If everything is, indeed, bigger in Texas, then that might explain the Astros' hard pursuit and, ultimately, their acquisition, of Gerrit Cole from the Pirates.
Jim Crane, the owner and CEO of the reigning World Series champions, spoke to Houston reporters shortly after the five-player trade was completed Saturday evening, and he made clear that both he and Jeff Luhnow, his general manager, are operating with a singular focus entering 2018: Repeat.
"We've always said we're going to try and improve the team," Crane said. "The other teams have gotten better, and we needed to make a move if it made sense. Jeff worked hard to get this done. I think it'll be a big boost for the other guys, telling them we're really trying to do it again."
Luhnow had been sending his own message, by all accounts, telling his staff ever since the Astros' parade that "The enemy of success is success," a powerful suggestion that no one in the Houston front office was preparing to settle for the franchise's first ring.
Well, that collective message seems to have been received, even from just among Cole's new teammates:
Going for it. #BackToBack
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) January 14, 2018
#STILLSTACKED https://t.co/8a5f5iOLsv
— Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) January 14, 2018
— Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1) January 13, 2018
Small wonder: The Astros will strut into spring training with a rotation of Cole, old friend Charlie Morton, Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr.
Don't think for a second that escaped Cole's notice.
"I'm ecstatic," he told Houston reporters. "I got the phone call not too long ago, and I was shocked. I couldn't have been more happy. I'm familiar with a few people on the organization and the team."
He mentioned Morton, a former teammate in Pittsburgh who had his $7 million salary dumped for a low-ranked prospect and became dominant in Houston's playoff run, including a victory in Game 7.
"Charlie was a huge, influential piece in my career," Cole said. "Coming up in Pittsburgh, he played a huge, pivotal role when we were in postseason appearances back then. I'm thrilled to be able to work with one of my great friends again. The accolades speak for themselves as far as the rest of the rotation. Verlander is a guy every right-handed power pitcher looks up to since the beginning of time."
Of the Astros in general, Cole added, "They have a great identity, have a great brand of baseball and made the city of Houston proud. I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of something like that.”
The Pirates chose Cole, 27, with the No. 1 overall pick in Major League Baseball's 2011 draft out of UCLA. He's 59-42 with a 3.50 ERA in 127 career starts, including 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA in 33 starts last year. Within the latter, he struck out 196 over 203 innings but also was tagged for 31 home runs. The latter troubled him deeply even through September, as neither he nor the Pirates could find a solution.
That apparently didn't trouble Houston's GM.
"We don't focus too much on short-term performance," Luhnow said. "Gerrit Cole has a long track record of elite performance in college and also in the major leagues. We expect him to bounce back and be a Cy Young contender, which he was early in his career. We do think he had some bad luck last year, and we're hoping a fresh environment and being in the American League and our staff will help him."
If that happens, it might be because the Astros take a similar approach to what they did with Morton.
While in Pittsburgh, as with all starting pitchers in this system at all levels, Morton was urged to pitch to contact, meaning to get ground-ball outs and go deeper into games with fewer pitches. He was told to use his sinker more than any other pitch. The results often frustrated him, especially when he felt he threw well. Once in Houston, he was cut loose and suddenly became a 100-mph swing-and-miss strikeout pitcher, using his curveball frequently as well.
Cole has the same kind of arm, routinely hitting 98 and 99 mph, and he might have no choice but to follow in Morton's steps, given that Minute Maid Park is a bandbox compared to PNC Park.
For now, though, Cole's focus plainly was on the process he's about to join.
“Man, the brand of baseball they play is at the top level," he said, "so who wouldn’t be tremendously excited to join a team like that?"