“Thanks, everybody. I feel real weird about tonight.”
Bill Murray’s character, Frank Cross in the holiday classic Scrooged said that line when he first started getting visited by ghosts and is disoriented when dropped back into reality. In some ways, that feels like the Astros right now: still very good, but without a bunch of players, while adding new ones, and not exactly sure what to do.
It’s an unenviable position for manager Joe Espada who seemingly rolls out a new lineup every night bouncing players around like pinballs, while his rotation includes names like Jason Alexander. The uncertainty, nevermind the 18 players who were on the IL as recently as Friday, has led to a string of bad series and allowed Seattle and Dallas to close the gap in the AL West.
Still, they do have A LEAD in the division and few teams in the entire American League are trying to run away with the best record. There are other signs things could be looking up for the Astros. Let’s take a look.
The additions have been a positive so far.
Carlos Correa has been outstanding in the field and at the plate so far. Jesus Sanchez’s bat has not only been terrific, but it has adding a much needed left hander to the lineup while allowing the team to rest rookie Cam Smith, who has clearly hit a wall. There is also clearly some added juice around the team. Correa was always the team’s emotional leader and it appears little has changed with his return.
Also, perhaps overlooked, putting better bats in the middle of the lineup makes everyone better. No disrespect to Smith, but seeing him third in the order made zero sense except that so many guys were injured. Being able to start re-balancing a lineup that was clearly way off is a step in the right direction.
Jeremy Peña is back and more are on the way.
The return of the Astros shortstop not only plugged a hole in the leadoff spot, but closed the gap in the left side of the infield, where he and Correa now anchor one of the better defensive infield lineups in baseball. But, it isn’t just Peña. Spencer Arrighetti is expected to start for the big club this week after missing a long stretch with a broken thumb. Several other pitchers including Cristian Javier, Shawn Dubin, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers, Jr., and J.P. France are all doing rehab starts and could be back in the majors this month.
Then there is Yordan Alvarez, who has been going through hitting drills and is currently in Florida continuing his progress with an eye on returning this month as well. Assuming the Astros can hold on and not lose anyone else in the meantime, they are going to get a boatload of talent in the next few weeks.
Is Christian Walker turning a corner?
Photo by Jack Gorman
With the returns, it should bring a sense of normalcy, which is a good thing.
Second to the talent is the consistency it will bring to the lineup and the rotation. With such a long season, baseball players are creatures of habit. They want to keep things the same every day as much as possible. Knowing where you will hit in the order or what is expected of you in the rotation goes a long way to settling players and giving them the best opportunity to succeed.
Just putting a one-through-five lineup that includes some of the better hitters in the AL in there on a daily basis is going to strike fear in plenty of teams. And it will provide the opportunity to rest players when needed without sacrificing play on the field. Getting things back to whatever normal is for these Astros is critically important.
Christian Walker is looking like the guy the Astros wanted.
First 35 games: .234/.291/.380 .672 OPS
Last 15 games: .278/.355/.519 .873 OPS
The significant improvement of the team’s first baseman over the last several weeks has not gone unnoticed. Not only are all his numbers greatly improved, but he is hitting the ball harder and doing a much better job of getting on base in general. This is the kind of turnaround the team and fans were hoping to see from Walker and now it appears to finally be happening. Time will tell, but it’s a very good sign for a team that needs all the offense it can get.