VERO BEACH, FLORIDA ¨C Move over Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees; step aside LA Dodgers-San Francisco Giants; slide down Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Make room for the newest rivalry in MLB: the Houston Astros versus the Texas Rangers.

Yes siree, pod¡¯nah, Houston¡¯s battle with Dallas for baseball bragging rights in The Lone Star State is a now a bona fide big league rivalry.

¡°It¡¯s HUGE,¡± stated Astros skipper A.J. Hinch. ¡°What I have learned having moved to Texas (two-and-a-half seasons ago) is that there¡¯s a rivalry between Houston and Dallas in general. It could be in football, basketball, baseball or anything.¡±

¡°I think it¡¯s similar to those other rivalries but maybe not so deep-rooted,¡± offered Hinch. ¡°But since the Astros moved to the American League (and the ¡®Stros and Rangers became AL West rivals), it¡¯s building into something really great.

¡°It¡¯s a fun rivalry.¡±

Added Houston DH slugger Evan Gattis: ¡°There¡¯s more excitement whenever we play Texas.

¡°The crowds are great; there¡¯s always lots of noise, especially in Minute Maid Park (humid Houston¡¯s retractable-domed ballpark where noise stays inside and reverberates rather than escaping.)

¡°There are a lot of Astros fans in Dallas and lots of Ranger fans in Houston, so it really gets loud,¡± continued Evan. ¡°That transfers to you as a player.¡±

They say both teams must be good to have a real rivalry. That is certainly the current situation between these two ballclubs.

Houston captured an AL wild-card spot in 2015, while the Rangers were winning the West title.

Then, last season Texas repeated as divisional champs.

The Rangers were aided greatly in ¡®16 by the Astros¡¯ horrible 7-17 start. Houston then rallied to make a run at another second straight wild card slot but fell just short.

¡°The Rangers had our number last season,¡± noted Hinch. ¡°If you flip-flop our records against each other (Texas took the ¡°Silver Boot Series,¡± 15-4) we¡¯d probably be talking playoffs again.¡±

This season, that 2016 pattern has been reversed.

This time, the Astros have gotten off to a roaring start that has seen them compile an MLB-best 35-16 log, including a 3-1 mark against the Rangers.

Texas, meanwhile, stumbled out of the gate and after the first five weeks was six games under .500. A recent 10-game Rangers winning streak enabled them to rise above level but they have recently fallen under again at 25-27.

Though Texas now trails torrid Houston by 11 games, the Rangers remain a dangerous ballclub that can make a big move at any time.

These are, indeed, heady times in Houston. Three consecutive years of Astros playoff contention under Hinch¡¯s leadership is something the team¡¯s fans had not seen for quite some time.

Prior to capturing their ¡®15 WC berth, the Astros had missed the postseason nine straight years and had suffered six consecutive losing campaigns.

Houston fans may have even become a bit spoiled. There was a sense of disappointment a year ago after the ¡®Stros strong but non-playoff finish.

MAS asked Hinch if he had created a monster that the skipper now had to continue to feed.

¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve raised standards a little bit,¡± Hinch acknowledged with a chuckle. ¡°Like, 84 wins last season wasn¡¯t good enough ¡ª that¡¯s the mentality now for our players and fans.

¡°But we sign up for these jobs to absorb the pressure and expectations, to embrace what could be a very special season.¡±

What has helped make 2017 special so far was this past winter¡¯s addition of veterans like catcher Brian McCann and outfielders Carlos Beltran, Norichika Aoki and Josh Reddick.

¡°We lost too many close games early last season,¡± Hinch gave as a reason for their acquisitions.

¡°These guys are good hitters and will help there.

¡°But it was mostly how they could blend in with our young core players who had raced to the big leagues.¡±

The vets¡¯ been there, done that experience has not been lost on that group of rapidly developing youngsters, including All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder George Springer and third sacker Alex Bregman.

¡°I feel the veterans are obviously leading the young guys in the right way,¡± the 22-year old Correa told MAS. ¡°We have more good hitters now and I feel our team can make it all the way to the World Series.¡±

The slick-fielding Correa, AL Rookie of the Year in 2015, hopes to build on outstanding back-to-back offensive seasons that saw him bat .279 and .274 and clout 22, then 20 home runs.

¡°I think I¡¯m a better hitter than last year and I hope to show that this season,¡± Carlos stated.

Hard-hitting Bregman has already established himself an early ¡®17 ROY candidate. The 23-year-old is unfazed by the high expectations for both himself and his team,

¡°I take it as a compliment,¡± Bregman told MAS. ¡°It makes you want to work at it so people keep up those expectations.¡±

Bregman, though, has a certain swagger that some see as cockiness.

¡°I¡¯ve learned from the veterans,¡± he explained, ¡°that when you prepare, you SHOULD feel confident.¡±

Suffice to say, the Astros are currently brimming with confidence But they realize there¡¯s that team from upstate that must be dealt with before anything big can happen.

That presents Houston with a two-pronged challenge ¡ª archrival Texas AND the rest of the AL West.

But taking their season series with Texas and winning the division would also be doubly satisfying.

¡°You have two really good young teams, we¡¯ve had some fierce battles,¡± Hinch concluded.

¡°They¡¯ve earned bragging rights in the state of Texas.

¡°Hopefully, we can chase ?em down.¡±

¡°We want to make the fans happy,¡± stated Gattis. ¡°But even more importantly, we want to beat the Rangers for ourselves, so we can get where we want to be.

¡°There¡¯s never been a World Series winner from the state of Texas,¡± noted Gattis. ¡°We want to be the first one.¡±

Take that, Big D!

Contact Man About Sports at: d[email protected]