That WAS just one series…

This was going to be a post for the ChipalattAwards for July, which is about 2/3 finished, but your humble writing servant could not ignore the wonders of this weekend sweep of the Rangers.

Like most folks, I was anxious heading into the head-to-head with the team from South Oklahoma. Even though the Astros were on an 8-1 tear prior to Friday, there were some concerns:

  • What if there was some natural regression – how hot could the Astros stay?
  • Sure, Hunter Brown was pitching in the opener, but what if he fell back into some of the struggles he had shown when he first came off the IL? Or what if his opposite, Nathan Eovaldi morphed back into the guy who beat the Astros twice in the 2023 ALCS?
  • What if Jacob deGrom pitched to form and outdueled the still rusty Ronel Blanco in game 2?
  • And what if in the third game Steady Eddie Peter Lambert turned back into a pumpkin and was beaten by Kumar Rocker who had been very good since the All Star break?
  • Or what if the Astros suddenly lost the mojo they had shown lately at the plate, where they had been dominating the competition?

Yes, that was just one series, but what a wonderful, uplifting series it was.

  • The Astros, who could have had many different results, including finishing the series 3-1/2 games behind the Rangers, ended with the best case scenario of a 2-1/2 game lead in the division and a 1-1/2 game lead for the final wild card spot.
  • Hunter Brown was excellent Friday, Peter Lambert was his normal solid self on Sunday and Ronel Blanco pitched deGrom to a standoff on Saturday.
  • The bullpen was solid, but not perfect – allowing 2 runs over 11 innings on the weekend. Bryan King, who had been struggling, had a couple of scoreless appearances. Bryan Abreu, who reportedly almost went to the Twins in a trade, had a couple very good outings, as did AJ Blubaugh.
  • And they only used closer Josh Hader in Saturday’s game as they did not need him in Friday’s 11-2 and Sunday’s 7-3 win.
  • The offense made the weekend overall comfortable for the pitchers and had many heroes including:
    • 7 hits by Jeremy Pena including a homer, 3 runs scored and 5 RBIs
    • 3 hits by Isaac Paredes including a homer, 1 run scored and 2 RBIs
    • Cam Smith with 5 hits, 4 runs scored and 1 RBI
    • And Lamonte Wade Jr. who famously had 1 hit, one RBI

My favorite moment on the weekend may have been in the second inning of Friday’s game when the Astros had a 1-0 lead. The bases were loaded with 2 outs and Yordan Alvarez was coming up and everyone knew – they would have to pitch to him. He lined an Eovaldi splitter the other way and the Astros’ lead stretched to 3-0. It helped set the pace for the rest of the weekend.

Those stats for the two guys at the top of the lineup stand out. Combined 14 hits, 6 runs scored, and 10 runs driven in. Pena and Alvarez set the pace for a terrific three wins for the AL West leaders.

That was nice to say.  

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36 responses to “That WAS just one series…”

  1. I feel like it was certainly more important than one series.

    Seattles acquisition of Taylor Ward is a big deal. The guy most likely to lose all that time is hitting .225 with 15 BBs and 93 Ks. Taylor Ward is hitting .246 with 87 BBs. He is no star but Ward changes their batting order pretty significantly given who he will be taking at bats from.

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  2. Well, here we are a couple of hours away from the trade deadline. I’ll admit I’ve been keeping closer tabs today that normal.

    When I wrote a few weeks ago that Brown said the Astros would be buyers, it seemed like there was a plan. But then Crane vetoed (apparently) a deal, which seems to indicate that ownership and management are NOT on the same page.

    What does that say to other teams, especially with a deadline time crunch?

    What does that say to players that they can’t get their act together at a critical time?

    Not to mention fans who have become accustom to big deadline deals over the years.

    Still two hours to go, so they could prove this wrong, but it’s not a good look! Especially when it seems there are 29 active teams and only one (the Astros) sitting on the sidelines.

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    • As I mentioned in my text, not impressed. Here’s a rental who’s making about $11 million this year for a young guy who’s under team control through 2030 and still has time to put it all together.

      Still time left on the clock today, but if this is it…

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    • Varsho has a .243 BA / .307 OBP/ .682 OPS, so the question is why?

      He’s a left handed bat that can play CF, but his splits are almost exactly this meh against rightys and leftys.

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  4. Varsho is the exact player I would be trying to stay away from.

    And you are going to give up a rotation piece with years of control?

    Brown can’t be gone soon enough for me.

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    • Is this Brown or has he been handcuffed? And…they’re doing what they wouldn’t do in the Twins’ deal…giving up a player on the big league club.

      SMH for sure…

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  5. Well, the Astros still have not found their left-handed bat. And they’re giving Arrighetti away for a rental. I’m not Spencers biggest fan, but the guy did produce a Pitcher of the Month month.

    With Bagwell in the control room, we don’t even know who to get mad at.

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  6. Let’s see

    Varsho is much worse at home (.223 BA/ .299 OBP/ .642) than on the road (.264/.315/.722) so maybe they think if he leaves Toronto…..

    He hit solidly in June (.250/.311/.786) but awful in July (.205/.241/.482)

    He really shines in clutch situations like 2 outs RISP (.148/.281/ .429) – well maybe “shines” is the wrong descriptor

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  8. Blue Jays are paying ‘a portion’ of Varsho’s salary. Ya think? Should be a ‘significant’ portion, if you ask me.

    And, with Arrighetti on the IL, what are the chances he can pass a physical?

    Oh, and now the Astros are searching for a starting pitcher, with one hour to go before the deadline.

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  10. Seriously. A 8.2% BB average. A .229 average. 24.2% K rate! Did we trade for Taylor Trammell when we already have Taylor Trammell?

    If I’m going to remain an Astros fan I need an explanation from whomever made this decision about WTF they are thinking. Like Dave, I never looked at Spencer and said to myself, eh, untouchable there. But by all that is Astros, Spencer can draw you more than a strikeout machine that doesn’t like to walk or hit on an expensive, expiring contract. This is beyond stupidity, it’s inexcusable. I’ve been hitting the refresh button on mlbtraderumors.com all day to get to this? You trade a pitcher with 3 years of control and at least some upside for a guy that I wouldn’t have wanted as a salary dump by the other team? It’s usually the Blue Jays getting fleeced, but they got one over on first the Angels today and now the Astros. Soriano and Arrighetti fix some of their depth issues at the bottom of the rotation. Good headstart on 2027. While I will spend the rest of 2026 throwing my remote at the TV everytime Varsho fails to move a runner with no outs or strikes out with 2 on and 2 outs, all because he hits the occasional homerun.

    My son is a huge Blue Jays fan. I’ve watched a lot of Jays baseball the last 2 years. This is the guy I was hoping to avoid. And here we are.

    There is my rant for the day. We won’t even be Varsho less today, since, well, he is in the building already. For Fs sake.

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  11. But I’m gonna feel a lot better about this if they get either Griffin or Mize, as long as its basically for nothing.

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  13. Well, it’s over. The deadline that is.

    All the AL teams in front of Houston and a few behind improved their teams.

    Houston has lots of questions and they’re not all on-field questions.

    Steven, I feel your pain.

    There will be Astros’ fans who are apoplectic, not just with the results, but in the process of how this came down. If the Varsho/Arrighetti trade is, indeed, the only one when the dust settles, it’s arguable if this team is better that it was yesterday.

    I suppose Varsho will be in the Astros’ lineup tonight, since he just has to walk across the field to his new clubhouse?

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  16. You can’t even offer this guy a QO. Because he will take it and you will owe him 20M to hit like a minor leaguer. What is even going on.

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  17. I haven’t commented on here for a long while. Been watching rebuilds in Baltimore and now the Angels. But I was not sure if anyone saw this. We have to remember the Astros troubled prospect in Corpus – if memory serves me – that had video of him beating up his girlfriend. Well here is apparently his latest episode.

    https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/baserunner-sparks-brawl-mexican-baseball-league-sucker-punching-fielder-tagged-out

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    • Wow – hi AC – good to hear from you – but sad the reason is this guy who has huge anger issues. Glad the Astros dumped him back when.

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  18. Dan, I think you can argue it was a draw. They bought and they sold.

    And you can argue they lost because Arrighetti will get his chance over the next three years with another club while Varsho has about 49 games to make the deal work for Houston. Since Varsho’s agent is Scott Boras, he won’t be back.

    So, in the strictest sense, they were buyers, but they got fleeced.

    And, we’ve yet to hear the biggest stories I believe. What went on behind the scenes? They’ll leak out in the coming days and weeks.

    Essentially, you’ve replaced Wade with Varsho and Arrigetti with Imai.

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  19. I’d like to know who makes the final decisions about trades and acquisitions. I don’t think this is automatically a bad deal. Certainly, Varsho is only here the remainder of the season, but I for one, don’t think Arrighetti has it. But what do I know? I thought the season was over two weeks ago.

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    • There you go.

      My less emotional response, now that I’ve had dinner and a beer, is ok, it is a SLIGHT upgrade for the next 2 months. It’s just so, slight.

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      • I’m sitting on the floor of Gate 36 at MIA awaiting the 7:02 PM flight to IAH. It’s 9:32 now. I kept waiting for the other half of that deal. I had two beers. I really thought the Astros were up to some kind of a three way deal. I hope someday someone unlocks the key to consistent for Spencer.

        But Steven, I’m having a hard time feeling the upside with Varsho. We know what he’s going to provide. Maybe he’ll get hot and help. But he does not historically hit either. We got less than 2 months of the guy for a controllable pitcher. Chances are we’ll need a start from Arrighetti before it’s all over and we won’t get it.

        But I think the larger issue is that I don’t think we have a management group that is working together. We’ve had versions of this conversation before. This trade deadline acquisition was worse than doing nothing. And I have a feeling the guys in the clubhouse feel the same way. They know they needed help. They got none.

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  21. Thoughts

    • After a bumpy start – Javier pitched decently – 6 innings and 3 runs allowed
    • Imai surprised everyone by adapting to change (pitching out of the bullpen and went 9 up 9 down with 5 Ks
    • The offense took 10 hits and 5 walks and only scored 1 run
    • They looked like a team that had geared up all their emotions for the series against the Rangers and had nothing in the tank Monday. They also looked like a team (think about 2017 after the “normal” trade deadline) that was disappointed with what the front office did or rather, did not do for them.
    • Varsho with a single, a walk and a K. Pretty par for his course.
    • Late in the game I thought Yordan was going to come thru with Pena on and the other team pitching to him – but Superman did not do it this time.

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  22. If we’re this bummed out about the trade deadline moves imagine how the team that just took over first place in the division must feel. Was Rob Manfred in charge of arranging and approving any deals involving Houston?

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    • Devin, I don’t think so. My guess is that any potential deals were fought over and screwed up in house, if they actually existed. We don’t need Manfred to help us in that regard.

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  23. After sleeping on it, here are a couple of thoughts on the trade deadline.

    • The Astros know how to take an upswing and nosedive it into the ground.
    • We’re reduced to debating the veracity of one deal, up or down. The real issue is that’s the only deal. If you have only one deal, it needs to be a barnburner, not a ‘slight’ upgrade.
    • dave, I agree, it’s clear management is not on the same page. No one explains their position publicly, so fans and others are left to speculate. Not good for an organization teetering on confusion and mediocrity.
    • As far as Crane is concerned, he just needs to get to October/November. By Thanksgiving, the news will be the lockout (or deal agreed to) and the spotlight is not on him.
    • Devin, exactly. I mentioned this yesterday. I don’t follow other blogs or radio shows, but I’m guessing fans are dazed this morning…for the second straight deadline.
    • You have probably forgotten Ryan Gusto, whom the Astros traded last year for Jesus Sanchez. And you may forget Arrighetti in a few years. That just shows how much nothing burgers these deals are. Nothing memorable, nothing lasting.
    • Crane built an incredible organization. Will he be remembered more for the 2017/2022 seasons? Or more for how the organization slid back into mediocrity. Time will tell.

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    • Morning Chip. The Uber man got me to the house at 2:39 AM. Best trip of the day. Don’t fly on a Monday, especially when going through MIA. AA fibs more than the Astro Front Office. God point on Crane. I doubt he had former baseball player “advisors” in the WAR room during the Luhnow days. I think most of us identify with Bagwell as a dinosaur in today’s world.

      There jury is still out on 2026, but since Dana showed up in 2023, we’ve been mostly mediocre, with the same annual problems largely unresolved. That is his resume, regardless of who else “helped” him shape the club.

      But Crane will be remembered as two different guys. For this second half Crane, he’s the meddler.

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    • Chip, I was going to throw out a great quote about things ending badly, but then discovered it was from the movie Cocktail and not some prized work of literature which my memory had indicated, so let’s just say that Drayton did great things when he bought the team. Unfortunately, we talk derisively about him as an owner in light of the last few years.

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  24. It is a fascinating thing right now. Jim Crane is getting talked about and thought about like “the grocer” Drayton McLane at the end of his ownership term. This is unfair for a number of reasons:

    1. Even though the club was more successful under Drayton than any previous owner – they did not win it all …..twice ….like they have under Crane
    2. Jim Crane had good knowledge about baseball as opposed to Drayton who wondered why the team could not win 120 or 130 games right after he bought them
    3. Drayton unlike Jim Crane almost always backed away from the big commitment of dollars that might have pushed the team over the top

    But I will say that both of them made mistakes after having the right guy in place. Drayton got rid of Gerry Hunsicker, who was up to that time the best GM this team had ever had. Crane threw out Jeff Luhnow the best GM the team ever had over the IT scandal. I am sure he did this under pressure from MLB, but frankly he should have stood up to them and taken whatever beating the MLB would give him in exchange for suspending Luhnow.

    (Yes, I know they probably threatened Crane in different ways – maybe his own suspension or even that they would take the championship away). I would have called their bluff on that second thing – they would not have done that. They just wouldn’t.

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  25. Dan, this may be worth further discussion.

    Drayton had a good run and the highlight — you could argue — came around the 2004-05, and then it went downhill when he obviously didn’t invest as much and spend as much time with the team. Drayton was ~75 when he sold the team, meaning he was in his upper 60s at the heyday (2004-05).

    You could also argue that Crane has a similar arc. Crane is 72… Has he lost interest? Is in the same window as Drayton was when he lost interest?

    Is he playing defense now in preparation to sell the team in a few years?

    Interesting conversation, but Crane is no spring chicken anymore and he’s already had his heyday.

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