THE PALLILOG
Jose Altuve is showing signs of life at a critical time for Astros
Aug 7, 2020, 11:13 am
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
60 game Major League Baseball season or 162 game season, when it's approaching mid-August and you want to win your division, as a second place team two and a half games off the lead you best not get swept in a three game series at the team ahead of you. That's what the 6-6 Astros face heading into their weekend set at Oakland, and face probably some of if not all without George Springer thanks to the right wrist sprain he incurred Thursday night in Phoenix.
You look at the mish-mash that is the Astros pitching staff and if this were a normal playoff format year missing the postseason would loom as a real possibility. Instead, with eight of 15 American League squads getting in it would be a pretty big surprise if the Astros' O doesn't lead them into the tournament.
The rotation and bullpen are both troublesome. In the rotation, Justin Verlander pitched the opener two weeks ago and came down with the forearm strain that we may hear in the next few days formally ends his season. Lance McCullers has been poor in two of three starts. Zack Greinke has had one bad one good. Josh James has already been demoted out of the starting rotation. Framber Valdez gets in off one quality lengthy relief outing. Brandon Bielak was okay at AAA last season and is not a hot prospect, but showed well in his first big league start Thursday. Thank goodness for rookie Cristian Javier. It's only two starts but he may have the goods. In the bullpen Roberto Osuna is likely done, Ryan Pressly was a complete disaster in blowing the Diamondbacks series finale, Joe Smith opted out, and Will Harris is gone. Dusty Baker is basically throwing darts when he waves in one of the 73 rookies now in the Astros' pen. Lefty Blake Taylor has been excellent. After that, a very shaky grab bag.
Dusty Baker giving Bielak the start Thursday night means now-nominal ace Greinke takes the ball for the series opener at Oakland. Mike Fiers pitched for the A's Thursday, so we'll have to wait for the first Astros vs. Fiers matchup since the Fiers-started Astros' cheating revelations were proven.
Before Thursday night Jose Altuve had looked as lost at the plate as we have ever seen him. 20 percent of the regular season is done (granted only 12 games) and after his three for four night Altuve is still batting only .192. Early last season Altuve endured an eight for 59 stretch (.136 batting average). He struck out only eight times in those 59 at bats. In his first 49 at bats this season Altuve struck out 13 times. Regularly chasing balls well out of the strike zone has been an issue. Altuve turned 30 in May so it's a pretty safe bet that he's not suddenly washed up and is more likely to get piping hot for a stretch. The Astros are on the hook with him for 26 million dollars per the next four seasons, so if Altuve winds up slipping from elite to just good it's problematic.
"Fans" in the stands
Props to the big league teams having some fun with some of the cardboard cutouts putting "fans" in the stands. If you catch any Astros-A's this weekend try to get a gander of the hot dog vendor to the right of home plate as you look in from the pitching mound. It's Tom Hanks, who was a vendor at A's games in the 70s. Best I've seen so far is Seattle where the Mariners had Jeffrey Maier over the right field wall in one game. In the 1996 American League Championship Series Maier was the 12-year-old who blatantly interfered with a fly ball, got away with it giving Derek Jeter a bogus home run as the Yankees were en route to their first World Series title of their dynasty in that era. The Mariners also had Steve Bartman down the left field line in a spot analogous to where he was at Wrigley Field in 2003 when…..ah, Google it. Next Mariners homestand, Seattle music legends Eddie Vedder and Jimi Hendrix are expected to be "in attendance."
Burst your bubble
Buzz kill to the Rockets-Lakers matchup Thursday night with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook sitting out. James's absence was no surprise. Lakers said he has a sore groin. If feeling great LeBron playing would have served no purpose behind increasing viewership for TNT. The game meant nothing to the Lakers who have already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference. James played 30 minutes Wednesday night and as amazing a specimen as he is LeBron turns 36 December 30. Having him go back-to-back in a meaningless game would basically have been stupid.
Buzzer Beaters:
1. One week to the Texans' first scheduled practice in pads.
2. James Harden, cut down the silly fouls! You know you're too good and too important to pick up four in the first half, or a fifth in the third quarter.
3. Wow athlete shared birthday pairs: Bronze-Hakeem Olajuwon and Jack Nicklaus Silver-LeBron James and Tiger Woods Gold-Michael Jordan and Jim Brown
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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