Notes on the Houston series, future team leadership and more

A few quick thoughts and notes now that the 2018 season is down to three days and four games remaining:

Houston hello: On April 2, the Orioles began their 2018 road schedule by playing at Houston. Tonight they close their home schedule in starting a four-game series versus Houston. In between they played 152 games. That's a long time between seeing an opponent that you play twice in one season.

The Orioles have lost a lot of games since they were swept in that series at Houston by scores of 6-1, 10-6 and 3-2. They went 1-5 last year versus the Houston team that was headed for a World Series championship. The Astros are back in the playoffs and will host Cleveland next Friday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

Houston has won 11 of its last 12 against the Orioles and five of its last six at Oriole Park where the Astros are 8-14 all-time.

Houston (100-58) is chasing a franchise record for wins. The 2018 team is the third to post 100 victories, trailing only teams from 2017 (101 wins) and 1998 (102 wins). So the Astros have something to play for this weekend, even though they have clinched their division and the second seed in the AL playoffs. They can't catch Boston which has clinched the best record and No. 1 seed in the postseason.

Houston is 18-5 (.783) in September, which is the best record in the majors. They are 25-8 (.758) since Aug. 21, which is also the best in MLB in that span. They looked poise to make another deep run in October.

Which leaders will emerge?: When the Orioles traded away players like Zach Britton and Darren O'Day and to a lesser extent Manny Machado, Brad Brach, Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop, they lost talent, yes, but also leadership in their clubhouse.

Adam Jones was still with the team to provide leadership but he is a free agent at the end of the year. Enter Trey Mancini. He told me in that very clubhouse yesterday before the game got rained out, that he is ready to take on a bigger leadership role. Even though he is ending just his second full season in the majors.

"You feel like you have to be a mentor to some of the younger guys," Mancini told me for this story. "Whoever we are facing that day (on the mound), give them some pointers. Some guys are coming to me, and I know how it is when you get up here, too, so I will seek them out also and help any way I can. Kind of gone through the transition from a wide-eye rookie who always had an older guy to look to and now being that person."

Mancini said he embraces a leadership role?

"Absolutely. Yeah. When I got here the bar was set very high," he said. "It was veteran guys that had been here since 2011, 2012. Just kind of watched the way they operated and I knew how things should be done from a professional standpoint. You learned, through watching them, how to be a professional and handle your business, and you try to instill that on the younger guys coming up now."

So can a young player be a leader? If the young player is Mancini, I think he can. Few care more about the team, the city and his own performance. He knows all aspects of this organization as a homegrown Oriole. Mancini told me several times how he leaned on veterans last year during his rookie season. Now, as a young veteran himself, he's ready to provide the same for anyone who seeks it on the Orioles roster.

Reporters tried: These final few games at Oriole Park could be emotional as fans wonder if they are seeing manager Buck Showalter and outfielder Adam Jones for the final time wearing Orioles uniforms. There is also doubt about Dan Duquette's future with the team, but unlike the first two, he doesn't take the field in a uniform.

Reporters have tried a few times in recent games to get Jones and/or Showalter to bite and let us know how they are truly feeling about these potential final days for them. Neither has said much so far.

"Whatever stuff like that, we all have some private thoughts and emotions about that, but I don't think it serves the organization well for me to be worried about that right now", said Showalter. "We've got some things to do these last four games."

He did add this: "You know how good they've been to me? I'm not ever going to forget that, regardless of what happens."

Yes the Orioles have been good to both Showalter and Jones. The duo has been good for the Orioles in many, many ways. Endings in sports can be hard and emotional and not easy. The Orioles and their fans could go through some of that over the next few days.