*Jared "Crazy Eyes" Hughes opted out of his contract with the Astros, who inexplicably didn't add him to their 40-Man Roster.
*Astros' minor-leaguers - you know, the future of the organization - will get some temporary relief from the Big-League club. 2019 3rd Round pick Jordan Brewer:
Which would be kind of funny being back at home and everyone sees this professional baseball player doing DoorDash. They'd ask if it was some kind of joke. No. Like, I need the money.
*
WELCOME TO STARCH MADNESS— Parker Lund (@ParkourLund) March 19, 2020
The ultimate bracket tournament to decide which starch reigns supreme
Retweet, like, and follow us to help raise money for local food banks!
Fill out your bracket in the polls below!! pic.twitter.com/OQW9olagiX
*The Athletic's Jake Kaplan has a mailbag in which he addresses the Astros' all-time Houston lineup, 2020 outfield, and future Opening Day starters.
*Chris Sale will miss all of 2020 and most of 2021, if not all, after he undergoes Tommy John Surgery, which seems awfully non-essential to me given the state of the current global pandemic, but some Sully from Brookline will happily do it in his attic.
*Yahoo's Tim Brown and Hannah Keyser have a Coronavirus FAQ on the what/ifs of when (with a very pointed "If") baseball is played in 2020.
*Upwards of 40 minor-league teams might not make it through the season if they can't play games.
*Eno Sarris, Trent Rosencrans, and Jayson Stark came up with their own, home-made, version of "Codebreaker" and how to break it. You can download it for Excel. There's Tyler Bauer quotes. You can get a 90-Day Free Trial from The Athletic. I hitched my wagon to The Athletic's policy on free-lancing, and then I got dropped like 3rd Period French when they moved the goalposts, but they still churn out Good Content.
*The 2020 Draft might get canceled with the possibility of a combined 2020-2021 Draft being considered..
*The self-quarantine for UH's baseball team has been lifted.
*All UIL activities have been suspended/postponed though May 4.
*
Thank you, Texas, for the outpouring interest from people looking for ways to lend a hand at H-E-B. Here are a few things you can do to help! #COVID19 #TexasStrong #SlowtheSpreadTexas pic.twitter.com/ujCFaMX6qI— H-E-B Newsroom (@HEBNewsroom) March 19, 2020
*Sean Payton has it. My wife's 27-year old cousin tested positive (and is in quarantine) as of Wednesday. So many more of us who don't even show symptoms have it. Stay home.
Just spoke with a doctor, who works in a hospital ER in the U.S.— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) March 19, 2020
His synopsis: "we don't have enough masks, we don't have enough testing units, the nasal swab test is 62% sensitive (accurate)," and on he went.
His advice? "Stay the fuck home. It's not worth going out."
*A Musical Selection:
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