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.
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.
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.
Hitting has been the early problem in 2022. Key injuries (Jose Altuve, Ryan Pressly) have also highlighted inconsistent lineups and odd dugout decisions.
The last two seasons, below .500 starts were false positives for the Astros. When it really mattered, Baker got the best out of his resilient team, and the Astros mirrored their 2015 and 2017-19 selves.
Where does this year go from here?
The Astros (7-9) are currently on their 2021 pace, when they finished 95-67 and entered the World Series as championship favorites.
Baker’s latest team is also one more loss to the Rangers away from being tied for last place in the AL West.
It’s time for Jake Odorrizi to finally move these Astros forward.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism