CHANGING OF THE GUARD?
Is the Texans' reign as kings of Houston sports coming to an end?
Stephen Uzick
Nov 28, 2017, 12:07 pm
Is Bob McNair losing the city to the Astros? Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Fall of the Kingdom on Kirby
We are living in the midst of a regime change. An uprising has taken place, the ruling party is faltering, and some upstart rebels are storming the palace.
For 15 years now, the Texans have ruled the Houston sports landscape with unchecked power. No matter their record or level of ineptitude they wore the crown because, well… this is Texas and they play football. Maybe they didn’t fill the stadium every single week, especially in down years, but they were still the center of this city’s sports universe. So why am I speaking of them in the past tense? The Astros, that’s why.
The Astros have shown us what a competent franchise looks like, finally bringing a major championship back to Houston for the first time in 22 years. Yes, they had some truly terrible seasons, but they had a plan throughout those rough times. Now that the city knows what it’s like to have a winner the Texans’ seemingly unending leash has finally been yanked back. What’s more is that the Astros are bursting with exciting, young, talented, and, most importantly, likable players. I would argue the Texans have only two players that move the excitement needle, J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson, both of whom are lost for the year and it remains to be seen in what form they return. Without them it is abundantly clear that this Texans team is just like those 100 loss Astros teams – nameless, faceless, and talentless - though with one key difference, unlike those Astros teams the Texans have no discernible plan.
In years past I would block out time to watch the Texans almost every week, no matter how bad they were. This year though I haven’t. And no, it has nothing to do the off the field issues the NFL is dealing with. I really couldn’t care less about the anthem or Kaepernick BS. My interest in football itself isn’t the problem, I still watch other NFL games, I just haven’t watched much of the Texans. I watched a few games with Deshaun Watson and found him to be genuinely exciting but since his injury the most I watched of this team is about five minutes on Monday night before I turned on the Xbox to play Madden (again this isn’t an issue with football). The World Series has played a huge role in the waning of Texans interest, and I don’t think I am the only one who feels this way. After a month of riding the emotional roller coaster that was the playoffs with a team that was genuinely likable I just don’t see the point in devoting time or interest to yet another crap Texans team that simply isn’t. Additionally, it feels as though the Astros fully embraced their role in the city’s recovery from Harvey and, notwithstanding the fantastic things J.J. Watt has done as an individual, the Texans as an organization have just carried on with business as usual (including getting blown out at home by the Jaguars in what was supposed to be their “we got you Houston” game).
With their success and youth the Astros have begun to both cultivate their own generation of young fans and re-convert old ones all while the Texans continue to give theirs little reason to care. If this really is just the beginning of Astros’ success, as many believe it to be, this orange-clad rebel band will soon snatch the Houston sports crown from NRG, and once again make Houston a baseball town as it was in the '90s and early 2000s. For the sake of sports in this city I hope this is the case. Bob McNair and the Texans need a kick in the ass, need to be knocked down a peg, and need to be shown that just because they play football they don’t get a pass when it comes to doing what’s necessary to win, or even just to be interesting.
(And I didn't even mentioned the Rockets).
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To say this season has not started off well for the Astros is an understatement, for they currently sit in last place in the American League West with a 9-19 record.
That being said, there are still 134 games left to be played and Houston has everything they need to turn things around and get back to their winning ways.
Players returning from the injured list
The Astros began this season with multiple pitchers on the injured list including Justin Verlander, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. just to name a few. As time went on, other players saw time on the IL including Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez, thus forcing Houston to continuously adjust their rotation on the fly to mixed results.
Ronel Blanco (3-0) has been the one bright spot for the Astros so far. After throwing a no-hitter against the Blue Jays, the 30-year-old all but solidified his spot in the rotation and has arguably become Houston's best pitcher this year.
Other than Blanco, the Astros' rotation has struggled throughout much of this season, with pitchers Hunter Brown, J.P. France, Spencer Arrighetti and Blair Henley combining to have a 0-10 record and a 9.49 ERA through 54 innings pitched.
Things seem to be turning around as both Verlander and Valdez have returned to the rotation and look as if they are back to normal. More reinforcements could be arriving soon, as Javier and Urquidy have started to throw bullpen sessions, thus indicating their returns could happen in the near future.
Once these pitchers get healthy, an ideal scenario would be to have a rotation consisting of Verlander, Valdez, Blanco, Javier and Urquidy, with Hunter Brown moving to the bullpen or becoming the sixth starter if needed.
The Astros have the luxury of having a deep rotation once these players return to the team, which is necessary to turn this season around.
Consistent offense
One of the biggest challenges Houston has faced this year is scoring runs on a consistent basis.
For example, the Astros drove in the same amount of runs in their two outings against the Rockies over the weekend (20) as they did in their previous nine games against the Braves, Nationals, and Cubs combined.
On paper this offense shouldn’t be an issue, for Houston has the third-highest team batting average in the league behind only the Braves and Dodgers. And players such as Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez are playing up to their All-Star caliber levels.
Sure some guys like Alex Bregman, Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers have gotten off to slow starts, but those three can turn things around fast just as they have done in years past.
One reason for Houston’s offensive struggles has been Jose Abreu hitting a minuscule .099/.156/.113 thus far and will likely see less time on the field unless his numbers increase dramatically.
The 37-year-old is still owed roughly $16.25MM this season and $19.5MM in 2025, so cutting him and eating his salary doesn’t seem likely for the Astros at this time. But the team will certainly look at all of their options to get better offensive production at first base.
Jon Singleton has preformed better than Abreu this season, but most likely isn’t the long term answer either, considering he is batting only .238/.319/.286.
One solution the Astros will experiment with is calling up one of their top prospects, Joey Loperfido.
The 24-year-old had an impressive slash line of .276/.376/.684 in AAA through his first 117 plate appearances, and hit 13 homers as well.
In addition to his offense, Loperfido is a versatile athlete who can can play all three outfield positions, as well as second and first base.
It is likely the Astros will let the former Duke Blue Devil play some first in this upcoming series against the Guardians and hopefully give the team the offensive spark they need.
Other short-term options the Astros could try is to let either Mauricio Dubon, Victor Caratini, or Yanier Diaz play some first base this season.
None of these players would be the everyday solution, but they have some experience at the position and the capability to play first base.
Needless to say, the Astros do have multiple players who can play first, and replace Abreu if he doesn’t start to turn things around soon
As long as Houston can get their starters back healthy and their offense can score runs consistently, there is reason to believe this team can get back to their winning ways and make yet another playoff run and beyond.