Every-Thing Sports
Texans finally trade Clowney, and it is yet another bad move
Aug 31, 2019, 11:56 am
Photo by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group
The saga that was Jadeveon Clowney versus Bill O'Brien has finally come to an end. Word came down that the Texans have moved the talented edge rusher to the Seattle Seahawks. They get a third round pick, linebacker Jacob Martin, and edge rusher Barkevious Mingo in return. The will he/won't he back and forth has played out over the last couple seasons. Clowney played last season under the fifth year option on his rookie deal and was franchise tagged for this coming season. He refused to sign the tender after not coming to agreement with the Texans on a long-term extension. This was among the rumored reasons Brian Gaine was fired. But why not make this move earlier to get back a bigger haul?
Playing checkers, or really bad chess
The Texans organization has a history of playing checkers, or really bad chess when it comes to making moves. This trade is no different. I said this over a year ago that they need to trade Clowney if they know they don't want to give into his potential contract demands. But what did they do instead? Sit on their thumbs and wait until the situation was a total cluster before they made a move. that's how you lose at chess and checkers.
Stubborness and ego
Bill O'Brien now holds the most power in the Texans buiding by anyone not named McNair. That's a scary proposition for Texans fans. His ego, stubborness, and feelings are going to drive this team into the ground. Where have I heard that before? Anyway, moving on. To say he's a spaghetti noodle over .500 for his career and has won a terrible division a couple times, he sure is full of himself. Those types of things lead to your downfall. While I didn't like the hokey aww shucks persona of Gary Kubiak or the robotic mannerisms of Dom Capers, O'Brien has rubbed me the wrong way on another level.
Waiting on the payoff
While Texans fans sit back and wonder when their team will actually be a legit contender, they'll have to do so in hopes it gets done before they waste more stars. DeAndre Hopkins and JJ Watt aren't going to be All-Pros forever. Deshaun Watson will be up for a massive contract extension soon. The window is closing and closing fast. Time waits for no man. Cal and Janice McNair may have some tough decisions coming soon, and I'm not talking about contract extensions. What do they do if this season is an abject failure? They need to take advantage of Andrew Luck retiring NOW! Moving one of the best young edge rushers for peanuts on the dollar is not a sign of going for it.
Fortunately the season is upon us. Fans no longer have to worry about when Clowney will report, or what shape will he be in, or if he'll return next year. He's gone now. Off to the land of Texans rejects in the great Northwest. This will be a turning point season in franchise history I believe. Either O'Brien will finally show off his "smarter than everyone else" mantle he's given himself with his actions, or the McNair's will clean house and start over from the ground up. I don't see this going any other way. Wait a minute...there's always historic precedence to consider. There's an extreme high probability they could go "9-7 and win the AFC South" again. To which I say to Texans fans: enjoy purgatory.
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Marcell Ozuna hit his major league-leading eighth homer and Orlando Arcia’s RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
It completes a three-game sweep of the struggling Astros and is Atlanta’s fourth straight victory.
The Braves scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie it at 4-4. Michael Harris II started the 10th as the automatic runner on second and there was one out in the inning when Seth Martinez (1-1) intentionally walked Matt Olson.
Ozuna lined out to right field to send Harris to third base. Arcia then singled on a ground ball to left field to score Harris and put the Braves on top.
Pinch-runner Jake Meyers was on second when Kyle Tucker walked with no outs in the 10th. Meyers moved to third on a fly out by Yainer Diaz but Jeremy Peña grounded into a double play to end it.
A.J. Minter (3-1) got the last two outs of the ninth for the win and Raisel Iglesias earned his fifth save.
Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. added his first homer of the season to help the Braves to the victory. Ozuna also leads the majors with 23 RBIs and he extended his hitting streak to 16 games, which ties his career best and is the longest active streak in the majors.
Yordan Alvarez and Mauricio Dubón both homered for the Astros, who fell to 6-14 and are last in the AL West.
There was one out in the first when Alvarez connected on his homer to the seats in left field to put Houston up 1-0.
Ozuna opened the second with his 432-foot shot to left field, which bounced off the wall and tied the game.
Acuña put the Braves up 2-1 when he sent the first pitch of the fifth inning to straightaway center field.
The Astros tied it on an RBI single by Alex Bregman in the fifth and Kyle Tucker’s RBI double came next to put the Astros up 3-2.
Dubón hit his first home run of the year off Jesse Chavez to start Houston’s sixth and push the lead to 4-2.
Harris singled to start the seventh before a ground-rule double by Austin Riley. Olson reached, and Harris scored on a fielding error by first baseman José Abreu when he couldn’t grab a routine ground ball.
There was one out in the inning when Riley scored on a sacrifice fly by Arcia to tie it at 4-all.
Houston starter J.P. France allowed four hits and two runs in five innings.
Max Fried gave up seven hits and three runs in five innings.
UP NEXT
Braves: Atlanta is off Thursday before opening a series against Texas on Friday night with LHP Chris Sale (1-1, 4.58 ERA) on the mound.
Astros: Houston is also off Thursday before ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night against Washington. The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder.