Saturday Morning Hot Links

*So there was an actual parade for the Houston Astros because they won the World Series. It still hasn't sunk in for me, yet. Richard Justice writes how the Astros felt Houston's love. Justice:
This was a release for fans who've waited 56 seasons, for fathers and sons and best friends and co-workers, and thousands and thousands of others who've talked about this day, dreamed about it, wondered if it would ever really happen.

*Brian T. Smith: A parade for the ages.

This lady dropped her hat, and Houston came in clutch to get it back up to her #earnedhistory pic.twitter.com/1thxzO7B6i

— enokez (@AlanEnokian) November 3, 2017

*The Astros picked up Jose Altuve's $6m option and Marwin Gonzalez's $5.125m option for 2018. Altuve has already generated enough WAR for 2018 that he is already severely underpaid.

*The inestimable Roger Angell: Long Wait, Great Win.
For the rest of us not in or around Houston, the reward after two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight regular season games and thirty-eight more in the postseason is a bit more sleep and, for the moment, at least, no more innings.

*Tyler Kepner: How the Astros finally hit on a formula that worked for them. Luhnow:
Not every plan makes sense for every team. But where we started, with the worst team in baseball and one of the worst farm systems in baseball, we really had no choice. We had to focus on developing our own and when the time is right, adding to it.

*Jeff Bagwell:
This is a great team. I don't think the world knew it. Well, they do now. Nobody wanted us to win this whole thing. Everybody else wanted the big teams. But we beat the Red Sox. We beat the Yankees. And now we beat the Dodgers. Pretty cool.

*Justin Verlander and Kate Upton missed the parade because, presumably, they're in Italy getting married. Apparently some people are mad that Verlander didn't postpone it. This is a silly take. It's not like they're getting married at a rec center in Refugio. They're two very high-profile people getting married in a foreign country. I don't know anything about them or their wedding plans, but I'm guessing they're not plans that are easily postponed. And it's not as though they started thinking about getting married in October. Verlander has been an Astro for, what, 60-something days? And before that he was on a Tigers team that very clearly wasn't going to the playoffs. Chill out. Let them get married.

*Uh. Brian McCann's mom is marrying Mark Teixeira's dad this winter.

*Here's a great story on Astros fan Charles Rice.

*Get some gear here.

*Four mock-ups of the Astros' WS ring.

*The five Astros who finally won a ring after a career of near-misses.

*Ken Davidoff wrote about how Luhnow's family helped him deal with the media.

*SF Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins: The Astros' title rises far above analytics.
If anything, the Astros were defiant of an analytics-driven trend that saw players adjust their "launch angle," go for home runs at any cost, work the count to frustrate opposing pitchers and not worry about striking out. They were the most efficient offensive machine in the game, did a lot of first-pitch swinging, emphasized contact hitting and struck out less often than any team in the majors.

*FiveThirtyEight predicts a few more seasons of Astros/Dodgers World Series, or at least a few Astros/Indians ALCS.

*MLB.com listed the 2018 World Series contenders.

*The Cubs' front office sent pizzas to the Astros' front office. Hopefully the Astros will carry the tradition of buying pizza for the next World Series champion by just sending an intern to buy pizza for themselves.

*A.J. Hinch discussed his new bench coach, Joe Espada, and we note that assistant hitting coach Alonzo Powell will leave to become the Giants' hitting coach.

*Check this November 2016 post from the County Mountie, in which he described Charlie Morton as such:
He's a groundball pitcher with some strikeout ability. If you're looking for an under-the-radar sign that could bring a nice payoff, this is it.

*Jon Heyman wonders how long the Astros can keep their core together.

*Buy every Astros-related SI cover since 1981.

*Jim Callis says Riley Ferrell has closer material.

*Springer, Altuve, and Bregman are expected to be on Saturday Night Live.

*Evan Grant takes a look at what the Rangers need to do to close the gap on the Astros.

*Alex Bregman is already a Hall of Famer:

Deleted, but 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2RxX8ATfyV

— Dustin DeBerry (@dkdeberry) November 4, 2017

Friday Morning Hot Links

Nope, it's still real. They actually won the World Series. How many of you woke up yesterday wondering how the Astros would lose the World Series? I did.

My ode to the #Astros and the city of Houston, champions together.
Share if you'd like.#WorldSeries#Earnhistory pic.twitter.com/Gwqd03WVTh

— Robert Flores (@RoFlo) November 3, 2017

*Jeff Passan: How the Astros went from great to legendary. Read every word of this.

*Tyler Kepner: When the Astros needed him, Charlie Morton was there. Charlie Morton is the only pitcher in MLB history to win two Game 7s in one season.

*Washington Post's Dave Sheinin: The Astros win is the moment analytics conquered MLB for good.

*Rob Lowe is very butthurt.

*ESPN's Marly Rivera called Astros over Dodgers in seven...back in March.

*Bob Nightengale on George Springer's talent and grace.

*The Astros won the World Series without a bullpen.

*Wait guys. Jon Heyman would kindly like to remind you to turn your music down, and also that there are apparently more people in the front office than Jeff Luhnow.

*CBS Sports: Evan Gattis completes journey from custodian to World Series champion.

*New bench coach Joe Espada has spent the last three years as Joe Girardi's 3B coach.

*Tributes from long-time writers on AC are starting to trickle in. Here's Cockroach's, and here's The Batguy's.

*AP: Houston's built to last.

*Wall Street Journal: The chemistry experiment behind the Astros winning the World Series.

*Brian T. Smith: Crane/Luhnow never wavered from their vision.

*NY Times: What the Astros win means for Houston.

*ESPN Stats' Sarah Langs: What to expect from the Astros in 2018.

*New York sports pages find the Astros and their system very problematic.

*USA Today: Looking ahead to the off-season

*Dallas...thank's.

This team. This city. This year.

I never got to know my granddad, because he died before I was born. I felt like I knew him, though, from the stories told by my mom & grandmom as they raised me. He played semi-pro baseball as a catcher in Wichita Falls, TX before giving up the game to marry my grandmom in the mid-1930s. "Good girls didn't marry ballplayers back then," my grandmom said. I’m still partial to catchers because.

Born & raised in Houston, I don't remember a time when my family wasn't going to baseball games in the Astrodome, or when there wasn't a rainbow Astros jersey in my closet. My granddad taught the love of the game to my mom, who then passed it on to me. I was born weeks after Nolan Ryan signed baseball's first million-dollar contract to come play at home, and weeks before the Astros began their first ever playoff-bound season in 1980. They made it again in 1986, and I'm sure I watched some games back then, but I was too young to fully soak it in. It was during the winter before the '87 season that my mom paid to take me and my sister on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Astrodome. When we tried to leave, our car wouldn't start, so I was stuck for hours then in the waiting room of a Ford Service Center with nothing to entertain me but an '87 Topps team set of Astros baseball cards and the memory of walking on Astroturf that afternoon. I've been hooked ever since.

Unlike other major sports, baseball is an everyday friend, so every summer of my childhood was filled with Astros games on TV or radio every night from April through September. I was one of a generation of kids in Southeast Texas who grew up wanting to be Craig Biggio or Jeff Bagwell. It took until 1997, when I was nearly out of high school, before I finally got to see an Astros playoff team that I was old enough to remember. I left Houston for college in '99, but thanks to the Internet, I was able to take Astros radio broadcasts with me. After the summer of 2000, I never moved back to Houston full time, but the Astros always remained my link to home.

With upper-level college classes occupying most of my energies, and the Larry Dierker era ending after '01, I drifted out of daily touch with the Astros for a time. But then Andy Pettitte signed, then Roger Clemens signed, and my Astros optimism & excitement hit an all-time high. They finally made the World Series in 2005, but that was the White Sox turn to break their 88-year curse, and Houston got swept. I still followed every game, every season, through 300+ losses in three years, 400+ losses in four years, but they didn't make it back to the playoffs until 2015. And then this year.

As a kid, many of my favorite books were about baseball. One of my most favorite was about "Baseball's Greatest World Series," telling the stories of six standout postseason dramas. Two of those chapters - about '80 & '86 - included stories about the Astros, but both years they lost in the NLCS. I wished one year to watch or read such a story in which the Astros ultimately won.

This season, the Astros were writing a great story. But the city of Houston - #HoustonStrong - told a story even greater after Hurricane Harvey hit. My hometown was devastated, and I felt helpless & wrong watching from safely out of state, but inspired by every story of heroism and so many standing up to help. As soon as they could, this Astros team was right there in the middle of it, trying to make a positive impact for thousands of victims. They caught fire as soon as they made it back to Minute Maid Park, remaining nigh unbeatable at home until the end. If Hollywood tried to write this finale, you wouldn't believe it was real, except that it actually happened. The last chapter unfolded on Hollywood's front porch.

Yes, baseball is "just a game." Sports are "just a game." But they unite communities, can lift people up. I never cheered for a non-Houston team more than I cheered for the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl following Katrina. Now Houston has an equal story of their own. I don't know how much attention God pays to baseball, but I'll confess throughout the Series - especially during Games 2 & 5 - I spent a lot of time praying: "Don't lead us this far just to break our hearts." I wanted the Astros to win this year, just as I want them to win ever year. I wanted my lifelong wait as a fan to end in triumph at last. But ultimately, I'm okay; I could keep waiting if I had to. "Not for me," I tried to pray, "but for my hometown. The city of Houston needs this NOW."

Eric Berger of Space City Weather noted this: Harvey dumped 51 inches of rain on Houston in late August. The Astros’ final margin of victory in Game 7: 5-1.

This team. This city. This year. #EarnedHistory

What "Earn History" Means to Me

The Astros slogan of "Earn History" sounded like just another cliche sports hashtag when I first heard it. Yeah, winning the World Series means it's the first in Astros history, the first in Texas history, etc. That's great, but every team has a cute slogan, right? But as I pondered the depths of my soul following the most amazing routine grounder the second ever, I realized there was more to Earn History. Maybe it also means that this club has finally earned our history. The history of every fan who has waited for this moment. Every fan who grew up cheering for the orange and blue (and brick red) (and navy and gold). Every fan who inherited their loyalty to the Astros from our fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles, grandparents. The history that includes the heartbreaks of the past, the expectations never fulfilled, the Hall of Famers who, through all of their individual greatness, could never bring home that ultimate team accomplishment.

For me, that history starts with my grandfather. "Big Lou" was a giant of a man, at least to the child version of me. He was a landscape architect who did quite well for himself during Houston's booming growth of the late 70s to early 80s. He lived on a golf course and was a member of a country club, where he made the kind of connections that got him a prime spot as an extra in Bad News Bears Breaking Training. Here you can see my grandparents joining in the "LET THEM PLAY" chant.

Sadly, Big Lou passed away before I really got to know him. But one of the things I got from him was his ticket from Opening Day, 1962. It is one of my most prized possessions.

I discovered baseball during the 1986 season. I was 7 years old and all I knew was that Mike Scott was the greatest pitcher who ever lived. The excitement of that season led me to start playing Little League the next summer and introduced me to the wonders of baseball cards. By that time, my family had moved from Houston to Memphis. In the pre-internet days, getting information about an out-of-town team was tough. I scoured box scores, recreating the action in my mind as I read down the lineups and pitching lines. My favorite days were when something exciting enough happened that Houston got a two paragraph blurb by an anonymous AP writer. I also turned to my baseball cards, quickly flipping through the opened packs to see if I had found the Jim Pankovits, Danny Darwin, or Dave Rohde card that would complete my team set. Flipping to the back I discovered stats! I spent untold hours sorting players into lineups. Players with lots of steals hit 1st and 2nd. Doubles hitters were 3rd. Homers got you into the cleanup spot. RBIs slotted into 5th. Triples hitters batted 6th. The 7th and 8th place hitters were determined by batting average. And, of course, the pitcher batted 9th. The Astros were, of course, a National League team.

My dad took me to my first game in the Astrodome. Those were the days of Jose Cruuuuuuuuuz. Of Chester Charge. Of the exploding scoreboard. Those were the days.

I got an Astros pennant to hang on my wall. My dad got a snapback hat with a mesh back and a batting practice jersey. The pennant is long gone, but I now have that hat and jersey.

On the ball field I was a pitcher. Most of my teammates were Cardinals fans, but not me. My family was from Texas. We were Astros Fans. My delivery was a mimic of Nolan Ryan's. Arms over the head from the windup, high leg kick for extra oomph on the fastball. My step-dad was my coach, my batting practice pitcher, my bullpen catcher.

Around this time, the old USA Today publication Baseball Weekly started coming out. I got a subscription for Christmas. Now I could read about my Astros every week! And even more stats!! For this era it was Bagwell and Biggio, Kile and Drabek.

Then, like most kids with lofty dreams of superstardom, my baseball career came to an end in high school and other interests took precedence. I soon graduated, started a family, and moved to South Carolina. The Astros were no longer an everyday thought. I checked in on them from time to time, though. It was cool when they did well, but, again, this was before the internet could be carried around in your pocket. I was in the wilderness.

Then, in 2004 and 2005, the Astros burst back onto the scene and into my consciousness. The Killer B's. Clemens and Pettitte. Oswalt and Lidge. And, what's this? Randy Johnson and Carlos Beltran?! WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!! I was working 12 hour night shifts at the local golf ball factory while going back to school during the day to get my degree. I had a 2 year old and a 3 year old. Every single game fell on a night I was scheduled to work. I missed every game and the Astros, now once more My Astros, were swept.

I was in danger of wandering back into the wilderness.

But now...there was the internet. Now all the Astros information I wanted was available 24/7. OMG, ADVANCED STATS!!!! And the birth of blogging. The birth of Astros County. Back then, James was going it alone. There was no SB Nation or Fansided. This was just a dude talking about my team.

And I joined twitter. Astros County was the 4th account I followed, right after Tags and Justice and Footer. After a while James tweeted that he wanted some help. I volunteered and started writing daily recaps of the minor league games. That's where I learned about guys like Altuve and Keuchel. JD Martinez and Jordan Lyles. Telvin Nash and Jason Chowning and Jordan Scott. Things were so bad back then, and these kids were all the hope we had.

My reentry into Fanatical Astros Fandom led to the creation of the How Many Altuves website, which led to so many amazing opportunities. I got to go to a couple of games at Minute Maid Park, meet Jose Altuve, and take in an inning next to Jeff Luhnow in his suite. I told Jeff that I wasn't too sure about this Villar kid that had just come up, that he seemed inconsistent and like a bit of a hot head (he had broken his hand punching a door the prior year.) Jeff thought he played with passion and had a great future with the Astros. Guess we both missed the mark on that one.

A couple years later I made the 16 hour drive up to Cooperstown to see the first ever player get inducted with an Astros cap. I cried when the parade crowd chanted B-G-O, B-G-O, B-G-O as he rode by. I made the trip again for Bagwell's weekend (this time I flew) and had a chance to meet so many people connected to the organization.

So, that's my story. My history.

But something's missing.

Or, it was, until last night.

Not only did the Astros earn their own history last night, but they also earned my history, and the history of all of you, and of so many others who have come before us.

For the first time ever, THE ASTROS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

Budweiser's ad will make you ugly cry

Budweiser ad for Astros and fans pic.twitter.com/M22RdV2C9m

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 2, 2017

Wear your love

So here are some sweet shirts you can buy (and I get a cut). Click the link and get these shirts. Like, now.

We Literally Love Y'all

Come and Take It Belt

How 'Bout Houston?

Thumbs Up, Houston

Woo!

I Literally Love Justin Verlander

I Literally Love You Too, Jose Altuve

World Series Champion Hot Links

The 2017 Astros had achieved Favorite Astros Team status before the playoffs even started. No, they didn't set the record for most wins in franchise history. No, they didn't have the best record in baseball, or even their own league. But my God they were FUN. From the Memorial Day Miracle against the Twins to the Justin Verlander trade, with all of the doubt in between - injuries to the entire starting rotation, the slump in August and, oh yeah, the worst natural disaster to hit the United States - the Astros were there to take your mind away from just how bad life actually is, for a few hours every night. A lot of you, especially those of you in Southeast Texas, lost something this year: A loved one, a friend, a marriage, your house, your property. You experienced loss, but the Astros didn't. The Astros - a franchise with whom all of us identify - are your 2017 World Series champions. They won't, can't, replace your loss. But they can, and did, make things just a little bit easier.

Gonna be badass when 2 million people line these now-flooded streets after the Astros win the World Series

— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) August 28, 2017

*I was at a concert. It was June 4, 2017. I remember it. The Astros had just completed a sweep of the Rangers, and I was wearing an Astros hat and shirt. Keep in mind I live in Rangers territory. This Rangers fan - I can still see him - came up and said, "Remember it doesn't mean s*** unless you win it all."

*McTaggart:
No team has been woven into the fabric of Houston sports longer than the Astros, who were founded in 1962 as the expansion Colt .45s and grew up with a city on the rise. Through heartbreak and triumph, unforgettable highs and crushing lows, the Astros persevered.

Keuchel:
We were at the bottom. Nobody wanted to come here. It was an open tryout, and now it's a destination for players to come. We've got MVPs wanting to come here, we've got Cy Youngs wanting to come here. We're on top of the world...literally.

*George Springer is your World Series MVP. Springer, after his 0x4 4K Game 1: .440/.533/1.160, 4K:5BB. Jeff Sullivan: Springer had an all-time World Series.

*Listen to Robert Ford's game-ending call.

*Charlie Morton, who recorded the last 12 outs of the game:
I have faith that things work out, but if you would have told me that, I would have laughed. I've never even come close to something like that. I'm fortunate to be here. It's unreal.

*Hinch's quick hook on McCullers set up the Astros' win.

*How the Astros got to Yu Darvish. Again. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts:
I know he wanted the baseball. I know he was prepared. I just can't explain the results. I really can't.

Hinch:
If he gets you to chase, it's advantage Darvish. If he gets you to hit his off-speed pitches, it's advantage Darvish. So you have to be very disciplined. And we did that two games in a row where we got hittable pitches and did damage.

Houston baby. #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/reS5FpRdns

— Jasline ➰ (@jaslinenicole) November 2, 2017

*Jonah Keri: How the Astros went from the lowliest depths of hell to World Series champs.

*Dave Cameron: Charlie Morton was baseball in 2017.

*Ben Reiter, who wrote the famous 2014 SI article, predicts the Astros will repeat in 2018.
It's harder than ever to win back-to-back titles, in a Wild Card era with an exhausting and randomizing playoff structure. The Yankees won three in a row, between 1998 and 2000. The Blue Jays won two, in '92 and '93. Those were the only times it's happened since the '70s. If any team is built to do it, it's these Astros. 

*Buy a Springer-signed SI cover.

*Bovada has the Astros as current favorites to win the 2018 World Series.

*Craig Hlavaty on the team that saved his life.

*Jake Kaplan: Six Novembers after Luhnow pitched Jim Crane his vision, the Astros are World Series champions.

*The Chronicle has the inside look at the champagne celebration.

Congrats to the @astros!

(But you’re using the visitors’ side next time you visit.) pic.twitter.com/dDSPhYOhRq

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) November 2, 2017

*Richard Justice: Houston's strength in the wake of Hurricane Harvey carried this team. Dallas Keuchel:
It means everything. We knew that, so we wanted to really be behind them. We love each and every one associated with Houston. We've been through a lot, and for us not to be there when everything was going on really hurt us. This is our redemption. This is what we give back.

*Carlos Correa was playing Games 3-7 with an injured thumb sustained in the Game 2 walkoff celebration.

*The Ringer: The Astros are not here for your "pitching wins championships" narrative.

*Get you some gear today.

*Carlos Correa proposed to his girlfriend on the field after the game.

*The parade is tomorrow at 2pm.

*Mattress Mack lost $10 million.

*Beyond the Box Score: Dallas Keuchel is king of the edges.

*Jon Heyman: The Dodgers traded for Yu Darvish when they could have traded for Justin Verlander.

*FiveThirtyEight's Neil Paine: The Astros tanked their way to the top.

*With Alex Cora joining the Red Sox, the Astros are hiring Joe Espada as their bench coach.

These Astros World Series artifacts are headed to Cooperstown:

-Alex Bregman's Glove
-Justin Verlander G6 Jersey
-Charlie Morton G7 Cap pic.twitter.com/sGJWoB8o1Q

— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) November 2, 2017

*Thank you, all of you, for reading Astros County.

Did the Astros win the World Series?

YES

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Perhaps this was the only way. In a series marked by momentum swings, improbable back-and-forth heavyweight haymakers, and narratives that change on the fly, this series felt like a Game 7 was a certainty, just as Yasiel Puig predicted after Game 5. The Astros wasted a solid outing from Verlander, who came to Houston for exactly this moment, and couldn't solve Rich Hill for a second time. Tonight is the last time there will be baseball until February.

*The Astros were plagued by their 2017 playoff enemy RISPitis, going 0x6 with runners in scoring position. They had runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out in the 5th - with Reddick, who had worked a 3-0 count, just needing a flyball (and bases loaded with Bregman up with two outs), and didn't score a run. Runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs in the 6th, and didn't score a run. Runners on 1st and 2nd with one out in the 7th and Bregman and Altuve up, and didn't score a run. Correa and Altuve were a combined 0x8. Josh Reddick is 0x11 in the last three games.

*The Dodgers only got five hits, two of them for extra bases. The Astros had six hits, two of them for extra bases. But the Dodgers' 6th inning - a double-switch that brought in Tony Watson and Chase Utley and gave the Dodgers a lead they would not relinquish - was crucial, as David Schoenfield notes. Corey Seager:
Verlander was tough. We just kept grinding, grinding. Finally, we got the big double from [Chris Taylor].

*Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein: The Dodgers won Game 6 because of a decision they made months ago.

*Verlander said that he was not allowing himself to think that his 1-0 lead on Springer's two-out home run would be enough to win the World Series:
Absolutely not. No chance. Not the way this Series has gone, not the way these guys' lineup is. If we could have squeaked across one or two more, I might have changed my mentality a little bit. I've played this game too long. What happened, that can happen to anyone. The best-hit ball that inning was a flyout to right field. That's why it's so hard to limit offense, especially in this Series.

*Jenny Dial Creech says Verlander didn't have the edge when the Astros needed it the most. Verlander pitched 6IP, 3H/2ER, 9K:0BB, 65 of his 93 pitches were for strikes. He gave up a double and a sac fly. What the hell did you want?

*Joe Musgrove, who gave up another Joc Pederson home run:
This team hasn't panicked all year, and we're not going to start now. Everyone dreams of a chance to play in Game 7 of the World Series. It's the biggest game of everyone's life.

*Lance McCullers will be ready for his Game 7 start tonight based on his Game 3 experience:
I learned I wasn't very sharp. I knew that early, though. So I knew it was going to be a grind for me pretty much the whole outing, which it was. This is a very good hitting team. They're patient, but they'll make you pay for mistakes. So I have to go out there and just execute my game plan. And I need to execute a little better in certain spots. 

*Every pitcher will be available, maybe even Verlander. Verlander:
Right now, I feel great. I've got to sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow.

*Carlos Correa:
It's how you play in the backyard of your house as a kid, imagine you're in Game 7 of the World Series. It's a dream come true to be a part of it. We couldn't get the job done today, so we're going to go out there tomorrow and win the last game. 

Road teams are 19-18 in World Series Game 7s.

Hinch:
If you carry any baggage into Game 7 of the World Series, then you're certainly misguided with your attention. We will come as positive as ever, ready to play. It is what looks to be one of the most exhilarating games that we're ever going to be a part of. Who can guarantee that you're going to be in Game 7 ever again? Come ready to play. Have your best attitude, have your best opportunity.

*Verlander:
It's been such a great series because these teams are so evenly matched. It's great baseball. It's fun to be a part of. No matter what, this series is going down in the history books as one of the best of all time. I think [tonight] is going to be nothing short of spectacular either way.

*FanGraphs gives the Astros a 53.2% chance of winning tonight. FiveThirtyEight gives the Dodgers a 60% chance of winning tonight. CBS Sports' baseball writers picked their winners for Game 7. Dayn Perry is the only one safe from me.

*Rich Hill stepped off the mound when Gurriel was up so that the Dodgers' crowd could boo him. Hill:
That was my silent gesture.

*There's a great story in this LA Times' notes piece about McCann buying a suite at the Clippers-Warriors game on Monday night.

*Actual Saint Mattress Mack sent a whole bunch of people to LA.

*FanGraphs: Game 5 was as weird as it felt.

*Jeff Sullivan has a counter-argument to the Slick Ball Theory.

Monday Evening Hot Links

I was pressed for time this morning and didn't have a chance / wasn't in a great mental state to post a full-on Hot Links. Seeing as how there were a bunch of articles filed after I had already posted, I thought I'd run a follow-up post this evening to help pass the time until 7:45pm, when I plan on going to bed.

*The replies to Todd Kalas' request for videos of the Bregman walk-off are just fantastic and I teared up like four teams watching them.

HOUSTON ASTROS: World Series Game 6 Trailer (Edited By: Me) #EarnHistory pic.twitter.com/lVQnM0Fztg

— Bonda (@BenOndaTop) October 30, 2017

Game 5: As told by George Springer pic.twitter.com/LGW8RUBnmU

— ESPN (@espn) October 30, 2017

*Jonah Keri's article is gold. Keri:
Somewhere in Midtown or Uptown, in Sunnyside or Montrose, in Alief or Gulfton, there's a Little Leaguer who went to sleep many hours past bedtime, pretending to be Alex Bregman. Some nights, you never forget.

*Shea Serrano: A first-time baseball fan's guide to the craziest World Series ever. Serrano:
Baseball is only the most boring thing of all time or the most stressful thing of all time. Those are the only two temperatures it seems to have.

Correa is everybody watching that walkoff. #EarnHistory pic.twitter.com/MA2EhMl41O

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 30, 2017

*MLB.com's Anthony DiComo:
Somewhere in the soup of bodies, Alex Bregman's helmet flew off, revealing the tight curls beneath it. His teammates crowded around him, grabbing his shoulders, his arms, the threads of his jersey. Bregman managed, eventually, to lift his head through the madness. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape, a screaming sea of orange around him. "Pure joy."

Bregman said he was in the on-deck circle and looked back at Correa who told him “this is your time”...

— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) October 30, 2017

*Derek Fisher:
Maybin told me, 'I feel like one of us is going to score the winning run today.' It was basically just, 'Run as fast as you can, and hopefully you beat the ball.'

*The LA Times' Andy McCulloch:
The baseballs are too slick, or maybe they are juiced, or maybe it's both. The strikeouts happen too often and the home runs never stop falling and the umpire is always wrong. The sport of baseball is broken in 2017, or it's rejuvenated, or it's somewhere on the spectrum in between: still perfect for all its imperfections, still timeless for all its radical modernity, still agonizing for what it can do to the lungs and the brain and the spleen.

*Yahoo's Jeff Passan:
Game 5 ended with Bregman feathering a single off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen into left field, with pinch runner Derek Fisher sliding into home, with the Astros moshing around Bregman and bleating his catchphrase, with a 13-12 walk-off victory in the 10th inning that handed them a three-games-to-two series lead and left the Astros one win shy of their first World Series championship. It ended with the 43,300 at Minute Maid Park finally capable of taking a breath after holding it for the entirety of the game and simultaneously incapable of catching it because the only fair response to what had just unfolded was hyperventilation.

*Tom Verducci:
The Dodgers and Houston Astros played a brand of baseball that didn't exist three years ago, never mind back in Koufax's humble day of long shadows and short games. It was as if they took every major trend in the game these days, chucked them in a blender and hit puree. Out spilled a concoction that thrilled in ways never before seen or imagined in a World Series.

*USA Today's Bob Nightengale:
You want crazy, colorful braggadocio from a team that just won the biggest, craziest, most entertaining game of their lives, but instead see players almost too numb to talk, emotionally drained to even celebrate.

*Justin Verlander thinks the balls have been altered.

*Verlander:
These are what it's all about. These are the moments that you want to be a part of as a baseball player. It's everything you could ask for. 

*Alex Bregman is on the path to superstardom.

*The Astros need two home runs tomorrow night to set the record for most home runs in a single postseason. There have been more extra-base hits (42) than singles in this World Series.

Relive one of the most epic games in World Series history. #EarnHistory pic.twitter.com/I73ALuFHe5

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 30, 2017

Monday Morning Hot Links

I don't even know where to start, except to say that, I sort of need to go soon. Game 5 went so long, took so much out of anyone who was watching, was such an emotional roller coaster, and my alarm had to go off so early. Astros won Game 5, which was a game so insane that it made Game 2 look like it was played in the 1940s. The Astros, who were down 4-0 TO CLAYTON KERSHAW, then down 7-4, down 8-7, then blew their own 3-run lead at 12-9, win 13-12, and take a 3-2 series lead. And on a Sunday night? Jeez, man. Come 7:30pm tonight, I'll have a cup of tea and prepare to go to bed.

This is so awesome. Glad a camera caught it...#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/hutYRPQyqe

— Matt E (@eTrain19) October 30, 2017

*Bregman, who had the walk-off in the bottom of the 10th:
It's an unbelievable moment. You dream about it as a little kid. To be living a dream, one win away from the World Series, is really special.

*The Astros became the fifth team in baseball history to rally from two separate three-run deficits. Hinch:
Just when I thought I could describe Game 2 as my favorite game of the year, I think Game 5 exceeded that and more. It's hard to put into words all the twists and turns in that game, the emotion, doing it at home, in front of our home crowd. Just exactly what you expect to come to the park with Keuchel and Kershaw pitching.

*Jim Crane:
How did that happen? It was like Frazier against Ali there.

*We haven't talked about Dallas Keuchel's 1st inning. And we won't.

*LA Times' Pedro Moura: The Astros Fab Four got it done. Again.

*David Barron took a look at the crucial 7th inning.

*For the first time in World Series history, five players (all of whom play for the Astros) hit a home run in a single game. Click the link for the Firsts of this game.

*The Win Expectancy chart looks like a dad gum EKG.

*Richard Justice said Game 5 was as good as sports get.

*Yahoo's Tim Brown: The Dodgers had hope until the very end.

*CBS Sports' Mike Axisa: What to know about maybe the best World Series game ever.

*USA Today: 11 crazy facts about Game 5.

*Grant Brisbee: The Astros and Dodgers broke the game of baseball into a million pieces. Brisbee:
A common refrain for a game like Game 5 of the 2017 World Series is that baseball is drunk. Baseball is not drunk. Drunk people don't fall up the stairs, through a window, and explode upon contact with the moon.

*Yasiel Puig guaranteed a Game 7.

*NY Post's Joel Sherman: Two of MLB's most reliable bullpen arms have vanished.

*Mike Oz got the story of the fan who stole Yasiel Puig's home run ball and threw it back.

*FanGraphs gives it a 79% chance that the Astros can win one of the next two games.
FiveThirtyEight has the Astros winning one of two in LA at 69%. Even though they give the Dodgers the nod in Games 6 and 7. Don't ask me how the math works.

*Sunday afternoon was marked - if you weren't watching the Texans - by Tom Verducci's report courtesy of pitchers from both teams - that the World Series balls are slicker, making it harder to use a slider. Which would explain how Darvish got rocked so hard. And how Ken Giles can't seem to make a pitch to save his life. Verlander:
I know Mr. Manfred says the balls haven't changed, but there's enough information out there to say that's not true. On the one hand, you can have someone who manufactures the balls say they're not different, and on the other hand, you can say people who have held the ball in their hand their entire lives are saying something different.

*Giles "wasn't surprised" about losing the closer role for Games 5-7.

*I have to go. Like, now.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Every single player should have formed a single-file line, walked past Charlie Morton's locker, shook his hand, and apologized. Morton's masterful performance in Game 4 was absolutely wasted by an offense that clearly wanted a 3-1 lead WITH EACH AT-BAT, and by Will Harris and Ken Giles, who have proven throughout this postseason that they are not to be trusted. Game 5 tonight: Keuchel v Kershaw, vol. 2. The Series is now a best-of-three with potentially two games in Los Angeles.

*Giles:
I didn't do my job. I let the team down. I'm going to be ready to go tomorrow to pick these guys up.

Bro the only thing you better be picking up today is Whataburger, for everybody else.

Hinch:
We've got to get 27 outs. You've got to keep trying to encourage them to do their part and come in and do well. It seems like right now for some of these guys, it's one pitch and things unravel a little bit. That's what happened to Kenny in the ninth. 

*But don't worry! Giles isn't going to watch video or look at his mechanics to see if he can get right:
I can't rely on that stuff. It all lies within me. I need to take care of business with myself before I worry about anything else. 

Giles this postseason: 7.2IP, 12H/10ER, 10K:5BB, 3HR. 11.74 ERA / 2.22 WHIP.

*Ken Davidoff: Giles is Houston's version of Dellin Betances.
The Astros are locked into a tight World Series, and they must plan to win this thing without their closer, who has turned to jelly under the October glare.

*Springer:
I love those guys. I love all these guys in there. This game's hard. They're not out there trying to fail. I hope skip keeps giving 'em the ball. I have the utmost confidence in them, and I'm glad they're on my team.

*Charlie Morton threw 6.1IP, 3H/1ER, 7K:0BB. His one run came thanks to Will Harris. Bullpen: 2.2IP, 4H/5ER, 2K:2BB. McCann:
He had everything going tonight. The sharpness on his pitches was as good as I've seen. He had it all working. 

Hinch, on taking Morton out:
Charlie had done his job. He'd had a little trouble in the sixth, and then obviously was misfiring a little bit in the seventh. In these types of games when it doesn't work out, you obviously look at what could have been.

*Former Pirates beat writer Travis Sawchik walks us through data and anecdotes to detail Charlie Morton's breakout season.

*Musgrove, on the 3-run home run to Joc Pederson:
The Pederson pitch is right where I wanted it - fastball up out of the zone. He just beat me to it. That's baseball. You get away with plenty of fastballs down the middle of the plate that guys foul off. You throw one up out of the zone where you want, and they beat you. I'd be more upset if I threw it down the middle, and he hit it out.

*Tyler Kepner writes about the quick-hook of starters in the playoffs:
In the modern game, especially in the World Series, relievers are more like peacekeepers than firefighters. You call for them before the blaze starts, just to keep things stable.

*Oh don't forget the Astros were held to two hits - both home runs - by George Springer and Alex Bregman. Three-through-nine in the lineup were a combined 0x20, but with only 3K:2BB.

*Bregman can't wait for tonight's Game 5:
I know everyone in here wishes the game was right now. We want to go back out there and play and - I don't know if redeem ourselves is the right word - but we want to go back out there and play right now. This is the World Series. This is going to be a dogfight.

*FanGraphs gives the Astros a 53.7% chance of winning the World Series.
FiveThirtyEight gives to the Dodgers at 56%, with the Dodgers at a 52-48 edge for Game 5.

*Yuli Gurriel will be suspended for the first five games of the 2018 season. Washington Post's Thomas Boswell writes about a racist taunt that fueled a stunning display of civility.

*Hinch's bond with the players is paying off, writes Brian T. Smith.

*FanGraphs' David Laurilia talks Jose Altuve and batting average.

*Wright Thompson on Houston and the Astros? Okay.

*David Schoenfield asks if this is one of the all-time great World Series.

*Mike Oz spent some time with Hailey Dawson, who threw out the first pitch last night.