Houston Astros: Three reasons why team doesn’t need the best AL record

Pennant races in baseball are fun as well as exciting and the Houston Astros find themselves in a unique situation.  Here are three reasons as to why they don’t need the best AL record.

Even with a certain goal, the Houston Astros should know that they have as good of a chance to win it all regardless of what seed. Being number one come October doesn’t need to matter to us.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about why we shouldn’t worry about the Cleveland Indians, who were in the midst of a tremendous winning streak. With the number one seed at stake, it’s getting to where a race is at hand. Obviously, some Cleveland fans thought I was nuts. Even Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle assumed I was paranoid. Sorry that I’m loyal to my team through thick and thin. You know what? Let them think that way.

Let’s clear some things up. I never said nor guaranteed Cleveland wouldn’t win it all this year. I’m not a legitimate baseball expert like Buster Olney or Peter Gammons. If Cleveland fans think I’m crazy, you know what? Let them think that way because, at times, we Houstonians need to feel that way because we’re loyal to our teams.

Anyway, I talked about how the postseason was a different animal than the regular season. The three reasons I put down all have these common themes.

• What you do in the regular season doesn’t matter to a degree if you don’t win it all.
• There is no clear path to the World Series title. Anyone can win it as long as they’re hot.
• The regular season and postseason are not identical.

Seeding

So where do we stand? It seems like people want the Houston Astros to be the best team in the American League. I would agree because the Houston Astros have that in mind. But what’s making it difficult is with Cleveland winning. At least we know they’re peaking (or suspecting of peaking at the right time.)

It’s time for me to make a bold prediction. Actually, a prediction that might not be bold, but understandable. In fact, I have two and maybe three.

1. Cleveland will finish with the better record and will wait for either the Yankees or the Twins in the ALDS.
2. Houston will be hosting Boston in the ALDS for Game 1.
3. I’m holding on to this for now.

It sounds like I’ve already settled in with Cleveland winning. That’s not the narrative I want to follow. Trust me! If y’all watched Big Brother this season, you understand why expecting the unexpected must be expected.

So why bring this up? Why talk about it now? Why bring up seeding when we already made the playoffs? It’s easy to think that we should be the number one seed. But let’s think about this for a second. Are we really good in sports as the number one seed?