NFL fans will overreact to Week 1. Matt Starkey Chiefs website
Another opening week of NFL football is in the books. Joy and hope abounds, but so does misery and despair. There are a wide variety of emotions across league fan bases. As loyal readers of this column, you guys are aware of my affinity for writing about fan bases and their crazy ways. NFL week one freak out fans is perhaps the funniest bunch. So here for your reading pleasure are a few examples of week one freak out fans:
“We’re going to win the Super Bowl!”
This fan sees the result of the first game of the year and believes his/her team is going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at season’s end. The most extreme positive overreaction a fan can possibly have is thinking it’s possible. Typically, this fan is the one whose team had reasonably low expectations, but came out guns blazing and most likely beat a team everyone thought they should lose to. Or perhaps they blew out a similar team in spectacular fashion. Either way, there’s no need for this type of sentiment this early given meager expectations. Their conviction is only matched by the stupidity of their takes.
“I think we’ve got a shot.”
Very non-committal optimism describes this base. They tend to waffle on their good fortune after one game, even though they find it hard to hide. This one game is enough to confuse their true feelings for the rest of the season. I can almost guarantee these fans have long-term relationship problems due to commitment issues, but I can’t 100% confirm…well, kind of.
“I don’t think we’re going to the playoffs.”
Pessimism tends to settle in when teams underperform. If this fan’s team barely beats or losses to a team deemed inferior, despite reasonably good expectations to start the season, they will nose dive quicker than the first ducks during hunting season’s opening day. They’ll go all negative on you. From “we’re going to win our division”, to “I don’t think we have what it takes to make playoffs or go far if we do.” These fans tend to blow in the winds of change and up & down like the stock market.
“Who are the top prospects in the 2019 draft?”
Some fan’s expectations are so fragile and weak that one loss has them looking forward to the upcoming draft. Their team didn’t have high hopes to start with. It usually begins the season before. They miss the playoffs, pick in the top third of the draft, and have little to no hope of improving their chances due to roster deficiencies that require more than one good offseason to correct. Best way to describe them: if Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh was an NFL fan base, this would be the category he’d fall in.
If you fall into one of these four categories, I suggest you seek help. Call the hotline for ridiculous sports fans ASAP. If you do not fall into one of these categories, congratulations, but you’re lying to yourselves. Most fans fall into one of these categories after the first game of the NFL season. Remember, “fan” is short for “fanatic.” We all have a little crazy in us. Don’t be ashamed…unless you’re Super Bowl fan after one game. You guys can all swim in the Galveston waters with raw meat bathing suits.
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After finishing up with the Guardians the Astros have a rather important series for early May with the Seattle Mariners heading to town for the weekend. While it’s still too early to be an absolute must-win series for the Astros, losing the series to drop seven or eight games off the division lead would make successfully defending their American League West title that much more unlikely.
Since their own stumble out of the gate to a 6-10 record the Mariners have been racking up series wins, including one this week over the Atlanta Braves. The M’s offense is largely Mmm Mmm Bad, but their pitching is sensational. In 18 games after the 6-10 start, the Mariners gave up five runs in a game once. In the other 17 games they only gave up four runs once. Over the 18 games their starting pitchers gave up 18 earned runs total with a 1.44 earned run average. That’s absurd. Coming into the season Seattle’s starting rotation was clearly better on paper than those of the Astros and Texas Rangers, and it has crystal clearly played out as such into the second month of the schedule.
While it’s natural to focus on and fret over one’s own team's woes when they are plentiful as they have been for the Astros, a reminder that not all grass is greener elsewhere. Alex Bregman has been awful so far. So has young Mariners’ superstar Julio Rodriguez. A meager four extra base hits over his first 30 games were all Julio produced down at the ballyard. That the Mariners are well ahead of the Astros with J-Rod significantly underperforming is good news for Seattle.
Caratini comes through!
So it turns out the Astros are allowed to have a Puerto Rican-born catcher who can hit a little bit. Victor Caratini’s pedigree is not that of a quality offensive player, but he has swung the bat well thus far in his limited playing time and provided the most exciting moment of the Astros’ season with his two-out two-run 10th inning game winning home run Tuesday night. I grant that one could certainly say “Hey! Ronel Blanco finishing off his no-hitter has been the most exciting moment.” I opt for the suddenness of Caratini’s blow turning near defeat into instant victory for a team that has been lousy overall to this point. Frittering away a game the Astros had led 8-3 would have been another blow. Instead, to the Victor belong the spoils.
Pudge Rodriguez is the greatest native Puerto Rican catcher, but he was no longer a good hitter when with the Astros for the majority of the 2009 season. Then there’s Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado’s hitting stats with the Astros look Mike Piazza-ian compared to what Jose Abreu was doing this season. Finally, mercifully for all, Abreu is off the roster as he accepts a stint at rookie-level ball in Florida to see if he can perform baseball-CPR on his swing and career. Until or unless he proves otherwise, Abreu is washed up and at some point the Astros will have to accept it and swallow whatever is left on his contract that runs through next season. For now Abreu makes over $120,000 per game to not be on the roster. At his level of performance, that’s a better deal than paying him that money to be on the roster.
Abreu’s seven hits in 71 at bats for an .099 batting average with a .269 OPS is a humiliating stat line. In 2018 George Springer went to sleep the night of June 13 batting .293 after going hitless in his last four at bats in a 13-5 Astros’ win over Oakland. At the time no one could have ever envisioned that Springer had started a deep, deep funk which would have him endure a nightmarish six for 78 stretch at the plate (.077 batting average). Springer then hit .293 the rest of the season.
Abreu’s exile opened the door for Joey Loperfido to begin his Major League career. Very cool for Loperfido to smack a two-run single in his first game. He also struck out twice. Loperfido will amass whiffs by the bushel, he had 37 strikeouts in 101 at bats at AAA Sugar Land. Still, if he can hit .225 with some walks mixed in (he drew 16 with the Space Cowboys) and deliver some of his obvious power (13 homers in 25 games for the ex-Skeeters) that’s an upgrade over Abreu/Jon Singleton, as well as over Jake Meyers and the awful showing Chas McCormick has posted so far. Frankly, it seems unwise that the Astros only had Loperfido play seven games at first base in the minors this year. If McCormick doesn’t pick it up soon and with Meyers displaying limited offensive upside, the next guy worth a call-up is outfielder Pedro Leon. In January 2021 the Astros gave Leon four million dollars to sign out of Cuba and called him a “rapid mover to the Major Leagues.” Well…
Over his first three minor league seasons Leon flashed tools but definitely underwhelmed. He has been substantially better so far this year. He turns 26 May 28. Just maybe the Astros offense could be the cause of fewer Ls with Loperfido at first and Leon in center field.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.