WATT ARE HIS REASONS?
Let's discuss 3 big reasons why J.J. Watt is leaving Houston for Arizona
Mar 1, 2021, 3:59 pm
Breakups are never easy. Photo by Getty Images. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
JJ Watt's legendary Texans career has come to an end
J.J. Watt is heading to Phoenix and the Arizona Cardinals to continue, possibly finish his career.
Smart move, climate-wise and otherwise.
Football is primarily a September to December sport, at least in Houston these days. Of course, in other cities successful teams continue playing into January. It's called the post-season. If your quarterback is Tom Brady, don't make any plans until after the Super Bowl in February.
Rookies don't have a choice, they go where they're drafted. They have no control over whether it's bright, cool, and sunny San Diego — or gloomy, cold, and cloudy Pittsburgh or Buffalo or Cleveland or, worst, Detroit.
J.J. Watt couldn't have picked a better place to spend his fall and winter than Phoenix. I can tell you.
I lived in Phoenix before coming to Houston. And I lived in Detroit for a year before going to Phoenix. My hobby in Detroit was getting out of Detroit. It had nothing to do with the city or its people. It's actually a very pretty city, especially downtown.
I just couldn't deal with the cold weather. Winter highs barely touch freezing. Sleeping is a three dog night plus a comforter, plus the thermostat cranked up to $500 electric bills.
The playwright George S. Kaufmann, who wrote several of the Marx Brothers' movies and won a Tony for directing Guys and Dolls, said, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better."
Believe me, Phoenix in winter is better.
Plus it's not like Watt will be a stranger in Arizona. One of his teammates will be DeAndre Hopkins, another great Texans player and fan favorite who was banished from Houston for practically nothing in return. In Watt's case, absolutely nothing in return. This is how you conduct business in the Bizarro World.
Houston is a relatively young city, Although it was founded in 1836, Houston really didn't get going until the mid-20th century. While Chicago had 2 million residents in 1910, Houston had only 78,000 people, and most of them lived "inside the Loop."
Houston boomed in the '50s, had a blip with the decline in oil prices in the '80s and is back as one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.
Compared to Houston, Phoenix is a spec house by appointments only. The city shimmers. Traffic is bad, sure, but it's bad everywhere and not nearly the brain-bursting nightmare as Houston's.
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, home of the Arizona Cardinals, is in the Super Bowl rotation. So if Watt's dream comes true, he may get to do a "Tom Brady," win a title in his home stadium.
Watt's decision to pick the Arizona Cardinals came as a surprise because the favorite landing spots seemed to be Green Bay, Cleveland, and Buffalo, — all frozen tundra open-air stadiums. Given a choice, c'mon, it's 70 with a crystal blue sky in Arizona in January. Watt is not a dummy.
If you're looking for a terrific pizza place in Phoenix, try the Red Devil Italian Restaurant on McDowell and 32nd Street. I used to eat there about three times a week on my way home from work. They have a double-crust pie that will make your knees shake.
We don't know how much other teams may have offered Watt, but at this stage in his career, money isn't the No. 1 priority.
Here are three reasons why Watt left: lifestyle, winning, and personal happiness.
Bonus: Watt still will be able to watch a dynamic young quarterback throw touchdowns to Hopkins. Kyler Murray is super fast and has a big time arm and the offense has faith in him.
You know, like the Texans players trust Deshaun Watson to bail out their sorry butts. Except Murray has an imaginative head coach who knows how to take advantage of his supreme skills.
And the Cardinals owner isn't an inarticulate buffoon who's mesmerized by Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show. Not saying any names here, but how much more can Texans fans take?
All things considered, not considering childhood memories and college allegiance, it was a natural selection for J.J. Watt to accept the Arizona Cardinals' offer.
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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.