Hail Houston! Now let the decline begin!

At one point during last night's sadly anticlimactic seventh game, the Fox sportsaganda machine praised the Houston Astros' front office in a series of flashy graphics to show how it assembled the 2017 team. Much of the lineup came from high first-round draft picks, testimony to nine straight years of Houston missing the playoffs, and three consecutive seasons finishing more than 40 games out of their divisions (which changed from the NL Central to the AL West.) 

The Astros built their world championship the old fashioned way: By stinking, again and again, until the sheer volume of draft talent overcame the wretched odor. Congratulations, Houston! By waiting patiently and not complaining while your owner banked his billions, you have finally been rewarded.

Now, here comes a surprise: The cost of doing business - that sweet $124 million opening day payroll - is about to rise. Here's part of the spreadsheet from Cot's Baseball Contracts, the neatest site on the interweb, (aside from this salute to the IBS lady.) Take a gander.

As you can see, Jose Altuve, Dallas Keuchel, George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez are about to get nice, juicy raises. This season, the foursome earned about $21 million combined. This winter, Altuve alone will demand more than that. (Say, did I mention his agent is a plucky fellow named Scott Boras?) Gonzalez will expect to double his salary - at least - and the others will go to arbitration. Good luck, Houston, in keeping everyone happy!

But wait, there's more! Not shown are the contracts for Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers Jr. and Alex Brigman - arguably the heart of the future team - all of whom made the MLB minimum, about $550,000. The Astros can sit on Correa and Brigman; there's nothing they can do. But Junior McCullers is eligible for arbitration.

Of course, they can disappear Carlos Beltran without a peep, and the Yankees will continue to pay $5.5 million of Brian McCann's contract. But Houston's time in the Upside-Down world is about to begin, and there is nothing sadder than a big market team with a small market owner. 

Of course, the Astros will always have the glory of 2017, and we - as bitter, fuming, surly Yank fans - must still doff our flaming caps. Hell, they beat us fair and square. They beat us at home, because they earned the home field advantage, and they beat us with a mix of young and old. I am happy for McCann and Beltran, two class acts if ever there were. And 55 years is a long time to go without a championship. And yeah, there is that flood - (Though I hate it when media morons attempt to tie sports to calamities; the day after your team wins the playoffs, your car still needs a new set of brakes.) All hail Houston. They should enjoy it, while they can. And as the roll into the troublesome future, let us remember the difference between the Yankees and all other teams: We demand dynasties, not blips.