SO FAR, SO GOOD
It's still early, but the Astros may have their groove back
Oct 6, 2020, 1:02 pm
George Springer has been red-hot. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
It wasn't just a comeback 10-5 win over the Oakland A's to open the American League Divisional Series – on the heels of sweeping the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Series …
It was the way the Astros took the A's best shot, dusted themselves off and decimated the A's vaunted relievers with clutch hits, a two-out rally and home run barrage.
How the Astros got their groove back.
You remember visions of 2017 – Jose Altuve rounding third and heading for home, Carlos Correa pounding homers in the post-season, George Springer bashing hit after hit, and the cute, lovable Astros punctuating their first World Series title with Carlos Carrera getting on one knee to propose marriage. Aw, wasn't that the sweetest thing ever?
The Astros may not be so cuddly these days, especially with the A's, and the Yankees and Dodgers in the waiting room, still spittin' fire over the Astros sign-stealing scandal. We may see the Astros playing fair and square these days, Altuve's pretty little daughter running to daddy's arms, Alex Bregman raising money to feed the needy and Michael Brantley speaking so eloquently about social issues. But to the rest of the baseball world, the Astros are still low-down, dirty scoundrels and fans would like nothing more than to watch their team – be it the A's or anyone else – send this group of Astros home humiliated.
Get in line, it may be a long wait, and you probably won't like the ending. The Astros are 3-0 so far in the playoffs, bats blazing and making all the right moves. Sure they limped into the playoffs, two games below .500 during the COVID-shortened season. Well, they ain't below .500 now.
The Astros are a leg up in this best-of-five series against the A's. Since the schedule has them playing five straight days, the A's won't be able to hide starting pitcher Mike Fiers, who'll finally have to confront the Astros face-to-face after turning witness for the prosecution against his old teammates in the sign-stealing scandal.
If fans look at the Astros and see cheaters, like Jerry Seinfeld peered into Newman's eyes and saw pure evil, go ahead, the Astros will embrace their villain role. Carlos Correa isn't backing down: "What are they going to say now?"
That was after the Astros shoo'd away the Twins. What are they going to say now, after Correa blasted two homers, three hits and four RBI against the A's? George Springer blasted four hits, and Altuve, mired in a season-long slump, woke up with two hits and two key RBI? Kyle Tucker had two hits. The only thing missing from Bregman's homer was him staring into the dugout camera like the brash, in-your-face wise ass we love. You don't like it? Do something about it.
Yeah, yeah, the A's came into this series with a heralded bullpen, the best in the league. Except for now. The Astros relievers, Brian Taylor, Enoli Paredes, Cristian Javier and Ryan Pressly drilled holes in the A's bats, with no hits over five lockdown innings. Meanwhile the Astros battered seven A's relievers for seven runs. For sure, what are they going to say now?
It was only one game, but it was a statement win by the Astros.
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It's no secret that the Texans' offense hasn't been the same since Stefon Diggs went down with an ACL injury midseason. To make matters even worse, Houston lost Tank Dell for the year, suffering a catastrophic knee injury against the Chiefs just a few weeks ago.
In an attempt to replace that production, the Texans took a flier on the talented and temperamental Diontae Johnson, who has worn out his welcome with now four NFL teams.
That's right. Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Texans have cut Johnson and elevated Jared Wayne from the practice squad.
When Diontae Johnson, now cut by #Texans, was with #Ravens he was suspended for conduct detrimental for refusing to play. After games, if he wasn't involved to his liking, he was highly upset and had to be calmed down. Pattern continued in Houston and now he's off his third #NFL… https://t.co/wF3WnRfBvg
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 14, 2025
This move is disappointing on so many levels. Houston desperately needs a playmaker to pair with Nico Collins, that's why they took a chance on the disgruntled receiver to begin with.
And while it's fair to blame Johnson for displaying displeasure about his role in a playoff game in which his team won, there are two sides to every story.
I certainly don't put this on the Texans. Johnson has proven many times to be a bad teammate, and who wants to deal with that during a playoff push?
But the Texans did only target Johnson one time in the game, which he caught and led to a field goal. While receiver John Metchie got most of the playing time despite losing a fumble on the first offensive possession of the game, costing the Texans three points.
Metchie almost had another fumble shortly after the first one, but luckily the refs ruled an incomplete pass on the play. My guess is Johnson correctly thought he was a better option than Metchie, who hasn't done anything of significance at this point in his NFL career, and was playing like the moment was too big for him.
As Metchie was making mistakes, I found myself looking for Diontae on the field and wondering why he wasn't getting more opportunities with Metchie looking like a disaster.
What's even more concerning was Nico Collins not receiving a target until the second quarter, but that's a story for another day.
As we look back at the stat sheet, Johnson was only on the field for 16 snaps, by far the fewest of Texans receivers. Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson played a much bigger role than he did.
If the Texans could do things over, planning to get the ball to Collins and Johnson early could have gotten the offense rolling, instead of waiting for the broken play that sparked CJ Stroud and the offense in the second quarter.
But instead, the former Pro Bowler had almost no role in the game, complained about it following a huge win, and is now off the team.
He could have been a very valuable asset against the Chiefs, who will likely take away Collins, forcing Stroud to go to his other options. Now, those options will be players that couldn't crack the starting lineup on any decent team.
Plus, tight end Cade Stover broke his collarbone against the Chargers, and has been placed on IR. It might not seem like a big deal losing Stover, after all, he hasn't been a very big piece of the offense this year.
But he hauled in four passes against the Chargers, the second-most on the team, tied with Metchie. Which also shows you how much Houston needs help at receiver.
At the end of the day, the friction with Johnson probably couldn't have been avoided. It's hard to get newly acquired players comfortable with a new offense and quarterback. Especially if he has an attitude.
But the Texans did know his frustration with the Ravens was all about his role, or lack there of. One can't help but wonder what might have been had the Texans decided to get him the ball early, to try to get some buy-in from a talented player they desperately needed.
There's a reason Jared Wayne (who collided with Dell in KC, ending his season) is being added from the practice squad, and Johnson is a former Pro Bowler.
And kudos to Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans for taking a chance on Johnson. Often, this franchise has avoided rolling the dice on a volatile player.
They gave it a shot, it didn't work, and they cut him. It was a low risk move worth trying that didn't pay off. And for Johnson, good luck finding another team.
This dude clearly prioritizes complaining over winning football games. Have fun explaining your antics to other teams when trying to get a contract next season. If you can't play for John Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans, that says a lot about the player.