SoMnFan
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Pretty good, imo
Carlos Correa's walk-off blast a ringing reminder that the Astros are nothing if not competitive
In his first at-bat of a win-or-go home Game 5, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa struck out on a foul tip. In his second at-bat, Correa, who was only 2-for-14 in the American League Championship Series after batting .500 in the first two rounds of the postseason, grounded out to second base.
The Astros had jumped out to the earliest possible lead over the Tampa Bay Rays — a home run on the first pitch of the game by George Springer — but a loss would end their season. The baseball world outside of Houston would celebrate.
For the past few weeks, since they snuck into the postseason thanks to an expanded field and advanced because they’re probably a better team than how they played over the first 60 games, the Astros must have known that no one wanted them there. What they couldn’t seem to decide is if they were winning (when they were winning) because of or in spite of their villain status.
Depending on how someone phrased the inevitable question and how much the interviewee was feeling himself at that particular moment, they were either keeping their heads down in earnest pursuit of Houston pride or they were flouting their shameless success and saying things like, “We know what it feels like, so we want to be able to have that feeling again. 2017 was such a special year.”
It’s not clear if, when he said that after they beat the A’s in the Division Series, Correa intended to taunt the rest of the league with reminders of the championship they won as cheaters.
This postseason was supposed to be either a full self-aware heel turn to prove we’re living in the worst possible timeline without even cosmic justice, or else the national public repudiation that went unfinished when the pandemic suspended all sports back in March. But the relationship between the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme in 2017 and the Astros’ success this October is likely much simpler than either motivation or distraction. It’s just the same impulse: that of unbridled competitiveness.
Three years ago, the Astros would do anything — anything — for an edge, for a win. This season knocked them down with injury and sluggish seasons from star hitters. Then they fell behind 3-0 to the Rays in the best-of-seven ALCS. Only one team has ever come back from such a deficit. The Astros could try to ignore the odds, one-game-at-a-time mentality and all, but with social media, the stats find you.
They're half-way to an incredible comeback
They're also ready for a bigger disappointment than there would have been had they bowed out in Game 4
I'm hoping this is just prolonging their exit and making it more painful when it comes.
But, in true 2020 fashion, it will probably be the exact opposite. Redemption for unapologetic cheaters.
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