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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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.