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Houston Astros: Fans shouldn’t be hitting the panic button now

By Kenneth Cline

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 31: Dejected Astros fans react after the final out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 during the Houston Astros World Series watch party at Minute Maid Park on October 31, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 31: Dejected Astros fans react after the final out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 during the Houston Astros World Series watch party at Minute Maid Park on October 31, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 03: A fan looks over his scorecard before the opening day game between thye Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 3, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 03: A fan looks over his scorecard before the opening day game between thye Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 3, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Time for a math experiment

Houston Astros next seven opponents

  • Texas – 3 games
  • Seattle – 4 games
  • Chicago White Sox – 3 games
  • Los Angeles Angels – 3 games
  • Oakland – 3 games
  • New York Yankees – 3 games
  • Arizona – 3 games

So we have 22 games. Ideally, we want to win every one of these series in sweeps. But let’s say

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we don’t sweep every series and lose only one game each. That’s 15 wins of our next 22 games, which our record then goes up to 24-11, which is an impressive record through 35 games.

Now let’s say we drop two of three to the Angels and Yankees (hypothetical people. Don’t worry!) by losing two games each. We still have won five of the next seven series and we would go 13-9 to up our record to 22-13. Maybe not as impressive now, but let’s take the next seven series.

Houston Astros next seven opponents

  • Oakland – 3 games
  • Texas – 3 games
  • Los Angeles Angels – 3 games
  • Cleveland – 3 games
  • San Francisco – 2 games
  • Cleveland – 4 games
  • New York Yankees – 3 games

We have 21 games for our next set. Let’s take both 22-13 and 24-11 records into account.

22-13 – Take all seven series.

  • 24-14
  • 26-15,
  • 28-16,
  • 30-17
  • 32-17,
  • 35-18,
  • 37-19,

24-11 – Take all seven series

  • 26-12
  • 28-13
  • 30-14
  • 32-15
  • 34-15
  • 37-16
  • 39-17

Now let’s take both hypothetical records and have us win four of the series while losing three of four to the Indians and two of three Athletics while splitting with the Giants.

22-13 – Take four of the series.

  • 23-15
  • 25-16
  • 27-17
  • 29-18
  • 30-19
  • 31-22
  • 33-23

24-11 – Take four of the series

  • 25-13
  • 27-14
  • 29-15
  • 31-16
  • 32-17
  • 33-20
  • 35-21

Suffice to say, the more the experiment goes on, the better the record. While these numbers might not be hard to come by, they do prove a point. Winning a majority of series helps better your chances of making the playoffs. But you already knew that by now.

Next: Assessing Gerrit Cole's 2018 season start

Conclusion

So what I just shared was some advice on how to take small steps in handling this season for the Houston Astros. This may either work or not. But one thing is for sure. We can still dream of repeating as champions. But in order for us to make that a reality, we have to take it day by day.

Every day won’t be the same story. It’s going to take bumps in the road. Our offense and pitching will slump at times. But we must stay the course and have our team perform up to their ability.  This will certainly be while we ride out the season with the team.  If that’s done, then I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be making more noise than we did in 2017.

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