Bad contracts can burn money. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Sometimes, the conversations start innocently enough. Eventually, the debate starts. From there, the talk can turn into a full-fledged argument and maybe even a fight. Sports opinions can do this to us, especially when we are passionate. We often forget fan is short for “fanatic.”
Typically when there’s a free agent or player to be re-signed, there will be errors made and money wasted. There isn’t a formula or exact science to it. Here’s my "Fab Five Flubs" in Houston sports history:
5. Carlos Lee
At six years/$100 million, Carlos Lee was money wasted by a team who tried to bandage gaping wounds with toilet paper. The 2006 version of the Astros finished 1.5 games behind the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in the division. Jeff Bagwell retired after the team didn’t pick up his team option. Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite both left via free agency. Over his six years in Houston, Lee averaged 22 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .286 batting average. Hardly worth the $100 million spent on him.
4. Kelvin Cato
Here’s a guy who inspired the famous line by ESG: “Tell Kelvin Cato we want our money back!” On October 15, 1999, he recorded a preseason triple double (20 points, 13 rebounds, 12 blocks in 31 minutes) vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. October 28, 1999, the Rockets signed him to a six-year, $42 million-dollar deal. At 6’11, 275 pounds, the Rockets never got more than 8 points, seven rebounds and a block per game from Cato. He was later packaged with Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and others for Tracy McGrady.
3. Brock Osweiller
Here’s what $37 million dollars guaranteed, and several high lost draft picks look like when you invest as much in the quarterback position and it goes wrong. Not only was the guaranteed money wasted on a guy who completed 59 percent of his passes (15 touchdowns, 16 picks), but also the draft picks given up to get out of his deal and draft Deshaun Watson to potentially replace him. Osweiller lasted one miserable 9-7 season for the Texans, but his “legacy” could take years to overcome.
2. Matt Maloney
Matt Maloney was yet another Houston athlete that benefitted from Band-Aid team building. Carlos Lee wasn’t the first. Maloney got a seven-year deal off the strength of: Brent Price being out for the season. Charles Barkley thinking he could come in and play the point guard position, and hitting about 40 percent from three point land while Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon were in the twilight of their careers. Maloney ended up making almost 90 perecent of his career $17-plus million off the foolish deal the Rockets gave him in 1998.
1. Ahman Green
Signing a 30-year-old running back in the NFL is the equivalent to signing a 40-plus power pitcher in baseball. Yes, they were once great. Yes, they still have the knowledge. But the game has passed them by, and they can’t clock upper mid-90s with that fastball anymore. At four years, $23 million, the Texans could have brought in Jamal Lewis for the three years, $17 million the Browns spent on him in the same free agency class. Lewis was two years younger and had success in Cleveland. Green never amounted to anything for the Texans.
Honorable mention
- Matt Schaub’s extension was unwarranted, undeserved, and never panned out.
- James Harden may prove to be the most enigmatic albatross an NBA franchise has ever had.
To err on the side of caution is always best. The Houston sports scene is seeing a sort of renaissance right now, and the Texans can be promising if Watson pans out.
The Rockets got Chris Paul to pair with Harden (like giving the Cowardly Lion a heart). And the Astros are young and very dangerous. Here’s hoping the stupidity that once plagued those front offices has been eradicated.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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