Best in the West?
Patrick Creighton: Hey Rockets fans, stop doubting and get on board
Mar 13, 2018, 6:43 am
Astros fans took a while to come around. Are Rockets fans doing the same thing? Elsa/Getty Images
It’s a phenomenon that I had not previously encountered before moving to Houston, and apparently it isn’t one that has completely passed.
As the Astros marched to a 101-win season, division title, and their first World Series Championship in franchise history, defeating the three biggest historical franchises along the way, I noticed something I didn’t understand. It wasn’t subtle either.
Many Astros fans weren’t spending the season reveling in the success of the team, joyful to see such an incredible offense blast its way to 101 wins. They were waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Almost expecting disaster to come at any moment, it seemed as if many fans were jumping on and off the bandwagon with every ebb and flow of positive and negative news. Fans just couldn’t seem to fully embrace the team.
This is somewhat manifested in the support the team received at home. The Astros, despite the third best record in baseball and the best record in the American League for a large majority of the season, were only 15th in average attendance at 29,675 per game. That’s only 72% of Minute Maid Park’s 41,168 capacity.
Teams like the Giants (64 wins), Blue Jays (76), Angels (80), Rangers (78), Braves (72), and Mets (70) all drew greater average attendance than Houston did, despite being mediocre to awful teams.
Even during the World Series, I saw a disproportionate number of people on social media predicting doom and gloom for the Astros every time they lost. It didn’t make sense. It was like the fans of the team were conditioned to expect disaster even in the face of the ultimate success.
This was a foreign concept to me, coming from New York, where every winning streak sent the fans into frenzy that a championship was on the horizon.
Where was the energy, the faith, the positivity? Where was the blind devotion that sports fans have for their teams, especially in good times?
I have encountered so many Astros fans that are kicking themselves because they didn’t truly believe in the team for such long stretches, and they missed out on a lot of fun in the process because they were too busy expecting disaster.
The Houston Rockets have the best record in the NBA, 2 games ahead of Golden State with 15 to play. They are on the verge of breaking their own single season record for most wins. James Harden is on his way to becoming the MVP of the league.
So, why are so many fans not fully buying in?
You know some of them. I know you do. They’re everywhere. People grousing “Harden will choke in the playoffs” or “Run and gun doesn’t work in the playoffs” or “They still aren’t as good as the Warriors” and other silliness rooted more in a lack of faith than in any legitimately founded reason.
Some are quick to point to last season’s final playoff game where an exhausted Harden could barely move, let alone carry his team over San Antonio. Perhaps if the Rockets had another legitimate ball handler and distributor, it wouldn’t have been solely on Harden to do everything to generate offense for himself and his teammates. This year he has Chris Paul, one of the best ball handlers and distributors in the game. I’m sure I don’t have to dwell on whether or not the two of them can coexist at this point in the season.
The Rockets may not have acquired a third superstar (Thank you Lord for keeping Melo out of Houston) but in reality, they may already have a big four with the way Eric Gordon scores from off the bench (18.7 PPG) and the continuing growth of Clint Capela (14.2 PPG 11 RPG 65.2% FG) as a big man. That foursome can legitimately be looked at among the best in the NBA.
Let’s put that in perspective, and compare the Rockets Big Four of Harden, Paul, Gordon and Capela with Golden State’s Big Four of Curry, Durant, Thompson and Green. This seems preposterous, right? Golden State’s Big Four is the best in the NBA by a mile, right? Not remotely.
The Warriors Big Four combine to average 83.8 PPG, 23.6 RPG, and 21.6 APG. The Rockets Big Four average 83.5 PPG, 24 RPG, and 20 APG. That’s basically a dead heat, and the Rockets have the better supporting cast. Plus, 67 games is a significant enough sample size. If you haven’t come around that the Rockets are capable of beating the Warriors, and you are not a Dubs fan, it’s because you secretly hate yourself.
And for the old timers who still think uptempo offense can’t win in the playoffs: A) Golden State has two of the past three titles playing that way and B) the Rockets have won using paces among the highest and lowest this season in large spurts.
Rockets fans: don’t make the same mistake so many Astros fans made last season. Don’t sit around waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is a historically good Rockets team, projecting to be the best Rockets team of all time. Embrace it. Revel in it. Strap in and hang on.
The season is so much more exciting when you do!
Patrick Creighton is the host of “Nate & Creight” heard Mon-Fri 1-3p on SportsMap 94.1FM, and hosts “Sports & Shenanigans” Sundays 12-5p CT on SB Nation Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @pcreighton1
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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 nine 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 a 4-8 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 (though not Breggy Bad). 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.