We know where the regular season will end. In front of roughly 10,000 at sleepy Sutter Health Park, home to the Sacramento River Cats and their joint tenants, the A’s. The question is whether or not the Astros will be playing beyond this Sunday. Many (myself included) thought the divisional crown would come down to the final week but never in a million years did anyone foresee only 77 wins this late in the season.
Perhaps the warning signs were there all along. On April 1st, Houston was riding high, winners of five straight, a sweep of the Red Sox in which they outscored Boston by a margin of 23-7. One week later, that very same squad was swept out of Coors Field to the lowly Rockies. That wouldn’t be the only club to accomplish that feat. Sadly, the Cardinals, O’s, Rays and Braves also took out the brooms at various stages.
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I can remember expressing concern to fellow colleagues at The Crawfish Boxes how the health of Josh Hader would be the key determining factor. Hader has been the most consistent player on the entire roster. Turns out, no one could’ve seen the Astros future rotation woes. Tatsuya Imai was as pleasant to watch at times as a canker-sore. Mike Burrows is on a milk carton. Peter Lambert last won a game when LeBron was still debating where he wanted to play, and remember Spencer Arrighetti? That guy just beat the Rangers, one of multiple games he’s won this month for the Blue Jays.
As great as Altuve’s 2,500 hits feat and Yordan’s flirtation with the Triple Crown have been, it comes down to six games.
As the Real Slim Shady once encouraged, “Please Stand Up, Please Stand Up.” Let’s open a series next week and play meaningful baseball in October once again.
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