houston-astros Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Yordan Alvarez would like you to know that play time is over
There are less than 20 games left for each MLB team, and a lot of fan bases have already switched to football mode. When you mix that with these home runs races — Aaron Judge mashing balls toward the Yankees franchise record, and Albert Pujols trying to reach career home run No. 700 — it’s easy to f...

The Astros scandal is the gift that keeps on giving
Every time I try to get out, the Astros’ cheating scandal of 2017 keeps pulling me back in! Whether it’s new information coming out that perhaps other teams were conducting similar schemes, new video footage detailing how José Altuve likely never participated in the team’s sign-stealing shenanigans,...

The DH could solidify the Dodgers’ transformation into the First Order
The perception of the National League to fans of AL teams is that of inferior baseball, due largely to the (until recently) absence of the designated hitter. This kind of bias happens in other sports, but it’s mostly unproven generalizations like the Western Conference is finesse basketball compared...

Is it time to worry about the Yankees?
Well no, not for you and me. Chances are, unless you’re in the tri-state area or grew up there, you could give a flying fuck whether the Yankees’ six-week stretch of “meh” really means anything. But considering how the world works, you almost certainly know someone from the tri-state area who, at so...

Are there timelines anymore?
The MLB trade deadline has passed, and for the most part, it was the usual story. It’s not really Haves and Have-nots anymore, because any team can and should be a Have considering the immense wealth every MLB team has even before opening the gates. It’s more Wants and Want-nots. So the Wants, like ...

Max Scherzer is just crazy enough to be right?
Max Scherzer being a little too intense for his own good has rarely been in question. He would tell you his intensity and downright borderline psychosis when on the mound is what makes him the surefire Hall of Famer that he is. One wonders if that’s true. But that’s how he is. No changing it now. ...

You’re never going to guess who’s pushing the Yankees for AL supremacy
Hopefully, you’ve been watching enough baseball to know the answer to that headline isn’t the Red Sox. At 61-32, and now only 2.5 games behind New York for the best record in baseball — courtesy of a doubleheader sweep — the Houston Astros are in a position to make the second half interesting....

The A’s lone All-Star was set to fly commercial to LA — until a division rival saved the day
Being an All-Star is a good feeling, or at least I’d think so. Clearly, I’ve never been named an MLB All-Star, but the confirmation that you are in fact one of the game’s best players, getting to line up alongside several legends, and have that star next to your name on your Baseball-Reference page ...

Steph-mania has seeped into the WNBA
If it were not already apparent that Steph Curry is the popular kid who dictates whether 10th graders one- or two-strap their backpacks, fans needn’t look no further than the WNBA for proof. I debated if Sabrina Ionescu hitting a game-clinching 3 and striking the Steph “night night” pose against the...

Mark Appel never gave up, and we should all take notice
Nearly a decade after being selected No. 1 overall in the MLB draft, RHP Mark Appel will make his major league debut at 30 years old for the Philadelphia Phillies today....

It's actually OK to root for the Astros' Yordan Alvarez
I’ll admit it. I’ve done it. I’ve rooted for the Astros post-sign stealing scandal. It’s not a habit or anything. When it’s between blatant cheaters and Atlanta, there’s still too much of me that hates Chipper Jones and the whole racist taunt thing to have pulled for last year’s champs in the World ...

Top candidates fit to manage Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani
Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Angels were on top of the world. They had the best record in the AL West. Mike Trout was healthy and playing at the level we’ve come to expect. Shohei Ohtani had gotten off to a rocky start on the mound, but he’d lowered his ERA to an incredible 2.82 after his May 18 s...

How is Justin Verlander still doing this?
Justin Verlander served notice to those sleeping on the Houston Astros and their 39-year-old ace: He’s all the way back. ...

Are the Yankees frauds? Will the Angels come down to earth?
Saying “it’s only April” is out, because it’s been May for a few days now. We’re about 15 percent of the way through baseball’s regular season, give or take depending on how many games each team has played, and while that’s not a big sample size, the teams that are in first place now have those wins...

Ladies and gentlemen, we have 'Yankee Letter' news
After months of speculation concerning the contents of the “scandalous” sealed letter that supposedly contained evidence of a previously unknown cheating scandal involving the New York Yankees, the contents were allegedly revealed in a report by Andy Martino, an MLB Insider for SportsNet New York, i...

Whatever is in the ‘Yankees Letter,’ the team and the league didn’t want it made public
A letter containing information about the 2015 and 2016 Yankees’ sign-stealing investigation will be made public in about a week, and Astros fans are awaiting its release like Democrats anticipated the findings of Robert Mueller’s Trump investigation. ...

The White Sox had better hope injuries don’t again haunt them all season
A sweep of the Detroit Tigers would have been the ideal way for the Chicago White Sox to begin the 2022 season, but sometimes the ball bounces off the wall, just over the right fielders’ glove for a game-winning hit. Hey, it’s a 162-game season, there’s going to be some head scratchers....

Beware the Prospect Perverts
As another baseball season is about to descend upon us, there’s a scourge you must be aware of that is partially responsible for the state of MLB today. While the CBA was a small step toward progress, we still are dealing with far too many teams diving for the bottom without worrying about the water...

Brian Cashman making dumb excuses for team’s failures
The best way to keep a job you’re in jeopardy of losing is to insist that the failures aren’t your fault. Occasionally, it’s true. You could’ve been in the World Series had the Houston Astros not sounded the alarm for fastballs in the ALCS. That’s misleading because there’s a decades worth of slacki...

MLB free agency predictions - who will go where?
With over 200 names still facing free agency and less than one month to go before the start of the MLB season, we are in for an absolute flurry of moves. There are still dozens of big names on the table for any team looking to make a game-changing acquisition. Those teams that were right on the bord...