Rotational pull a drag on Astros Commentary
The Astros are using openers. And really, that’s all you need to know.
The team that won a franchiserecord 103 games last season. The franchise that captured its first World Series trophy two years ago, outpitching the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. The club that features All-Stars Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole at the top of its rotation … is using openers.
Which tells you that in the middle of July, the 2019 Astros have a serious rotation problem.
I devoted a column a month ago to the July 31 trade deadline. The headline: “Astros need to go all-in again when it comes to trades.” A month after I wrote that the Astros needed a stronger No. 3 starter for the playoffs, the 4-5 spots are in shambles.
It’s Verlander, Cole, Wade Miley, TBD and TBD.
Praying for rain is a much better option than those last two
three-later names.
I hope you watched only the first inning of a depressing 9-6 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday evening. If you kept the late-night channel flickering, the mid-July Astros owe you a televised refund.
Normal reliever/temporary opener Josh James threw a solid first frame. Then “primary pitcher” — what in the heck is that, MLB? — Framber Valdez did his normal damage. Seven runs (four earned), six hits and four walks in just four innings, which would have been terrific for the Astros — if he was pitching for the other team.
Valdez holds a 15.43 ERA this month, which is quite high, even
by inflated contemporary standards. His ERA this season has hit 5.58, which basically means he probably shouldn’t be a “primary pitcher” for the Astros again this season if they hope to win their second world championship in three years.
Why was Valdez even given four innings?
Why was veteran reliever Hector Rondon the opener Tuesday night — making the first start of his seven-year career — and rookie righthander Rogelio Armenteros suddenly back in the majors, set to follow as a quasi-starter?
Because a team that entered the day 23 games above .500 doesn’t have any healthy, proven starting arms it can trust after Verlander, Cole and Miley.
The carnage became even worse Tuesday night, when Rondon was hammered hard for six
runs and couldn’t make it out of the first inning, forcing the Astros to turn to Chris Devenski before Armenteros came on in the 7-2 loss.
Can the MLB trade deadline be moved up a week? Big buyers often wait until the last minute — Proof: The 2017 Astros and their last-second acquisition of Verlander at the second deadline that season — and the ’19 club currently needs two trustworthy starting arms, especially if Brad Peacock is out for an extended period.
This isn’t all the Astros’ fault. Lance McCullers Jr. would be a perfect answer, but he’s not available until 2020. Rookie Corbin Martin (5.59 ERA, 1.81 WHIP) disappointed on the mound, then followed McCullers into Tommy John land. Charlie Morton, the Astros’ most-reliable No. 3 name last season, is now 11-2 with a 2.35
ERA for the second-best team in the AL East and was paid more by small-market Tampa Bay than the big-city Astros were willing to give. Dallas Keuchel (3-2, 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) has been pretty good for Atlanta, now that he finally has a playoff contender to pitch for.
Bad luck and poor timing are clearly factoring in. But the Astros also went cheap on the back end in 2019, and it’s killing them right now.
The clubhouse that loved to make fun of “openers” in spring training has now been dependent on back-to-back fill-in arms during a critical point in the season.
The Astros are hitting like always, even with Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz still on the mend. The upcoming schedule is loaded with opponents that A.J. Hinch’s team should beat, and the Astros still have the best 1-2 starting punch in the game.
This isn’t the time for panic. It is a moment when action and acumen are required.
I will say again what I said a month ago: This season is about winning the World Series again, not finishing first in the American League West and hosting a playoff series.
Monday’s mound disaster had more in common with the horrible 2013 Astros than ’17. Who’s pitching now?
How bad is it going to get? As the trade deadline draws near, making a deal(s) is no longer a luxury in 2019. It’s mission critical if the Astros hope to hoist another championship trophy in front of their screaming fans.