The Pallilog
On Kelvin Sampson's 21-1 Cougars, the Rockets, Astros and Texans
Feb 1, 2019, 6:20 am
Kelvin Sampson is rolling along. UHcougars.com
Blackjack for the Houston Cougars! 21. 21 wins just one loss. They will never be a citywide big deal, but they are a heckuva story. With some help this weekend UH could crack the Top 10 when the polls come out Monday. The Coogs get the weekend off ahead of their biggest back-to-back games of the season (at Central Florida then home vs. Cincinnati). Right now they'd likely be looking at a number three seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Shooting blanks
It's on to February for the Rockets, who will be challenged in the short term to move on from the stink of the gigantic rotten egg they laid Tuesday against the Pelicans. The Rockets would do fine to split their back-to-back games at Denver and Utah Friday and Saturday, coming off of their worst loss of the season. And remember the Rockets have a loss to the Cavaliers.
Without Clint Capela the Rockets are a simply awful defensive team, but Tuesday night was especially lame as they gave up 121 points to a ravaged Pelicans' lineup that was down superstar Anthony Davis and three of its next four leading scorers on the season. The silver lining in defeat was James Harden extending his 30 point games streak to a crazy 24 in a row, though Harden was part of the night's overall mess in making just 11 of 32 shots. It may just be a shooting slump, or maybe the fact that Mike D'Antoni continues to let Harden lead the league in minutes played per game is taking some toll. Over the last four games, Harden from deep, has been more The Brick than The Beard making just 17 of 63 3 pointers. That's a wretched 27 percent.
Overall, Harden's January was one of the most prolific in NBA history. 14 games played, an average of 43.6 points per game. No matter how you slice it, that is stunning output. But it is also fact that Harden's January shooting percentages both overall and from three finished lower than his season averages.
Speaking of Anthony Davis (and Capela), unless Tilman Fertitta balked at what would become a massive luxury tax bill going forward it's likely Daryl Morey offered Capela to New Orleans as the centerpiece of a Rockets' bid for Davis. Problem is the Rockets have no other assets worth a darn in trade and while Capela has evolved into an elite role player there is no way that an offer of Capela and chaff can compete with what the Lakers and Celtics can offer.
Another arm
Inside two months to the Astros' season opener, General Manager Jeff Luhnow finally fulfilled his objective of adding a starting pitcher. Turns out the Astros still have a bearded soft-tossing lefty in their rotation! It's not that exciting. It's also not Dallas Keuchel. At one year for four and a half million dollars, Wade Miley is a favorable risk/reward investment. The 32 year old Miley basically stunk for four years before reviving his career in 2018 with the Brewers. He posted a 2.57 ERA over 16 starts then was sensational in four abbreviated playoff starts, though a couple of things seem fluky about Miley's '18 results. For the Astros, he's rotation depth who at minimum helps bridge the gap until superstud prospect Forrest Whitley's expected Astros' debut sometime this year.
Miley's signing slams the door on any possible Keuchel return. Keuchel went into free agency with agent Scott Boras "demanding" a five year contract, target range 100 million dollars. Dreams don't always come true. Keuchel may not yet even have a four year offer. He's 31, not as good as he used to be, and there is a long, long list of long term pitcher contracts that have turned out to be huge mistakes for the signing team.
Never blame a player for taking the very maximum money he can get, if that's the choice made. If you were Keuchel would you take two years 30 million guaranteed to stay with a great team like the Astros or grab three years 45 mil from a projected also-ran? You'd probably take the extra 15 million. Me too.
An odd move
Interesting move with now former Texans quarterback coach Sean Ryan leaving for the same position with the Detroit Lions. All else being equal, would you opt to work with the still developing and darn exciting 24 year Deshaun Watson, or middle of the pack guy Matthew Stafford who turns 31 next week? It's not as if the Lions offer some stable and successful franchise environment. First year Head Coach Matt Patricia drew lousy reviews. Maybe Ryan winds up the play-caller in Detroit. Bill O'Brien wasn't going to give Ryan that opportunity here. Will O'Brien cede control of his offense to anybody?
Buzzer Beaters
1. Marquese Chriss asking the Rockets to play him more or trade him is sadly funny. The Rockets would give him away if they could. 2. The Texans hiring two time PED test flunker Brian Cushing as an assistant strength and conditioning coach is funny. 3. Super Bowl predictions: Bronze-Gladys Knight's national anthem performance will be stellar Silver-Maroon 5's halftime performance gets panned Gold-Patriots 34 Rams 31
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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.