by The KTXT Staff
For the first time ever, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers will meet in a playoff setting.
With game one of the American League Championship Series slated for Sunday night at Minute Maid Park, the Silver Boot Series has been kicked up a few notches since their last meeting in early September.
The Astros are Major League Baseball’s reigning World Series champions and class of the American League, having won it all in two of the last six years behind stars like Jose Altuve, Justin Verlander and Alex Bregman. Likewise, the upstart Rangers are enjoying their deepest postseason run in over a decade behind big-ticket free agent signings like Corey Seager and Nathan Eovaldi as well as young up-and-comers like Josh Jung and Evan Carter.
The hype surrounding the series has reached the Whataburger headquarters as well as the Texas Tech campus, where a large number of students hail from either the Houston or Dallas-Fort Worth areas. With the AL pennant at stake in the highest profile matchup ever between the only two franchises Texas has ever known, the KTXT staff was polled for answers to some of the biggest questions surrounding the showdown.
Q: “From 1-10, what is your excitement level going into this series?”
Tim Tschoepe: 10. This is the first time in a while that both teams have been good at the same time. Texas was obviously good around like 2010 in that era up until about 2015. And then 2015 was when Houston started being good, so I am excited. I am not a Rangers guy. At home, the only network that our TV got was Rangers games, and it pissed me off. I used to say I’m an Astros fan and a fan of whoever plays Texas.
Andrew Watters: My excitement level is at 11. I am so excited for this. Not just because it’s two Texas teams playing, but also just because of the rivalry these two teams have. I have so many friends on the Astros side of things. I’m so ready to just text angrily each night. I’m super stoked.
Andrew Fallon: 11. As a Rangers fan, I have wanted to be in this position for a long time. I was about nine years old last time they were in the ALCS, so it’s really great to see them back and this dominant in my 20s. It feels like we have a legitimate shot. It just feels like all the stars are aligning for this team. I just feel great.
Grace Beene: 8. I’m really excited. I’m really hoping that we’re gonna win as an Astros fan, but also, we’re not always the best sometimes. So I’m excited, but I’m holding back a little bit, kind of.
Trevor Webb: I would say it’s an 8 because the Rangers haven’t won a playoff series in a long time. Probably not since I was about 12 or 13. So it’s been a long time since we made it this far. I remember the deer hats with the hands as antlers. You know, that kind of stuff. So, my excitement is high just based on how far we’ve made it and the fact that we’re going against another Texas team.
Nathan Taylor: I’m gonna have to go with a cool 12. I’m so freaking excited. I’ve been a Rangers fan since I can remember existing and this is the first time that we have had a really good chance since 2011. I’m ready for it.
Nico Sanchez: 10 out of 10. Of the seven-year ALCS run, this one is the most exciting to be a part of since the first one back in 2017. These teams have both been around for over five decades now. Even with the Astros being in the National League for most of that time, it was about time they met up in a playoff series.
Q: “Tom Brady has retired and Kevin Durant is no longer on the Warriors; would you consider the Astros to be THE premier villain in North American professional sports at this point in time?”
Tim: Yes, because obviously there’s a lot of hatred with the 2017 thing that kind of came out. But really since then, they have been good. This is seven ALCS appearances in a row. I don’t want to say it’s fun to be a fan of a team that’s hated, but it definitely makes it more interesting.
Watters: I think you could make a case for that given the cheating scandal a few years ago with the trash cans and stuff like that. I don’t know if they truly deserve it anymore. If we were in this spot right now and today it was revealed that they had been (still) cheating, then yes, I would say they truly are sports’ biggest antagonists. But I think it’s kind of cooled down now. They’ve won a World Series legitimately now, at least as far as we know. You can make a case for it, but I don’t think so.
Fallon: I think so. You can pick out individual players, like you can say that Devin Booker or Ja Morant are kind of the villainous players in the NBA. But teams as a whole, I think the Astros would fit there because people are so sick of them winning so much with seven straight ALCS appearances. People will die on the hill of, “oh, yeah they’re cheaters,” and all that, so I would say yes. They’re pretty much the most villainous team out there.
Grace: Oh God, I hope so. I’m not sure but I actually hope so.
Trevor: I think so. And I think the reason is because they won the World Series last year, and they also won the year where they had the whole scandal with the sign stealing and whatnot. People are tired of seeing the same team win, especially if something like that scandal happens. So, of course, people are going to root for the other team and I think that’s probably going to be the case with this Rangers-Astros series. But there’s also a lot of Astros fans. It just kind of depends on what side of the fence you swing on.
Nathan: Overall, yes. In Texas, maybe tied up there with the Cowboys. But right now over all four of the major sports, yeah I’d say they’re the big villain. Either them or the Yankees.
Nico: Yes. There was no going back after Dan Patrick picked the Yankees over us.
Q: “Who or what would you consider to be the biggest X-factor in this series?
Tim: Yordan Alvarez. If Yordan goes, the Astros go. I think that’s obvious. You can’t really pitch around him especially because of how good Jose Abreu has been. The added protection, especially with Abreu behind him, and you have (Kyle) Tucker in there as well. When he goes, Houston goes.
Watters: I’m thinking Corey Seager. The Orioles were so scared of him, and he just delivers every time you need him. He’s a great infielder, he’s a great hitter, and he always comes through when you need him. Also, Adolis Garcia is hitting some absolutely monster balls. So he’s someone to keep an eye on too.
Fallon: For the Rangers, I think it’s going to come down to the young guys like Evan Carter and Josh Jung. I think those are really the guys to push the Rangers to that level. But Corey Seager, I actually think that he would be my X-factor, because he has been in these positions before and he’s gotten the World Series MVP. He’s no stranger to these kinds of situations. For the Astros, I would say either Yordan Alvarez or Justin Verlander. I mean, Justin Verlander has proved that he’s still one of the top dudes out there in his 40s. And then Yordan is just hitting out of his mind. If I was the Rangers, I would not pitch to him.
Grace: (Jose) Altuve and (Martin) Maldonado continually carry a bit, but I will say Altuve since he seems to be more of the face of the franchise in my opinion. But with Maldonado there, the way he runs with the pitching staff, I have a good feeling they’re going to carry this team to the series.
Trevor: I think the biggest is probably Nathan Eovaldi. Either him or Jordan Montgomery, one of the two pitchers there. The reason is because the Rangers bullpen has been weak all year, especially since they’ve had so many injuries to guys like Jacob DeGrom and Max Scherzer. So I think in order for the Rangers to keep up the success they’ve had, they need not perfect games, but they need great games from both of those guys. One or both of Montgomery and Eovaldi needs to do very well.
Nathan: I would say it’s both teams’ starting pitching. Justin Verlander is back of course. He’s pretty good. But for the Rangers, Eovaldi just came back and his last postseason outing was a gem. If both teams can get deep, neither of us will have to deal with our bullpens, which would be great. I know some Astros fans have a lot of things to say about Ryan Stressly, and of course we have a lot of things to say about our bullpen. So I think it’s going to be the starting pitching.
Nico: Bear with me…it’s Jose Abreu. The 36-year old who enticed Jim Crane to sign the richest free-agent deal of his ownership tenure may have looked abysmal for the majority of the regular season, but, against all odds, he has turned back the clock at the perfect time. If he can remain effective in the middle of the Astros lineup, the Astros have a serious case for the first back-to-back title run since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
Q: “Did you expect on Opening Day that the Rangers would get to this point fighting for an AL pennant?”
Tim: No, I didn’t, I thought they’d collapse. I really did after the loss of Scherzer and the bullpen struggles. Their offense carried them to where they are now. If Houston can limit their offense, I think that’s ultimately the difference.
Watters: I have been cautiously optimistic this entire time. I didn’t think it was gonna happen until we won the third game. Having to watch this team the past month or so, watching them go from at one point being like five games ahead, then to have crumbled in the last week of the season. I just never get my hopes up until it actually happens.
Fallon: Absolutely not. This is a team that the two seasons prior just have not been good at all. I did like the Bruce Bochy hiring though. I was thinking this team could be in the right direction, but there is no way that they are going to be fighting for the American League pennant in year one. I could see them maybe fighting for maybe a wildcard spot, but nowhere near the expectations of them fighting for the American League pennant.
Grace: No. I hate to say it, but no. I’ve never seen them get this far before. I don’t think I can even remember them ever getting this far. So this is like a brand new kind of thing.
Trevor: No. We signed a few guys who have been pretty good factors in this year’s postseason run and throughout the season but I don’t think I expected it. I think the reason is just because of how long of a drought it’s been. The level that Corey Seager has performed at, I don’t think it was expected by many. People knew that he was going to do well, but maybe not this well. Josh Jung was a big surprise. Evan Carter was just called up and he’s doing pretty well. There have been a few surprises on this team. Maybe making the playoffs (I expected), but definitely not this deep into the postseason. Especially the way that we’ve done it by sweeping.
Nathan: Without swearing? Not a chance in heck. We got a new manager, we had a new GM, and had a lot of puzzle pieces that were just strewn around under the sofa and under the mat. It was a little scary, especially with DeGrom going down really, really early. It was starting to look a lot like 2021, so it was spooky. But our bats eased my mind really quickly at the beginning, especially in that first series against the Phillies.
Nico: Absolutely not. Still a bit shocked going into game one. Great job, AL East!
Q: “Who has the most to lose in this series?”
Tim: I think Texas has more to lose because even though they are young, they made the big (win-now) moves at the trade deadline. They got Chapman, they got Scherzer, they got DeGrom in the offseason…they gave up (a lot of) stuff for them. I think they’re both gonna be good for a while, but because of how much Texas got in trades I would just say Texas strictly off of that.
Watters: It’s the Astros seventh time going to the ALCS. They have a lot of hype riding behind them and there’s a lot of expectations to get to the World Series again. There’s expectations for them to continue this streak of greatness and continue this hot streak they’re on. A team that was like the joke of the entire league about 10 years ago, like when they played and got, I think, a 0.1 rating. If they dropped the series in general, it was going to be rough, but if they dropped it to the Rangers, we’re going to have to send a lot of people to Houston for therapy and for help.
Fallon: I think the Rangers have the most to lose because they’ve been the most dominant these playoffs. They haven’t lost the game. And for most of their matchups, they have been extremely dominant. They got the young guys and they got the seasoned vets. If you want to pick the managers, I’d say Bochy is the more well-seasoned manager when it comes to the postseason. So I feel like the Rangers have all the momentum right now, and it is their series to lose.
Grace: The Rangers because like if they get this far for the first time and then they immediately lose, they’re gonna go right back to where they were and that’s going to really, really hurt.
Trevor: (Aroldis) Chapman. He has this reputation of a very strong arm and can pitch very fast. He goes only one inning per game, which, you know, he needs to in order to sustain that arm, so I get it, but he also has a reputation of not performing well when closing out games. If he does that again where he’s just not able to close out the games like people want him to and hope he could, then I think he will have that reputation for his entire career.
Nathan: The Rangers 100%. The Astros over the past seven years, they’ve been to the postseason and they’ve won two World Series. The Rangers, after waiting this long and waiting seven years to get back into the postseason, and bringing our expectations all the way to the ALCS. I’m excited for next season, but we have got to ride the train while it’s in the station. We can’t keep chasing it.
Nico: The Astros. The Rangers may be older than the typical on-the-rise team, but they are still playing with house money as the team that no one expected to be there. They have already exceeded expectations. Houston has not. Their expectation is to win the pennant and anything less would be seen as an embarrassment. Especially against Texas’ bullpen.
Q: “Series prediction?”
Tim: The Astros kind of had their way in the regular season. I’m gonna say Astros in six. I think it’s a split in Houston. Houston, they are a road team. If it ends up going to six and they have to go back to Houston, they’ll wrap it up.
Watters: I think it’s going to be back and forth. I think we’re going to a game seven. I think whoever wins the first game is probably going to win the series. So I don’t know who that’s going to be at this point, but it’s gonna go to seven games and whoever wins first is going to win the series.
Fallon: Rangers in six.
Grace: Astros in four games.
Trevor: The Astros won the regular season series 9-4, but I think this is a little bit different. The Rangers are coming off consecutive sweeps of their previous opponents in this postseason. They’re both coming in pretty high, but I think with the hype around the Rangers, I think the momentum is on their side starting out. I’ll say 4-2 Rangers.
Taylor: Rangers in six.
Nico: Astros in five. Past-prime Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith is not a serious bullpen.
Loading ...