As everyone likes to point out, the Astros are playing above their head, right? You don't get outscored by 33 runs and still be considered a "respectable team."
It's worth pointing out:
The White Sox have a -27 RD, and are -4 from .500
The Royals have a -26 RD, and are -6 from .500
The Indians have a -8 RD, and are -7 from .500
The Padres have a -66 RD, and are -6 from .500
While the Diam'n'b'c's have a -38 RD, and are four games behind the Padres.
How did the Astros get a -33 run differential? Getting the crap donkeykicked out of them. Regard:
# of games in which the Astros lost by 5+ runs: 10
# of games in which the Astros won by 5+ runs: 5
In 1-run games: 9-6
In 2-run games: 16-13
So that's 15 games that were decided by 5+ runs, 15 games decided by 1 run, and 29 games total decided by 2 runs. The Astros play a lot of close games, and have lost some games in which they got smoked. There's your run differential.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
