Looking to 2017 as playoff hopes for Houston Astros dwindle
By Louis Roesch
No one will officially say it but the Houston Astros season is over and it has been for quite some time. Even when they made the tantalizing run in late August, you knew they could not sustain it. Now as the Houston bullpen blows an Astros lead for the second consecutive night against the Los Angeles Angels, maybe it’s a little more believable.
After being swept by the Texas Rangers on May 22, 2016, manager A.J. Hinch’s side reeled off wins in 11 of their next 14 games before stumbling. Then came late August and another run that brought them back into the chase, well at least for the wildcard because Houston 3-15 against the Texas Rangers decided to stand pat at the trade deadline.
Houston is the same team it was last season although few want to admit that. The pitching save for Dallas Keuchel gave up lots of runs but the offense put up tons themselves to cover up the Houston weakness. It was good enough to get a wildcard berth in 2015 but 2016 has been a whole different story.
It looked promising for Houston when they traded for Ken Giles to putthe flamethrower on the back end but then came the start of the season. Giles was doused continuosly as the pitcher who had only given up 4 homeruns in 100 plus innings in Philadelphia, however he was lit up early and often. Now late in the season, he is on fire again but not in a good way.
The Houston Astros starting pitching has been lackluster and inconsistent all season. The most important arm in their rotation, Lance McCullers Jr., has been on the DL more than he’s been on the mound. Dallas Keuchel could not regain the magic of a season ago. Doug Fister looked like the steal of offseason signings until mid-August. Mike Fiers has been a non-factor.
As bright as the top of the order has been, the bottom of the order has been abysmal to say the least. Houston got rid of Carlos Gomez barely a season after they acquired him in a trade deadline move and it was one of the best things they could have done. Jason Castro needs to go next. All his charm with handling a pitching staff is all well and good but his bat is an even bigger liability much like Chris Carter last season.
Now for the light at the end of the tunnel for the Houston Astros. Jose Altuve ,Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and George Springer.
Someone will have to come up with new superlatives for Altuve. The Houston second baseman recorded a career high in homeruns, makes it to a 1,000 hits faster than any Astros player in franchise history and continues to be at the top of the batting title chase year in and year out. Oh and he has recorded his third 200-plus hit season in five years.
Correa has had a season that would be considered a career year for players of lesser ability but Correa is like Tiger Woods. He burst onto the scene last season in such amazing style that the bar was reset for expectations that are only reserved for the legends. In light of that, he has excelled. In 2016, he has rewrote the record book for runs batted in by an Astros shortstop and become a clean-up hitter in the process.
Bregman has been thing short of phenomenal especially after starting his MLB career at 1-for-32. He has been the Carlos Correa of 2016 for the Astros.
Right fielder George Springer flailed early but since being penciled into the lead-off spot in late May, he has been the offensive catalyst more often then not. In the field, his arm has base runners taking a second thought before running on his cannon.
Entering Monday’s contest, Houston trails by three in the wild card standings with seven to play. They may hold out hope that the season is not over but it is. Now is the time to take stock in where you’ve been in 2016 and where you want to be in 2017.
Next weekend as the season comes to a close, be sure to follow my stories on the off-season steps, the Houston Astros need to make as I play armchair general manager assessing the home town team.