THE PALLILOG
Texans face uphill task in opener; plus A&M, UT, LSU and the Astros
Sep 6, 2019, 6:57 am
Deshaun Watson . Tim Warner/Getty Images
The 18th season of Houston Texans football dawns Monday night in New Orleans. It probably begins with a loss to the Saints. While in a 16 game schedule each game matters much more than one game in an NBA or MLB season, the Texans open with somewhat of a playing with house money opportunity. The Saints open the season as the NFC Super Bowl favorite. The Texans are supposed to lose at the Superdome so it's not as if a defeat puts them behind an early eight ball. Win on the other hand, and wow.
The addition of Laremy Tunsil from the Dolphins to play left tackle is a huge upgrade to the Texans' crummy offensive line. Wide receiver Kenny Stills is a good get too. Even though the Texans grossly overpaid in dealing away their next two first round draft picks and their 2021 second rounder, the deal indisputably and significantly improves the Texans' offense for 2019.
For every yin there's supposed to be a yang. Well, trading away Jadeveon Clowney for 40 cents on the dollar was ineptitude. If Duke Johnson plays in 10 games this season the Texans give up a third rounder for him. Only getting a third rounder for Clowney displayed a fundamental failure in grasping the NFL offseason timeline, how leverage works, and how not having a real General Manager can make the Texans look silly. Bill O'Brien is obtuse if not aware that if the Texans crater this season even he could lose his job. If that happens, future high draft picks dealt away wouldn't be his problem. O'Brien can be Billy Bluster but he is not obtuse. O'Brien has harnessed too much power for his level of accomplishment. That doesn't guarantee that things can't work out. Matching last season's 11 wins is unlikely, but with Andrew Luck retired a 9-7 AFC South championship is quite possible.
Big day for college football
What a doubleheader Saturday as Texas A&M and Texas each take cracks at upsetting Tigers: the Aggies play at Clemson followed by the Longhorns home to LSU.
The Aggies are 17 ½ point underdogs. Opening against Texas State was a glorified scrimmage, so irresponsible and hence suspended A&M cornerback Debione Renfro was not missed in that game. Renfro's absence figures to hurt the Ags against the Tigers' dynamic receiving corps. Clemson has a new batch of studs in its defensive line to replace the three guys who went in the top 17 picks of the NFL Draft. How the Aggie offensive line fares against them should in large part determine whether A&M is in the game in the fourth quarter with a chance at the upset.
The Longhorns are surprisingly (to me anyway) six and a half point home underdogs. As opposed to beating an under-motivated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, beating LSU would send up a huge flare that the Horns really "are back." The Tigers may finally have a 21st century offense. UT only has three defensive starters back from last season, but that should not be a big deal. The two departees who were drafted went in the fifth and seventh rounds. If Tom Herman's recruiting classes live up to billing this unit should have more talent.
Bullpen woes
The Astros start the playoffs four weeks from today. Except for maybe the Dodgers, the Astros' chance of winning the World Series is better than everybody else. It's a phenomenal team. But the Astros' Achilles Heel is evident, it's the back end of the bullpen. That also happens to be the Dodgers' biggest question mark right now.
Manager A.J. Hinch is a sharp guy, an excellent handler of people, but of late not the greatest handler of the pen. It's no botch job a la the Texans handling of the Clowney situation, but it hasn't been outstanding. The injury loss of Ryan Pressly is a real problem, but Hinch isn't helping by continuing to robotically use Roberto Osuna in save situations.
Osuna isn't an awful closer. He darn sure isn't a great closer. That Osuna should automatically be the ninth inning guy every time the Astros lead by three or fewer runs, is silly. Thing is, Hinch knows this, having said in the past bullpen roles are flexible and that guys can be used in different situations. Hinch has fallen into "he's my closer" mentality.
Osuna started the season converting his first 12 save opportunities. Through May 23 his earned run average was 0.42. Since then, a notably larger chunk of the season, Osuna has been a closer closer to awful than great. 19 saves while blowing six chances with an ERA over 4 is not good. Hinch publicly professes to still have "complete confidence" in Osuna. It's not a problem for A.J. to say that publicly. It could be an October problem if he feels the same way privately, and manages accordingly.
Buzzer Beaters
1. If the Texans are to win 10+ games or lose 9+, put me down for the 9+. 2. When (ok, if) Serena Williams wins her 7th U.S. Open Saturday, the bookend titles will have been won in 1999 and 2019. That will be one of the great athletic greatness durability achievements ever. 3. Greatest sports Williamses: Bronze-Ricky Silver-Ted Gold-Serena
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The Houston Astros are in the middle of a midseason surge that’s turned heads across the American League, but don’t let the win streak distract from one key truth: they’re doing this with less.
So what’s powering the Astros’ recent run? It starts with elite pitching. Despite an offense that's been merely middle-of-the-pack — 14th in OPS, 20th in runs scored, and 17th in slugging — Houston ranks fifth in team ERA and leads the majors in batting average against (.218). That’s how they’re winning series while missing key pieces of their core.
Still, there’s more to this run than numbers. Is the resilience we’re seeing tangible evidence of the Astros’ winning culture? Absolutely — especially lately. Rookie Cam Smith is the latest example. He delivered the first walk-off hit of his career over the weekend and looks like he belongs in the big leagues. Meanwhile, the lineup has caught fire over the last week hitting:
- Jose Altuve: .429
- Jeremy Peña: .417
- Cam Smith: .304
- Yainer Diaz: .292
- Christian Walker: .278
And all of this has come without one of Houston’s top two hitters being unavailable for the Twins series, Isaac Paredes, who remains sidelined with a sore hamstring.
With 71 games in the books, the conversation around second-year manager Joe Espada is beginning to shift — from quiet confidence to serious consideration for AL Manager of the Year. The case is strong. Espada has navigated a bruised and bruising season that’s seen Yordan Alvarez miss extended time with a fractured bone in his hand and three key starting pitchers (Spencer Arrighetti, Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco) land on the shelf — two of them for the year.
So, what would it take for Astros owner Jim Crane to give GM Dana Brown the green light to aggressively pursue help at the deadline? History suggests pitching would be the priority. But with young arms like Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto, and Brandon Walter stepping up, a move may not feel necessary, especially if it means exceeding the luxury tax threshold.
The Astros might be banged up, but they’re thriving and proving they don’t need to be at full strength to play like contenders.
There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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