I don't follow MLB like I used too, but I do keep my eye on the standings.
From where I sit, the biggest surprise through the end of April is the Houston Astros finding themselves in last place in the AL West with a 10-19 record entering May 1st.
Since 2017, the Astros have won six of the last seven AL West titles, four AL pennants and two World Series titles albeit in controversial fashion.
Considering these circumstances, I cannot imagine anyone had them behind the soon to be wandering Oakland A's at the any point in the season and yet here we are.
Yet I cannot imagine the Astros being in the cellar for very long.
There are two reasons for my way of thinking.
First, at one point, the Astros effectively had their entire starting rotation on the IL. But the rotation will soon be back to full strength. I cannot imagine a rotation of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Jose Urqidy, Cristian Javier and Ronel Blanco losing in this manner.
Second, the Astros also have the advantage of being in MLB's weakest division. Houston entered May only 6½ games back of the Seattle Mariners. By comparison, they would be both 9 games back of both the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians were they in the AL East and AL Central, respectively.
With 143 games remaining in the regular season, the Astros have more than enough time to cover ground lost at the end of March and in April. Should they cover this ground then by September scarcely anyone will have remembered their misfortune.
On the other hand, should their struggles continue then the spotlight will focus on first-year Astros manager Joe Espada who had the unenviable task of succeeding Dusty Baker who led them to a second World Series title in 2022. Those are big shoes to fill and it remains to be seen if Espada can fill his own.
No comments:
Post a Comment