Martin Truex has been dominant this season. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
For the second time in 2018, the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads for Pocono Raceway for the Gander Outdoors 400. The last time the Cup guys went to the tricky triangle, Martin Truex Jr claimed his second victory of the 2018 season. This victory set the tone for an incredible run of success. In the last seven races since the Pocono 400, he has claimed three victories and three top fives. Other than an 18th place finish at Michigan, Truex has not finished worse than fourth. His average finish over this span is an incredible 4.42. This team has simply not made mistakes, they have been up front and winning stages and most importantly winning races as well. Look For Truex to win many more races in the future.
This season has been dominated by “the Big Three” Consisting of Truex, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick and last weekend was no different. Kevin Harvick went on to take his sixth victory of the season after he bumped his championship rival Kyle Busch out of the way with seven laps remaining. After the race, when asked about the move Busch responded with “How you race is how you get raced so it’s fine.” Both of these drivers have a history of getting into altercations on and off the racetrack and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Anytime Harvick and Busch are close on the racetrack, it’s always must see TV. Look for Busch to try and return the favor later on in the season.
Ryan Newman was one of the bigger surprises of the race after he was able to claim a sixth place finish for his fifth top ten of the season. For the most part, 2018 has been a disappointment for the one they call the Rocket Man. He currently sits 18th in points and has only led a total of 44 laps all season so it was good for him and his team to get a good result at a track Newman has always performed well at. While this week's race at Pocono hasn’t exactly been a track he is known for having success during the last few years, I can see him building off last week’s result and getting another solid run to try and improve his chances to make the playoffs. He will definitely be one to watch on Sunday at Pocono.
The favorite to win this week is Brad Keselowski. Of all the storylines this season, one can argue that the 2012 champion not winning a race this deep into the season is one of the biggest surprises of the year. This season hasn’t been bad by any means for him but after his championship-caliber season last year, many would have thought he would have gone to victory lane by now. This week there is a good possibility that may change. Going into this race, he has nine top fives and one win here and everytime they come here he is always leading laps and is in contention. He just seems to understand how to get around this place almost better than anyone else. He should be a threat to go to victory lane on Sunday.
My prediction for this week is Kurt Busch. This week, he comes to a track where he has run well before. He has three wins here including his last victory in 2016. While he struggled here the last time they came in June with an 19th place finish, I can see Busch turning it around and getting his first win of the season, continuing the Stewart-Haas dominance we have seen all year. Look for Busch to take his first checkered flag of the year and clinch his spot in this year’s playoffs.
(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Refrence.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).
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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.