Wednesday Morning Hot Links

First: If you've been a long-time reader of Astros County dot com you know that I lived in Nashville for over five years. I love that city. I didn't really want to move back to Texas, but I am still happily married (going on 17 years) so it worked out. Obviously we still have a number of friends in Nashville who, I'm happy to report, are all okay. There are many who aren't. You can donate to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee here.

The Astros lost to the Cardinals. The Grapefruit League is the same trope in a lot of northeastern college basketball in which it seems like every time you look at ESPN's Bottom Line Iona has beaten Siena. The Astros only play the Nationals, Yankees, Braves, Cardinals, and Tigers. There's no other games.

Dustin Garneau hit a homer. Correa had a double. Kyle Tucker is still 0xSpring Training. Verlander threw 2.2IP, 3H/3R (2ER), 3K:1BB, Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy allowed 2H/0ER, 4K:0BB in 3IP, Forrest Whitley walked one with two strikeouts in 1IP.

The best news is that Verlander's groin is as okay as you can expect when you're married to Kate Upton. Verlander, who hit 97mph:
Today, first and foremost, was to come out of it feeling good. Having no issues with the groin. Check. Hoping that the velo's decent, which I think it was for this time of year. Better than normal.

*Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez were both out - Altuve with The Sickness and Yordan with sore knees (this is absolutely not a good sign). Dusty:
We decided not to play (Yordan) in the outfield. We decided not to DH him. Just give him a couple of days to get over some soreness. He's OK.

Add Martin Maldonado to that list, with a sore thumb.

*Dusty said that today's outing from Forrest Whitley was the best he's seen of Whitley, which makes sense because Whitley hasn't been around Dusty so much:
That's the best I've seen him. That's the highest velocity I've seen (from him) since I've been here. He was a lot better. 

Forrest Whitley is QB1 with a confidence issue. He needs short passes to get his dander all up to eventually get to the long ball (but not the home run type). Today was a short pass day and he completed a few of them. Good for Forrest Whitley.

*Jose Urquidy is working on his release point, and it's going pretty well.

*Former Astros Great Dallas Keuchel spent $25,000 on a team dinner and noted asshat Tim Anderson changed his tune about the 2017 Astros. Anderson:
Man, that was unbelievable. That definitely helps team chemistry, letting you know the bond we have, and that we're cool with each other. It says a lot about the man for doing that. 

I'm old enough to remember less than two weeks ago when Tim Anderson said to someone with a microphone:
We're coming for everyone the same way but they have a little icing on their cake. They cheated us so many games we played, we got to make it sweet for them. We're trying to knock everybody's heads off, from the owner down to the trainer. Everybody, it don't matter. If you're a Houston Astro, we're coming. 

Damn those are Big Words with Intent. But a 2017 Astro buys Tim Anderson a Really Good Burger and he changes that tune awfully quick. Fraud.

*Noted Fraud A-Rod said that the Astros need to show more remorse. You know, like he did.

*The Great Model Train Robbery.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

I'm going to feel really stupid voicing Concerns about a team that's 9-2. If I'm a Twins fan, I'm livid right now. The Twins had:

-Runners on the corners with nobody out in the 6th
-Bases loaded with one out in the 8th
-One on when Byron Buxton hit a freaking bomb in the 9th that curled JUSTFOUL.

And lost 2-0. Hinch:
We knew we were going to have to score one run to try and scratch and claw and get the lead, and those leads feel really big in elements like tonight. Definitely a different game when it's played in these elements. We thought it would be low scoring, but we didn't know how difficult it would be to finish the game.

The Astros got seven hits - two for extra-bases - and still struck out 13 times, tying a season high. It's their 7th game with double-digit strikeouts. They went 1x10 w/RISP (Twins went 1x11). Carlos Correa was 2x4 with a double.

-Jake Marisnick has struck out 13 times in 28 PAs.
-George Springer has struck out 14 times in 50 PAs.
-Derek Fisher has struck out 12 times in 26 PAs.

*But Verlander was dominant, throwing 7IP, 4H/0ER, 9K:1BB. Verlander:
We don't need to score a ton of runs to win every single day. Honestly, one through five, the starting pitcher has a chance to do something great and limit the other team. Our offense knows that and it keeps them in the game, too.

The Astros' pitching staff has allowed one run in their last three games, seven runs in their last five. They've held their opponent to two runs or less in seven of the eleven games in 2018.

*Chandler Rome highlights Ken Giles first save of the season with a tale of two quotes.
Hinch: Kenny needed that. We wanted a confidence builder for him and getting the last out was going to be huge for him, if he could do it.
Giles: I don't need a confidence booster. I believe in myself and I believe in the guys behind me.

*Twins starter Lance Lynn is beating himself up, folks. Asked whether the cold led to the four walks and his early exit, Lynn:
(Verlander) pitched in it too and got through seven, right? I didn't do my job.

*The 1972 Astros also started 9-2, winning nine straight after dropping the first two games of the season to the Giants. The 1972 Astros' 9th win of came on a walk-off against the Cubs, their 2nd walk-off against the Cubs in three days. Led by Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Bob Watson, Lee May, Don Wilson, and Larry Dierker, the 1972 Astros would scuffle down the stretch, finishing the season 84-69, 10.5 games behind the Reds.

Astros through 11 games:
2018: 9-2
2017: 7-4
2016: 4-7
2015: 5-6
2014: 4-7
2013: 4-7
2012: 4-7
2011: 3-8
2010: 2-9
2009: 4-7

*It was 35 degrees at first pitch last night, the second-coldest first pitch in Astros' history.

*A 24-hour bug has gone through the clubhouse like Padres pitching. Yesterday it got Josh Reddick. Hinch:
If he has a fever, he'll be the warmest guy in the room.

*Hunter Atkins wonders if Brad Peacock is now the Astros' closer, and notes that Justin Verlander worked with Ken Giles before Sunday's game. Atkins:
Before Sunday's game, Giles worked on sharpening his mechanics with starter Justin Verlander in the outfield. It looked like Verlander was reviewing the importance of staying on top of the ball and squatting deeper with his lower half.

*Yuli Gurriel will be ready by Friday.

*McTaggart notes that Former Astros Great Jason Castro was pretty happy for the Astros - especially George Springer - last year.

*JC Correa - Carlos' brother - has committed to Lamar.

*The New York Daily News' John Harper has apparently at least checked Baseball-Reference and decided that Gerrit Cole would have been a pretty good call for Brian Cashman:
Again, (Cashman) might be proven right in the long run. At the moment, however, Cole looks like he would have been well worth the cost.

*Whataburger Field in Corpus will have a third base-line bar open until midnight during every home game.

*Check out this drone footage of the inside of the Astrodome.

Around MLB

*Jay Jaffe says the Dodgers will (probably) be fine.

*Looking forward to reading Bob Klapisch's forthcoming book on the 2018 Yankees and the (ideal) heartbreak that will come with getting owned by the Astros (again). But Bob Klapisch is Good and I like him.

*Evan P. Grant writes that Cole White Privilege Hamels is in a new phase of his career: a finesse lefty who no longer has overpowering stuff.

*Alex Rodriguez wishes he never would have signed with the Rangers and followed his heart to the Mets.

*MLB players have routinely said that Boston is the roughest place to play and I'm shocked. I mean, 38,000 dudes named Sully getting drunk on Narragansett while watching baseball in a living history museum? Inconceivable.

*You already know the Marlins' leadership was terrible. Now FanGraphs' Sheryl Ring shows you just how terrible.

*This honky ate a California Reaper - the world's hottest chili pepper - and then got "thunderclap headaches".

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

LOLOLOLOLOLOL *head falls off* The Astros only managed four hits against the Twins' Tyler Duffey. The Twins. Tyler Duffey. Tyyyyylllllerrrrrrrr. Duuuuuuuffffffffeeeeeeyyyyyyy. He lowered his ERA from 6.21 to 5.93 and this is shameful.

Hinch:
We didn't play well enough to win. That's been troublesome for a couple weeks now. You've got to play better to win. For Collin McHugh, I thought the line's going to not represent how he pitched. There were a few balls hit hard, and a few balls that could've been played behind him. They got a lot of hits...all in all just a bad game.

*The main remote-throwing play was Carlos Gomez lollygaggin around center field in the 5th, causing Collin McHugh to question everything he knows. Gomez was his totem. The Twins thought it was hilarious.

That play made it 2-0 Twins and, to be honest, allowing two runs is just too much to ask of the offense right now, which is quite offensive. Gomez, who made another mistake in center, doesn't feel sexy right now:
The first one was hit really hard and I missed (it) in my glove, and the second one, I (didn't) know where the ball was. We lost the game because of that. I feel worse than anyone in this clubhouse. 

Nay, says McHugh, who is likely doing some damage control after Root Sports showed him reacting like pretty much everyone else watching the game:
We didn't lose because of defensive blunders. We lost because I gave up 11 hits, 10 hits, something like that. They strung some hits together, put guys on base and scored more runs than we did. One or two plays isn't deciding the game tonight, that's for sure. 

*A.J. Hinch said Gomez won't be in the lineup for tonight's game, and any time beyond that is yet to be determined. Preston Tucker is the only other option on the 25-Man roster. Hinch:
We've been pretty beat up in a lot of ways and you keep trying to hang in there with guys. You want to encourage more than anything. Clearly it's been a rough patch for him for a while. I'll take a look and see how it comes out tomorrow.

*Bregman, Springer and Correa went a combined 3x12. Marwin had your other hit.

*The Rangers scored three runs in the 9th to beat the Rockies because everything is just awful right now. The Mariners won, the A's won. Here's your division:

Southwest Paris: -
Seattle: -7
Houston: -8.5

WC1: -
WC2: -2.5
HOU: -4

*FanGraphs has the Astros at 3.9% to win the division, 12.9% to make the postseason.
*FiveThirtyEight has the Astros at 5% to win the division, 15% to make the postseason.
*Baseball Prospectus has the Astros at 3.3% to win the division, 12.8% to make the postseason.

*Luke Gregerson is progressing through his oblique strain. He threw off the mound yesterday and is expected to throw again on Thursday. Valbuena (hamstring) is running on a treadmill, but not on the field.

*Yulieski Gurriel aka The Train That Came Too Late is heading to Corpus, and is on track to join the Astros on August 16.

*And speaking of Yulieski Gurriel, his much younger brother Lourdes has just been declared a free agent but he likely isn't going to sign until after his October 19 birthday, when teams can sign him without being subject to international spending limits. Back in July we talked about the Yulieski signing as a gateway drug to signing Lourdes.

*Jonathan Arauz (acquired in the Ken Giles deal) and Kyle Tucker made MLBPipeline's Prospect Team of the Week.

*Fresno was named by Sports Illustrated as having two of the top 10 theme nights.

*You should definitely read Jon Heyman's piece on A-Rod. Buster Olney listed the Astros as a possibility to take a flier on A-Rod.

*Tim Tebow will pursue a career as a baseball player, if you care, which you shouldn't and probably don't.

*Vice Sports: Why Enes Kanter has a new name.

Sunday Morning Link Dump

Back from vacation and with two decent nights' sleep behind me, let's get back to some postings, eh?

At 43-34, the Astros have a 53.9% chance to win the division, according to FanGraphs, and a 66% chance of making the postseason. Baseball Prospectus puts the division chance at 46.7% with postseason chance at 61.2%.

*A.J. Hinch said he was "disappointed" at Oberholtzer throwing at A-Rod, which led to his ejection and, seemingly, his demotion to Triple-A after the game. Hinch talked to both A-Rod and manager Joe Girardi.

*Oberholtzer said he wasn't throwing at A-Rod, just that his command sucked all game. It didn't prevent CC Sabathia from storming the field and having to be restrained by Girardi.

*Michael Feliz may be coming up to replace Oberholtzer.

*Cole Hamels hasn't ruled out a trade to the Astros, but admitted that he didn't think they would be this good. Hamels:
I had to make a list back in October. I came up with a criteria based on a lot of things - winning and losing, family. It was only nine teams. Those teams were in the middle of the pack...(The Astros) just didn't make the nine-team list. When I made the list in October - who knew?

*Corpus' Conrad Gregor's defense from the beginning of the season to now is "like night and day."

*Scott Feldman is progressing in his rehab stint, throwing a workout session before yesterday's game.

*Colby Rasmus has a skin infection on his arm.

*As the season progresses, the Astros will try to skip starts or make some relief appearances in order to limit McCullers' and Velasquez's innings. And Scott Boras likes the Astros' plan. (Whew!)

*Chris Young vs. Houston, career: .336/.399/.615. Chris Young at Minute Maid Park, career: .407/.445/.769. Don't pitch to Chris Young.

My Ridiculous Trade Proposal, About Which I Am Totally Serious

The Astros biggest need, in my estimation, is a third baseman. Matt Dominguez now has 1300+ major league plate appearances with a .275 on base percentage, and is trending down. There are several prospects in the system that could take that spot, including Colin Moran and Rio Ruiz, but they are not ready yet, and are not sure things. The free agent market is one option, but could require a 5 or 6 year commitment to a declining asset.

Meanwhile, in New York, there is a team with a 3rd Baseman, who, by all accounts, they are done with. That's right, I'm talking about Alex Rodriguez. I know what you are thinking. He's overpaid, he's declining, he's a cheater, he once posed for a picture kissing himself in the mirror. All those things are true, and are the reason why he might be obtainable for very little. He is also, almost certainly, a legitimate upgrade at third. A-Rod has never posted a wRC+ under 113, and his full season low on base percentage is .348. Even in 2013, he put up .5 WAR in just 44 games. There is no guarantee he could produce those numbers after a year off at 39, but the bar to upgrade 3rd base is very low. I think its safe to assume he could be a legitimate 2 win upgrade over what the Astros had at 3rd last year.

This might not be a safe assumption, but assume the Astros would be able to absorb a large chunk of A-rod's contract. Right now, he's due to be paid 20 million a year for the next three years. Lets say the Astros take on 15 million of that. In that event, the Yankees might practically give him away. The Astros' surplus of catchers matches up with the Yankees' need. They have Brian McCann, but just lost their backup to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Carlos Corporan put up another fine season, and has proven himself to be a worthy backup. Would Carlos Corporan for Alex Rodriguez be something the Yankees would consider? I'm not sure, but it actually makes a lot of sense for both sides.

The Astros would have an immediate upgrade at 3rd, and the Yankees would be freed of a player they no longer desire, plus getting a nice backup catcher. The three year commitment is probably better than the Astros could do in the free agent market, and in the event one of the Ruiz or Moran is ready earlier, Rodriguez could easily move to a 1st/3rd/DH rotation.

A-Rod to skip Astros series

Want to watch A-Rod before 2015? You better figure out a way to watch the Yankees/Rays game, because he has been given permission by the newly-eliminated Yankees to skip the Astros series in order to prepare for his arbitration hearing...

When arbitration begins on Monday, Rodriguez will be backed by an expensive team of attorneys who will do what they can to discredit Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, who has cooperated with MLB, turning over a trove of documents and personal communications that baseball says reflect Rodriguez as a shameless violator of the league's anti-doping policies.

But hey, Jeter will be in the dugout. And will probably have a suburban full of gift baskets for Ladies Night.

Hold up. The New York Post's Joel Sherman has this:

With pub report out that A-Rod won't be in Hou to prep for arb, I asked person close to Alex who said he "will be there" in Hou. #Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) September 26, 2013