JOEL BLANK
As playoffs loom, what would be considered a success for the Astros?
Oct 1, 2018, 7:00 am
For Justin Verlander and the Astros, is anything less than a title considered a failure? Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images
Hey Astros! It don’t mean a thing, if you don't win that ring—just ask the Rockets. Houston set a franchise record for regular season wins and was one of the two best teams in the league. They had an MVP candidate, great veteran leadership, significant contributions from their role players and incredible coaching. Sound familiar Astros fans? The two teams mirror each other in many ways, but the Astros want to make sure there is one big difference. Unlike the Rockets, who stumbled in the playoffs and fell short of their ultimate goal, the Astros want to repeat their historic championship run.
As much as we love the ‘Stros, there’s a feeling that if the team is unable to repeat as World Series champions, it will be a huge disappointment. There is no more room for moral victories or being a hamstring away from greatness, this is a championship team—a team that brings home the hardware for their city and epitomizes being "Houston Strong." The tougher the opponent, the harder the fight and this team has fought out of some pretty deep fox holes to achieve amazing results for the team, the city, and Astros fans everywhere.
This is in no way meant to take away from the incredible regular season or to minimize the records per se. Some of the things we saw over the last six months we had never seen before, as the team made us forget about the possibility of a championship hangover and had us glued to the games to see what incredible accomplishment would be achieved next. They won more regular season games than ever before, gave up less runs than any American League team has surrendered in a non-strike year since the designated hitter was implemented and allowed fewer runs than all but two National League teams have given up since 1974.
The starting pitching was ridiculous with Justin Verlander in the running for the Cy Young Award and Charlie Morton and Gerritt Cole joining him in the 200 strikeout club. If not for an incredible year by the Boston Red Sox, the Astros would be heavy favorites to repeat as American League Champs and get back to their second straight World Series. The team they are opening up the postseason against may be their stiffest competition in the entire playoffs.
The Cleveland Indians have the only starting rotation that can come close to matching that of the Astros, and they have added former American League MVP Josh Donaldson to an already potent lineup that features two of the top 10 players in the league in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.
Houston has an advantage in the bullpen as well as their defense and depth, but don't be surprised if this series goes the full five games. If it does and the Tribe comes out on top, we all will be extremely disappointed. The real question becomes, will you consider the entire season a disappointment if they fall short against the Indians? What if they advance but get knocked off by the Red Sox or Yankees? Is a runner up finish in the World Series enough for you to deem the year a success? It's OK if you answered yes to any of those questions. It's part of being a fan of a winning team that has given you a title and a trophy and a new set of expectations. Let's hope this years team brings it all home again and lets us shoot for the moon next year too!
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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.