RANKING THE TEXAS DIVISION 1 SCHOOLS
Texas State moves up and Texas A&M manages to maintain their rank with an ugly win
Oct 3, 2019, 6:45 am
UH Football/Facebook
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
12. RICE
It just keeps getting worse and worse for Rice. I don't know where the bottom is but honestly it seems like they don't know where it is either. Bad times all around for the Rice program as they travel to UAB and probably collect another beating.
11. UTSA
They travel this week to UTEP and honestly, I don't think a change of fortunes is in the cards. UTEP is playing pretty good football and traveling from San Antonio to El Paso is enough of an excuse for these guys to throw in the towel this week.
10. UTEP
The losing can stop and finally a chance to get right, UTEP has been playing tough opponents and not playing terrible. This is a game the team has to be looking forward to, an opportunity to turn around this recent slide and start playing some winning football again.
9. NORTH TEXAS
Well they didn't save their season last week after a loss to Houston, so they're off this week and that's about all the good news they get.
8. TEXAS STATE
Well last week I asked how they would handle success and game planning for a game they should win against Nicholls, they handled it well and got another W. This is the foundation they can use to keep building a successful season. Having the week off after two wins is a good thing and a bad thing, but hopefully Texas State can make the most of it.
7. TEXAS TECH
Everyone knew a loss was coming against Oklahoma, but how will they bounce back and handle Oklahoma State will be the deciding factor for this team this week. Teams lose, it happens to most teams in a college football season, but good teams find a way to put losses behind them and focus on the next opponent. Quiet the noise and bring the thunder.
6. HOUSTON
Well all the redshirt drama aside, they won against North Texas and have this week off. Sitting around after a loss is always demoralizing, sitting around after a win is always a little easier. Hopefully this week can be a calming week for the program and the team.
5. TCU
I really wanted to move TCU over SMU after this Kansas win but with the games this week, I felt like I could wait one more week and see how everything shakes out but I do like what TCU is doing. I know SMU beat TCU two weeks ago but I like this win over Kansas. They are doing good things and playing good football again.
4. SMU
SMU just keeps on rolling, there doesn't seem to be any team they can't handle right now. They're playing really good football and there's no telling how high they can go this season. But I should mention, that TCU is nipping at their heels and I say how high could they get but I don't know that I could reasonably move them over A&M, right?
3. TEXAS A&M
Hey they beat Arkansas! But they looked awful doing it. How many heart attack games are these guys going to play this year? I want to buy into A&M and that they are at least the number 2 program in the state but I'm not sure I can right now. They're off this week so lets see if they can get their minds right and make a real push back at Baylor.
2. BAYLOR
They didn't look great against Iowa State but at least it was a win and A&M didn't look good against Arkansas either. Baylor goes to Kansas State and is looking at needing a good, strong win to get some distance from A&M. Can't wait to see how it all turns out.
1. TEXAS
Coming off a bye, they go to West Virginia who can give people trouble, I think because of the travel. Let's see how Texas comes out of the bye week, are they going to be sluggish or are they going to explode out of gates and establish some dominance? Let's see.
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Astros close series with a performance worth the wait
Jun 5, 2025, 11:59 pm
All-Star balloting opened up this week for what used to be known as the Midsummer Classic in Major League Baseball. I guess some still refer to it as such but the All-Star Game has been largely a bore for many years, though the honor of being selected on merit remains a big one. As always, fans can vote at all positions except pitcher. The fan balloting has resulted in mostly good selections for years now, though pretty much all teams still do silly marketing stuff trying to drum up support for their players. The Astros’ part in that silliness is their campaign to make it the “All-’Stros” game on the American League squad in Atlanta next month. It’s one thing to be supportive of your team, it’s another to be flat out ridiculous if voting right now for Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, Yordan Alvarez, Mauricio Dubon, or Cam Smith. The Astros tried to game the system in submitting Jose Altuve as a second baseman where the competition is weaker than it is in the outfield, but given Altuve has played only about 25 percent of the games at second base this season he should not be an All-Star second baseman selectee for what would be the tenth time in his career.
Isaac Paredes’s recent freefall notwithstanding, he has a legitimate case as a backup third baseman, especially with Alex Bregman likely missing more than a month of games due to his quad injury. Jake Meyers is having a fine season but is obviously not an All-Star-worthy outfielder unless he is sensational for the rest of June. That leaves Jeremy Peña, who is simply the best shortstop in the big leagues so far this season. To be clear, no team in baseball (including the Astros) would rather have Peña going forward than the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., but we’re talking about the here and now. There are another 100 games to be played, but Peña not only is about a lock to deserve his first All-Star nod, but he is in contention to put in the books the greatest season ever by an Astro shortstop.
Over his first three seasons, Peña was a consistently mediocre offensive player. His highest batting average was .266, best on-base percentage .324, top slugging percentage .426. He is blowing away all those numbers thus far in 2025. While unlikely to come close to reaching his preseason goal of 50 stolen bases, Peña is swiping bags at the best success rate of his career. Add in Peña’s stellar defense and that he has played in every Astros’ game so far this season, and Peña has been irrefutably one of the 10 best and most valuable players in the American League. You could certainly argue as high as top three.
If Peña's productivity holds up for the rest of the season there are only three other seasons posted by Astro shortstops that are in the same league as what would be Peña’s 2025. Carlos Correa has two of them. Lack of durability may be the biggest reason Correa is not tracking to be a Hall of Famer. In only two seasons as an Astro did Correa play in more than 136 games. He was fabulous in each of them. 2021 was his peak campaign, playing in 148 games while compiling an .850 OPS, winning a Gold Glove, and finishing fifth in AL MVP voting. Correa’s Baseball-Reference wins above replacement number for 2021 was 7.3. Peña is at 3.6 with nearly 20 games still left before the midway point of the schedule.
For the other great Astro shortstop season you have to go back to 1983. Dickie Thon turned 25 years old in June of ‘83. He put up a .798 OPS, which gains in stature given Thon played his home games in the Astrodome when the Dome was at its most pitching-friendly. Thon won the Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive shortstop in the National League, and played superior defense. His Baseball-Reference WAR number was 7.4. He finished seventh for NL MVP playing for an 85-77 Astros’ squad that finished third in the NL West. Dickie Thon looked like an emerging superstar. Then, in the fifth game of the 1984 season, a fastball from Mets’ pitcher Mike Torrez hit Thon in the left eye, fracturing his orbital bone. Thon missed the rest of the ‘84 season. While Thon played in nine more big league seasons, his vision never fully recovered and he was never the same player. It’s one of the biggest “What if...” questions in Astros’ history.
Arms race
Players and the Commissioner’s Office pick the All-Star pitching staffs. Unless he suddenly starts getting lit up regularly, Hunter Brown can pack a bag for Georgia. Framber Valdez wouldn’t make it now but has surged into contention. Josh Hader’s first half is going vastly better than last year’s, so he is in line for a reliever spot.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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