Nothing is more emblematic of the Houston Astros' struggles than Jose Altuve's missteps.
The star second baseman has looked off throughout the Astros' American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. That was never more evident than on Tuesday in Houston's 5-2 loss in Game 2, when Altuve twice threw the ball away on routine throws.
It's borderline inexplicable, which has many wondering if he could be dealing with the yips. Since Altuve opted not to speak to the media after the Game 2 loss, which put the Astros in a 2-0 series hole, Houston manager Dusty Baker was left to try and dissect the issue.
"I don’t know, I really don't know,” Baker said, via USA Today. “It's tough to see this happening to such a great player and such a great guy. I don’t know what it’s called. You can go in a defensive slump the same way you can go in an offensive slump. ...
“We’re giving him all the support that we can,” Baker also noted. “Nobody feels worse than Jose because he takes it very serious and takes it to heart. He’s one of ours. We’ve all been through this before, (maybe) not in this spotlight like this. It hurts us all to see him hurting. We’ll give him all the support that he needs."
The Astros are hard-pressed to win the series if Altuve isn't playing well. But he's playing so poorly that he might be the one to put the proverbial nail in Houston's coffin.
