National talking head lobs strong accusation at Houston Texans
CATCHING HEAT?
15 July 2022
Earlier this week, Mike Florio made a prediction that the Houston Texans would wind up acquiring QB Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade with the 49ers. He based this prediction on nothing but a gut instinct, citing Garoppolo's prior relationship with Texans GM Nick Caserio and how he operates. While most of us in Houston know this isn't likely to happen, because the Texans want to get a real look at Davis Mills, it was the other part of Florio's comment that really stood out.
Florio basically made his case that the Texans aren't really trying to win if they don't add another respectable QB to the roster. Are the Texans really tanking if they don't add more depth to their QB room? Backup QB Kyle Allen certainly isn't the answer, but if Mills is bad or injured this year, it might best serve the Texans to lose a lot of games to put them in the best position to draft a QB high in 2023.
Should that be considered tanking? Plus, who will get more time to prove themselves, Lovie Smith or Davis Mills?
Be sure to check out the video above as we break it all down.
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It’s time to get real about Astros rotation, Verlander, and Houston’s battery of dominant arms
Sep 10, 2024, 3:09 pm
With only 19 games left in the regular season for the Astros, time is running out for Justin Verlander to justify a spot in the club's playoff rotation.
At best, he'll start another three games, with two of them likely against the lowly Angels. Not exactly a team similar to what Houston will face if they indeed make the postseason.
But at this point, Verlander needs to pass the eye-test before we even worry about the level of competition he'll be facing. JV's command is a huge issue. He's wild in the strike zone with his fastball, and also having trouble throwing his secondary pitches for strikes.
As much as we can blame some of his struggles on bad luck after returning from injury, his ERA for the season is over FIVE.
And more importantly, the Astros have better options to turn to when the playoffs begin. Naming the Astros No. 1 and No. 2 starters in the postseason is a no-brainer. Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. So, at best, Verlander would be named the third or fourth starter, should they need one.
As of today, we just don't know how many games the Astros will play in their first playoff series. And we don't know how the rest of the rotation will pitch down the stretch. If the season were to end today, they would play a three-game series. So we'll discuss the top three starters for the time being.
Matchup over pitcher?
The Astros may choose to play the matchup when deciding on their Game 3 starter. If their opponent has trouble against lefties, that might influence the 'Stros to start Yusei Kikuchi. Which means the opposite could be true. Houston may go with Spencer Arrighetti, Ronel Blanco, or Verlander against an opponent that struggles against right-handed pitchers.
Here's one more factor to consider. If the Astros find themselves in a three-game series in a win-or-go-home situation in Game 3, would anyone feel good about Verlander starting that game?
If JV isn't dominant over his remaining starts, there's no way he should get the nod over Arrighetti, Blanco, and Kikuchi. Despite his Hall of Fame resume.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we have an in-depth conversation about the Verlander conundrum the Astros are facing, and much more!
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
