I shouldn't complain, because they won the World Series last year in the most dramatic way (well, Games 2 & 5 at least).
I shouldn't complain, because they had two of the top 10 prospects in baseball entering this season.
I shouldn't complain because they have the best pitching staff in baseball, and a Top-10 offense despite so many players missing time and/or having suprisingly weak years.
I shouldn't complain, because as I said a few points ago, this team won the World Series last year. How spoiled should I be?
But you know what, when there's a chance they miss the playoffs entirely, losing out to two teams in Oakland & Seattle who they are way better than despite the injuries and everything else, I am going to complain.
We don't know how long this incarnation of the Astros has. Maybe Carlos Correa never improves off his 6-win in 110 games 2017 season - he's having a relative season from hell this year. Maybe Altuve has peaked, a year before his extension kicks in. Maybe Kyle Tucker never fulfills his promise (though we should probably lay off a 21-year old). Maybe the pitching staff is never this good again. ALl these things could happen. The Astros could potentially assemble this insane run of talent and maybe never do better than 2017 - an 101-win season and a World Series win.
That shouln't be the case. This year, the mean projection for the Astros was 101 wins. They'll likely fall short (thought it isn't impossible they end on some crazy run). By run differential they are more or less as good as expected, but in reality they are not, and in an increasingly polarized AL, the A's and Mariners are right there despite having way worse point differentials. This was supposed to be the start of an Astros dynasty - and likely they'll be right there with Boston in preseason projections next year - but it seems like a step backwards.
In a way, we went through this in 2016, the year after the Astros 2015 breakthrough. They struggled out the gate going 17-28. They ended up barely over .500, third place in the division, well behind the AL-leading Rangers (man, two years is forever in baseball). They were still not a great team then,, but better than their record. In truth, you could argue the Astros have always been better than their record - and while modern analytics may underplay the 'clutch-ness' of teams, the Astros, 2017 postseason excepted, have never been all that clutch.
I like the Mariners - I picked them to win a Wild Card preseason. I think the A's are a great story. I have no real animous towards the Red Sox - the rare Boston team I don't innately hate (having the Astros in the opposite conference most of my life, and then beat them last year in the ALDS helps). But right now this season is a disaster.
I truly believe if the Astros are able to hang on, get their lineup healthy, and make the playoffs, even as a Wild Crarfd, they can go on a run. No one can match starters with them. Their lineup is better than what is has shown all season. Their bullpen is still good. The Astros might still be the best team in the AL on paper, and aside from the Yankees, are still the team with the best long-term outlook (Boston, in pure Dombrowski style, has mortgaged the farm greatly to build this 110-win juggernaut). But I'm still complaining.
In a weird way, there is a bit of "what does it all mean" that comes into play as well. I had never seen my team win a World Series before. I saw them get to one, and not win a game. I had seen them put off rebuilding for way too long and put out increasingly depressing teams. Then I saw them embrace rebuilding in a more bastardized way than any team ever. Then I saw them win, and not only win, but win one of the more dramatic World Series ever played and one of the highest quality being the first World Series since the 1960's to have two 100-win teams. But what I've realized is that win doesn't change anything. I want more, we all do.
It may not happen. It may not happen in the most embarrassing way - missing out on the playoffs despite having a riotously good roster. It may not happen because they lose to a Boston team that has been unconscionably good - and if it does, I may rethink my 'not hating the Red Sox' stance. But overall, the fact that it may not happen is dampening the fact that it did happen just last year. I wish it wasn't the case, but at the end of the day, I guess I'm just a spoiled fan who wants more; like everyone else.
I shouldn't complain, because they had two of the top 10 prospects in baseball entering this season.
I shouldn't complain because they have the best pitching staff in baseball, and a Top-10 offense despite so many players missing time and/or having suprisingly weak years.
I shouldn't complain, because as I said a few points ago, this team won the World Series last year. How spoiled should I be?
But you know what, when there's a chance they miss the playoffs entirely, losing out to two teams in Oakland & Seattle who they are way better than despite the injuries and everything else, I am going to complain.
We don't know how long this incarnation of the Astros has. Maybe Carlos Correa never improves off his 6-win in 110 games 2017 season - he's having a relative season from hell this year. Maybe Altuve has peaked, a year before his extension kicks in. Maybe Kyle Tucker never fulfills his promise (though we should probably lay off a 21-year old). Maybe the pitching staff is never this good again. ALl these things could happen. The Astros could potentially assemble this insane run of talent and maybe never do better than 2017 - an 101-win season and a World Series win.
That shouln't be the case. This year, the mean projection for the Astros was 101 wins. They'll likely fall short (thought it isn't impossible they end on some crazy run). By run differential they are more or less as good as expected, but in reality they are not, and in an increasingly polarized AL, the A's and Mariners are right there despite having way worse point differentials. This was supposed to be the start of an Astros dynasty - and likely they'll be right there with Boston in preseason projections next year - but it seems like a step backwards.
In a way, we went through this in 2016, the year after the Astros 2015 breakthrough. They struggled out the gate going 17-28. They ended up barely over .500, third place in the division, well behind the AL-leading Rangers (man, two years is forever in baseball). They were still not a great team then,, but better than their record. In truth, you could argue the Astros have always been better than their record - and while modern analytics may underplay the 'clutch-ness' of teams, the Astros, 2017 postseason excepted, have never been all that clutch.
I like the Mariners - I picked them to win a Wild Card preseason. I think the A's are a great story. I have no real animous towards the Red Sox - the rare Boston team I don't innately hate (having the Astros in the opposite conference most of my life, and then beat them last year in the ALDS helps). But right now this season is a disaster.
I truly believe if the Astros are able to hang on, get their lineup healthy, and make the playoffs, even as a Wild Crarfd, they can go on a run. No one can match starters with them. Their lineup is better than what is has shown all season. Their bullpen is still good. The Astros might still be the best team in the AL on paper, and aside from the Yankees, are still the team with the best long-term outlook (Boston, in pure Dombrowski style, has mortgaged the farm greatly to build this 110-win juggernaut). But I'm still complaining.
In a weird way, there is a bit of "what does it all mean" that comes into play as well. I had never seen my team win a World Series before. I saw them get to one, and not win a game. I had seen them put off rebuilding for way too long and put out increasingly depressing teams. Then I saw them embrace rebuilding in a more bastardized way than any team ever. Then I saw them win, and not only win, but win one of the more dramatic World Series ever played and one of the highest quality being the first World Series since the 1960's to have two 100-win teams. But what I've realized is that win doesn't change anything. I want more, we all do.
It may not happen. It may not happen in the most embarrassing way - missing out on the playoffs despite having a riotously good roster. It may not happen because they lose to a Boston team that has been unconscionably good - and if it does, I may rethink my 'not hating the Red Sox' stance. But overall, the fact that it may not happen is dampening the fact that it did happen just last year. I wish it wasn't the case, but at the end of the day, I guess I'm just a spoiled fan who wants more; like everyone else.
