Hunter Brown responds to Dana Brown and Astros drama escalates quickly

After an impressive start through the first week of the regular season, things took a dramatic turn for the Houston Astros. The offense is still performing, but injuries decimated the pitching staff to the point that they may not be able to climb out of their early-season hole they've dug for themselves. Making things worse, there appears to be drama brewing between starting pitcher Hunter Brown and general manager Dana Brown.

When the Astros placed the 27-year-old starter on the IL with a shoulder strain, the Astros' GM had some choice comments about what may have caused the injury. Brown was approaching triple digits with his fastball during spring training, and in a "I'm not saying, I'm just saying" way, Dana Brown may have suggested that was one of the factors that played into his injury.

One would think that if the executive who is in charge of the Astros' baseball operations had an issue with how hard Brown was throwing in spring training, he would have interjected in the moment. Instead, the American League Cy Young Award finalist was forced to respond to the speculation.

“Any speculation is warranted when you get injured, but my job in spring training is to get ready for the season. I did nothing different this spring training than I have in any other one,” Hunter Brown told The Athletic's Chandler Rome.

Astros' season has already gone off the rails

It's also worth mentioning that Brown exceeded 100 pitches in his Opening Day start against the Los Angeles Angels. More than the velocity concerns during spring training, one would think Brown's high pitch count on Opening Day would be more of a concern.

It's also ironic that after an offseason where the Astros revamped their training staff and stressed the importance of staying healthy, it's not even the end of April, and there's tension building regarding an injury and the circumstances surrounding it.

Things are going to need to change in Houston quickly. Jim Crane isn't the type of owner who stands by and lets a season slip away. The lever he's going to pull would be getting rid of Dana Brown (and/or Joe Espada) if it means trying to provide a spark for a team that thought they were going to contend this season. It certainly doesn't help Brown's case that he doesn't appear to be on the same page with the team's most valuable pitcher.

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