Houston Astros: Three ranges of emotions from the Justin Verlander deal

A day in the life of a Houston Astros fan is something to remember about. But there are some days when you look back on and say this was D-Day. The trade drama of Justin Verlander was an example of one of those.

I know we’re talking about the Houston Astros but when you think about D-Day, you think about the Allied invasion in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. That led to victory for the Allies and led to the Axis surrender in 1945. But these days, D-Days are like forks in the road. We’re either going to make the right choice or the wrong choice.

But what’s often forgotten in D-Day is the anticipation leading up to it. For many Houston Astros fans including myself, August 31st was D-Day for Houston.

I chronologize my range of emotions from yesterday below:

Early Morning to Afternoon

It all started that morning and I wasn’t feeling good. The Houston Astros had lost two in a row to Texas and I hate to admit this. But I thought they would be swept. Playing in Tropicana Field thanks to Harvey and the Rangers made me feel we weren’t mentally there. I tried not to think about the game even when I was at work around 12:10 p.m. But it’s not easy and temptation crept in. At one point, it was 2-1 us and I was okay. But doubt crept in and I was certain we lose.

At around 2 p.m., my fellow co-worker, a diehard Houston Astros fan too, told me the Astros picked up Cameron Maybin from the Angels. I was surprised. The Angels? They’re still in contention for the wild card. But after realizing we needed speed, I was okay with the trade. We gave up cash in return, which was fine.

But then my fellow coworker said, “I think the Astros are getting Justin Verlander.” I acknowledge it outside, but deep down, I said there was no way. Justin Verlander to the Astros? Impossible! They said the same thing about a man traveling around the world in 80 days.

D-Day continued on and the Astros tallied three more runs to win 5-1. I texted my brother in college that it was a huge win. This puts us at 12 games ahead of everyone else. Had we lost, we would be 9.5 to 10 games and pressure would kick in. I thought for sure that was the end of the Astros.

9:00 PM CDT

I’m keeping track of Big Brother and creating my own fantasy reality game show on contestants traveling around all 50 states when I see a tweet saying the Astros are on the verge of getting him. Can it be true? Are we really doing it? Because if we do, I would take back my coward comment to Jeff Luhnow. But then again, we’ve been down this road before. We failed to deliver last time. What makes us think we’ll do it again.

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I would say I was 85-15 that we wouldn’t get Verlander. But there was still hope. I was hoping he would be here. Then suddenly, he vetoed the deal.

To say I was disappointed and angry is half-true and half-false. I wasn’t really surprised. Why would Verlander come to Houston? Maybe the sight of Houston in flooding bothered him. Or maybe his fiance (wolf whistle to any boys who know who I’m talking about) wasn’t keen on going to a city that wasn’t Los Angeles.

Either way, I was ok with it. Who cares what Verlander thinks? We still have a team to win it all. I write an article for this blog and have it ready to be sent in.

10:00 PM CDT

I’m trying to stay calm and I’m trying to relax. But I sometimes wonder why? Doesn’t anyone like Houston? Why does bad things have to happen? We’re going to be stronger. Can we at least get some positive news aside from JJ Watt and Mattress Mack. I love those guys, but Houston needs more than ambassadors.

Then I see a tweet saying we got him. Yeah right I say! Like I heard that one before. Then I saw another and another and another tweet. All saying the same thing. Justin Verlander to the Astros. My next response was where’s Ashton Kutcher to punk us. Then I see ESPN and there it is. He’s coming. WHAT??

In order to get what I mean by WHAT??, watch this clip from A Christmas Story and listen to the phone call.

I couldn’t believe it. He was coming. But what happened? Why did he change his mind? Why did he unveto his last trade?

Turns out he had the Chicago Cubs as his top team. He didn’t veto the trade. He just wanted to see where the Cubs were. When they didn’t give good prospects, he signed on to the Astros.

The narrative is perfect. Houston, a city recovering from Harvey, has hope coming. He’s got experience and he has accolades. He’s 34, but he can fit well with the rotation. It’s a miracle that he’s even coming.

Now, I’m not going to say this is our year because we still got to earn our way to a World Series.

But darn it, just for fun…

Next: Five BIGGEST road blocks to a World Series title

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