Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)
After weeks of waiting, your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis is beginning his rehab assignment tonight down in Corpus Christi with the AA club. He'll join the likes of Michael Feliz, Tony Sipp and Will Harris in the quest to get all of those guys back on the big league roster. Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers are also not that far behind them, and Brian McCann should be activated Thursday when eligible, barring any setbacks with his knee. Colin Moran may even join the club some time in September, though his post season eligibility remains to be seen. Jandal Gustave is already out for the season, but is doing well from recent reports. Slowly, but surely, the main guys on the DL are all coming off of it.
Because of all of the developments with the team, I could think of no other thing to reference in my post title than the hit Fleetwood Mac song from their landmark album, Rumors. Double plus bonus, Stevie Nicks is my proverbial fairy godmother, so I kind of had to! However, these latest bits of news have been anything but rumors, and all have been very welcome tidbits to an otherwise tumultuous second half for the team. At 76-48 following the finale loss to the divisional rival, Oakland Athletics, just two days ago, the spacemen will have to go 24-14 in the remaining 38 games of the season in order to hit that all important 100 win seasonal mark. Still very doable, but will be even more so once everyone is healthy.
In the midst of these confirmed stories, however, there are two things that have stuck out as odd in my mind. The first one is the ongoing rumors on Justin Verlander. Will the Astros trade for him? Will they stand pat? Was his dominance over the nearly unstoppable Los Angeles Dodgers the other day a wake up call to Jeff Luhnow and company to pull the trigger to get him? And how does Justin himself feel about all of this?
The thing is, there are too many conflicting stories to go around. For Verlander, personally, the rumors have crossed his mind, but only so much to see if the Detroit Tigers would actually approach him about waiving his no trade clause. In that regard, he holds the power to veto any trade that the Tigers would do to send him away, since it is included in his current contract. On the other hand, there is also the sources close to both teams. Hinting at one thing, and then almost immediately, retracting it, saying that talks were iced. I'll be satisfied with whatever the team decides to do. Extra help is always wanted and needed, but I also understand what the process is in making deals of this caliber.
The second thing striking me funny is the amount of attention paid to certain guys on the DL over others. Stay with me here, Astros fans, and put down the torch and pitchforks while you're at it. We all know that Correa is a superstar, and McCullers is a potential ace. That much is perfectly clear. However, I can't help but feel, sometimes, like the other guys trying to get healthy again are somehow being cheated by the fans. And yes, this includes our veteran catchers in McCann and Gattis. It could be a force of habit of me reading too much into things, which I naturally do as a journalist, but I think there needs to be more equality paid to the other guys as well.
So let us all rejoice in the fact that the players on the DL are getting better, but also remember to pull for each one of them. And as the chorus of the Fleetwood Mac song says the following:
With El Oso Blanco beginning rehab today, he will catch 6-7 innings tonight for the Hooks, DH tomorrow, and catch a full game on Thursday. He will then be evaluated and, with any luck, can join the team this weekend in Anaheim when they face divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Angels. Here's hoping and praying the Big White Bear goes through all of the steps with no issues!
Because of all of the developments with the team, I could think of no other thing to reference in my post title than the hit Fleetwood Mac song from their landmark album, Rumors. Double plus bonus, Stevie Nicks is my proverbial fairy godmother, so I kind of had to! However, these latest bits of news have been anything but rumors, and all have been very welcome tidbits to an otherwise tumultuous second half for the team. At 76-48 following the finale loss to the divisional rival, Oakland Athletics, just two days ago, the spacemen will have to go 24-14 in the remaining 38 games of the season in order to hit that all important 100 win seasonal mark. Still very doable, but will be even more so once everyone is healthy.
In the midst of these confirmed stories, however, there are two things that have stuck out as odd in my mind. The first one is the ongoing rumors on Justin Verlander. Will the Astros trade for him? Will they stand pat? Was his dominance over the nearly unstoppable Los Angeles Dodgers the other day a wake up call to Jeff Luhnow and company to pull the trigger to get him? And how does Justin himself feel about all of this?
The thing is, there are too many conflicting stories to go around. For Verlander, personally, the rumors have crossed his mind, but only so much to see if the Detroit Tigers would actually approach him about waiving his no trade clause. In that regard, he holds the power to veto any trade that the Tigers would do to send him away, since it is included in his current contract. On the other hand, there is also the sources close to both teams. Hinting at one thing, and then almost immediately, retracting it, saying that talks were iced. I'll be satisfied with whatever the team decides to do. Extra help is always wanted and needed, but I also understand what the process is in making deals of this caliber.
The second thing striking me funny is the amount of attention paid to certain guys on the DL over others. Stay with me here, Astros fans, and put down the torch and pitchforks while you're at it. We all know that Correa is a superstar, and McCullers is a potential ace. That much is perfectly clear. However, I can't help but feel, sometimes, like the other guys trying to get healthy again are somehow being cheated by the fans. And yes, this includes our veteran catchers in McCann and Gattis. It could be a force of habit of me reading too much into things, which I naturally do as a journalist, but I think there needs to be more equality paid to the other guys as well.
So let us all rejoice in the fact that the players on the DL are getting better, but also remember to pull for each one of them. And as the chorus of the Fleetwood Mac song says the following:
Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.
Don't Stop, It'll Soon Be Here.
It'll Be Better Than Before.
Yesterday's Gone! Yesterday's Gone!Let us now move on past the mid July thru August funk, and find the early season spark again. There is still plenty of fire left in all of these boys, so a nice September smack down of the competition would do wonders for a lengthy post season run. Sure, the Dodgers may be the ones to beat right now, but that doesn't mean that it is going to last.
With El Oso Blanco beginning rehab today, he will catch 6-7 innings tonight for the Hooks, DH tomorrow, and catch a full game on Thursday. He will then be evaluated and, with any luck, can join the team this weekend in Anaheim when they face divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Angels. Here's hoping and praying the Big White Bear goes through all of the steps with no issues!
Original Photo Credit: Rob Tringali of SportsChrome and Getty Images
Soon, ladies and gentlemen....SOON!!!!
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