Decision Time in Houston

By Jim Gazzolo

The Astros need to make a decision.

They have had a great run, won a pair of titles, and been a playoff staple for a long time.

However, it looks like their run is running out of time.

Except for a few home runs, the Astros were overmatched in their Wild Card series against the Chicago White Sox, losing two straight games at home this week. 

They limped into the playoffs at 81-81 and crawled out after playing poorly in their two games. They were outscored 13-6 after going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Of their six runs, five came on homers. The other was unearned. Unable to score without the long ball, the Astros seemed to be going through the motions most of the time. 

Their fans noticed and were quick to boo them, which became a sore subject with a few of the Astros themselves. Their pitching wasn’t good. Chicago scored seven runs in the first two innings of the series. 

Playing from behind is a hard way to go for any team. 

Houston now faces an offseason of tough decisions. They could roll out the same type of club next year in hopes of winning the division once again, but it seems like it is time to go in a different direction if they want to compete for a championship.

While it doesn’t all need to be torn down, some changes are needed in how things are done. That will include changes in the front office and on the field.

This is what happens at the end of runs: teams have to start over. The Astros are no different.

The good news for them and their fans is that no up-and-coming club is ready to take over the American League West. Tinkering may not mean five years of pain.

Still, there is a lot of cleaning up to do. The Astros played sloppily in this series, and that proved too much to overcome. 

Granted, injuries played a part in Houston’s problems, but they only exposed the organization's lack of depth. 

What makes all this difficult is the fact that nobody in baseball knows what the future will look like. Whether there will be a salary cap is the big unknown moving forward. 

Clearly, it looks like there will be some sort of work stoppage before next season begins, leaving all teams to scramble before spring training starts to fill or fix their rosters. 

Two bad games don’t destroy a season, but in the case of the Astros, they do expose the need for change. 

We will see what direction they move toward before a Houston starter throws the next pitch.