In sports, the opposite of winning isn’t always losing. Sometimes, teams can slide into the malaise of mediocrity, a purgatory that feels worse than death.
Welcome to the Houston Astros.
For three straight seasons, the team that gave Houston its best decade plus of sports excellence has been riding the fence, blending a strange mix of aging veterans and hit-or-miss youngsters, mixed with an avalanche of injuries.
When GM Dana Brown “parted ways” with the franchise, it was less a surprise that it happened than when it happened, with a team in the lead of the division (albeit the abhorrent AL West) and the postseason still a likelihood. Still, few were surprised and even fewer thought it was a bad move.
Now, the Astros are on the precipice of falling short of the playoffs for a second straight season despite being four games ahead of the Rangers just a couple weeks ago. At this point, we have to wonder if the team would be better off waving goodbye to a tumultuous 2026 and moving on.
As Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was famous for saying, “You don’t ignore in victory what you don’t ignore in defeat.” A win in the AL West is a dubious distinction given it will likely go down as one of the worst division years in baseball history. So, why not just hunker down and make things right sooner than later? Let’s look at some reasons why.
They aren’t accomplishing anything this postseason.
If you look at the Astros record against good teams and think, “Hey, get them into the playoffs and stranger things have happened,” we give you the sweep at the hands of the Braves. This team has so many holes that would be exposed in a playoff series, they are far more likely to get blown out than they are to be competitive. Yes, the AL is having a down year, but the Astros are in the division at the bottom of it. They aren’t going anywhere.
The sooner they make a decision about their coaching staff, the better.
We all like Joe Espada. But, his decision making has been suspect as he has led his team down the stretch of the last few seasons. It certainly isn’t all his fault, but when Brown exited, the writing was on the wall for the team’s manager as well. In retrospect, bringing in a manager who was already situated within the organization probably wasn’t the right move. This is a franchise starving for fresh blood, speaking of…
Jim Crane’s GM hire could be his most important since acquiring the team.
The first time Crane hired a GM, he got someone in Jeff Luhnow who was a bit like the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. Yes, he built (from the ground up) an incredible roster of talent that spawned a pair of championships. But, also yes, he created an environment so toxic, it led to the most infamous cheating scandal of the last 30 years. The Astros lack the vision and strength of will Luhnow had. They just don’t need the win-no-matter-what psychosis that seemed to permeate the front office at Daikan Park (as well as the “stats are the devil” philosophy of a former great and current Crane whisperer). If you are going to get this hire right, and he better, the sooner they work on it, the more likely they will be to succeed.
Everything should be on the table, and that will take time.
No one wants to talk about the looming labor crisis coming this winter, but it might come at a good time for the Astros. It will give them the chance to take their time on critical decisions and weigh all the options. And, make no mistake, every damn thing should be on the table. If Crane can fire a GM after winning a championship, he can put guys on the trade block and make whatever deals are necessary to re-build a decimated farm system. The golden era of Astros baseball is over. Better get busy building the next one.
