Joe Espada's excuse for Yankees sweep of Astros just won't cut it in Houston

Part of what makes sports great is the unpredictability of it all. For every Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, or Kansas City Chiefs that just seem to be inevitable, you have surprising upstarts like the St. Louis Blues coming out of nowhere to win the Stanley Cup, the Arizona Diamondbacks reaching the World Series, and 11-seed NC State getting to the Final Four.

Some of sports' unpredictability comes down to outlier performances, questionable calls, and favorable matchups. Sometimes a game comes down to luck, like when a player accidentally banks in a three or a wayward golf shot bounces into the fairway off of a spectator's head. We accept that as part of the strange beauty of sports.

Baseball is a sport where luck certainly plays a role. A 115-mph line drive can settle harmlessly in a fielder's glove, while one at-bat later a cue shot off the end of the bat can result in an unlikely double. It's part of the fabric of the game, but in recent years, as exit velocity and launch angle have become accepted as an fundamental part of the sport, luck has been misappropriated to be the scapegoat for any struggling team's shortcomings. Spencer Strider comes to mind as someone who infamously decried his bad luck against the Mets two seasons ago, saying they "had a lot of weird hits" when they chased him from the game in the third inning.

Joe Espada, the new manager of the Houston Astros after a long tenure as the team's bench coach that even preceded Dusty Baker's four years as manager, recently pointed the finger at luck as the reason his team was swept at home by the Yankees to start the season but to use the parlance of our times, that argument is weaksauce.

The Astros aren't 0-4 because of luck, no matter what Houston manager Joe Espada says

Espada praised his team's fight in nearly overcoming a ninth-inning deficit in the series finale on Sunday, but he took things a step too far when he blamed the loss on luck.

"There wasn’t luck on our side,” Espada said, h/t MLB.com. “Yordan (Alvarez) hit two balls today that should have left the yard, but they didn’t. I like the fight, man. That’s what it’s all about. You fight until the last out of the game, and if you do that, you’re going find yourself in a good spot to win games."

Let's say that Alvarez, who is one of the game's preeminent power hitters, did enough to get that ninth-inning ball to leave the yard. Houston would still be 1-3, albeit with a little more pep in its step after a walk-off win. Still, as it stands, the Astros are 0-4 with a -10 run differential. Even if luck was on their side, it's difficult to imagine them being better than 1-3, or maybe 2-2 in a best-case scenario. The Yankees were simply the better team.

The Astros hit under .200 with runners in scoring position against the Yanks, and they were either tied or had the lead in the sixth inning or later of every game in the series. Espada can blame luck all he wants, but where he really should be pointing the finger is at his bullpen, which has given up 12 runs in less than 16 innings.

Say what you will about the Astros methods once upon a time, but there's no denying that they've been one of the best teams in baseball, even after Trash Can Gate. Houston is the only team in American League history to reach seven straight ALCS, and the pressure is on Espada to continue that streak, especially with the division rival Texas Rangers still celebrating last season's World Series win. Astros fans aren't interested in excuses, they expect results.

Espada needs to worry more about delivering those results, and less time bemoaning his team's bad luck. Luck is a part of baseball, and it's not the reason Houston is 0-4 anyway. It's a long season, but with 13 of his team's next 16 games against Toronto, Texas, and Atlanta, Espada will need more than excuses to right the ship.