STOP MELTING DOWN
Patrick Creighton: Astros fans should be happy right now
Apr 17, 2018, 5:40 am
George Springer and the rest of the Astros will start hitting soon. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
If I can steal a quote from Aaron Rodgers for all nervous Astros fans right now, it would be this:
R-E-L-A-X
There’s no reason to think they won’t be at their rightful place atop MLB at the end of the season.
I know they’ve lost three straight. It has happened before. It will happen again. It’s no big deal.
I know they aren’t hitting a lick right now. It’s called a team slump. It passes. Consider the lineup. You don’t really expect the whole team to be cold all season, do you?
Realistically, when the team slump ends, a team streak will start. This team can put up eight runs a game when they hit normally. Just wait until they are hot.
George Springer isn’t going to hit .224, Alex Bregman won’t bat .212. Right now Evan Gattis, Marwin Gonzalez, and Derek Fisher are all riding the Interstate, and Yuli Gurriel just came back from wrist surgery.
This team won the World Series last year, O Ye of Little Faith. Have some confidence.
Yes, they’re “only” 10-7. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing.
When you look at great teams of recent history, generally there’s anywhere from 2-4 hot streaks, and the rest of the year they hover around .500.
For example:
1984 Detroit Tigers
The Tigers went 104-58 and won the World Series. They got off to a 35-5 start, and had another 11-1 run later in the year. That means the rest of the season they were 58-52. Close to .500 ball.
1986 New York Mets
The Mets went 108-54, and won the World Series. They had three noted streaks during the year, 18-1, 16-3, and 11-2. Those three hot streaks combined for a 45-6 mark, which means they were 53-48 the rest of the season, or just above .500.
1998 New York Yankees
I chose this team because they not only had an incredible record but because of the fact the Astros lineup is so deep, and that was one of the hallmarks of this Yankees team.
These Yankees went 114-48 and won the World Series. They had four pronounced runs: 25-4, 20-4, 16-2, 15-2, which combined for a 76-12 mark. The rest of the season, the Yanks were 38-36.
Are you sensing the pattern yet?
Here, let’s look at one more team that everyone reading this should be familiar with.
2017 Houston Astros
The reigning, defending, undisputed World Champions finished 101-61 last season. They had four distinguished streaks: 10-2, 14-3, 13-1, 14-3, combining to go 51-9. They went 50-52 in the other games that year. How did it work out? (See the first sentence in this paragraph for a reminder).
Yes, the Astros are scuffling right now, and essentially haven’t been able to hit a beach ball for three weeks. They are still 10-7. They’re playing near .500 ball while they struggle, and then the hot streaks will come.
By the way, have you noticed the revamped rotation? You know, where three starters have ERAs under 1.40? The one that is striking batters out faster than trolls can post on Twitter?
Take a deep breath. R-E-L-A-X. This team will be just fine. The bats are asleep right now, but we all know what happens when you wake a sleeping giant.
Patrick Creighton is the host of “Straight Heat” on SB Nation Radio, which can be heard locally 9p-12a CT on SportsMap 94.1FM. Look for his new show “Late Hits” coming to ESPN 97.5 weeknights 7-9p, debuting April 23rd. Follow him on Twitter: @pcreighton1
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After a two-game sweep of the Rockies in Mexico City, a heart-thumping, extra-inning win Tuesday night over the Guardians in Minute Maid Park, the surprising demotion of first baseman Jose Abreu to the bottom rung of the minor leagues and the call-up of fan favorite rookie slugger Joey Loperfido … suddenly the Astros season seems turned around.
Even if their record still is 10-19 and they remain dead last in the American League West.
Ah, but only six games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners. That’s just a hot streak away.
The Astros are in it … and right now aren’t you thinking to win it?
One thing is for sure. There is no doubt who is running the Astros ship and is the voice in owner Jim Crane’s ear. It’s Dana Brown, the general manager.
Since the last pitch of the Astros disappointing 2023 season when they “only” made it to Game 7 of the ALCS, Brown has made the 2024 Astros team in his mind’s image.
Gone is last year’s manager Dusty Baker with whom Brown fussed and fought with over Baker’s insistence on playing weak-hitting Martin Maldonado over rookie Yanier Diaz.
Baker resigned (thank you for saving us the trouble) and was out the door shortly after the season ended.
Gone, too, is Maldonado. The Astros never made a serious attempt to keep him in Houston.
Now Abreu is dispatched, too. After an April of historic batting futility, Abreu, a 37-year-old veteran, consented to go back to the minors to find his batting stroke. He leaves the Astros, for public consumption temporarily, hitting .099 with no home runs and 3 RBI in 71 at bats.
The Astros signed Abreu to a $58.5 million, three-year contract before last season – before Brown arrived in Houston. Crane offered the megabuck contract at the urging of then-de facto general manager Jeff Bagwell. At this time last year, it was an open question, who is the real Crane-whisperer, newly hired Brown or Astros legend Bagwell?
Next question?
If Baker had been retained and Brown held sidelined in key decisions, it’s likely that Maldonado would be in the Astros lineup and Diaz again the catcher-in-waiting. With fans still frustrated up to here.
Maldonado eventually signed with the Chicago White Sox where he is batting an even .100 and has Southside fans wringing their hands over his offensive impotence. Defensively, he has thrown out only two of 20 base stealers for a 10-percent success rate.
Meanwhile, Diaz is batting a solid .287 with three homers and 13 RBI. He is one of MLB’s elite hitting catchers. He’s also thrown out six of 23 base stealers for a 26-percent success rate.
Maldonado did have value when he played for the Astros, though. He was a leader in the clubhouse. He led team meetings when times were tough. Pitchers had confidence in him. Fans liked him, at least on a personal level.
Abreu never made that connection during his time in Houston. Despite Brown’s repeated urging to read the back of Abreu’s baseball card, and his kind and confident words announcing Abreu’s departure for West Palm Beach, do you expect to ever see him in an Astros uniform again? Abreu still will be owed $19.5 million next season, so there is that.
When Astros fans woke up Wednesday morning, they had visions of Alex Bregman and Jon Singleton smacking three-run homers, of Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena’s continued hot hitting, of rookie Loperfido driving in two go-ahead runs and reserve catcher Victor Caratini sending a big crowd home happy with a dramatic two-out, walk-off blast over the right field fence.
Hope is a good thing, and it’s back.