Thursday Morning Hot Links

Let's get this crap over with. Tired of Trash Can Bangin'? TOO BAD. THIS IS OUR EXISTENCE NOW.

*Check the Chronicle's editorial: The Astros Never Let Us Down, Until Now.

*Jayson Stark has an excellent piece in The Atlantic about how the "Take (the Astros' 2017 Championship) Back" narrative is flawed. Stark:
The making of history is an integral part of the fabric of baseball. But nowhere in that fabric has anyone ever dared to un-make history. And as we learned again this week, Rob Manfred was not going to be the first.

*Reid Ryan:
That joy in winning in Los Angeles will never be taken away

*Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros have targeted some potential managerial...targets. It's...it's just...here's the fing list:
Dusty Baker (sure)
Jeff Banister (gotta be kidding me don't let Banny Rooster anywhere near this team I will literally light crap on fire if this happens)
Bruce Bochy (okay, I suppose)
Joe Espada (YES)
Raul Ibanez (interesting, I'm listening)
Buck Showalter (Bruh)
Will Venable (I think he's 24, but I'm not sure)

Espada is the odds-on favorite to get the gig.

*How big of a house does Jim Crane want to clean?

*The Astros players, who did all this crap in concert with Alex Cora, have yet to speak out, but that could change soon. Related, Brian T. Smith says FanFest on Saturday is a perfect time for the Astros players to say literally anything. I know how you feel about #BTS columns, but this is a good one.

*Jake Kaplan evaluates Pete Putila's chances of becoming the Astros' GM.

*Chandler Rome: The Astros' acumen in the draft will be tested in 2020.

*Yordan Alvarez switched agencies, if that's something that matters to you.

*A disgraced former bench coach got fired. Long may he never be spoken of again.

*Should the Mets fire Carlos Beltran?

*The 30 Most Dangerous Tech Companies, according to those who Know.

*The Ringer: Who is Ken Jennings?

*Outside: The Bizarre Bank Robbery That Shook An Arctic Town.

*A Musical Selection:

Reactions to G78 - Astros @ Giants

Coop:
"It was one of those nights. We hadn’t had one of these in quite a awhile."

Coop, on Paulino:
"Felipe’s stuff was as good as it was the last time. He just didn’t have good location."

More Coop, on Paulino:
"The breaking ball wasn't as good as it was before. Probably got too many pitches in the zone and didn't hit his spots very well. Seems like they knew what was coming."

Coop, on Fulchino:
"He's done a lot of that this year. Not just in this ballgame, but even in the games when it meant a whole lot and games were close, he still saved our staff because he pitched well for us. Even in that last inning when he went out, he said, 'Don't worry, I'm OK.' That showed me a lot right there."

Paulino:
"I was like, 'Wow, this is unbelievable.' I threw all my pitches, they hit everything I threw up there."

Blum:
"You’ve just got to battle through it. After two innings, you still have plenty of innings left to scratch back. But we didn’t put anybody on base."

Bruce Bochy, on Sadowski:
"The kid was good. He knows how to pitch. He works both sides of the plate. He can sink it. He has got great poise."