We all knew Carlos Correa was going to start mashing the second he got out of Minnesota and returned to Houston, right? Well, if you didn't think that, maybe you haven't watched enough of the Astros to be familiar with their dark magic and the way they figure out how to win and squeeze production out of the unlikeliest places.
Correa has mashed, for the record — in six games back with the Astros, he's hitting .346 with an OPS of .931 because, you know, of course. Do I sound bitter? I swear I'm not bitter... not even a little.
But even with Correa's production spiking as he re-joins the Astros, the team at large... might be running out of the magic they conjured earlier in the season when they were winning games they had no business winning. Since Correa's addition, the Astros are just 2-4, and 8-10 since All-Star break. They still hold a 2.5-game (at time of publication) lead in the AL West over the Seattle Mariners so there's still a bit of cushion before the team should start looking over its shoulder, but the Astros' staggering injury luck might finally be catching up to them.
Carlos Correa is hot, but the Astros are not
Which situation would make Astros fans feel better — that Correa comes back and stinks but the team keeps winning, or (the one we're seeing right now) Correa comes back scorching hot but the team starts to flounder? I'm not sure... maybe the second option, because it at least gives them hope that when Yordan Álvarez, Christian Javier, Luis Garcia and the rest of the injured Astros return and get back into rhythm, Correa will provide for a roster talented enough to win the American League.
But as it stands, the Astros magic, luck, karma, whatever you want to call it, is being used on Correa's success individually and not the Astros team success as a unit.
Now, whether or not the Astros are actually using witchcraft to win baseball games is not information I am privy to. But this team lost in the Wild Card, lost Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, lost half of its remaining lineup to injury at the beginning of the year, and with less than two months remaining in the regular season, they're in poll position in their division. How else do you explain that?