HARRIS COUNTY - HSA INSIDER
A weekly look at all things Houston sports from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority: Patrick Reed Masters his demons
Patti Smith
Apr 13, 2018, 3:31 pm
Patrick Reed is a Masters champion. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
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Surprised to see Patrick Reed slip on the Green Jacket last Sunday?
You shouldn’t be.
This one played right into Reed’s hands. Think Ryder Cup without the finger-to-his-lips shushing or the hand-cupped-to-his-ear, can’t-hear-you headshaking. Minus the red-white-and-blue vs. Europe trappings and rowdy crowd.
Yes, it was Reed in azalea pink vs. the crowd favorites. A baby-faced 27-year-old Houstonian taking dead aim on his first major in the wake of Jordan Spieth looking for his second jacket, Rory McIlroy looking to complete a Grand Slam and Rickie Fowler searching for major No. 1.
He knew going in it wasn’t going to be easy, but neither is the Ryder Cup.
He was leading through three rounds, but he was the underdog.
Most of the crowd wanted someone else to be the last man standing that day and he knew it. McIlroy tried to get into Reed’s mind Saturday night saying the pressure was all on the sometimes brash American.
It didn’t work. And he, above all others, should have known better.
Reed and McIlroy gave us an incredible hour-plus of high-drama and must-see theater in the leadoff singles match the final day of the 2016 Ryder Cup. They hit ridiculous shots and sank unbelievable putts in a four-hole stretch that mesmerized the crowds and a television audience. And at the end of the incredible take-this-no-you-take-this heavyweight bout, Reed won 1-up.
So when Reed spent Masters Sunday out-putting and outlasting Spieth, Fowler and McIlroy – to name a few – it was so easy to flash forward from the Butler Cabin ceremony to Paris this fall and the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Speith seems made for majors; Reed for Ryder Cups. Together they are America’s most formidable Ryder Cup team.
It has taken Reed just two Ryder Cups to become one of the most respected and feared players in the matches-. He’s 6-2-1 in those two matches with two singles wins and a 4-2-1 record alongside Spieth in foursomes and four-balls combined.
Reed heard the roars for Spieth and Fowler on the back nine. He felt the crowd pulling for McIlroy at the start of the round.
Like we said, it played right into his hands.
If you look close enough into that baby face, you’ll see the grit. He looks through people. He sets his jaw and flattens his lips and tells the field - or his match play opponent - to bring it on.
At Ryder Cups, he can play to the crowds with the shushing and ear-cupping. Playing to an Augusta crowd means a fist pump after a great putt or a smile as that helicopter finish of his off the tee sends the ball safely down the middle of a tight fairway.
Last fall, he finished runner-up to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship and just knew a major was somewhere in Reed’s future. A few years ago, he drew criticism for his thoughts that he should be in the top five, but here he is having jumped from 24th to 11th after winning that first major.
He has three more majors – and THE PLAYERS – between now and that trip to Paris and he has a dream that, one day, the Ryder Cup will come down to his singles match.
“I want it all on my shoulders. I want that pressure -- the whole country depending on me -- and everything that goes with it,’’ he told Golf Digest before the 2016 Ryder Cup. “I've wanted that my whole life.’’
He wanted a Green Jacket too.
One down. At least one more wish to go.
Coming into the week, Reed’s record at Augusta wasn’t the best. He missed the cut twice and his best finish had been a tie for 22nd in 2015. His lowest round had been 70 – twice; his scoring average was 74.5.
Yet he opened with rounds of 69-66-67 and was threatening to become the first player in Masters history to shoot four rounds in the 60s. He closed with 71, which was enough to beat Fowler by a shot and Spieth by two.
The record? It paled in comparison to the result, which, like in match play, was all that mattered.
“The biggest thing was I put too much pressure on myself (in previous Masters),’’ he said. “I went out there and I tried so hard to get the ball in the hole. I tried so hard to hit the perfect shots, that going into this week, I was just like, hey, it's golf. Go play.
“I preached that to myself the entire week. I had my caddie remind me of that the entire week. Just be you. Play golf. If you get riled up, show it. If you aren't happy about something, it's all right. Just play golf.’’
It worked.
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After finishing up with the Guardians the Astros have a rather important series for early May with the Seattle Mariners heading to town for the weekend. While it’s still too early to be an absolute must-win series for the Astros, losing the series to drop seven or eight games off the division lead would make successfully defending their American League West title that much more unlikely.
Since their own stumble out of the gate to a 6-10 record the Mariners have been racking up series wins, including one this week over the Atlanta Braves. The M’s offense is largely Mmm Mmm Bad, but their pitching is sensational. In 18 games after the 6-10 start, the Mariners gave up five runs in a game once. In the other 17 games they only gave up four runs once. Over the 18 games their starting pitchers gave up 18 earned runs total with a 1.44 earned run average. That’s absurd. Coming into the season Seattle’s starting rotation was clearly better on paper than those of the Astros and Texas Rangers, and it has crystal clearly played out as such into the second month of the schedule.
While it’s natural to focus on and fret over one’s own team's woes when they are plentiful as they have been for the Astros, a reminder that not all grass is greener elsewhere. Alex Bregman has been awful so far. So has young Mariners’ superstar Julio Rodriguez. A meager four extra base hits over his first 30 games were all Julio produced down at the ballyard. That the Mariners are well ahead of the Astros with J-Rod significantly underperforming is good news for Seattle.
Caratini comes through!
So it turns out the Astros are allowed to have a Puerto Rican-born catcher who can hit a little bit. Victor Caratini’s pedigree is not that of a quality offensive player, but he has swung the bat well thus far in his limited playing time and provided the most exciting moment of the Astros’ season with his two-out two-run 10th inning game winning home run Tuesday night. I grant that one could certainly say “Hey! Ronel Blanco finishing off his no-hitter has been the most exciting moment.” I opt for the suddenness of Caratini’s blow turning near defeat into instant victory for a team that has been lousy overall to this point. Frittering away a game the Astros had led 8-3 would have been another blow. Instead, to the Victor belong the spoils.
Pudge Rodriguez is the greatest native Puerto Rican catcher, but he was no longer a good hitter when with the Astros for the majority of the 2009 season. Then there’s Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado’s hitting stats with the Astros look Mike Piazza-ian compared to what Jose Abreu was doing this season. Finally, mercifully for all, Abreu is off the roster as he accepts a stint at rookie-level ball in Florida to see if he can perform baseball-CPR on his swing and career. Until or unless he proves otherwise, Abreu is washed up and at some point the Astros will have to accept it and swallow whatever is left on his contract that runs through next season. For now Abreu makes over $120,000 per game to not be on the roster. At his level of performance, that’s a better deal than paying him that money to be on the roster.
Abreu’s seven hits in 71 at bats for an .099 batting average with a .269 OPS is a humiliating stat line. In 2018 George Springer went to sleep the night of June 13 batting .293 after going hitless in his last four at bats in a 13-5 Astros’ win over Oakland. At the time no one could have ever envisioned that Springer had started a deep, deep funk which would have him endure a nightmarish six for 78 stretch at the plate (.077 batting average). Springer then hit .293 the rest of the season.
Abreu’s exile opened the door for Joey Loperfido to begin his Major League career. Very cool for Loperfido to smack a two-run single in his first game. He also struck out twice. Loperfido will amass whiffs by the bushel, he had 37 strikeouts in 101 at bats at AAA Sugar Land. Still, if he can hit .225 with some walks mixed in (he drew 16 with the Space Cowboys) and deliver some of his obvious power (13 homers in 25 games for the ex-Skeeters) that’s an upgrade over Abreu/Jon Singleton, as well as over Jake Meyers and the awful showing Chas McCormick has posted so far. Frankly, it seems unwise that the Astros only had Loperfido play seven games at first base in the minors this year. If McCormick doesn’t pick it up soon and with Meyers displaying limited offensive upside, the next guy worth a call-up is outfielder Pedro Leon. In January 2021 the Astros gave Leon four million dollars to sign out of Cuba and called him a “rapid mover to the Major Leagues.” Well…
Over his first three minor league seasons Leon flashed tools but definitely underwhelmed. He has been substantially better so far this year. He turns 26 May 28. Just maybe the Astros offense could be the cause of fewer Ls with Loperfido at first and Leon in center field.
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 YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.