Astro fans had to be feeling lifted up after seeing both Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker successfully return to the lineup on Wednesday. Bregman out for two months with soft tissue issues had two hits, including a run-scoring double off the wall and scored the walk-off winning run in the 10th. Tucker who came off of the COVID list had a couple hits, moving Bregman to third base and no out in the 10th on the second one.
It is easy to get down on any team, and the very frustrating 2021 Astros are just begging for their fans to give up on them.
As the Astros are treading water in their AL West “race” against the Oakland A’s (they have been exactly 2-1/2 games ahead for the last eight games), it is time for another visit to Weekend Thoughts.
It has been a while since the last What They Said – What They Meant. As a reminder, this will be a series of real-world quotes from mlb.com or mlbtraderumors.com related to your Houston Astros, followed by what the speaker really meant.
OK, so this is the post I almost wrote last week before the Astros went on a four-game winning streak. After choking off a couple of losses to the so-so Angels and the bad Royals, the same subject returns to the top of the pile. All teams have weaknesses. All teams have ups and downs. But the 2021 Astros, as good as they are playing overall, seem to lack that “It” factor (not the cheating scandal “IT” factor).
It hardly seems possible, but the 2021 regular season is rolling into its final six weeks. The Astros are floating just above the Oakland A’s in the AL West, surging ahead and then falling back with inconsistent play.
This was going to be a post about a struggling ball club, the Houston Astros. They had looked pretty bad in losing six of eight games, especially losing at home against the lowly (this year) Minnesota Twins. But life intervened and Dan P’s post partially written lingered in writer’s limbo.
Back in the days when Bruce Springsteen was a rock star instead of a political activist, my wife and I would go to his shows. He would introduce the “Big Man” in his band, the late Clarence Clemons, during the show. Clemons, along with being a heck of a saxophone player, was also a large and imposing figure on the stage at his full 6′-5″ tall.
