Wednesday, March 27

Another slow start for Astros? It’s the new normal under Dusty Baker


It is still early.

The 2022 Astros are about 10 percent of the way through a 162-game season that will stretch through early October.

And if you’re freaking out about the Astros’ uneven 7-9 start right now, that might say more about you than the team that just turned a 2-1 advantage entering the seventh inning into a 6-2 road defeat to the Rangers on Monday night.

But this has become a three-year fact, which means that the small-sample size rule no longer applies.

The Astros have started uneven and slow under veteran manager Dusty Baker since 2020. History is repeating itself again in 2022.
Before we’re forced to go back to the world in 2020, let’s remember the early wonder of 2019.

MLB’s sign-stealing scandal didn’t officially exist. Jeff Luhnow was still running the Minute Maid Park Show. Calm but fiery A.J. Hinch was in charge of the Astros’ daily on-field product. And a club that eventually won a franchise-record 107 games was dangerous in mid-April. 

Those 2019 Astros started 11-5, were 31-15 by mid-May and winning the American League West was a season-long formality. Hinch’s last team in orange and blue spent 160 days in first place, peaked at 52 games above .500 and hosted Game 7 of the World Series in downtown Houston.

The only pressing questions about those Astros (at the time) were how many games they would win and how far they would go in October.

That last one was also the final question about Baker’s 2021 Astros, who also hosted Game 1 of the Fall Classic before falling 4-2 to Atlanta.

Also Read  Nuggets’ DeMarcus Cousins hangs season-high 31 points: “Let’s not forget who he is”

But as different as the 2020 and ’22 campaigns are — the former was played inside empty stadiums during the middle of a worldwide pandemic; the latter currently sees Seattle at the top of the AL West, which is almost as eerie  — the beginnings have almost been the same.

The 2020 Astros started 7-9 under Baker.

The 2021 Astros started 7-9 under Baker.

And as you obviously know, the 2022 Astros have started 7-9 under Baker. 

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, right? That sounds like something the Astros’ current manager would say. 

Houston Chronicle sports columnist Brian T. Smith discusses the Astros’ season-opening road trip and some of the reactions to it. Video: Houston Chronicle

That’s definitely been the case for Baker’s last two teams. 

The 2020 Astros were a backward 29-31 during the regular season and only made the playoffs because commissioner Rob Manfred expanded the postseason. Then they found themselves, stunning MLB and almost reaching the World Series again.

The 2021 Astros were still fighting for the AL West in mid-August. But they were the strongest team all season, won their division by five games, and then overpowered the Chicago White Sox and Boston on the way toward another Fall Classic. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *