THE PALLILOG
It would be an upset, but Texans have a chance to prove something against the Chiefs
Jan 10, 2020, 8:29 am
So can the Texans go where they have never gone before, the AFC Championship game?
It was Jim Carrey's Lloyd Christmas character in Dumb and Dumber who said "You're telling me there's a chance." Of course there's a chance the Texans can win Sunday. A great chance? No. The odds peg them with about a 20 percent shot. That sounds about right. With probably 80 percent of that 20 percent attributable to Deshaun Watson.
The Texans win over the Bills was dramatic and exciting, but that they needed a huge comeback, at home, to beat the Bills, does not augur well for Sunday in Kansas City. The Chiefs' offense is better than the Texans' offense. The Chiefs' defense is better than the Texans' defense. The Chiefs' coaching is better than the Texans' coaching, though Chiefs' Head Coach Andy Reid has a litany of bad playoff losses on his resume from his tenure with K.C. and before that his time with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Texans' October win at Arrowhead Stadium is irrelevant toward the infinitely more important rematch. Back then Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes was hobbling, wide receiver Sammy Watkins was out, also out was stud defensive lineman Chris Jones.
So how can the Texans pull it off? Any Given Sunday. One game, you just never know. If the ever delicate Will Fuller can play Sunday, maybe he can help the Texans exploit the absence of injured Chiefs free safety Juan Thornhill. The Texans could play over their heads. The Chiefs could choke, they have lost seven of their last eight home playoff games. Old results don't matter, perhaps unless the Texans start fast and the much-scarred K.C. crowd gets uptight and eats into the Chiefs' homefield advantage.
Logically, the Texans should not win. That doesn't mean the Texans are playing with house money. If they get clobbered, the win over the Bills is rendered mostly a memorable footnote. One near certainty, the Texans will not beat the Chiefs if they score only 19 points in regulation.
The only way to pull off a big upset is to be a big underdog. The Texans have the second part down as nine and a half point dogs. The first part, the big upset? Show us Texans. In the Show Me state. The dream scenario for them is an upset in Kansas City following the Titans bumping off the Ravens Saturday night which would mean a Texans-Titans AFC Championship Game at NRG Stadium a week from Sunday. There's maybe a five percent chance of that happening. Hey, better odds than hitting the Powerball.
Solid start despite setback
Despite getting blown off the court in Oklahoma City Thursday night, at 25-12 the Rockets are having a good first half of the regular season. Though they continue to generate very little buzz. James Harden continues to score at an astounding pace, though Wednesday night in Atlanta his 41 points while shooting 9-34 from the field and 4-20 on three point chucks was nothing to brag about, then Thursday in OKC he was awful in scoring a season low 17 points. In his first game back in OKC Russell Westbrook was the only Rocket to play worth a darn. He poured in 34 points in 34 minutes, albeit with his usual brutal three point shooting (1-6). The Rockets next three games are against losing teams (Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers) before their first game of the season vs. the Lakers.
It's easy being green
Losing Matt Rhule to the Carolina Panthers is a blow to Baylor football, but what a time it is for Bears athletics, the head and shoulders class of Texas right now. An 11 win football season, men's basketball number four in the country, women's basketball number six until the next poll after the Lady Bears blew out number one UConn Thursday ending the Huskies 98 game home winning streak.
Finally, a game
Have you heard the rumor? LSU and Clemson will get around to playing Monday night for the National Championship. It's hard to geaux against the purple and gold clad Tigers. A great side bet would be that the losing school can't refer to its home stadium as Death Valley at any point next season. Clemson had the nickname first.
Buzzer Beaters
1. The Astros report to spring training in just over a month. Looks like an increasingly good bet that Jeff Luhnow will not be the President of Baseball Operations and A.J. Hinch will not be the Manager. 2. In Big 12 games Shaka Smart is now 31-43. 3. Greatest plays in Houston pro football history: Bronze-Earl Campbell trucking Pro Bowl-er Isiah Robertson (YouTube!) and having the jersey torn from his body in 1978. Silver-J.J. Watt's pick six just before halftime in the Texans' first ever playoff game (and win) eight years ago vs. the Bengals. Gold-Watson's overtime Great Escape and pass to Taiwan Jones vs. the Bills.
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If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I 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.