Game 4 in
Houston just ended and boy did that feel familiar.
A giant, raucous
crowd of Houstonians standing in anticipation of a relatively easy series
defeat of the uber-talented Kansas City Royals, all the momentum on Houston’s
side, all the calls going to the home team. It felt like a dream.
It’s difficult
to accept today’s loss because so much good happened in this game that it
almost causes a mental syntax error.
The Astros were
up 6-2. Six outs away from advancing to the American League Championship Series
after a delirious bottom of the seventh that saw Carlos Correa, the 21-year-old
phenom who is using up all the superlatives one can possibly obtain, go yard
for a giant two-run home run – his second of the game, only to be immediately
followed by Colby Rasmus and his fourth “ColbyJack” of the postseason.
Lance McCullers
pitched 6.1 innings of mentally tough baseball uncharacteristic of someone his
age.
The kids came
to play.
Then the
bullpen happened. Will Harris, Tony Sipp, and Luke Gregerson were nickel and
dimed into submission in the eighth inning – five runs on five hits, with two walks mixed in. All five hits were singles, none of them hit particularly well.
In the ninth,
with Royals cyborg/closer Wade Davis in the middle a six-out save, and KC
clinging to a one-run lead, Eric Hosmer thumped a two-run shot into the Astros
bullpen; a symbolic gut shot to baseball’s last standing bad bullpen.
So here we
stand. The series, which was so close to being over and sending Houston into a
miracle ALCS, will now go back to the rabid environment of Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday
night. The Royals, their fans, and their organization – they’ve been here
before. Their desperation led to an improbable come-from-behind win in the
American League’s roughest road park, and now they’ll go into Game 5 supremely
confident and loose, with dreams of hosting Texas or Toronto in the next
series.
But I assure
you – this series is not over.
2015 SEASON A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
Some people
have made references to the 2005 Astros in regards to the 2015 version. Aside
from the presence of Chad Qualls, I don’t really see many similarities.
The 2004 and
2005 Astros were veteran clubs built with the intent of competing for a World
Series in the time that they did compete for it. In many ways, the 2004 team
was the better of the two, but as fans, when the 2005 team went, it felt owed
to us. Of course we all elevated into hysteria regardless, but it felt past
due, like this should have happened not only last year, but in 1998 and ’99 too.
Everything
about the 2005 Astros felt real. They were really in the playoffs and they were
really in the World Series.
This Astros
team has been a dream since Opening Day.
It hasn’t been
without its bumps and occasional nightmare episodes, but it’s been a joy for
six months. If you had Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, George Springer, Dallas
Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Evan Gattis, Colby Rasmus, Carlos Gomez, Collin
McHugh, and Marwin Gonzalez on your team, you too would have as much fun
watching baseball as I, and so many other Astros fans, have these past six
months.
We’ve watched a
superstar take shape before our eyes, an ace come into his own in dominant and
historic fashion, the shortest guy on the field continue to stand taller than
most in his accomplishments, a former waiver wire pick-up become a 19-game
winner, a crazy no-hitter from a new guy who had never even thrown a complete
game, five months of winning and one seriously depressing September swoon that
culminated in an exciting, frenetic race to the finish that landed the Astros
an improbable postseason berth.
Then came the
Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium, a dream scenario turned euphoric as Dallas
Keuchel helped baseball’s oldest roster to their chair for the rest of the
postseason. He might have nasty stuff, but never call Dallas Keuchel impolite.
The Astros
entered the ALDS as large underdogs to the suddenly-veteran Royals. That didn’t
matter to them; the Astros jumped ahead quickly in Game 1 at Kauffman Stadium
and earned a decisive 5-2 win. The story looked to be taking a similar shape in
Game 2 with Houston up 4-1, but the bullpen caved in and the Astros lost 5-4.
Game 3, just
yesterday afternoon, marked the first time that postseason baseball had been
played at Minute Maid Park since Game 4 of the 2005 World Series. Thanks to the
heroics of unlikely heroes in Jason Castro and Chris Carter, the swing game of
this series went to Houston.
None of this
seems real.
Even today’s
massive letdown, gut-wrenching as it is, has a feeling of “oh well” to it.
One of the best
back-handed compliments this team has received in recent weeks has been that
they’re so young, and so inexperienced, that they’re simply too dumb to know
how big this all is. How important each win – and each bruising loss – really is.
They’ll give
the media the lip service, but they simply haven’t lived this. They don’t have
baggage, and they likely have no idea how cursed Houston fans feel when it
comes to their teams.
That’s a good
thing.
Maybe they’re
still stupid enough to not realize how tough Game 5 will be.
In retaining
just a little bit more of that innocence, perhaps the Astros can jump on Johnny
Cueto again and hold on.
As I said, this
season has not been without its nightmares. For all intents and purposes, the
Astros should have run away with the AL West championship. After five
consecutive winning months and 139 days in first place, a single four-game
sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers cost the Astros a division title.
Still, with
Toronto currently on track to tie up their best-of-five series with Texas after
falling behind 0-2, the Astros still got into the playoffs and could end up
advancing while Texas goes home in brutal fashion. It’s all still possible.
All season
long, these young Astros have dazzled us, wowed us, and frustrated us. They
should have so much more, but they still get it done in the end.
They should
have swept the Royals, but the bullpen can’t stop a nosebleed. So, much like
their entire season, the Astros will go the hard route and attempt to clinch an
ALCS berth on the road against the favored Royals.
After six
months of trials, tribulations, blood, sweat, and intercostal strains, does it
really make sense for the ride to end here?
This isn’t
over.
We’re on to
Kansas City.
