Astros: Past The Point Of No Return

Heading into the 2015 season, outside of the fans, there weren’t high expectations from the Houston Astros. They were projected to be better in the win-loss column but no one predicted the season they’ve had up until this point. However, if the Astros do not make the playoffs, the 2015 season should be viewed as a failed year.

Houston was the feel-good story of the summer, coming out of nowhere to control first place in the American League West for nearly the entire season. If Houston misses out on the postseason, people everywhere will chime in with how they are a young team and they still had a good year. Unfortunately, that excuse no longer works for this Astros team for one major reason.

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When the Astros moved prospects at the trade deadline — with quite a few being highly touted — to acquire starting pitchers Scott Kazmir, Mike Fiers and outfielder Carlos Gomez, Houston declared to the baseball world they were in it to win it this year.

Once the team made the executive decision to improve the roster with outside help, they transformed from a team happy with exceeding expectations into a team making a serious push for the playoffs. With that being the case, if the Astros aren’t present come postseason time, the season was a flop.

As it stands, the Astros find themselves just a half game up on the Texas Rangers in the midst of a four-game set on the road with their in-state rivals and less than a month to play in the season.

The flaw of this team is glaring.

The offense’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position is costing the Astros valuable winning opportunities in the middle of a pennant race. Homeruns are great but when they don’t show up, or when no one can get on base before one is hit, you have to be able to push runs across the board either by small ball or stringing hits together.

This seems to be the Astros’ kryptonite.

The blame for the offense doesn’t totally fall on the players. They are doing predominantly what they’ve done for their entire career.

General Manager Jeff Luhnow and the rest of the front office were well aware of this team’s troubles with run production for most of the year. Ever since George Springer was injured, and even at times before, pushing runs across the plate was an issue for a team that doesn’t get on base nor hit for average.

At the deadline, they chose to address that problem by settling for Gomez, who has hit just .234 with a .282 OBP as well as a .661 OPS.

More troublesome, the first-base position is STILL a gaping hole for the Astros. Chris Carter and Luis Valbuena have been awful and there is no other way to put it. What is more of a head scratcher is how they are still getting at-bats during the stretch run when they have done little to earn them?

Marwin Gonzalez has had a terrific season and is one of the better offensive players on this team, but he isn’t a first baseman and is probably better suited for a utility role than playing every day.

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Only recently did the Astros decide to call up Matt Duffy from AAA Fresno — which even if he lights the world on fire for three weeks, wouldn’t be playoff eligible — to hopefully start getting at-bats at first base.

With as big of a hole the Astros have had all season long at that position, one has to wonder why that need wasn’t addressed either with a trade or a call up when you are in the middle of a chase for the playoffs for the first time in a decade?

The pitching is good enough for the Astros to make a deep run in the playoffs. The bullpen has been shaky lately, but all of the problems boil down to Houston’s Achilles’ heel… their offensive output.