Astros’ 2025: Counting your blessings

Sometimes when things are looking bad, when things are heading downward and your gut feels hopeless – it is good to just count your blessings.

Even though the Astros have been spitting the bit on what was once a seven-game lead in the AL West and have been on a 11-17 “run” down the drain lately, there is plenty to feel positive about the Astros.

  • At least they are not the Los Angeles Angels of Some Other City in SoCal. It is hard to believe that a team that has sported the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout has not been to the playoffs in 10 seasons – the longest drought in the majors.
  • After the 2016 season, the Astros were still part of an MLB subset of teams that had never won a World Series. But as of today (now that the Rangers have escaped this dishonor), five teams have never won it – the Milwaukee Brewers (created in Seattle in 1969), the San Diego Padres (1969), the Seattle Mariners (1977), the Colorado Rockies (1993) and the Tampa Bay Rays (1998). Astros fans can be ecstatic in having their two championships.
  • The Astros streak of eight straight playoff appearances is second only to the LA Dodgers 12 consecutive playoff appearances and it is the fourth longest ever.
  • Most of us have witnessed the only two championships in team history and four of their five World Series appearances in the last eight seasons.
  • The Astros are not the A’s or the Rays playing for a year (or more) in a minor league stadium, though they have the same hurricane danger as the Rays here on the Gulf Coast.
  • Further they are not like the A’s in the midst of moving but no longer located in their former home city (Oakland) nor their future home city (Las Vegas).
  • They have a team that despite having a rotation full of starting pitchers on the IL at the same time (Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, Cristian Javier (about to be back), Spencer Arrighetti (just back), Luis Garcia, J.P. France, Lance McCullers Jr. and Brandon Walters) and losing their best hitter, Yordan Alvarez for most of the season, have clung tenaciously to the top spot in the AL West.
  • The Astros pitching coaches continue to lead a pitching staff of flotsam and jetsam to a solid performance despite what is happening in the bullet above. Pitchers like Jason Alexander, Ryan Gusto (bye bye Ryan), Colton Gordon, Brandon Walters, Bennett Sousa, Bryan King, and Steven Okert have copied non-prospect pitchers from previous seasons – Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, J.P. France and pickups from other teams like Charlie Morton and Brad Peacock to fill a pitching roster and lead the team to unlikely performances.
  • Astro fans get to watch a homecoming where Jose Altuve and the newly re-acquired Carlos Correa step up to lead the team through the toughest of times and harken back to some of the greatest teams in Astros’ history.
  • Top performers like Jeremy Pena, Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu give the fans All Star type performances on the season.

These are just some of the things that make me count my blessings with the Astros. What about you?

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30 responses to “Astros’ 2025: Counting your blessings”

  1. Probably our most valuable pitcher with his invisible fastball from the 22 WS is back. If he can get back to his earlier quality in the next few starts, I can see him as our second best pitcher behind Brown. Framber is scaring me with his last two starts. Alexander was great yesterday. Even C Walker is starting to show life . I agree that this team is blessed to having remained competitive during these injuries .

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  2. It’s a strange season. The Astros still have the third-best record in the AL, only 2 1/2 games behind Toronto (of all teams). They’re better than the Yankees and Red Sox and they have a real shot at a first-round bye.

    If the playoffs started today, Houston would be at home against the Yankees.

    Few other teams — READ: Maybe NONE! — in the majors can say they’ve weathered the storms the Astros have this season. No other team in the majors (I haven’t researched this…), have as many possible players coming back in the next few weeks who could make a difference.

    If Arrighetti and Javier can hold the fort and give the team at least 5 innings an outing and if Yordan ever makes it back, the team may end up with the best record in the AL, if not all of baseball.

    Just saying. It could be worse, so as Jimmy V would say…Never give up!

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  3. Hi Dan,

    I hope your post gets picked up across the way. Sometimes the name calling is way beyond the norm, just despicable stuff. I’m talking about Astro “fans” denigrating Astro players in the most vulgar of terms.

    I wonder, do these “fans” call their kids or their wives or their co-workers or neighbors or fellow churchgoers a p.o.s. or bleeping worthless when they fail? Do they even think of the people in their lives with such venom when they fail? I don’t think so and I hope not. There must be a certain level of security in condemning others on-line in the comfort of your own home. And maybe an inner anger and dissatisfaction with self that allows one to speak in print in such terms over a baseball game.

    I feel so much better when at the ballpark, watching, feeling, hearing real fans of every age group and I literally absorb the love affair people in Houston have for our team. Most importantly, so many young kids have already embraced the Astros. Sure, good marketing helps but it really is reassuring to see the newest of generations rooting for the Astros.

    I turned 70 this year. And I’m pretty sure I’m younger than some in the group. I don’t know if I’ll get to witness another Astro World Series. But I’ve enjoyed the 2025 version of the Astros as much as any. And I think that’s all about being an underdog, fighting through remarkable adversity, watching guys of no expectations doing remarkable things from time to time even as they fail more than succeed. And also watching guys I’ve counted on get humbled by our pastime, as it’s painfully frustrating for them and me both. But at this point, every division title or wild card appearance going forward will count as a bonus. Give me a beer at a bar with my brother in a room with knowledgable Astro fans on either side of us and I’m very appreciative.

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  4. Loving it folks

    Larry – I love that Invisiball reference. In 2022 Javier was part of a regular season no-no and of course the one in the World Series. That was the most critical game in the series – Astros down 2-1 – would be a very tough 3-1 down if they lost it – but Javier dominated the Phils – tied up the series – Verlander won his first WS game ever to put them on the brink and then Yordan carried us to the title in game 6.

    Chip – This is the worst baseball storm of injuries I can remember in my 60 years of fandom. Heck, even half of this quantity of injuries and our teams would have been out of this pennant race by May in the pre-Renaissance period. Even 2020, which was an awful year for injuries – the team ended up below the .500 line but slid into the playoffs and made noise.

    daveb – I get angry with stupid mistakes on the diamond – especially the silly outs on the base paths. But it does not mean my favorite player Jose Altuve is an expletive deleted. These are failures of trying too hard.

    Even Jose Areu was not a malingerer. He was a great player who fell off the wall that we all face with age.

    I think that the relative anonymity of commenting on the net allow people to do and write things they would never say in person.

    And I think the people believe that making a minimum of $700K per season (on up to tens of millions) means we can expect that these are not people but superhumans with no feelings.

    The only time I get really angry is if I think someone is not trying. That rarely seems to happen with the quality of people the Astros obtain.

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  6. I think there is a certain entitlement some of these “fans” have that we previously associated with some of those rotten fanbases. Growing up I thought players like Terry Puhl, Phil Garner, Enos Cabell, and Craig Reynolds were great! Some guys who were legends to us like Dennis Menke, Cesar Cedeno, and Jimmy Wynn were in fact guys who received zero HoF votes. I hope it’s clear when I complain right now that Yainer Diaz has a .279 OBP it’s because I firmly believe he is capable of playing better. I hope that better performance comes in these games that matter down the stretch and give us a chance to play in the postseason again.

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    • Devin – I think there is a big difference when you complain about someone like Diaz not playing up to expectations – especially with him not laying off balls outside the strike zone and someone on a blog calling him a POS or someone other expletive deleted.

      We have certain expectations of players, but we express these in a civil way.

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  7. That was a heck of a game last night. A microcosm of the 2025 season. Javier comes back after 14 months and gives us enough to get the win. Another new guy, Urias gets us three big hits and playing solid infield again. Walker getting a big hit. And Chas reminding us that he can still help.

    And then we endure a bullpen missing our closer and set up man, along with our sometimes seventh inning guy. We can’t make this up! And then a couple of defensive plays we wish had been made. We get a huge caught stealing from Yanier. And then a couple of bigger outs from the guy we had never heard of, and finally a last merciful whiff from Souza.

    And then we get word that Hader is on the shelf, at least for the moment, awaiting test results.

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  8. I’m not surprised by the Angels not being good for a long time. They aren’t focused on pitching. Hitters can’t help when that 1 guy on the mound makes it 6-0 before the 3rd inning. It’s not an organizational priority. I love Altuve. And Yordan. And Correa, Bregman, Springer, Gurriel, Brantley – but they don’t win without Verlander, Cole, Keuchel, Valdez, Morton, etc.

    On that note, great game from Javy last night. Three batters he had given up 2 hits, 1 a homer, and a walk, and it looked dismal right away. Then we saw why he is nicknamed El Reptil. Didn’t phase him, and he kept them in the game. It won’t go down as a QS, but if you started the night telling me he was going to go 5 IP and 2 runs, I’m all in.

    We were really lucky with that bullpen performance from some of those guys early in the year. We caught some lightning in the bottle. But we are starting to see the arm talents of King, Okert, Ort. Right now, I’m a little worried about the 6th inning in the playoffs. That might end up the saving grace of Christian Javier, he was magnificent in that role earlier in his career.

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  9. Thoughts

    • God giveth and God taketh away. Cristian Javier gave up two runs in his first two batters, and then settled in and gave the Astros more than they could hope for with 5 scoreless innings after the first two runs. He got better as he went along and showed a lot of what he gave us before his injury. It was very uplifting.
    • However, I wondered what was going on when the Astros were patching together the end of the game including the newly picked up off the street Enyel De Los Santos. My brother and I were texting back and forth about it. Holding Abreu out made sense since he threw 1.2 innings Sunday, but Hader had not pitched since Friday. Well after the game Joe Espada announced Hader had the dreaded shoulder discomfort and is getting more testing. Oh Lord. By the way he threw two innings and 36 pitches Friday. Just saying.
    • So I’m guessing we will see Dubin back up here very soon as the bullpen looks awry.
    • I guess I can allow Alex Bregman a home run in his first at bat at Daikin Park as a Red Sox as long as we won.
    • The Astros again put up great at bats and strung together rallies against one of the very best pitchers in baseball.
    • Urias with a big game – 3 hits including a home run. Walker with another couple RBIs on a smoked double. Chas with his first home run since last season. Cam with a couple hits. Correa knocking in a run in his first game back. And they needed every hit.
    • I sure hope Arrighetti goes at least 5 innings today and 6 would be better because this bullpen is scary now.

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  10. And yes, I see the trolls on facebook. They talk about McCullers like he isn’t a professional athlete doing his darndest to help the team. LMJ may end up released in the end. But it won’t be until after the Astros are sure he is just done. It’s got to be hard knowing you threw 97 and at one point and now the good nights are seeing 93, and you don’t trust that 93 MPH fastball to get by someone so you start nibbling, then when you start nibbling hitters start sitting on your out pitch. He knew it too and that makes him starting aiming the fastball instead of letting it rip. He has a long way to go, but the dude is an Astro for life and I am a fan of his for life. “Bury me in the H.” You won’t hear that from Alex Bregman.

    We need to remember, I get it, they are accountable to the fan that pays that salary. LMJ knows that. It’s an added pressure to already diminished arm talent. But he is also a husband, father, family man and valued community member. The best people can do is root for him. If he gets it back, great. If not, it was still a fantastic run and celebrate that. It’s more than the rest of us get. Even if he doesn’t end up in a ring of honor, number retired, statues, etc., he will still have 24 curveballs in a row that won a playoff game on the way to a WS win. Tell me trolls when you accomplish anything like that.

    The reason I hang out here is because we can bust on Abreu’s performance, but we never bust on Jose Abreu. Yes, the fastball was just getting by him. It happens to everyone except Barry Bonds, and we know why. But by all accounts, guy is a terrific teammate. A professional ballplayer. I hope his next endeavor is so fruitful for him that he wins an MVP in it also.

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    • Nicely stated Steven. They are people and beyond that they are people who understand they have been given a God given talent that not everyone gets and so they also spend a lot of time and energy giving to those who are not so fortunate. They don’t have to do that but they almost all do to a man and it is very admirable. I hope that LMJ finds it again. He is one of the good people out there.

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    • I find it interesting that they think that the Astros will be fine because of the good performance of the other relievers – for the season that is true but lately not so great.

      King – last 6 games 7.50 ERA

      Okert – last 9 games 6.52 ERA

      Sousa – last 8 games 5.14 ERA

      Abreu – last 10 games 0.84 ERA – well OK there is one who is pitching well.

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      • I think you can add Hector Neris to that list. His last 7 games are 5.87 era with a 1.96 whip. When/if certain players return from the IL it should be interesting to see who gets their walking papers.

        LMJ

        Jake Meyers

        Yordan Alvarez

        Luis Garcia

        JP France

        Shawn Dubin

        Brandon Walter

        Zack Dezenzo

        Pedro Leon

        Looks like it could be a game of musical chairs for some. Oh, I was impressed by De Los Santos last night.

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  13. Losing Hader, depending on for how long, could be the season. We don’t have enough guys with closer type stuff.

    So the best way to combat his loss is to have fewer close games late. Our offense simply needs to take over and go their own streak, making the 9th inning less important.

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  15. I know there are Espada lovers on here.

    However, he still cannot run a pitching staff. Instead of leaving Okert in to finish the inning, he brings in Dubin, fresh off the IL and he promptly extends Boston’s lead. Dubin would have been better served to come in at a start of a fresh inning.

    I am not a professional major league coach but I am a paying customer. I expect better.

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    • Sarge, I do not love Joe Espada. But I do think he’d be a good, if somewhat boring neighbor. And maybe with a few beers from the garage frig, he’d loosen up a bit. I also think he’s proven to be a pretty good manager.

      I do think Joe gets a bad rap. He has to make decisions all night. And when his guys do well, rarely does anyone point out that Joe got it right. But as soon as he makes a move that does not work out so well, he gets vilified.

      He’s got reams of charts on every hitter, he knows what success his pitchers have had previously against all those hitters, he knows how many pitches Okert has thrown in the past week and how many more he might need from him today in the last game of the series.

      And I think overall he’s done a great job fielding a competitive club all season long as his resources continue to crumble around him.

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      • Dave, I apologize for the misunderstanding as I was not pointing you out. There are some on here who are apologists for him. I used to be one myself. I would not do that to anyone on here as we are all “friends.” And I value you all.

        It is true that he gets a bad rap as he has a fairly bare cabinet to choose from. That falls on Dana Brown. Professional pitching is probably the hardest job in the game. Imagine having a front yard that is 60 feet wide. Then stand at one edge of that yard and throwing a ball across to the other side and putting it into a smallish rectangle on that other side. I couldn’t do it. My jaw drops when I see the ball dance as it does for many of these pitchers.

        You are correct about where the club is due to the lack of resources.

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      • Sarge, absolutely no need to apologize to me. I’ve probably got more opinions than anyone here and I know my takes are not always popular. So please don’t ever hesitate to keep the dialogue going!

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  17. Looking at the bright side of things, there was no need for a closer last night.

    I sure liked seeing three left-handed outfield bats in the line up last night for the first time since the Loperfido days, but I’m not sure if a couple of those guys are going to hit the ball long term.

    Arrighetti gave us a mixed bag last night. The stuff was pretty good. He threw 88 pitches. The walks sure are problematic, especially the lead off ones. Unfortunately, we need these rehabbed guys to be sharp now, and now is probably an unrealistic expectation.

    I didn’t know Chas could pitch. I’m glad I was asleep for that though. It’s indicative of just how precarious our pitching situation is. It’s pretty obvious that the guys we’re tied for first with don’t have those same issues.

    Today would be a good day for a series win. I keep waiting for the offensive explosion that would be so welcome right now.

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  18. Thoughts

    • Arrighetti was not all the way back and his control was off (5 walks), but I will take that 2 runs over 5 innings.
    • I will especially take it over the 9 runs in 2.1 innings from the returning Dubin and Gordon.
    • Not sure if it would have made a difference, but sure would have liked some early scoring in this game. They made May look a lot better than his numbers – though maybe more like he looked when he came into the league before all his injuries.
    • Were the Astros playing a little crushed after losing Hader to the IL? Well they are usually a hugely resilient team, so this was unusual.
    • They did have 9 hits last night, but pretty scattered and no hits from Correa, Altuve, Sanchez and Walker (#2-5).
    • Well it counts as just one loss and today is a new day. Winning another series would be a nice positive.

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