TIME TO BUY IN
Lance Zierlein: But this time it’s different with the Rockets
Lance Zierlein
Jan 24, 2018, 8:40 am
With Chris Paul joining James Harden, these Rockets are worth believing in. Houston Rockets/Facebook
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. That’s the old saying and it basically means that at a point, you are responsible for buying into something you know to be wrong or fraudulent. Unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, many local fans view James Harden (and by proxy the Rockets) as a “fool me twice” entity they are having a hard time completely buying in on.
And you know what? That’s fair. The Rockets have been a very competitive regular season team for most of the time that James Harden has been with them and he was a well-deserved MVP runner-up for two of those seasons. However, reputations and memories aren’t built on the first 82 games, they are built upon the the games and playoff series thereafter. Harden’s reputation has spawned the nickname “Elimination Game James” which acknowledges his continued shortcomings in the biggest situations come playoff time.
Harden’s talent is undeniable, but his ability to lead the organization through adversity and into greatness is something that has eluded him. James is a scorer. James is an elite scorer. James is an elite scorer with a willingness to get other teammates involved. These are facts, not opinions. However, as we saw with Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell in the playoffs, regular season greatness and postseason greatness can be mutually exclusive.
But this time, Rockets fans, it feels different.
The addition of Chris Paul has given the Rockets another player capable of scoring and creating for others, but it’s also shifted the potential dynamics of the team come playoff time. No longer is it a “Harden or Bust” scenario. If Harden is in the midst of one of his turnover sprees, Paul can not only take over the ball-handling duties, he can lead the team. I think we can all agree that leadership and overcoming adversity has been one of the areas where the Rockets have come up short in the playoffs.
This incarnation of the Rockets has three players in Harden, Paul and Eric Gordon who are capable of scoring thirty points per game. This Rockets team has better depth off the bench including better defenders. This team just looks and feels different. While they aren’t a great defensive team, they are better in the half-court and more capable of getting stops when needed.
I’m not here to tell you that the Rockets are the favorite to beat the Golden State Warriors, but I am here to tell you that they are built to match up with them better than they ever have been because it’s no longer James Harden vs. the world. Buy-in and enjoy the season, Rockets fans.
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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.