The Astros came back from a 4-0 deficit to win their 8th straight game against the Rangers, in extra innings. It's their 24th comeback win of the season. Houston is 57-31.
*The Astros improved to 7-18 when trailing to start the 3rd inning. They're now 3-4 in extra-inning games and 11-16 in one-run games. Houston is 12-4 against West Tyler. Hinch:
Our bullpen did exactly what we needed. Getting down by four, we didn't have much margin for error. The bullpen holds it while we can come back and have a big win. It will be nice to get home.
Since the Harvey series in Tampa, Houston is 15-4 against the Ramgers, outscoring them 114-54.
*Gerrit Cole threw 5IP, 8H/4ER, 7K:2BB. It's the 3rd time in his last five starts that he's allowed 4ER but the 16th time in 18 starts that Cole has recorded at least one strikeout per inning pitched. Houston is 15-3 in games Gerrit Cole starts. Cole:
This was a fun game. Throwing the [pitching] line aside, nobody cares about that. It's about getting the W, it's about guys contributing from all ends - defensively, offensively. McHugh had a hell of a game, Giles looked as good as he can look to lock the ballgame down. Just a complete team effort.
*Collin McHugh threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB. His season ERA is 0.90. Since allowing his last earned run on May 30, McHugh has thrown 14.1IP, 3H/0ER, 16K:2BB.
*Ken Giles threw a perfect 10th inning, striking out two batters in the process. KENNETH BACK, BABY.
*Josh Reddick was 3x4 with a walk, stolen base, and a two-run home run. It's his 3rd 3-hit game of the year. The Astros are 13-3 when Josh Reddick gets 2+ hits in a game, and 6-0 when he hits a home run. It's the 1st time this season Reddick has hit a home run on back-to-back days, and the first time since April 8-9, 2016.
*Evan Gattis hit the go-ahead sac fly in the 10th and went 1x4 with an RBI.
*Yuli Gurriel homered, doubled, and scored twice. It's his 25th multi-hit game of the season - the Astros are 21-4 in such games.
*George Springer was 0x4 with 3Ks. Marwin was 0x4 with two GIDPs.
*Alex Bregman drew his 50th walk of the season last night. Only four Astros drew 50+ walks in 2017, and George Springer led the team with 64. Bregman has a 13.0% BB-rate. Ten Astros have combined for 36 individual seasons with a BB-rate over 13.0%.
Jeff Bagwell (10 times with at least a 13.0% BB-rate), Lance Berkman (9 times), Joe Morgan (6 times), Jimmy Wynn (5 times), Denis Menke, Joe Ferguson, Bill Doran, Craig Biggio, Morgan Ensberg, and Dexter Fowler (1 time each).
Bregman would be the 11th player in franchise history, should this pace hold.
*Houston has now hit a home run in 27 consecutive road games, three shy of Oakland's MLB record.
*Carlos Correa - eligible to come off the DL tomorrow - still has not been cleared for baseball activities.
*Despite McCann's surgery and Stassi's hand - which is feeling "better than expected" - Evan Gattis will remain the primary DH. Hinch:
Obviously, I like what he's doing as the DH and I want him to do that. Stassi and (Federowicz) will get the innings behind the plate....Gattis is going to catch a bullpen today and is still doing minimum things to keep himself viable in case something happens, but not as a primary catcher.
*Jake Kaplan has a cool article in The Athletic on Justin Verlander's immaculate preparation for a start.
*MLB.com's Mark Feinsand has five relievers the Astros could target this month. A Feinsand source:
It's going to be really hard for them to upgrade given that adding someone means pushing a capable - even good - reliever like Sipp, Harris, or McHugh off the playoff roster. There's pressure to do something, but it doesn't really make sense.
The five possible relievers include Zach Britton, Miami's Adam Conley, San Diego's Brad Hand, Cincinnati's Raisel Iglesias, and Oakland's Blake Treinen.
*Here's a cool story from the Chronicle's A&M beat writer Brent Zwerneman, on his Uncle Jimmy.
*The Astros have a season-long 11-game homestand starting tonight against the White Sox, whom the Astros swept and outscored 27-2 from April 20-22.
*The strange brain of the world's greatest solo climber.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Brad Hand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brad Hand. Show all posts
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Friday, June 22, 2018
Friday Morning Hot Links
Off-Day! Gonna make this quick as I'm in the hotel lobby drinking coffee as quickly as I can before my wife and daughter wake up. Also, I have tightness in my throwing elbow and I'm nervous as can be that I'll need Tommy Blog surgery.
*MLB.com's David Adler writes that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are dominating because of their four-seam fastballs, and how the Astros are having them throw them. Verlander:
Just because you throw hard doesn't mean you have our profile. [Cole] is somebody who has good four-seam hop, and that plays well. You can't lump everybody in and say, 'Oh, OK, you throw hard, you should throw fastballs at the top of the zone.' It doesn't work like that. But [the Astros] identified him very similarly to what they did with me - like, 'You're basically doing guys favors trying to throw them two-seamers at the bottom of the zone.
*Brian McTaggart says the most pressing question for the Astros is whether or not the rotation can keep up this workload. The Astros' rotation has recorded 18 outs in nine straight games, and in 61 games overall this season. I'm not going to compare that to the rest of the division, or league, because I don't have that much time. But that's, uh, that's a lot. Houston's bullpen has thrown 208.1IP in 2018, ranking 2nd-fewest in MLB (Cleveland's bullpen has thrown 196IP, but has also played three fewer games than the Astros). AL West bullpen innings:
Houston: 208.1
Seattle: 241
Upper Oak Cliff: 262.2
Oakland: 265.1
Anaheim: 280.1
*To that point, here's an AP story explaining how the Royals are hoping to "expose the Astros vulnerable bullpen." ... ?
*Jake Kaplan in The Athletic: The time Charlie Morton moonlighted as a wedding singer.
*Brian T. Smith writes that Luhnow has managed to balance the present with the future.
*Check MK Bower in Forbes on Luhnow's commitment to sustained success.
*Tim Kurkjian went on a San Diego radio station to say that the Padres should be expecting calls from Houston and Cleveland about lefty reliever Brad Hand.
*Down in Fresno, where Frankie Tuesday hasn't pitched since April 29, there's an update from Chandler Rome in which we find that Martes' elbow has him shut down likely until late July or August.
Next APB is for J.B. Bukauskas.
Off-Day Playoff Odds Check
FanGraphs (105-57): Win Division: 98.5%; Make Playoffs: 99.9%; Win World Series: 25.4%
FiveThirtyEight (106-56): Win Division: 92%; Make Playoffs: 99%; Win World Series: 26%
Baseball Prospectus (102-60): Win Division: 95.5%; Make Playoffs: 99%; Win World Series: 16.9%
*Congratulations to the now-engaged Josh Reddick. Sorry, ladies (or guys, whatever, live your truth), that American flag Speedo is now taken.
*Fresno straight shut down Albuquerque with an 8-0 win last night. Cy Sneed threw his first CGSHO, 9IP, 2H/0ER, 11K:2BB. Kyle Tucker was 3x5 with 2RBI and his 10th home run of the season.
*Congratulations to Corpus' Randy Cesar, who set the Texas League record last night with a hit in 38 straight games.
*And if you missed getting a ring on Wednesday night, go down to Corpus on Sunday and get one there.
*Listen to My Buddy Patrick's debut radio gig with The Shift on 610.
*MLB.com's David Adler writes that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are dominating because of their four-seam fastballs, and how the Astros are having them throw them. Verlander:
Just because you throw hard doesn't mean you have our profile. [Cole] is somebody who has good four-seam hop, and that plays well. You can't lump everybody in and say, 'Oh, OK, you throw hard, you should throw fastballs at the top of the zone.' It doesn't work like that. But [the Astros] identified him very similarly to what they did with me - like, 'You're basically doing guys favors trying to throw them two-seamers at the bottom of the zone.
*Brian McTaggart says the most pressing question for the Astros is whether or not the rotation can keep up this workload. The Astros' rotation has recorded 18 outs in nine straight games, and in 61 games overall this season. I'm not going to compare that to the rest of the division, or league, because I don't have that much time. But that's, uh, that's a lot. Houston's bullpen has thrown 208.1IP in 2018, ranking 2nd-fewest in MLB (Cleveland's bullpen has thrown 196IP, but has also played three fewer games than the Astros). AL West bullpen innings:
Houston: 208.1
Seattle: 241
Upper Oak Cliff: 262.2
Oakland: 265.1
Anaheim: 280.1
*To that point, here's an AP story explaining how the Royals are hoping to "expose the Astros vulnerable bullpen." ... ?
*Jake Kaplan in The Athletic: The time Charlie Morton moonlighted as a wedding singer.
*Brian T. Smith writes that Luhnow has managed to balance the present with the future.
*Check MK Bower in Forbes on Luhnow's commitment to sustained success.
*Tim Kurkjian went on a San Diego radio station to say that the Padres should be expecting calls from Houston and Cleveland about lefty reliever Brad Hand.
*Down in Fresno, where Frankie Tuesday hasn't pitched since April 29, there's an update from Chandler Rome in which we find that Martes' elbow has him shut down likely until late July or August.
Next APB is for J.B. Bukauskas.
Off-Day Playoff Odds Check
FanGraphs (105-57): Win Division: 98.5%; Make Playoffs: 99.9%; Win World Series: 25.4%
FiveThirtyEight (106-56): Win Division: 92%; Make Playoffs: 99%; Win World Series: 26%
Baseball Prospectus (102-60): Win Division: 95.5%; Make Playoffs: 99%; Win World Series: 16.9%
*Congratulations to the now-engaged Josh Reddick. Sorry, ladies (or guys, whatever, live your truth), that American flag Speedo is now taken.
*Fresno straight shut down Albuquerque with an 8-0 win last night. Cy Sneed threw his first CGSHO, 9IP, 2H/0ER, 11K:2BB. Kyle Tucker was 3x5 with 2RBI and his 10th home run of the season.
*Congratulations to Corpus' Randy Cesar, who set the Texas League record last night with a hit in 38 straight games.
*And if you missed getting a ring on Wednesday night, go down to Corpus on Sunday and get one there.
*Listen to My Buddy Patrick's debut radio gig with The Shift on 610.
I just need to tweet this so it’s saved somewhere forever. 🤷🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/ojTY5LSzbX— 🅗🅔🅐🅣🅗🅔🅡 (@crushcitylove) June 21, 2018
Monday, July 31, 2017
Monday Morning Hot Links
Trade Deadline is at 3pm Central today, four hours before the Astros take on the Rays. We'll update as we can throughout the day, but will definitely have something up by 5pm, regardless of what happens. And there's a new Lima Time Time tonight.
*Absolute beat-down yesterday at the hands of the Tigers as the Astros lose 13-1, their worst loss of the season, and lose their first road series since April 25-27 against Cleveland. The Astros are 68-36, 16 games up on the Mariners, with 58 games remaining.
*Astros versus:
NL: 9-1 (.900)
AL West: 31-14 (.689)
AL East: 15-8 (.652)
AL Central: 13-13 (.500)
The Astros are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 11-9 in their last 20 games.
*Lance McCullers yesterday: 5IP, 8H/5ER, 4K:4BB. In the month of July, McCullers has made four starts, throwing 18.2IP, 32H/20ER, 15K:11BB. This is not good. Hey guess what: McCullers couldn't locate his fastball again! Here's McCullers:
I don't care about my numbers, personally. I think I've gone out there the past couple times and put the team in a bad spot with the way I've thrown, so that's more frustrating.
*Astros starters have thrown 122.2IP in July, second-fewest in the Majors over that span.
*The bullpen has allowed 37 runs in their last 33IP. In July, Astros relievers posted an AL-worst 5.79 ERA (4.81 FIP/4.05 xFIP) for a -0.2 fWAR, 4th-worst in the Majors. They've collectively given up 1.93 HR/9 - worst in the Majors over this month.
*Tony Sipp:
The box score doesn't show it, but I feel really good.
No, the box score doesn't show that he feels good. What the box score does show is that Sipp threw 0.1IP, 3H/5ER, 0K:2BB yesterday. The box score shows that Sipp has a 6.39 ERA. A quick look at FanGraphs tells you that his 6.39 ERA is inflated, but it's not as though a 5.05 FIP is good, especially when he's your only lefty reliever option.
*Will Harris, activated from the DL on Friday, was put back on the DL yesterday morning. Harris:
It just was still painful to throw. We didn't think that was going to be the case when I got activated...But it didn't quite get better like we thought.
*Tyler White pitched the bottom of the 8th, if you want to know how things are going. Hinch:
We're not in a good spot right now. We're beat up. And we're having to wear it a little bit.
*Joe Musgrove is pouting a little bit, being in the bullpen:
It's fun being down there, knowing you have a chance to throw every day, but I wish I could throw more. Maybe down the line I'll get a chance in a more high-leverage situation, but right now, I'm just trying to do my job.
Musgrove allowed back-to-back RBI doubles yesterday.
*
*The Astros were the favorites to land Justin Wilson, who shut them down on Saturday, but ultimately thefu Cubs won the bidding war. Chicago traded their #4 prospect and their #17 prospect (according to FanGraphs) for Wilson AND catcher Alex Avila. FanGraphs called them "interesting but superfluous" prospects. Dave Cameron:
Part of why you develop prospects is to exchange them for big leaguers when you need the help, and the Cubs needed to get better this year to take advantage of their current window to win.
Hm. That sounds familiar. Anyway, 3B Jeimer Candelario is a 23-year old 3B completely blocked by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Think "Tony Kemp." Now he's one of two players traded for a really good lefty reliever. Cool.
*Joel Sherman says the Astros are the strongest pursuer of Zach Britton and are willing to take the chance on his forearm holding up "because his upside would give them the best chance to win series in October. Baltimore wants an Aroldis Chapman-like return.
*The price for Brad Hand is still "insanely high," though maybe toned down a little, given what the Tigers took for Justin Wilson.
*Ken Rosenthal's latest post on Facebook tells us the following:
-The Dodgers and Yankees are the hottest on Darvish
-The Yankees and A's are at a stalemate on Sonny Gray
-The Dodgers are more focused on Zach Britton and could make a push for Gray if the Yankees back out.
The Dodgers are 74-31.
*David Schoenfield:
There's enough talent for the Astros to make a trade and keep the talent pipeline flowing. What deal will Luhnow make?
*Let's keep in mind that the Rangers just traded Jonathan Lucroy to Colorado for a PTBNL 363 days after trading Lewis Brinson (a Top 20 prospect) and Luis Ortiz (a Top 100 prospect) to get him.
*Did you know that Jeffrey Robert got inducted into the Hall of Fame yesterday?
*Former Astro Lee May passed away at 74. May was the key piece in the Cincinnati trade that gave the Reds Joe Morgan, and he was later traded to Baltimore for Enos Cabell.
*HISD is the 2nd-largest employer of people receiving housing help.
*Absolute beat-down yesterday at the hands of the Tigers as the Astros lose 13-1, their worst loss of the season, and lose their first road series since April 25-27 against Cleveland. The Astros are 68-36, 16 games up on the Mariners, with 58 games remaining.
*Astros versus:
NL: 9-1 (.900)
AL West: 31-14 (.689)
AL East: 15-8 (.652)
AL Central: 13-13 (.500)
The Astros are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 11-9 in their last 20 games.
*Lance McCullers yesterday: 5IP, 8H/5ER, 4K:4BB. In the month of July, McCullers has made four starts, throwing 18.2IP, 32H/20ER, 15K:11BB. This is not good. Hey guess what: McCullers couldn't locate his fastball again! Here's McCullers:
I don't care about my numbers, personally. I think I've gone out there the past couple times and put the team in a bad spot with the way I've thrown, so that's more frustrating.
*Astros starters have thrown 122.2IP in July, second-fewest in the Majors over that span.
*The bullpen has allowed 37 runs in their last 33IP. In July, Astros relievers posted an AL-worst 5.79 ERA (4.81 FIP/4.05 xFIP) for a -0.2 fWAR, 4th-worst in the Majors. They've collectively given up 1.93 HR/9 - worst in the Majors over this month.
*Tony Sipp:
The box score doesn't show it, but I feel really good.
No, the box score doesn't show that he feels good. What the box score does show is that Sipp threw 0.1IP, 3H/5ER, 0K:2BB yesterday. The box score shows that Sipp has a 6.39 ERA. A quick look at FanGraphs tells you that his 6.39 ERA is inflated, but it's not as though a 5.05 FIP is good, especially when he's your only lefty reliever option.
*Will Harris, activated from the DL on Friday, was put back on the DL yesterday morning. Harris:
It just was still painful to throw. We didn't think that was going to be the case when I got activated...But it didn't quite get better like we thought.
*Tyler White pitched the bottom of the 8th, if you want to know how things are going. Hinch:
We're not in a good spot right now. We're beat up. And we're having to wear it a little bit.
*Joe Musgrove is pouting a little bit, being in the bullpen:
It's fun being down there, knowing you have a chance to throw every day, but I wish I could throw more. Maybe down the line I'll get a chance in a more high-leverage situation, but right now, I'm just trying to do my job.
Musgrove allowed back-to-back RBI doubles yesterday.
*
#Astros didn't make major move before last deadline and it was noticed in clubhouse. Will be even more of letdown this year if nothing done.— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) July 30, 2017
*The Astros were the favorites to land Justin Wilson, who shut them down on Saturday, but ultimately the
Part of why you develop prospects is to exchange them for big leaguers when you need the help, and the Cubs needed to get better this year to take advantage of their current window to win.
Hm. That sounds familiar. Anyway, 3B Jeimer Candelario is a 23-year old 3B completely blocked by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Think "Tony Kemp." Now he's one of two players traded for a really good lefty reliever. Cool.
*Joel Sherman says the Astros are the strongest pursuer of Zach Britton and are willing to take the chance on his forearm holding up "because his upside would give them the best chance to win series in October. Baltimore wants an Aroldis Chapman-like return.
*The price for Brad Hand is still "insanely high," though maybe toned down a little, given what the Tigers took for Justin Wilson.
*Ken Rosenthal's latest post on Facebook tells us the following:
-The Dodgers and Yankees are the hottest on Darvish
-The Yankees and A's are at a stalemate on Sonny Gray
-The Dodgers are more focused on Zach Britton and could make a push for Gray if the Yankees back out.
The Dodgers are 74-31.
*David Schoenfield:
There's enough talent for the Astros to make a trade and keep the talent pipeline flowing. What deal will Luhnow make?
*Let's keep in mind that the Rangers just traded Jonathan Lucroy to Colorado for a PTBNL 363 days after trading Lewis Brinson (a Top 20 prospect) and Luis Ortiz (a Top 100 prospect) to get him.
*Did you know that Jeffrey Robert got inducted into the Hall of Fame yesterday?
*Former Astro Lee May passed away at 74. May was the key piece in the Cincinnati trade that gave the Reds Joe Morgan, and he was later traded to Baltimore for Enos Cabell.
*HISD is the 2nd-largest employer of people receiving housing help.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Saturday Morning Hot Links
*Josh Reddick did a good thing to overcome a sluggish return from two months off from Dallas Keuchel, Brad Peacock pitched well in what was essentially a 4th-inning start, and the Astros beat the Tigers 6-5. The Astros are 68-34. Seattle lost so the Astros are 18 games up. There are 60 games remaining.
*The Astros have come from behind to win 29 times this season.
*Reddick hit a three-run homer in the 8th inning to put the Astros up 6-5. It was his 10th home run of the season, making him the 11th Astro with 10+ home runs, tying the 2015 team. Reddick had 5RBI on the night, a season-high, and his first 5RBI game since September 24, 2016. Hinch:
He had the two sac flies and I told him, 'Go get another RBI,' and he said, 'How about three?'
Reddick also said that the Astros weren't real impressed with Nick Castellanos' reaction to his own 3-run home run off Keuchel earlier:
You're pumped up, your teammates are pumped up. The way [Castellanos'] three-run homer was kind of pimped...wasn't really sitting with us too well. I felt like we had all the right to do it right back.
Here's the video of Castellanos' homer. See for yourself if he pimped it.
*Reddick thinks maybe his concussion on June 12 "knocked something right."
*Dallas Keuchel threw 79 pitches in 3IP, allowing 6H/3ER, 3K:3BB. Keuchel:
I felt really good, so that's a positive. But just gotta commend them for laying off some pitches early. That was probably their game plan all along.
*Brad Peacock threw 4IP, 3H/2ER, 4K:1BB. He gave up just his 2nd home run of the season in 75.2IP. 129 pitchers in MLB have thrown at least 70IP and Brad Peacock's 0.24 HR/9 rate is the best among those pitchers.
*Jose Altuve hit a 1st inning triple and ended up with yet another 3-hit game to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. He now has more 3+ hit games (19) than he does games without a hit (18).
*1-3 in the lineup (Fisher, Altuve, Reddick): 6x10. 7-9 in the lineup (McCann, Bregman, Aoki): 0x11.
*The Astros only struck out three times in the game, the 8th time this season they've had three or fewer strikeouts. They're 8-0 in those games.
*George Springer was placed on the 10-Day DL with Quad Discomfort after catching it in the ground in Philadelphia. Springer:
If I can't play at 100 percent, I'm only going to hurt the team...At this point in the year, it's a lot smarter to miss six games, instead of six weeks.
*Michael Feliz was sent to Corpus, not Fresno, mainly because of the distance from Houston. Hinch:
We're going to send him to AA and let him exhale. It's an easy transaction for to try to get him a little bit of work. He's very much a part of what we're doing and we expect him back.
*The Dodgers consider Yu Darvish but won't trade any of their "top prospects" for him, and consider Sonny Gray their backup plan.
*For whatever reason the Orioles traded for the Phillies' Jeremy Hellickson, but are still open to trading Zach Britton for rotation help.
*Jon Heyman thinks the Astros will bolster their pitching staff in some way. Maybe Brad Hand?
*The new CBA is trying to limit teams from spending too much with new draft pick penalties.
*Bagwell's army arrived in Cooperstown.
*So many Astros fans flew into Albany, NY that it made the paper.
*Bagwell, Yastrzemski, and a HOF connection.
*Do you remember reading "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark?" I do. It scared the hell out of me as a kid. Now they've re-released it with the original drawings restored.
*The Astros have come from behind to win 29 times this season.
*Reddick hit a three-run homer in the 8th inning to put the Astros up 6-5. It was his 10th home run of the season, making him the 11th Astro with 10+ home runs, tying the 2015 team. Reddick had 5RBI on the night, a season-high, and his first 5RBI game since September 24, 2016. Hinch:
He had the two sac flies and I told him, 'Go get another RBI,' and he said, 'How about three?'
Reddick also said that the Astros weren't real impressed with Nick Castellanos' reaction to his own 3-run home run off Keuchel earlier:
You're pumped up, your teammates are pumped up. The way [Castellanos'] three-run homer was kind of pimped...wasn't really sitting with us too well. I felt like we had all the right to do it right back.
Here's the video of Castellanos' homer. See for yourself if he pimped it.
*Reddick thinks maybe his concussion on June 12 "knocked something right."
*Dallas Keuchel threw 79 pitches in 3IP, allowing 6H/3ER, 3K:3BB. Keuchel:
I felt really good, so that's a positive. But just gotta commend them for laying off some pitches early. That was probably their game plan all along.
*Brad Peacock threw 4IP, 3H/2ER, 4K:1BB. He gave up just his 2nd home run of the season in 75.2IP. 129 pitchers in MLB have thrown at least 70IP and Brad Peacock's 0.24 HR/9 rate is the best among those pitchers.
*Jose Altuve hit a 1st inning triple and ended up with yet another 3-hit game to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. He now has more 3+ hit games (19) than he does games without a hit (18).
*1-3 in the lineup (Fisher, Altuve, Reddick): 6x10. 7-9 in the lineup (McCann, Bregman, Aoki): 0x11.
*The Astros only struck out three times in the game, the 8th time this season they've had three or fewer strikeouts. They're 8-0 in those games.
*George Springer was placed on the 10-Day DL with Quad Discomfort after catching it in the ground in Philadelphia. Springer:
If I can't play at 100 percent, I'm only going to hurt the team...At this point in the year, it's a lot smarter to miss six games, instead of six weeks.
*Michael Feliz was sent to Corpus, not Fresno, mainly because of the distance from Houston. Hinch:
We're going to send him to AA and let him exhale. It's an easy transaction for to try to get him a little bit of work. He's very much a part of what we're doing and we expect him back.
*The Dodgers consider Yu Darvish but won't trade any of their "top prospects" for him, and consider Sonny Gray their backup plan.
*For whatever reason the Orioles traded for the Phillies' Jeremy Hellickson, but are still open to trading Zach Britton for rotation help.
*Jon Heyman thinks the Astros will bolster their pitching staff in some way. Maybe Brad Hand?
*The new CBA is trying to limit teams from spending too much with new draft pick penalties.
*Bagwell's army arrived in Cooperstown.
*So many Astros fans flew into Albany, NY that it made the paper.
*Bagwell, Yastrzemski, and a HOF connection.
*Do you remember reading "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark?" I do. It scared the hell out of me as a kid. Now they've re-released it with the original drawings restored.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Thursday Morning Hot Links
*Mike Fiers wasn't very Fiers-like (or he was VERY Fiers-lake, depending on which way your confirmation bias leans you), Michael Feliz unraveled, and the Astros couldn't put together anything against Very Good Pitcher Aaron Nola. Astros lose 9-0. They are 67-34 and drop to 9-1 against the National League, giving the NL hope in the Best-of-19 series. The Mariners lost, so the lead remains at 17, with 61 games remaining. After 50 road games, the Astros are 37-13.
*Hinch:
It wasn't a good night for us, and it really started with their starting pitcher. Nola did a great job.
Nola:
They're pretty good, but I just tried to stay with my plan. Don't really change up anything because they're in first place. I think location was going to get them. That's what I was focused on tonight, trying to make pitches in quality locations.
*Via Jake Kaplan: Aaron Nola became just the second pitcher this season, joining Corey Kluber, to strike out 10+ Astros in a game.
*Mike Fiers threw just 4IP, 5H/3ER, 7K:3BB, breaking a string of three straight quality starts. Fiers has failed to record 13 outs twice in his past five outings, throwing 100+ pitches on 4IP against the Yankees on July 2, and last night.
*Michael Feliz got lit up, allowing 8H/6ER, 5K:0BB in 2IP. The Phillies had a single, triple, and a home run off of him by the time he threw his 8th pitch. (They got the double, later in the inning). Hinch went out to the mound and gave Feliz, who declined to talk to reporters after the game, a talkin-to:
I just had something to say to him about what I wanted him to do in terms of competing.
Arbitrary Endpoint Alert: Since June 30 (nine appearances) Feliz has thrown 8IP, 19H/10ER, 14K:7BB on an absurd .630 BABIP.
*The Astros' .858 team OPS is one point behind the 1930 Cubs for the highest OPS by a team in a season since 1913:
*Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a leadoff double. Carlos Beltran and Tyler White joined Altuve with two hits apiece, and the Astros were 0x9 w/RISP.
*Marwin Gonzalez was 1x3 with a walk, and now has a 29-game on-base streak.
*Maybe you've heard of this Dallas Keuchel kid. He'll get promoted from Tri-City to start against Detroit on Friday. The Astros were 39-16 after Dallas Keuchel won the last start he made on June 2, and have gone 28-18 since. If you had the Astros winning at a .609 clip without Dallas Keuchel, step right up to this stake and let us burn you for witchcraft.
*Depending on how he feels after last night's rehab appearance, Will Harris should be activated from the DL on Friday. And Feliz could be optioned to Fresno to make room for him.
*George Springer should return on Friday.
*Mike Lupica:
The Astros might not have as many needs as some of the other contending teams. But they still have a need: To do something. Now.
*Jeff Luhnow told Jerry Crasnick at Citizens Bank Park that the Astros aren't going to go insane:
We're not going to overpay dramatically, because we're not in a situation where we have to. We have a pretty good team, and if we can improve it without giving up too much of our future, we will...Whoever we get, we're not acquiring them to help us win the division. We're acquiring them to help us in the postseason.
*Are the Astros looking at a starter? WHO KNOWS!? But what we do know now is that, given Stephen Strasburg's new arm issue, the Astros will (could?) have a rival bidder in the Washington Nationals.
*Joel Sherman says most teams have told the A's what they would give them in exchange for Sonny Gray, and the Yankees, Nationals, and Mariners (!) are front-runners.
*Ken Rosenthal talked about the Mariners' interest in Gray, and got this from a "rival exec" on Seattle's farm system:
I don't think [GM Jerry Dipoto] is burning it to the ground. I think he knows it's already on fire and is trying to do what he can with the assets he has.
*The Astros are not one of the ten teams to whom Yu Darvish's can reject a trade. Meanwhile, the Rangers "would love to" get their 2018 starting CF in any potential Darvish deal. Also, the Marlins (!) destroyed Darvish last night. And would Jon Daniels actually trade Darvish to Houston ?
If the right baseball decision for the Rangers is trading [a player] in the division or in-state, I don't have a problem with that.
(Click that last link. Jerry Crasnick isn't so sure.)
*Bob Nightengale says the Rangers would be idiots to trade Darvish.
*Crasnick: The Orioles want a "big return" for Zach Britton, and teams are trying to decide if his forearm/elbow are up for a late October run.
*The Padres may not be shopping Brad Hand, after all, seeing as how apparently no team wants to give up their three top prospects for a lefty reliever. HOWEVER! This chucklenuts thinks the Astros could trade Derek Fisher, Forrest Whitley, and Hector Perez for NL West Lefty Reliever. Please ssshhhhh.
*Jeff Samardzija is unlikely to waive his no-trade clause (22 teams).
*Chris Haft did a good bunch of words about that Red Sox/Astros trade that brought Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to Houston.
*Joe Posnanski writes that Bagwell's career was defined by his consistency.
*Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell is a happy family man now.
*Jenny Dial Creech: On Bagwell, Biggio, and Growing Up
*Dale Robertson takes a look at Astros trades of the past.
*The last remaining statue of Nolan Ryan in Alvin fell down.
*Jay Jaffe's new book, "The Cooperstown Casebook: Who's In the Baseball Hall of Fame, Who Should Be In, and Who Should Pack Their Plaques" is out.
According to JAWS, Jaffe's HOF rating system, Bagwell is the 6th-best 1B to ever play the game.
*I know Adrian Beltre is a member of the Ramgers. We're supposed to hate everything about them. But I don't. I love Adrian Beltre and, if you don't appreciate how good he has been and how much fun he is to watch simply because he plays for South Ardmore, then I don't know how to respond to you. Idiot Umpire Gerry Davis told Beltre to get in the on-deck circle. Belter dragged the on-deck circle to where he was standing. Idiot Umpire Gerry Davis ejected him:
*Hinch:
It wasn't a good night for us, and it really started with their starting pitcher. Nola did a great job.
Nola:
They're pretty good, but I just tried to stay with my plan. Don't really change up anything because they're in first place. I think location was going to get them. That's what I was focused on tonight, trying to make pitches in quality locations.
*Via Jake Kaplan: Aaron Nola became just the second pitcher this season, joining Corey Kluber, to strike out 10+ Astros in a game.
*Mike Fiers threw just 4IP, 5H/3ER, 7K:3BB, breaking a string of three straight quality starts. Fiers has failed to record 13 outs twice in his past five outings, throwing 100+ pitches on 4IP against the Yankees on July 2, and last night.
*Michael Feliz got lit up, allowing 8H/6ER, 5K:0BB in 2IP. The Phillies had a single, triple, and a home run off of him by the time he threw his 8th pitch. (They got the double, later in the inning). Hinch went out to the mound and gave Feliz, who declined to talk to reporters after the game, a talkin-to:
I just had something to say to him about what I wanted him to do in terms of competing.
Arbitrary Endpoint Alert: Since June 30 (nine appearances) Feliz has thrown 8IP, 19H/10ER, 14K:7BB on an absurd .630 BABIP.
*The Astros' .858 team OPS is one point behind the 1930 Cubs for the highest OPS by a team in a season since 1913:
It's worth noting that this year's #Astros are currently 5th on that list (1913-today) pic.twitter.com/ul0JjAnbgf— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) July 27, 2017
*Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a leadoff double. Carlos Beltran and Tyler White joined Altuve with two hits apiece, and the Astros were 0x9 w/RISP.
*Marwin Gonzalez was 1x3 with a walk, and now has a 29-game on-base streak.
*Maybe you've heard of this Dallas Keuchel kid. He'll get promoted from Tri-City to start against Detroit on Friday. The Astros were 39-16 after Dallas Keuchel won the last start he made on June 2, and have gone 28-18 since. If you had the Astros winning at a .609 clip without Dallas Keuchel, step right up to this stake and let us burn you for witchcraft.
*Depending on how he feels after last night's rehab appearance, Will Harris should be activated from the DL on Friday. And Feliz could be optioned to Fresno to make room for him.
*George Springer should return on Friday.
*Mike Lupica:
The Astros might not have as many needs as some of the other contending teams. But they still have a need: To do something. Now.
*Jeff Luhnow told Jerry Crasnick at Citizens Bank Park that the Astros aren't going to go insane:
We're not going to overpay dramatically, because we're not in a situation where we have to. We have a pretty good team, and if we can improve it without giving up too much of our future, we will...Whoever we get, we're not acquiring them to help us win the division. We're acquiring them to help us in the postseason.
*Are the Astros looking at a starter? WHO KNOWS!? But what we do know now is that, given Stephen Strasburg's new arm issue, the Astros will (could?) have a rival bidder in the Washington Nationals.
*Joel Sherman says most teams have told the A's what they would give them in exchange for Sonny Gray, and the Yankees, Nationals, and Mariners (!) are front-runners.
*Ken Rosenthal talked about the Mariners' interest in Gray, and got this from a "rival exec" on Seattle's farm system:
I don't think [GM Jerry Dipoto] is burning it to the ground. I think he knows it's already on fire and is trying to do what he can with the assets he has.
*The Astros are not one of the ten teams to whom Yu Darvish's can reject a trade. Meanwhile, the Rangers "would love to" get their 2018 starting CF in any potential Darvish deal. Also, the Marlins (!) destroyed Darvish last night. And would Jon Daniels actually trade Darvish to Houston ?
If the right baseball decision for the Rangers is trading [a player] in the division or in-state, I don't have a problem with that.
(Click that last link. Jerry Crasnick isn't so sure.)
*Bob Nightengale says the Rangers would be idiots to trade Darvish.
*Crasnick: The Orioles want a "big return" for Zach Britton, and teams are trying to decide if his forearm/elbow are up for a late October run.
*The Padres may not be shopping Brad Hand, after all, seeing as how apparently no team wants to give up their three top prospects for a lefty reliever. HOWEVER! This chucklenuts thinks the Astros could trade Derek Fisher, Forrest Whitley, and Hector Perez for NL West Lefty Reliever. Please ssshhhhh.
*Jeff Samardzija is unlikely to waive his no-trade clause (22 teams).
*Chris Haft did a good bunch of words about that Red Sox/Astros trade that brought Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to Houston.
*Joe Posnanski writes that Bagwell's career was defined by his consistency.
*Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell is a happy family man now.
*Jenny Dial Creech: On Bagwell, Biggio, and Growing Up
*Dale Robertson takes a look at Astros trades of the past.
*The last remaining statue of Nolan Ryan in Alvin fell down.
*Jay Jaffe's new book, "The Cooperstown Casebook: Who's In the Baseball Hall of Fame, Who Should Be In, and Who Should Pack Their Plaques" is out.
According to JAWS, Jaffe's HOF rating system, Bagwell is the 6th-best 1B to ever play the game.
*I know Adrian Beltre is a member of the Ramgers. We're supposed to hate everything about them. But I don't. I love Adrian Beltre and, if you don't appreciate how good he has been and how much fun he is to watch simply because he plays for South Ardmore, then I don't know how to respond to you. Idiot Umpire Gerry Davis told Beltre to get in the on-deck circle. Belter dragged the on-deck circle to where he was standing. Idiot Umpire Gerry Davis ejected him:
I had never seen someone ejected for dragging an on-deck circle so thank you Adrian Beltre pic.twitter.com/8Trb8dbjN7— Dave Lozo (@davelozo) July 27, 2017
Friday, July 14, 2017
Friday Morning Hot Links
*Minnesota comes to Houston tonight (they actually probably got to Houston, like, yesterday or something). Jose Berrios is the Twins' starting pitcher. On May 29 Berrios allowed 5H/4ER, 5K:4BB in a 7-2 loss to the Astros, after the Twins spotted him a 2-0 lead.
*Tonight's Astros/Twins game will be streamed live on Facebook.
*Brian McTaggart says the Astros likely won't do what they did last Trade Deadline (nothing) and would like to add a couple of pitchers. He even has a trade scenario for you:
Houston receives: Sonny Gray and Ryan Madson
Oakland receives: Francis Martes, Derek Fisher, Daz Cameron, J.D. Davis, and Rogelio Armenteros.
Would you make that trade?
*He also says in an Inbox that Derek Fisher is more likely to be traded than Kyle Tucker.
*Jake Kaplan says yesterday's Quintana trade will increase the Gray-to-Houston speculation and has a notable quote from Luhnow:
Billy Beane and I have the same philosophy, which is we want to make win-win trades. And if there's a trade that helps your club and helps the other club even if it's a division rival, it's not worth putting it aside just because it's a division rival.
*Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox were insistent on both Kyle Tucker and Francis Martes for Quintana (and the White Sox wanted Gleybar Torres or Clint Frazier from the Yankees). The White Sox are stupid. Later in his (surprisingly useful) Notes Column, he says if the starting pitching market is too pricy, the Astros could go after Zach Britton. One scout compared Yordan Alvarez to David Ortiz. /fans self.
*You want Brad Hand, that cool lefty reliever from the Padres? They're asking for one of your top prospects.
It is 17 days until the Trade Deadline.
*Jeff Sullivan: The Astros lineup has been historically good.
*ESPN asked 27 baseball experts (BREAKING NEWS: ESPN STILL APPARENTLY EMPLOYS 27 PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT BASEBALL) for their rest-of-season predictions and here's what they got:
18 of 27 think the Astros win the pennant
10 think the Astros win the World Series, 10 think the Dodgers win the World Series
6 think an Astro is MVP
The Astros will finish somewhere between 96 and 113 wins (note: if the Astros go 36-37 in the 2nd half, it will be disappointing)
*Yahoo's Big League Stew staff made their revised World Series predictions. Two picked the Astros.
*Twitter Bregs is back, baby!
*Astros County favorite Colby Rasmus will step away from baseball, according to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays do not expect him to return this season. Tony Rasmus says on Twitter that Colbs can't get his hip back to game shape.
*The Reds are modeling their rebuild after the Astros. Which is funny because Reds Executive Assistant to the CEO Walt Jocketty (who had been the GM of the Reds until the end of the 2016 season) left St. Louis after becoming "unhappy" that Jeff Luhnow was promoted to VP of amateur scouting and player development.
*Brett Phillips will open the second half with the Brewers.
*I know we're all supposed to hate every single thing about the West Terrell Rangers, past and present. And while that's fun to an extent, that's not really my thing. So you need to read Evan Grant's interview with Prince Fielder on life after baseball.
*Vice: When the lights went out at Shea Stadium.
*Vice: The $5 bump of cocaine that destroyed an Olympic dream
*Tonight's Astros/Twins game will be streamed live on Facebook.
*Brian McTaggart says the Astros likely won't do what they did last Trade Deadline (nothing) and would like to add a couple of pitchers. He even has a trade scenario for you:
Houston receives: Sonny Gray and Ryan Madson
Oakland receives: Francis Martes, Derek Fisher, Daz Cameron, J.D. Davis, and Rogelio Armenteros.
Would you make that trade?
*He also says in an Inbox that Derek Fisher is more likely to be traded than Kyle Tucker.
*Jake Kaplan says yesterday's Quintana trade will increase the Gray-to-Houston speculation and has a notable quote from Luhnow:
Billy Beane and I have the same philosophy, which is we want to make win-win trades. And if there's a trade that helps your club and helps the other club even if it's a division rival, it's not worth putting it aside just because it's a division rival.
*Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox were insistent on both Kyle Tucker and Francis Martes for Quintana (and the White Sox wanted Gleybar Torres or Clint Frazier from the Yankees). The White Sox are stupid. Later in his (surprisingly useful) Notes Column, he says if the starting pitching market is too pricy, the Astros could go after Zach Britton. One scout compared Yordan Alvarez to David Ortiz. /fans self.
*You want Brad Hand, that cool lefty reliever from the Padres? They're asking for one of your top prospects.
It is 17 days until the Trade Deadline.
*Jeff Sullivan: The Astros lineup has been historically good.
*ESPN asked 27 baseball experts (BREAKING NEWS: ESPN STILL APPARENTLY EMPLOYS 27 PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT BASEBALL) for their rest-of-season predictions and here's what they got:
18 of 27 think the Astros win the pennant
10 think the Astros win the World Series, 10 think the Dodgers win the World Series
6 think an Astro is MVP
The Astros will finish somewhere between 96 and 113 wins (note: if the Astros go 36-37 in the 2nd half, it will be disappointing)
*Yahoo's Big League Stew staff made their revised World Series predictions. Two picked the Astros.
*Twitter Bregs is back, baby!
*Astros County favorite Colby Rasmus will step away from baseball, according to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays do not expect him to return this season. Tony Rasmus says on Twitter that Colbs can't get his hip back to game shape.
*The Reds are modeling their rebuild after the Astros. Which is funny because Reds Executive Assistant to the CEO Walt Jocketty (who had been the GM of the Reds until the end of the 2016 season) left St. Louis after becoming "unhappy" that Jeff Luhnow was promoted to VP of amateur scouting and player development.
*Brett Phillips will open the second half with the Brewers.
*I know we're all supposed to hate every single thing about the West Terrell Rangers, past and present. And while that's fun to an extent, that's not really my thing. So you need to read Evan Grant's interview with Prince Fielder on life after baseball.
*Vice: When the lights went out at Shea Stadium.
*Vice: The $5 bump of cocaine that destroyed an Olympic dream
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