBA TV)
7:30 p.m. — Memphis at Oklahoma City (TNT/truTV)
10 p.m. — Minnesota at L.A. Lakers (TNT/truTV)
Wednesday's national TV schedule
All times Eastern
7 p.m. — Orlando at Boston (TNT/truTV)
7:30 p.m. — Miami at Cleveland (NBA TV)
9:30 p.m. — Golden State at Houston (TNT/truTV)
Thursday's national TV schedule
All times Eastern
7 p.m. — New York at Detroit (TNT)
9:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City at Memphis (TNT)
10 p.m. — Denver at L.A. Clippers (NBA TV)
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (+175) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Boston (+200). After that, it's Cleveland (+600), Golden State (+1400), the Los Angeles Lakers (+1600), the Los Angeles Clippers (+2000), New York (+4000), Minnesota (+4000) and Denver (+5000).
Denver's odds took a big hit after the Nuggets lost Game 2 at home to the Clippers — whose odds, in turn, improved greatly.
From there, it's Indiana (+8000), Houston (+10000), Milwaukee (+15000), Detroit (+35000), then Miami, Memphis and Orlando (all +100000).
Golden State, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, is favored (-375) to win its series against No. 2 seed Houston. The Warriors entered that matchup favored, and Sunday's win moved those odds even more.
Other underdogs now favored to advance: Minnesota and the Clippers.
Award season
The first of the major NBA awards comes out on Tuesday, when the league announces the sixth man of the year — either Detroit's Malik Beasley, Cleveland's Ty Jerome or Boston's Payton Pritchard.
It’ll be revealed at 7 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
The other awards this week: clutch player (Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on TNT), defensive player of the year (Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on TNT), and the hustle awards (Friday at 2 p.m.).
Key upcoming events
April 26 — NBA early entry deadline.
May 3 — Earliest possible start date for Round 2 of the playoffs. Series could also start on May 4, May 5 or May 6.
May 12 — Draft lottery, Chicago.
May 18 or 20 — Game 1, Western Conference finals.
May 19 or 21 — Game 1, Eastern Conference finals.
June 5 — Game 1, NBA Finals. (Other games: June 8, June 11, June 13, June 16, June 19 and Game 7, if necessary, will be June 22.)
June 25 — NBA draft, first round.
June 26 — NBA draft, second round.
Stories of note
— Preview of Tuesday's games: Pacers-Bucks, Thunder-Grizzlies, Lakers-Timberwolves.
— Tom Thibodeau isn't happy with how Game 2 was officiated.
— Mavs GM Nico Harrison didn't know how beloved Luka Doncic was in Dallas.
— The NBA finalists for seven awards are released.
— The playoffs could be wide-open. Again.
— A look inside the numbers of this season, headed into the playoffs.
— Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson wins NBCA coach of the year award.
Stats of the day
— The Pistons snapped a 15-game playoff losing streak. Another loss would have tied the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (1975-79) for the second-longest in U.S. pro sports at 16. The playoff-futility record is held by baseball's Minnesota Twins, who once dropped 18 straight.
— The last time Detroit won a playoff game before Monday, LeBron James was 249th on the all-time scoring list and Gregg Popovich was 19th on the all-time coaching wins list. They're both No. 1 now by wide margins.
— Strange but true: The last three playoff triple-doubles have come in losing efforts. Nikola Jokic had one Monday night in Denver's loss to the Clippers and Luka Doncic's final two playoff ones for Dallas last season — one against Minnesota in the West finals, the other against Boston in the NBA Finals — both were in losses.