God I hate being the favorite. This is the third straight year the Astros are in the ALCS. This is the third straight year they are also the favorite in that ALCS. I have to say, after seeing my team squeaking by one year (2017) in seven hilariously tense games, and then seeing them lose one year (2018) in five increasingly haunting games, and now with them potentially blowing a 3-1 lead, or squeaking by again, I have to say I absolutely hate it.
Baseball playoffs house some of the most tense, amazing moments in sports. But the combination of normal playoff randomness that effects any sport, and the small gap between the best and worst teams in baseball relative to other sports, make it all the more cruel. The good news is when we talk about baseball, be it who the best players are, or if people are HOFers, we generally focus on their regular season exploits (Kershaw stuff excepted). But still, when you root for a team, it is so much worse to be in this position.
It was bad enough last year, seeing a truly great 103-win team lose to a truly greater 108-win Boston team. I should note, Boston had home field, they were healthier, and they fully deserved to win, but the ridiculous nature of Houston's ALDS win over Cleveland, their status as defending champs, and slightly better underlying numbers made them the bettor favorite. Last year, Houston went in and calmly won Game 1 in Boston, and then took a lead halfway through Game 2 (weirdly, very similar to what the Yankees did this year). At that point I understood why they were the betting favorite.
Of course, then Boston won Game 2 off some Green Monster enabled shenanigans, and won all three games in Houston. It was excruciating, as I wrote at the time. As we left the series, it was even worse to see stats like Houston actually out-hitting Boston, but their numbers with RISP and cluster luck was terrible compared to Boston.
Somehow, a year later, the series is playing out in reverse. The Astros went to New York and won two games. But this year, they are also hitting way worse than the Yankees this series. On its face, the Astros lineup is every bit the equal of hte Yankees. They were the best lineup by WRC+ since the 1927 Yankees. Seriously. That is a fact. What is also a fact is more than half the lineup is hitting under .200 for the playoffs, with most of that inadequacy coming in this series.
I decided to go to Game 5, because I could find fairly rock-bottom (for playoffs at least) prices on SeatGeek day off. I understood it, as Yankee fans were selling off playoff tickets down 1-3. Of course, I should have known karma would get the best of me and I would see them lose. I just didn't realize it would be in that way, with them getting an early lead but leaving two guys on in the first, and then seeing Verlander inhibit 2015 Verlander for five batters. The roar of the crowd in Yankee Stadium as Aaron Hicks's ball hit the foul pole was incredible, but also so harrowing. Seeing the Astros lineup meekly flail away for eight more innings was worse.
The Astros have already given me a series of all-time fan moments in 2017. From Game 7 against the Yankees throughout their epic seven game win over the Dodgers (the last series that the Astros were not the favorite in). I'll never forget the greatest roller-coaster of all time Game 5 win in that World Series. And at the end of the day, they won. My team won. Most of the guys in that lineup that today can't hit and last year couldn't hit, all hit damn well in the same pressure moments. So it isn't them. It is just baseball. I know I have no right to ask for another title - but you know what, forget about that for a second.
I lived through 2011-2013, three pathetic 100-loss seasons as the Astros tanked harder than any team until maybe this year's Miami Dolphins. They were truly embarrassing. People got on Sam Hinkie, but what he did in Philadelphia was amateur hour compared to what Jeff Luhnow (technically, Ed Wade in year #1) did in Houston. They promised it would work, and it has better than anyone could have ever hoped. They created a machine from teh ashes of that mess. But I also know it worked too well, that even if Luhnow stays and they continue with this brain-trust, the 2017-202X version of the Astros will be as good as it gets, and I do want more than one title in that run.
I will say this, for years I've struggled to truly get acclimated to being a fan of an AL team (and I know it's been six years now). At my most impressionable sports fan age, my rivals were teh Cardinals and Cubs, and they still are. I hated to my core seeing the 2016 Cubs break their curse. I loved to see the Cardinals embarrassed in the NLCS this year. But the last two years has been a trial by fire, first losing to Boston, and now potentially New York. Yes, we beat both of them as well in 2017, but having to lose is a lot more lasting than winning. If anything, losing as the favorite to the Yankees devil magic, the year after losing to Boston at their most annoying? I'm for sure an AL fan now.
Baseball playoffs house some of the most tense, amazing moments in sports. But the combination of normal playoff randomness that effects any sport, and the small gap between the best and worst teams in baseball relative to other sports, make it all the more cruel. The good news is when we talk about baseball, be it who the best players are, or if people are HOFers, we generally focus on their regular season exploits (Kershaw stuff excepted). But still, when you root for a team, it is so much worse to be in this position.
It was bad enough last year, seeing a truly great 103-win team lose to a truly greater 108-win Boston team. I should note, Boston had home field, they were healthier, and they fully deserved to win, but the ridiculous nature of Houston's ALDS win over Cleveland, their status as defending champs, and slightly better underlying numbers made them the bettor favorite. Last year, Houston went in and calmly won Game 1 in Boston, and then took a lead halfway through Game 2 (weirdly, very similar to what the Yankees did this year). At that point I understood why they were the betting favorite.
Of course, then Boston won Game 2 off some Green Monster enabled shenanigans, and won all three games in Houston. It was excruciating, as I wrote at the time. As we left the series, it was even worse to see stats like Houston actually out-hitting Boston, but their numbers with RISP and cluster luck was terrible compared to Boston.
Somehow, a year later, the series is playing out in reverse. The Astros went to New York and won two games. But this year, they are also hitting way worse than the Yankees this series. On its face, the Astros lineup is every bit the equal of hte Yankees. They were the best lineup by WRC+ since the 1927 Yankees. Seriously. That is a fact. What is also a fact is more than half the lineup is hitting under .200 for the playoffs, with most of that inadequacy coming in this series.
I decided to go to Game 5, because I could find fairly rock-bottom (for playoffs at least) prices on SeatGeek day off. I understood it, as Yankee fans were selling off playoff tickets down 1-3. Of course, I should have known karma would get the best of me and I would see them lose. I just didn't realize it would be in that way, with them getting an early lead but leaving two guys on in the first, and then seeing Verlander inhibit 2015 Verlander for five batters. The roar of the crowd in Yankee Stadium as Aaron Hicks's ball hit the foul pole was incredible, but also so harrowing. Seeing the Astros lineup meekly flail away for eight more innings was worse.
The Astros have already given me a series of all-time fan moments in 2017. From Game 7 against the Yankees throughout their epic seven game win over the Dodgers (the last series that the Astros were not the favorite in). I'll never forget the greatest roller-coaster of all time Game 5 win in that World Series. And at the end of the day, they won. My team won. Most of the guys in that lineup that today can't hit and last year couldn't hit, all hit damn well in the same pressure moments. So it isn't them. It is just baseball. I know I have no right to ask for another title - but you know what, forget about that for a second.
I lived through 2011-2013, three pathetic 100-loss seasons as the Astros tanked harder than any team until maybe this year's Miami Dolphins. They were truly embarrassing. People got on Sam Hinkie, but what he did in Philadelphia was amateur hour compared to what Jeff Luhnow (technically, Ed Wade in year #1) did in Houston. They promised it would work, and it has better than anyone could have ever hoped. They created a machine from teh ashes of that mess. But I also know it worked too well, that even if Luhnow stays and they continue with this brain-trust, the 2017-202X version of the Astros will be as good as it gets, and I do want more than one title in that run.
I will say this, for years I've struggled to truly get acclimated to being a fan of an AL team (and I know it's been six years now). At my most impressionable sports fan age, my rivals were teh Cardinals and Cubs, and they still are. I hated to my core seeing the 2016 Cubs break their curse. I loved to see the Cardinals embarrassed in the NLCS this year. But the last two years has been a trial by fire, first losing to Boston, and now potentially New York. Yes, we beat both of them as well in 2017, but having to lose is a lot more lasting than winning. If anything, losing as the favorite to the Yankees devil magic, the year after losing to Boston at their most annoying? I'm for sure an AL fan now.
