Houston, We May in Fact Have a Problem

So...remember when we were all talking about how triumphant the Astros looked, and how they'd come from last and were looking to take over the Rangers, and all of that?

Yeah. No. Might be a snag in that. The Mariners are back.

You know? The Mariners? That team that had a HUGE start in April-May, but then absolutely lost their momentum and...just now started to get back to winning games. Like, since the trade deadline they've been absolutely wild and unstoppable. Which...does not bode well for the Astros, who have decided to just now absolutely lose momentum.

Again, great team, and I'm glad they came back, but this month is exposing the true flaws in the rotation. Dallas Keuchel isn't as good as he was last year, and last year may indeed have been a fluke (eventually to be featured in The Year in Irony 2017), as well as the complete implosion of Carlos Gomez and people like Colby Rasmus and Luis Valbuena ending up on the DL. The one rookie they brought up to save everything, Alex Bregman, has severely disappointed. The team they had last year was a ton tighter, a ton more composed, and these guys, while good, aren't great in every area, even if George Springer, Carlos Correa and ESPECIALLY Jose Altuve are impressing.

If the Astros want to compete for the Wild Card, they're gonna have to pick up the pace and get everybody on the same page, because I'd rather not see this awesome baseball story die out. Like, I want them to regroup for 2017 and still be good, even if 2016 doesn't exactly work out.

Coming Tomorrow- Well, it's mid-August, but FINALLY I'm posting a custom of one of the guys that was traded at the deadline. And it's a pretty good one, in LA.