UNCHARTED TERRITORY
How the current climate puts the Rockets in an especially complex position
Aug 28, 2020, 4:09 pm
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
This season of meaningless sports played in empty arenas and stadiums has suddenly become a year that will have its own chapter in history books.
History will note that NBA players led the charge to change how America deals with race, with law enforcement, and how society moves forward chasing an elusive more perfect union.
And NBA players will be on the right side of that history.
Sunday night, a police officer in Kenosha, Wisc. fired seven bullets at a black man, striking 29-year-old Jacob Blake four times in his back, in front of Blake's three children. Blake survived the shooting, but his family says he is paralyzed from his waist down and "chained" (handcuffed) to a hospital bed.
The Kenosha incident was just one more in a seemingly endless series of excessive force by police against people of color in America. As happened before, in the spirit of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, athletes are shouting loudest in protest.
NBA stars, who play on a court in Orlando emblazoned with "Black Lives Matter" and wear jerseys carrying messages of social change, woke the sports world to stand against racial injustice.
On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA team geographically closest to Kenosha, refused to take the court to play their scheduled game against the Orlando Magic. Within hours, the Houston Rockets game against Oklahoma City was postponed, followed by the Lakers vs. Portland game. The NBA playoffs will continue on Saturday.
Other leagues and sports followed the NBA lead. Several baseball games were postponed, while individual players on teams that continued to play sat out their games.
Many NFL teams canceled practice. The WNBA postponed games. MLS postponed five matches. Some colleges canceled football practice. The Western & Southern Open tennis tournament switched Thursday's semifinal matches to Friday after Naomi Osaka, a black player, said she wouldn't play because of "continued genocide of black people at the hand of police." The NHL postponed playoff games for two nights. Television analyst Kenny Smith took off his microphone and walked off TNT's Inside the NBA set in support of players.
Rockets forward Robert Covington told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, "We are doing all this to really bring about awareness and it's not too much that's been done. Every day we fear going outside that friends and family, you never know that you might get a phone call that someone that's close to you might not make it to see the next day."
Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, on the verge of tears, said "It's amazing to me that we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back." Rivers is the son of a police officer.
While some players and two teams in particular (Lakers and Clippers) wanted to end the NBA season immediately and return home, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan, NBA Players Association president Chris Paul and Rockets guard Russell Westbrook reached an agreement that the playoffs would continue. Jordan is the only African-American majority owner of an NBA team. Westbrook is a longtime endorser of Jordan's marketing brand.
Houston Rockets multi-billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta, an outspoken supporter of President Trump, was critical of the president's response to the players' protest. Trump said, "I think people are tired of the NBA, frankly." The president earlier waved off the NBA as "a political organization" and called the Black Lives Matter movement a "symbol of hate." Another administration official labeled the players' protest "absurd and silly."
It's hardly absurd when there's video of police saying "thank you" and offering a bottle of water to a 17-year-old white supremacist openly brandishing an assault rifle on the streets of Kenosha. Minutes later, that child shot and killed two people protesting the Blake shooting.
It's not silly when former MLB player Aubrey Huff, who describes himself as "protector of toxic masculinity," tweets that the 17-year-old murderer is a "national treasure."
Fertitta, who has donated $140,000 to President Trump's re-election campaign, supported NBA players during an interview on CNBC.
"I love that they all stood together. We all have to work together and recognize what other people are dealing with. It's a different world. It's a different generation. If you're not a flexible person and you don't see other people's views, you're not going to do well in the world today. And so I respect them. I stand by them. They're my partners," Fertitta said.
Fertitta's simple response to Trump's dismissal of NBA players, "I don't know why he made that statement. It's disappointing … I'm sorry he said that."
The next day, the Rockets announced that Toyota Center would be a voting center leading to the Nov. 3 election. "Vote" is one of the messages that NBA players are wearing in Orlando. The arena will be open for early voting 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Oct. 13 to Oct. 30. Any registered voter in Harris County can vote there. Toyota Center also will be open on Election Day. Voters can park for free in the Toyota Tundra Garage.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.