Breg For It

 

Well, here we are again. The Astros have won two straight close games against a division rival, have series' against teams it's been proven that they can beat, and have yet to show any signs of being inconvenienced by losing Yordan Alvarez, Framber Valdez or, y'know, any of the people they've lost to free agency. Almost as if the MLB themselves have paved the way for their success yet again.

I figure that eventually I'll be alright with this team doing well on their own means, but as long as the members of the 2017 squad remain on this team and continue to waltz towards success, I'm gonna be mad. Alex Bregman was having a normal enough year, then caught fire last month and now has 53 RBIs and 12 homers. I am so sick of seeing this guy doing well, especially after he became one of the heels of the MLB in 2017 by trash-talking fans on social media and then doubling down once the cheating allegations appeared. Jose Altuve is at least having something of a down year, but he still just persists as a consistent enough force in the back of one's head to remain an annoyance. He's not even doing anything, but I don't like that he's still there; similar to somebody like Cody Ross. 

The Astros have lost games more consistently, and did drop a ton of games mid-month to open 2nd place for the Angels, but now they've undone all of that and are using this Rangers series as a way of inching back up to first. The narrative of this season was already established: the Rangers score a lot of runs, built a team over the course of a few years, and can succeed fully thanks to Bruce Bochy. It's not as satisfying if that plot line is upended by 'and then the Astros won, like they usually do'. I am aware that baseball doesn't often follow a narrative arc that makes sense, like many fictional media tends to, but I want to be able to map the story of the year as it unfolds, rather than bridging it together after the fact. And it's a lot more disappointing seeing all of these worthy stories getting squelched by yet another Astros team that refuses to be bad when given the opportunity.

In the place of their many injured pitchers, the Astros have brought up Hunter Brown and J.P. France, and both have been excellent starters that may have even improved on what the rotation once was. The Astros have gotten mileage out of replacements like Yainer Diaz and Mauricio Dubon, and are using their many young players to build a new version of this team that can withstand competition. I had hoped that the lower draft picks had dulled this farm system's quality, but it has not, and they still keep bringing up these excellent players without end, it seems.

I am exhausted, disillusioned and saddened by this Astros team just...doing what they always do, and creeping their way up to annoy me further. Something has to stop this. Something has to change. Please. 

Coming Tomorrow- To me, one of the most egregious All-Star snubs.