Don’t bet against Astros winning it all next year
HOUSTON - In the big-picture, this is a good time to be a member of the Houston Astros.
The shine on the team’s 2017 World Series rings has hardly worn off, and the club enters the offseason with a deep core of young and immensely talented position players, a pair of aces set to return to front their rotation next, a sharp and creative front office dedicated to maintaining a perennial contender, and as sunny an outlook for 2019 as any in Major League Baseball.
But it’d be hard to know that from looking around a shell-shocked clubhouse after the team’s series-ending loss to the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS on Thursday. After a convincing win in the series opener, the Astros dropped four straight to the 108-win Boston club, the final three of them in their home park, including a heartbreaking, umpire-assisted defeat in a tense game Wednesday and a Game 5 that ended with the tying run on deck.
“I think when you set the bar as high as our team did, it’s always disappointing to lose, and it’s a tough pill to swallow,” said outfielder George Springer. “But you know what? Sometimes you have to give credit to the other guys. They got the big hits in the big situations, made the big pitch, made the big play. That’s the game.”
“They played better than us,” said third baseman Alex Bregman. “It was a tough-fought series, they’re a very good team, and ... yeah. Just disappointed. To be honest with y’all, this year’s team was better than last year’s team, I believe. “The ball’s got to bounce your way in the postseason. It’s tough. We’ll learn from it.”
While the players were careful to credit the Red Sox for outplaying them in the series, few seemed willing to concede they lost to a better team. Several key Astros played through injuries this October, including shortstop Carlos Correa -- dealing with an aching back -- and 2016 MVP Jose Altuve, who was reduced to serving as designated hitter in Games 4 and 5 due to a knee injury that left him visibly hobbled on the field.
“These guys gave everything they had,” said Justin Verlander, t he Game 5 starter. “It didn’t quite happen. I still like this team a lot.
“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses -- the Red Sox won. I really would’ve liked for this team to be healthy, top to bottom, but at this point, I guarantee if you talk to their clubhouse … everybody’s dealing with something. It was blatantly obvious for some of the series with some of our guys.”
“We were banged up a bit,” Bregman said. “Lance McCullers was pitching with -- I don’t know if I’m supposed to say what he’s pitching with, but the guy has some heart. Altuve’s right knee is the size of a grapefruit, and he’s out there putting together good at-bats.”
Not every member of the club will necessarily return in 2019. Switch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez, whose extraordinary defensive flexibility opened countless options for manager A.J. Hinch over the past few years, is slated for free agency this winter.