Two championship words

Last night's 3-1 loss to Houston, the first time the Ms have dropped two in a row this season, can be summarized in two words: Verlander and Altuve.

And while watching the Ms descend to earth is disappointing, there are encouraging lessons to be learned by comparing the two teams.  Watch carefully, in everything they do the Astros play like the champions they are.  They are a smooth, efficient winning machine snd they best you methodically with their hitting, pitching and defense.  Last night, their outfield play was particularly impressive, running down the M's powerful drives to the wall.  If the Astros are a machine, the entertaining and, so far, winning Mariners are a keg of gunpowder.  The Astros just win, the Ms explode... sometimes.

If, as many suggest, DiPoto has used the rebuilding of Houston as the model for reimaginig the Ms, the next few years could be fun.  Remember, these are the Astro's who lost 111 games in 2013.  That came at the end of three consecutive seasons where they barely won fifty games... that's low-mid .300s baseball. Last year, in five years, they picked up 52 wins to notch 103 (which was a disappointing season because they had won the World Series the year before).

Last night's game proved Houston is not as easily beaten as the teams the Ms have handled easily already: Oakland, California, the White Sox, KC and probably the Red Sox.

The Ms need and should learn from this.