This Astros team is almost, maybe, just the tiniest bit sympathetic. (I know. I know! But stay with me for a moment.)
Now a win away from the American League Championship Series, they’re one of the first teams ever to make the playoffs with a losing record, which makes them the ideal embodiment of the sort of chaos that this season was supposed to invite and hypothetically creates a potentially intriguing rooting possibility for neutral fans. Their injury-ravaged pitching staff has eight rookies in the bullpen. Beloved baseball lifer Dusty Baker is in his first year as their manager.