Let me begin with an obvious statement: the Astros bullpen is a problem. My colleague Cody recently outlined how, now that we’re spilling into July, time is running out for it to fix itself, and external solutions may need to be sought. I’d like to suggest that the problem is really two problems.
The first problem has to do with the most basic challenge facing every competitive team (sorry, Yankees fans, you can stop reading now)—does the team have what it takes, over the long slog of 162 games, to be one of five teams in each league to make the playoffs?