THE PALLILOG
How DeMeco can cook up Texans success with Astros-themed ingredients
Feb 2, 2023, 3:44 pm
A lot can be learned from the Astros success. Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images.
As a fan what do you want most from your favorite teams in which you invest so much emotionally and sometimes financially? Sustained excellence and championships are certainly ideals, but short of those (or leading up to those) the most important thing for a fan to have is hope. For three years the Houston Texans have been a hopeless laughingstock of a dung heap, so any move connoting competence would be heralded. Here we are with the Texans’ hire of DeMeco Ryans as head coach. DeMeco was a fine hire. An excellent player over his six seasons with the Texans. A total professional. Smart. Seemingly universally both liked and respected. He brings a lot to the Texans’ table starting with a credibility injection of which the franchise has had desperate need. Quickie reality dose though. Breathless pronouncements about how awesome this masterstroke is aside, one thing DeMeco does not bring back to Houston with him: assurance of success, even as kind of a prodigal son coming home. Bart Starr anyone?
There's no substitute for talent
Back in 2020 plenty of people questioned the Astros’ hire of Dusty Baker. People like to complain. Dusty was a credentialed selection with the personality and resume to take over an elite ballclub in the aftermath of the cheating scandal. Two World Series appearances and one World Series championship later, even the harshest “the game has passed by Ol’ Dusty” sillyheads have to acknowledge that’s worked out fairly well. Dusty’s positives are numerous, but the number one positive he’s had as manager of the Astros? A helluva roster every year. The Astros could have hired Anita Baker as manager and made the playoffs the last couple years.
DeMeco Ryans isn’t coming on board to be the sage and experienced hand to steer a shipshape operation. DeMeco is charged with hoisting the NFL Titanic from the bottom of the ocean. So if DeMeco is to thrive over time in his new job, it’s time that General Manager Nick Caserio starts thriving in his job. It’s highly unlikely Caserio can do the job Jeff Luhnow did (and that James Click added to) in constructing the Astro juggernaut, but if Caserio is to look like more than a guy whose cart was fortuitously hitched to the Belichick/Brady wagon with the Patriots, he needs to get cracking.
DeMeco smartly commanded a six-year contract. Caserio is starting year three of his own six-year deal. So far, so bad, but with qualifiers. I thought of Caserio’s first year as a redshirt year for him. He inherited a decayed roster, salary cap ugliness, and no first or second round draft pick (thanks one more time Bill O’Brien!). That Caserio’s second year pretty much showed no improvement is not inspiring. In 2021 in finishing 4-13 the Texans finished 30th among the 32 NFL teams in points scored, 27th in points allowed. In 2022 in finishing 3-13-1 the Texans again finished 30th in points scored, again 27th in points allowed. That was not all about coaching, though David Culley was in waaaaaaaay over his head and Lovie Smith did what he did at his two most recent head coaching gigs (Tampa Bay Bucs, University of Illinois), lose a whole lot. How much blame for the poor head coach hires goes to Caserio vs. how much to Cal McNair?
The most brilliant chef can’t be asked to make a magnificent meal out of trash ingredients. With the Astros A.J. Hinch and Dusty Baker had/have USDA Prime rosters, Culley and Smith had mostly Ken-L Rations. Caserio now has draft picks galore. He needs to find his Carlos Correa or Alex Bregman, most specifically at quarterback. Caserio also has ample salary cap space. Time to add more than temp journeymen. What he no longer has are excuses. DeMeco clearly did stellar work as 49ers defensive coordinator, but it’s not as if he spun straw into gold. The Niners have plentiful talent. Robert Saleh DCed a couple fine units there before getting the Jets head coaching gig that enabled Ryans to step up. How’s Saleh doing as HC without a quarterback?
For years now the Astros have been the only major pro team in town worth a damn. In what is supposed to be “football first” territory how much cachet do the Texans reclaim and how quickly? For starters at least, DeMeco Ryans brings hope.
Have you found our new Astros podcast?
Stone Cold ‘Stros is the weekly Astro-centric podcast I am part of alongside Brandon Strange and Josh Jordan. On our regular schedule it airs live at 3PM Monday on the SportsMapHouston YouTube channel, is available there for playback at any point, and also becomes available in podcast form at outlets galore. Such as:
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
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.