Every-Thing Sports
Texans can build a legacy over the next three games
Nov 12, 2019, 6:55 am
Deshaun Watson had an up and down day. Tim Warner/Getty Images
The Texans have been around for 18 years. They've made playoff appearances and even have a couple playoff wins. Never in their history, with the exception of a couple years in the Matt Schaub era, have they been truly thought of as a serious contender. They've built a reputation as a team that's more like the bridesmaid who never gets married, but is always asked to be in another friend's wedding. Close, but never the center of attention. Always on the outside looking in. Smelling the cookies, but can't afford to buy them. You get the point.
They have a chance to change that narrative this season. More specifically, they can set themselves up nicely over the next three weeks. With games against at the Ravens and MVP candidate Lamar Jackson in a noon time must-see-tv matchup, Thursday Night Football against division rival Colts, followed by Sunday night Football against perpetual big brother in the Patriots. All three games will be paid close attention to by the national eye given the high profile nature of not only the opponents and times they play, but also because the Texans are 6-3, leading the AFC South, and have a pretty damned good quarterback of their own. But there are bigger implications at stake.
Ready for your closeup Mr. Watson?
Deshaun Watson is no stranger to the spotlight. We all know of his exploits while at Clemson, and we've all heard what his college coach thinks of him. Over the next three games, he has an opportunity to establish himself as not only an MVP candidate this season, but as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He has to outplay and beat a current MVP frontrunner, division rival, and Hall of Famer to do so. The funny thing is, it's not farfetched given the immense amount of talent he has. He has enough talent around him and the ability to elevate said talent to get it done. No more excuses because stretches and opportunities like this don't present themselves too often.
Next man up
In 2010, the Packers went on to win the Super Bowl. They also had over 20 guys on injured reserve that year as well. No team goes through a season and wins at a high level without facing adversity. The excuse of guys being hurt is the reason for not succeeding is for losers. Every player on that roster is there because they're considered one of the best in the world at what they do. There are approximately seven billion people on this planet. Only 1,952 of them are actively on an NFL roster or practice squad (give or take some on injured reserve and other lists). While the guys on the middle to back end of the Texans' roster may not be the best, they also didn't make it this far without proving themselves capable. Lose the "we have guys injured" narrative and step up to win games.
Little brother syndrome
Over the course of their history, the Texans have had a little brother syndrome when it comes to the Colts and Patriots. The Colts have owned the AFC South and they've failed miserably at trying to be Patriots South. Both of these teams have been to and won Super Bowls since the Texans have been in the league. Both have also used the Texans as a doormat to those Super Bowls. Now is the time to start putting an end to both of those storylines. The Colts are still a good team, but they aren't the juggernaut they once were. The Patriots still seem to be the powerhouse they've always been, but also have chinks in their armor. Watson is the one piece the Texans have never had: a dynamic playmaker at the most critical position. Now is the time to punch these two older brothers in the mouth and establish a new trend.
A reason for arrogance
It's well-known that Bill O'Brien can be a prick. His smug answers and general arrogance are another reason why people feel this franchise is trying too hard to be Patriots South. He's seen as a Bill Belichek knock-off who doesn't have the skins on the wall to pull off Belichek's persona. If this team can not only win these next three games, but also begin to establish themselves as true title contenders for the foreseeable furture, O'Brien's attitude would be a lot more accepted. He seems to be more pleasent when things are going his way, so maybe he'd drop the asshole act altogether if the team is winning and contending. Whether he's a nice guy or not doesn't mean much to me, but his whole schtick would be more palatable if the Texans were making regular AFC Title game appearences.
I'm not saying this three game stretch will define this franchise for years to come. This stretch can springboard them into something bigger. Finishing this run 3-0, 9-3 overall, would give them supreme confidence as well as position them for a first round bye in the AFC playoffs. They would even have a shot at homefield advantage throughout should they finish with the same record as the Patriots. Now is when it's time for your nuts to drop and voices to deepen Texans. It's time to start shaving and wearing grown man deodorant. This is when you have to get a job and start paying bills. Growing up has to happen at some point, or you're just another bum living off your parents and more successful siblings.
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With three and a half weeks to Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline, the Astros’ stampede from 10 games back to within two games of impotent and staggering Seattle in the American League West obviously changes their approach. The Astros were a couple of bad weeks from needing to enter sell mode but that is delightfully completely off the table. As in, gone is any notion of getting what you can for Alex Bregman before losing him for nothing but a compensatory draft pick. General Manager Dana Brown will have failed if he does not add a starting pitcher. Just remember, Brown could fail at the deadline but still have his team win the West or nab a Wild Card spot. Meanwhile, if Mariners’ cheapo ownership doesn’t authorize taking on significant salary for some hitting and/or GM Jerry Dipoto doesn’t acquire same, they should be run out of the Emerald City.
The Astros should be in hard for a decent starter such as Colorado’s Cal Quantrill. Counting on Luis Garcia to come back and pitch very well is hope, not smart expectation. Counting on Lance McCullers to come back at all should probably be regarded as hope, not expectation. Justin Verlander’s status is very up in the air. Unless Spencer Arrighetti’s command makes a sudden leap in quality, he is not a quality starter. Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown are carrying the rotation. Imagine uttering that sentence in March! Both guys are on course to blow past previous professional highs in innings pitched. Does their excellence hold up? Framber Valdez is yielding too many big innings, but overall remains a critical contributor.
A bunch of other playoff hopefuls have much better farm systems than the Astros and can dangle more highly regarded prospects as trade bait, but we’re not talking about Justin Verlander or Zack Greinke level acquisitions. If the White Sox are to deal Garrett Crochet, who is under team control through 2026, the Astros don’t have the goods to make a winning offer. For the ChiSox’ Erik Fedde? Make an offer and see what happens. Fedde is signed for next year at seven and a half million dollars. I mentioned Quantrill earlier. He makes just over six and a half mil this year and is arbitration eligible for 2025.
Yordan is on fire!
It seemed impossible at the time that Yordan Alvarez mustered just two home runs and four runs batted in for the entire month of May. In June he exceeded those totals on the third, and basically hasn’t stopped pounding away since. In his last 27 games the Cuban Missile Launcher is batting .367, has mashed 10 homers, and driven in 27 runs. That’s easy math to extrapolate over 162 games: 60 homers and 162 runs batted in. Not coincidentally the Astros’ offense has taken off with him. After what he did in Toronto this week it would be understandable if the Blue Jays tried to have Yordan’s passport temporarily voided next season to keep him out of Canada. Having just turned 27 last week, Alvarez is on an early Hall of Fame track. Yet amazingly, in this his fourth full season in the Major Leagues, Aaron Judge has been better than Alvarez in all of them. Of course, Astros fans can giddily taunt Yankees fans by asking “Would you like to compare their postseason performances?”
Speaking of amazing, that fairly summarizes Jose Altuve’s career, which has another banner season in progress and a ninth All-Star selection to show for it. Altuve is within three of the record for most All-Star teams made as a second baseman. Hall of Famers Nellie Fox and Roberto Alomar were each picked 12 times, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg 10. It should be noted that the All-Star game didn’t come into being until 1933, so all-time greats like Rogers Hornsby and Eddie Collins couldn’t rack up selections. Back to Altuve. He last reached 170 hits in a season in his 2017 Most Valuable Player Award campaign. He is on pace for 203 hits this season. Still, Joe Espada needs to be mindful of giving Altuve some days off through the dog days of summer. Somewhat bizarrely, after two strikeouts to go with two hits Thursday, Altuve is on pace to strike out a whopping 137 times this season. Altuve’s career high in strikeouts is 91. I say somewhat bizarrely in that it is explainable. Altuve swings harder much more frequently than he did in his younger days. That brings more swing and miss. Also, at 34 years old while still fabulous, Altuve is more vulnerable to whiffing on breaking balls. Jeff Bagwell’s career-worst strikeout season was 135, Lance Berkman’s 125, Carlos Lee’s 94. It’s a different era.
No Tucker, no problem
Kyle Tucker has now missed more than a month since not suffering “major damage” when he fouled a ball off his right shin. I wouldn’t call the best player on the team being out more than a month “minor damage.” Anyway, it makes the Astros’ offensive surge much more impressive that it has occurred with Tucker not a part of it. The time lost probably cost Tucker a first time selection as an All-Star Game starter. Judge and Juan Soto were two obvious American League outfielder choices. Tucker had been the obvious third, but missing what is now 30 percent of the Astros’ schedule played to date ended that. His overall numbers are still stout enough that Tucker should be named a reserve for a third year in a row, though there is zero chance of him playing in the game. Cleveland’s Steven Kwan has been outstanding and won the vote for the third slot, though he has actually played only 59 games vs. Tucker’s 60. Boston’s Jarren Duran clearly should be the third AL outfield starter.
*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 The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.