First, a quiz. The Houston Astros are:
a) A team that finished 2020 just a game away from the World Series—a team that finished 2019 just a game away (seven outs, really) from winning the World Series—and still has a solid chunk of its core intact
b) A team that finished last season with a losing record, struggled with subpar performances from some of its biggest stars and now has to watch its biggest free agent walk away
c) A team that proves the difficulty of projecting anything after a pandemic-shortened micro-season
The answer doesn’t particularly matter.