Houston's problem

On a scale of 1-10, as the problems confronting Houston go this week, the question of where the Astros will play the Rangers (and probably the Mets) probably rates, oh, maybe negative 2.5.

Baseball matters to us. (If it doesn't, why are you here?) But it is small beer in the context of the calamity that is Harvey and the unprecedented rain that has flooded the nation's fourth largest city.

The Rangers declined to swap home series with the Astros, citing the 13-game road trip such an exchange would create for themselves. The series, which was to begin today at Houston, will instead be played in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Tampa Bay Rays' dome.

Some -- particularly the Astros -- are irritated by the Rangers' unwillingness to exchange home dates. I'm not particularly bothered; with the storm expected to make landfall again in a day or two and the flooding likely to worsen, the Astros were likely to need another venue for the Mets series this weekend anyway.

There is no telling what damage Harvey and its aftermath have done to the city's infrastructure, including Minute Maid Park and its supporting services. And for all the money American society has "invested" in athletic facilities in the past 25 years or so, there will be much in Houston that is more important to repair than a ball park.

Maybe Minute Maid will be good to go when the waters finally recede; if so, great. I wouldn't count on it. And if the Astros -- who are, as you probably know, having a very good season -- wind up homeless the rest of the season, well, they won't be the only ones in that leaky boat in Houston.