THE PALLILOG
A glimpse of promise emerges after a string of Astros disappointments
Apr 18, 2024, 3:07 pm
The Astros are lucky they play in the AL West. Composite Getty Image.
No, we have not been transported back in time to 2012 and are again stuck with an atrocity of an Astros team heading for well over 100 losses. I’m pretty sure anyway, even though the Astros are in our nation’s capital for the weekend looking so far this season about as dysfunctional as the federal government often seems to be. At 6-14 this is a dung heap of a squad to this point. The Astros are two and a half games behind the A’s! The rightfully heralded back end of the bullpen has already lost four games the Astros have led after six innings. They are 5-4 in games they led after six, which is awful.
Last season the Astros were a good team, not close to a great team. The 2023 Astros finished 72-6 in games they led after six. Then there’s the offense which has some nice raw stats, but been weak with runners in scoring position (.686 OPS ranks 19th among the 30 Major League teams), weaker with runners in scoring position with two outs (.631 ranks 22nd), and demonstrated meager come from behind ability. The Astros have zero wins in games they have trailed after six (0-8). They are 0-5 in one-run games. But hey, good thing they kept the roof closed for all six games of another failed homestand. Going back to last season the gruesome ledger over the Astros last 42 home games reads 11 wins 31 losses.
As bad as things have been, those already seeking a priest to administer last rites for this season, chill! Be worried, be angry if you’d like, but chill. At least a little. The Astros are fortunate that no one is off to a great start in the American League West, the worst division in MLB over the season’s first three weeks. Obviously the Astros need to pick it up, or they will wind up dead and buried, but the plug will not be pulled on playoff chances in April. They have stunk, but it is also a fact that over the 20 game flop start, the Astros have played zero games against a team currently carrying a losing record. Furthermore, on the subject of 20 game schedule portions, the Texas Rangers had a 20 game stretch last season over which they went 4-16.
JV returns
41-year-old Justin Verlander will be no savior, but starting his regular season Friday night at the Nationals is certainly a welcome sight. We’ll see when Framber Valdez returns. This is the Astros’ second series in Washington D.C. since sweeping three games there during the 2019 World Series. Then they came home, yada, yada, yada. In the four seasons since, the Astros have been to four more American League Championship series and won it all for the second time in 2022. Since taking down the Astros to win the 2019 Fall Classic, the Nationals have posted four straight last place finishes in the National League East. The Nats are off to an 8-10 start this season.
Altuve has been a bright spot
Once before, Jose Altuve has finished April with his OPS over 1.000. 2016 was the season in which he elevated from star to superstar. Altuve awoke May 1, 2016 batting “only” .305 but with an OPS of 1.011. With nine games left this month the numbers could change markedly, but wow what a start to 2024 for him. Altuve carries a .388 batting average into the weekend with an OPS of 1.137. That’s a whopping 225 points higher than Yordan Alvarez’s second best on the team OPS of .912. Of course Altuve won’t finish batting near .388 but if wondering what’s the target number if a career best is in play, in Altuve’s AL Most Valuable Player Award-winning 2017 season he wound up batting .346 which won his third AL batting title. The under on .346 for this year is the highly likely outcome, but wouldn’t feel totally comfortable emptying out the retirement fund to bet on it.
The Abreu dilemma
Between Manager Joe Espada and General Manager Dana Brown I believe they have blown through their 2024 quota of “look at the back of his baseball card” references to pedantically expect everyone to believe that hapless Jose Abreu will be just fine. Jeff Bagwell has used that line too. Guess what fellas? Take a look at the back of Bagwell’s baseball card. He was an awesome offensive player. Until he wasn’t. Ditto Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and a multitude of other players greater than Abreu was at his best and better at their worst than this mess Abreu is now. At some point, washed up is washed up.
Here's a plausible Abreu scenario. He comes up with “back problems” and goes to the Injured List. That’s followed by a handful of games with Sugar Land and/or Corpus Christi. Then he rejoins the Astros. If he then resumes performing at or close to the rotting corpse level of performance he’s produced through the first 20 games, then the Astros release him. Obviously, Jim Crane prefers to not cut checks of 35 million dollars to Abreu for him to not play for the Astros. Paying him to continue to play is worse. It’s doubling down on damage.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Houston Astros make necessary, difficult decision on Jose Abreu
Apr 30, 2024, 4:24 pm
The Houston Texans entered the NFL Draft knowing they had several options at the running back position with Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, and Dare Ogunbowale.
So it wasn't a surprise to learn they only drafted one running back, Jawhar Jordan, and they waited until the sixth-round to do so. But as all Texans fans know, you can find a diamond in the rough at this position that goes undrafted from time to time.
Arian Foster, the best running back in Houston's franchise history, went undrafted. To be clear, we're not comparing North Carolina RB British Brooks to Foster. But he does have some traits that could play at the next level, and he possesses some qualities that the Texans covet.
He was a team captain at North Carolina, he has great size at 5'11 225 pounds, and the dude loves to play special teams (he's a two-time special teams MVP). Plus, he plays a position that adapts quickly to the NFL. And when comparing him to Jordan, two things really stick out, size and power. Jordan weighed in at 193 pounds at the combine, running a 4.56 forty. Not exactly the speed you would expect from a back well under 200 pounds.
How much production did Brooks have at UNC?
When you look at his resume, it's no surprise that he went undrafted. He played 5 seasons for the Tar Heels, dealt with injuries, and never recorded a 1,000 yard season. Brooks was slated to lead North Carolina's running back room in 2022, but a leg injury derailed his season.
Head coach Mack Brown had some very positive things to say about the player. Per 247 Sports Inside Carolina:
"(Brooks) is one of the best leaders on our team," UNC head coach Mack Brown said after Brooks' decision to return. "He's an amazing story of a walk-on, who gets himself into school and he's a tremendous student, and then he's special teams Player of the (Week) all the time. We tried to take him out of the game on special teams (vs. N.C. State) and he absolutely refused, because he was playing so much in the game at running back, and he would not come off."
We know the Texans pride themselves on special teams, so perhaps that can be an avenue for Brooks to make the team. And after that, who knows? Maybe the Texans could use his bruising body in goal line situations down the road.
Be sure to watch the video above as Chris from Sports Talk Extra shares his thoughts on the Texans' intriguing signing at running back, and much more! You can watch his highlights below.