EVERY-THING SPORTS
Here's the definitive list of changes Texans fans want to see this offseason
Jan 12, 2022, 1:47 pm
Fans want to see Davis Mills get a real shot moving forward. Composite image by Jack Brame.
Every so often, I like to talk to the people and find out their thoughts on things. Fans who engage on social media can be a wild bunch. Some will pose as your "average" online fan who simply loves their team. Others will be wildly passionate to one extreme or another. There may even be some fans who are just observing, but not nearly as passionate. I've come across them all.
Texans' fans are no different. They run the gamut of fandom. Some can be a little too extreme, whether it's positive or negative. For the most part, they're a really good bunch. So, I posed a question to Texans' fans and got some pretty good responses:
Something I noticed when talking to Texans' fans on social media: if you stay away from the McNair's selling the team and firing Jack Easterby, you'll take away two of the most polarizing franchise altering topics. Lots of them have used either or both as a way to immediately improve the team. So much so, that I've seen some that feel as though ownership actually owes them an explanation behind the recent direction of the team! No, really! There are grown people who truly feel this way and are damn serious about it!
After all they've been through, there are a portion of fans who are no longer fans. They've taken their support, monetarily and otherwise, home with them. Some have supported other teams, while the rest have withdrawn. There are even some who've lost their passion for the sport altogether!
There's a good amount of them I've encountered that have a good feel for the team and what needs to be done. I saw a couple well-thought-out responses that almost sound like they regurgitated them from a sports radio or TV personality. Some fans are that smart and have formed great opinions on their own. From them, you get a clear-cut course of action. Things like trading Deshaun Watson, adding more talent, finding a capable play caller, and even giving Davis Mills a chance to hold the keys to the car have come up.
That last one was a bit of a shocker. I didn't think there were that many fans on the Mills bandwagon. Boy did I find out this past weekend! I was told Mills could be a future MVP as the franchise quarterback if he's given the weapons he severely lacks. I think the kid has some talent and could have a decent future in the league, but slow down on crowning him a future MVP and franchise quarterback. That's a good way to get a mental health warrant issued for you.
Overall, fans are fed up. If the stands went from looking like an overweight cow ready for slaughter, to an emaciated shell of its former self, I think they've spoken. For goodness’ sake, the tailgating lot looked like a scene from one of those shows on abandoned towns and structures this past season! If those two indicators don't tell you what the fans are thinking, I don't think you have a pulse! One thing this organization has always been able to count on is fan support. Now that it's faded so quickly, they have no choice but to react.
Righting this ship won't be easy, and it most likely won't be quick. Some fans are sticking around and waiting for the team to be good again. For them, I hope this thing is turned around soon. This city and these fans are loyal to a fault when it comes to this team. They willingly put themselves through heartache and pain every year, only to be rewarded with mediocrity more often than not. Here's to the road to recovery. It may be long, winding, and seemingly never-ending, but the payoff is so worth it. Hang in there guys!
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If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*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.