Every-Thing Sports
Houston Sports: From national afterthought to most hated
Mar 3, 2020, 6:55 am
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Sports fans everywhere have their hang-ups. Some are insufferable, some are idiots, some get violent. Others are dumb, humble...you get the point. Remember when Houston sports fans would be upset over lack of national media attention? They would whine and cry that they weren't get any respect or enough love or too little coverage. It wasn't that the national media had a biased against Houston sports, they simply weren't as interesting.
That all changed when the Astros won the 2017 World Series. They were a homegrown, fun-loving bunch of guys that played with swag. Deshaun Watson was in the midst of his rookie season with the Texans and was taking the league by storm. The Rockets had the NBA's best record at 65-17 behind league MVP James Harden and were a "hamstring away" from defeating the Warriors and going to the Finals. From those highs to now, what and where did it go wrong?
The Astros Cheated
This was low hanging fruit. The Astros had a reputation around MLB for being off-putting, specifically Jeff Luhnow and the environment in his front office. Sure, people may not like Alex Bregman's act, but you can't deny his talent. Jose Altuve and George Springer have awesome stories of overcoming obstacles. But when Mike "el soplón" Fiers decided to break an unwritten rule, it all went to hell in a hand basket. The commissioner asked teams to stop stealing signs and the Astros refused. It was stated in his report that their failure to comply was the impetus for their punishment. Now, the floodgates have opened and the hate is flowing freely. It's all deserved given what they did, but some is over the top and emotionally driven.
Harden And Morey Aren't Likeable Guys
Daryl Morey is very good at what he does. He's one of the top general managers in the NBA. James Harden is very good at what he does. He's one of the best players in the NBA. They've been a pair since Morey traded for Harden in 2012 and haven't won anything but some individual awards. This despite having paired Harden with Dwight Howard first, then Chris Paul. When those experiments failed, Morey made a move for one of Harden's childhood friends and fellow former MVP Russell Westbrook. Westbrook is another guy who's not very likeable. Whether it's his antics on the court or his handling of the media, he seems to fit right in. Now that "small ball" is in full effect, the national media is trying to find a way to poop on it, but are getting turned away because of the Rockets' play as of late.
Bill O'Brien Is A Powerful Dumbass
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Bill O'Brien is a prime example. The Texans were in a good spot. They drafted Watson and he brought them some credibility, as well as fulfilled their franchise quarterback role. However, O'Brien has managed to turn this team into a laughingstock. He's assumed so much power and control as GM and head coach, that the only people capable of firing him is one of the McNairs and they're the ones who've given him this much power! It's utterly ridiculous! After the playoff loss to the Chiefs, the national media finally picked up on the stench the local media has been smelling for years. Now, O'Brien and the Texans are facing the scrutiny nationally they've faced locally and it's well earned. He's turned this organization into a punchline.
Where does Houston go from here?
The only thing Houston can do from here is to lean into the bad guy role. I wrote about this concerning the Astros a few weeks ago. Looking at how the Rockets and Texans have been talked about nationally, it's time for them to embrace it as well. Harden shot back at Giannis Antetokounmpo when he threw shade his way. It was refreshing to see some fight out of him instead of the usual safe answers. Too bad the Texans don't have that in them. They need to start winning and winning big before they can talk big. As far as the fans are concerned: support your teams, wear their gear, but beware. The Texans won't give you any ammo in which to defend them with because they have an affinity for being mediocre. The Astros were caught cheating so there's not a whole lot you can do to defend them. The Rockets haven't been to or won a title since OJ was found not guilty. Look at the bright side Houston. You still have the Roughnecks.
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Through 20 games, the Houston Astros have managed just six wins and are in last place in the AL West.
Their pitching staff trails only Colorado with a 5.24 ERA and big-money new closer Josh Hader has given up the same number of earned runs in 10 games as he did in 61 last year.
Despite this, these veteran Astros, who have reached the AL Championship Series seven consecutive times, have no doubt they’ll turn things around.
“If there’s a team that can do it, it’s this team,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said.
First-year manager Joe Espada, who was hired in January to replace the retired Dusty Baker, discussed his team’s early struggles.
“It’s not ideal,” he said. “It’s not what we expected, to come out of the shoot playing this type of baseball. But you know what, this is where we’re at and we’ve got to pick it up and play better. That’s just the bottom line.”
Many of Houston’s problems have stemmed from a poor performance by a rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Ace Justin Verlander and fellow starter José Urquidy haven’t pitched this season because of injuries and lefty Framber Valdez made just two starts before landing on the injured list with a sore elbow.
Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut April 1, has pitched well and is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts this season. Cristian Javier is also off to a good start, going 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four starts, but the team has won just two games not started by those two pitchers.
However, Espada wouldn’t blame the rotation for Houston’s current position.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster how we've played overall,” he said. “One day we get good starting pitching, some days we don’t. The middle relief has been better and sometimes it hasn’t been. So, we’ve just got to put it all together and then play more as a team. And once we start doing that, we’ll be in good shape.”
The good news for the Astros is that Verlander will make his season debut Friday night when they open a series at Washington and Valdez should return soon after him.
“Framber and Justin have been a great part of our success in the last few years,” second baseman Jose Altuve said. “So, it’s always good to have those two guys back helping the team. We trust them and I think it’s going to be good.”
Hader signed a five-year, $95 million contract this offseason to give the Astros a shutdown 7-8-9 combination at the back end of their bullpen with Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly. But the five-time All-Star is off to a bumpy start.
He allowed four runs in the ninth inning of a 6-1 loss to the Braves on Monday night and has yielded eight earned runs this season after giving up the same number in 56 1/3 innings for San Diego last year.
He was much better Wednesday when he struck out the side in the ninth before the Astros fell to Atlanta in 10 innings for their third straight loss.
Houston’s offense, led by Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, ranks third in the majors with a .268 batting average and is tied for third with 24 homers this season. But the Astros have struggled with runners in scoring position and often failed to get a big hit in close games.
While many of Houston’s hitters have thrived this season, one notable exception is first baseman José Abreu. The 37-year-old, who is in the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million contract, is hitting 0.78 with just one extra-base hit in 16 games, raising questions about why he remains in the lineup every day.
To make matters worse, his error on a routine ground ball in the eighth inning Wednesday helped the Braves tie the game before they won in extra innings.
Espada brushed off criticism of Abreu and said he knows the 2020 AL MVP can break out of his early slump.
“Because (of) history,” Espada said. “The back of his baseball card. He can do it.”
Though things haven’t gone well for the Astros so far, everyone insists there’s no panic in this team which won its second World Series in 2022.
Altuve added that he doesn’t have to say anything to his teammates during this tough time.
“I think they’ve played enough baseball to know how to control themselves and how to come back to the plan we have, which is winning games,” he said.
The clubhouse was quiet and somber Wednesday after the Astros suffered their third series sweep of the season and second at home. While not panicking about the slow start, this team, which has won at least 90 games in each of the last three seasons, is certainly not happy with its record.
“We need to do everything better,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I feel like we’re in a lot of games, but we just haven’t found a way to win them. And good teams find a way to win games. So we need to find a way to win games.”