Well, baseball is a strange sport. It’s strange because very seldom are pennant races determined by the August trade deadline. The fact is you have right around the first of August and you have a trade deadline and it lasts less than twenty-four hours and teams are in a hurry to get some players signed, especially if they aren’t having a real good season.
Texas, I can’t tell. I don’t keep up with them that much, but they are a good ball club and they’re sitting five games above 500 or so. Anytime you are above 500 this late in the season, you’ve got a shot at it. Fact is, sometimes teams that are barely above 500 not only get to the finals but they win them. So, it’s very important they have the trade deadline.
Houston, I think, pulled off the best trade deadline trade maybe in a long time, but it would go down as one of the big coups by getting Carlos Correa back and if he can do what they think he’s going to do? I think they are like 0-3 or 1-2 with him after the trade but that doesn’t matter really. What matters is what they’re going to do from now on. From now on is what counts for Houston. They’ve got to win that Division! I think Seattle is a big problem. Texas may be but Seattle already is.
So, what does Houston have to do? They’ve got to get Correa in the lineup and used to batting with his new– old team and I know that they will. The other key though is the big one that’s been out for almost the whole season so far. I think he’s at three month’s now, four months or something like that. Jordan Alvarez I think is the key to their ball club. Correa will stabilize them and give them another bat, but THE bat, the one they have to have, the one they need desperately, the big power isn’t there yet. I tune in every game and he’s just not here yet. That’s all that I can say. Will he get here? I tell you, your guess is as good as mine. With Correa, Altuve and the big guy, that’s a tough combination if they can get that’ threesome on the field.
You’ve got to have pitching to win the big leagues, and Houston is a little bit void of pitching, but they’ve still got the two that are outstanding and the one reliever that is pretty good. Is that enough to make it? Hey, they’ve had big series over the past months, and Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown have turned into one of the best duos in the majors this year. But, you can’t win with just two pitchers. I’m sure they’re on the lookout for another one and maybe they’ve got one coming back that’s going to bloom and set the world on fire, but they need one. They’ve got like six starting pitchers out with some sort of injuries. They’re getting a couple of them back and if they get enough of them back, hey, it’s hard. It’s going to be very, very difficult but I believe it’s possible.
Until next time, so long everybody.
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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].