THE PALLILOG
Let's breakdown the Astros roster because we have actual games starting Saturday
Feb 21, 2020, 9:25 am
Composite photo by Brandon Strange
After the Astros' offseason of shame and blame and firings and hirings, finally some actual baseball games! Okay, games with meaningless outcomes, but one way to move past almost Astros related conversation revolving around their cheating ways. Things could have been wild this weekend had the Washington Nationals not stormed Minute Maid Park to win the World Series four months ago. The Astros and Nats open the spring training game schedule Saturday and Sunday with a pair at the complex the two share in West Palm Beach.
Counting a couple of days with split squad games, the Astros play 31 practice games in Florida. With the more relaxed atmosphere of fun in the sun and the games not counting, you'd think opposing team fan heckling of the Astros shouldn't be too bad. The Astros' Grapefruit League schedule does not include the Yankees or Dodgers. The Yankees are on the other side of Florida, the Dodgers are in Arizona.
On the field the Astros have fewer concerns than most teams. Behind Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke the starting rotation is all question marks, but the candidate pool is deep enough to yield at least halfway decent answers. At least given all the run support that is likely.
The everyday lineup is essentially set, and still loaded. The only notable spring storyline is whether long heralded prospect Kyle Tucker wins the primary right field job. Tucker turned 23 years old last month. An overwhelmingly high percentage of great hitters in Major League history are established in the bigs no older than 23. Tucker isn't handed the job, because the Astros could not dump the final year and 13 million dollars of Josh Reddick's contract. They would literally have given him away had there been a taker. No taker. Reddick turned 33 on Wednesday. He was a bad player last season, so unless he has a salary drive bounce back of a season, Tucker is a huge disappointment if the primary right field job doesn't wind up his.
Don't be an Astropologist. The Astros blatantly, brazenly, and arrogantly cheated. It impacted games. How often and how substantially, open to debate. But it impacted games. If it had no impact on games, then the Astros and those complicit were the biggest band of morons in baseball history for going on with the scheme as long as they did. Besides, ineffectual cheating is still cheating.
All those whining about NY and LA and national media piling on. Stop. That just makes the whiners, and Houston, look provincially small. As if had the Yankees and/or Dodgers been nailed for cheating at the Astros' expense the same people now saying "Leave the Astros alone!" or "A bunch of other teams were doing it too!" wouldn't be screaming holy hell that "The Astros were robbed!" "Hang the Yankees in the town square!"
If you don't want the time, don't do the crime. The Astros did the crime. It's still their time to deal with the fallout. They and Astros fans, don't enforceably get to say, make it stop! If you're thinking, ok, ok, you're right but enough already! Understood. The furor will subside. But if your kid screws up he or she doesn't get to decide when he or she is no longer grounded.
It's still a fresh story. There have been no games to talk about yet, no player performances to criticize, no manager's decisions to second guess. That time is coming. As will be a bunch of wins for the 2020 Astros.
Huge game for the Rockets Saturday night at Utah. The Rockets running fifth in the Western Conference, behind the fourth place Jazz by two in the loss column. The season series rides on Saturday's outcome. It would be a massive win for the Rockets. With a loss, it's not a stretch to say they'd be unlikely to have home court advantage for even the first round of the playoffs.
Rockets add DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green
Again this season the Rockets shopped the buyout bargain bin to fill out their roster for the stretch run. Last season they added Iman Shumpert and Kenneth Faried, two guys who gave them next to nothing in the playoffs. This year's contestants are 33 year old DeMarre Carroll and 33 year old Jeff Green. Carroll had fallen out of the rotation of a bad Spurs team, the Jazz released Green before Christmas. The Lakers and Clippers are not quivering.
Buzzer Beaters: 1. Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the USA "Miracle on Ice" win over the USSR at the Lake Placid Olympics. No sporting event can ever plausibly spark American patriotic fervor the way that game and subsequent winning of the gold medal did. 2. $80 plus taxes and "fees" to watch Fury-Wilder II Saturday night? No thanks. Could be a heckuva fight though. 3. Most memorable fights I watched live: Bronze-Tyson/Holyfield II, the ear bite fight. Silver-Alexis Arguello/Aaron Pryor 1982 Gold-Marvelous Marvin Hagler/Tommy Hearns 1985. If never seen, absolutely watch on YouTube. Eight plus minutes of Oh My Goodness!
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New York’s Daniel Jones threw two interceptions, one which was returned for a touchdown in his first action since a season-ending knee injury last year and the Houston Texans beat the Giants 28-10 Saturday in preseason action.
Jones tore the ACL in his right knee on Nov. 5 and had recovered for the start of training camp but was held out of New York’s preseason opener last week against Detroit. He played until halftime Saturday and was 11 of 18 for 138 yards.
Houston’s C.J. Stroud threw for 88 yards in one quarter after playing two series in his preseason debut last week. The Texans didn’t score on his first drive and he was lifted for Case Keenum in the middle of the next one at the start of the second quarter.
Jones was under heavy pressure in the end zone on his second drive when he threw a desperation pass which was picked off by Jalen Pitre and returned 5 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0.
The Giants were driving on the next possession when Jones attempted a deep throw to Jalin Hyatt. But Derek Stingley jumped in front of him near the end zone for another interception.
Jones moved the ball more effectively after that with most of Houston’s starters on the bench. He directed a 63-yard drive capped by a 1-yard TD run by Devin Singletary that tied it early in the second.
John Metchie led the Texans with six receptions for 68 yards. Metchie, who is starting his second season since missing his rookie year undergoing treatment for cancer, grabbed a 3-yard touchdown from Case Keenum to make it 14-7 in the second.
New York’s Malik Nabers, the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, jumped up to grab a pass for a 21-yard gain just before halftime. Nabers, who sat out last week while dealing with an ankle injury, had four receptions for 54 yards. That drive ended with a field goal that cut the lead to 14-10 at the break.
Houston's British Brooks, an undrafted rookie, had touchdown runs of 6 and 15 yards in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 28-10.
Be sure to watch the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap react live to the win over the Giants!
Injuries
Giants: Linebacker Micah McFadden was carted off in the first quarter with a hip injury. … OL Ryder Anderson injured his hamstring in the first quarter. … LB Matthew Adams left in the third quarter with a groin injury.
Roof damage
The roof of NRG Stadium has yet to be repaired from damages sustained during Hurricane Beryl last month. Several panels of the retractable roof were damaged in the Category 1 storm. The roof was closed Saturday, but two sections of it near one end zone were missing, allowing sun to stream onto the field.
The team has said that supplies to repair the roof are difficult to get and repairs might not be completed until about a month into the regular season.
Remembering Jacoby Jones
The Texans honored Jacoby Jones, who died of heart disease last month at 40, before the game. Jones was drafted by the team in 2007 and spent his first five seasons in Houston.
His family was on the field during introductions and his son Jacoby Jones Jr. fired the cannon before the team ran out.
Up Next
Giants: End the preseason against the New York Jets next Saturday night.
Texans: Have a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams Thursday before wrapping up the preseason by hosting them next Saturday.