CASE CLOSED
How mounting evidence confirms these popular Astros narratives no longer add up
Jul 6, 2023, 1:42 pm
CASE CLOSED
Astros manager Dusty Baker is so maddening. I’d love to take one of those instruments that doctors use to look into your ears … just to see what’s going on inside Dusty’s head.
Baker continues to confound some fans – and most of the ones on social media – by making moves that defy common sense and most forces of nature.
And yet here the Astros sit, wracked with injuries and underperforming regulars, only two games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West .
Just one week ago, the Astros were six games back, with the Rangers fans in a frenzy to deliver the kill shot with four games at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
How’d that work out, Rangers fans?
The question that lingers: are the Astros making all this noise because of genius Baker? Or despite hard-headed Baker?
You don’t need to be a math wizard or an Ernst and Young numbers cruncher to read batting averages and box scores. Up to a few weeks ago, fans were lighting up radio call-in shows pleading with Baker to bench first baseman Jose Abreu. Eat the contract, they said. He’s killing rallies. He’s costing us games. And they had good reason to squawk about Abreu’s everyday presence in the lineup. The Astros’ big-money free-agent acquisition was hitting .211 with less power in the clutch than ERCOT.
Naturally Dusty stuck with Abreu, who flipped the switch and the power is back on. You realize that Abreu today has a higher batting average than Alex Bregman? Abreu is at .243. Breggy, .241.
A recent article listed the five Astros who might not be here after the trade deadline: Martin Maldonado, Grae Kessinger, Bligh Madris, Rafael Montero and Shawn Dubin.
You can’t argue with the list, but Maldonado is the one that makes Astros fans throw their arms up in frustration. OK, maybe Montero, too.
Last week, in the crucial series against the Rangers, Maldonado started and caught all four games. He went 0-13. He is now batting .171. To put that in perspective, of all the players with enough at bats to qualify for the title (3.1 plate appearances per game), the lowest batting average in MLB belongs to Kyle Schwarber at .185. Mike Muncy is hitting .195. Pete Alonso is down there, too, at .217.
But, Schwarber has 22 home runs, Muncy has 19 and Alonso has 25.
Maldonado has come to the plate 222 times this season. He’s batting .171 with five homers and 13 RBI, 19 walks and 69 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Astros rookie catcher Yanier Diaz is batting .267 with 10 homers and 21 RBI in only 174 plate appearances. Diaz played catcher and blasted two home runs against the Rockies on Wednesday.
Dollars to Shipley glazed donuts, Maldonado will be behind the plate Thursday night when the Astros host AL West rivals Seattle Mariners.
I hear it – Maldy is a defensive specialist, one of the best in baseball. Baker is a defense guy, and Astros pitchers love pitching to Maldonado.
Maldonado has caught 63 games this season. Diaz has caught 24 games.
You realize that Astros pitchers have a lower earned run average in games that Diaz has caught? Diaz has a stronger arm. His throws to second on steal attempts average 85.1 mph, Maldonado’s average 81.8 mph.
Runners have attempted 49 steals and Maldy’s thrown out only 9, or 18 percent of them. He has committed six passed balls this season.
Runners have attempted 24 stolen bases against Diaz and he’s thrown out 10, or 42 percent of them. He has absolute zero passed balls.
Pitchers prefer Maldy behind the plate? Well, maybe it’s time they listened to the advice of noted life coach Ric Flair who said, “If you don’t like it, learn to love it.”
There’s nothing not to love about watching your catcher round the bases after a 425-foot home run to save your W.
Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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