Monday Morning Hot Links

Okay, friends, it's now been 24 hours since the Astros won the Pennant. Time to read for pleasure, go to bed, hydrate tonight, and then it's GO TIME.

Tough end to a truly remarkable season for the @Yankees. Heck of a run. They’re gonna be dangerous next season.

To @HouMayor @SylvesterTurner: @TheBronxBrewery and cannoli (no “s”) are on their way. Enjoy them with the compliments of 8.6 million New Yorkers!

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 20, 2019

Hey I got an idea, Billiam: Let's spell it "cannolli" and just include an extra L for gits and shiggles.

*Over at FanGraphs, Dan Szymborski has the game-by-game probabilities for the World Series and it's 60-40 Astros. This is weird, but as of now the Astros do not dip below 51.1% for any of the seven games. Szymborski also broke down the Astros' Game 6 win.

To that end, Caesar's Sportsbook opened the Astros at -235 to win the Series, the best odds to win a World Series since the 2007 Red Sox/Rockies World Series.

*The Washington Post's Neil Greenberg took a look at how teams fared in the World Series based on the amount of rest they had going in. Greenberg:
In 2012, MLB added a second wild-card team to each league. Since then, the World Series team with more rest has posted a 1-6 record, with the lone victory coming last season when the Boston Red Sox, after five days off, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a three-day break...Before that, the team with fewer rest had won nine straight titles.

Click the link to read some more nuance and context and how No This Is Actually A Good Thing comes into play.

*If any of you have an ESPN+ subscription (I do not), you can read how this has the potential to be a thrilling World Series.

*Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez were all teammates in Detroit and now find themselves once again in the World Series. I guess that confirms it: San Francisco in 6.

*26 Facts about the 2019 World Series. This nugget:
The Nationals might have dominated the Cardinals in the NLCS, but now they'll have to buck recent history. Just one of the past eight clubs (the 1995 Braves) who have swept an LCS have gone on to win the World Series, and the last five teams to do so are 0-5 in the Fall Classic.

*Richard Justice on Jose Altuve: From $15K contract to Astros legend. Or you can go back a couple of years and read this Altuve profile in The Atlantic (not The Athletic) and see a wider-angled view of an article trying to introduce Altuve to the general public.

*Chandler Rome: The Astros are winning in the postseason via the home run. Hinch:
I don't really care what we hit, as long as we win games.

I have some time on my hands for a little bit, so let's break this Series down. On May 23, the Astros lost to the White Sox 4-0 and the Nationals fell to the Mets 6-4. Houston was 33-18, Washington was 19-31, 1.5 games better than the Marlins for the worst record in the NL. Since May 23 (postseason not included):

Houston: 74-37
Washington: 74-38

Spooooooky.

FanGraphs had the Astros as the best offensive team in baseball, with all offensive players combining for 40.8 fWAR. The Nationals were 8th, at 26.0 fWAR. Pitching-wise, it was much closer. The Astros were 4th in MLB at 23.7 fWAR, with the Nationals right behind at 22.3 fWAR.

Home Record:
Houston: 65-22
Washington: 54-32

Houston was legendarily good at home in 2019, and are 5-1 in the postseason at Minute Maid Park so far.

Away Record:
Houston: 49-37
Washington: 47-39

Narrow!

Inter-League Record:
Houston: 11-9
Washington: 14-6

Houston's record included a ten-day stretch from June 17-27 when the Astros went 1-5 against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, with a 1-3 series against the AL Silver Medalist New York Yankees in between. Washington got to play their rival Orioles plus the AL Central White Sox, Twins, Indians, and Royals (12-4).

Rotation:
Houston: 79-37, 3.61 ERA / 1.09 WHIP, 4.24 K:BB ratio, .672 OPS-against. 19.4 fWAR (4th in MLB).
Washington: 66-36, 3.53 ERA / 1.19 WHIP, 3.39 K:BB ratio, .685 OPS-against. 21.4 fWAR (1st in MLB).

Washington has enjoyed the best rotation in the 2019 playoffs thus far, at least according to some major dashboard stats: 61.2IP, 37H/14ER, 88K:20BB, 2.04 ERA / 0.93 WHIP. So far, Houston starters have a 3.16 ERA / 1.23 WHIP, but the Rays and Yankees aren't exactly the Dodgers and Cardinals. If there is a team that could possibly match up well with Cole-Verlander-Greinke, it's the Washington trio of Scherzer-Strasburg-Martin. This should be fun to watch and, by fun, I mean agonizing.

Bullpen:
Houston: 28-18, 3.75 ERA / 1.20 WHIP, 3.09 K:BB ratio, .694 OPS-against. 4.3 fWAR (8th in MLB).
Washington: 27-33, 5.68 ERA / 1.48 WHIP, 2.29 K:BB ratio, .800 OPS-against. 0.9 fWAR (22nd in MLB).

Washington's much-maligned bullpen earned all of that maligning. The Nationals' bullpen in the postseason is sporting a 4.76 ERA, the only two bullpens worse were the Dodgers and Twins, and heh we saw what happened to those guys in the Division Series. That said, and I don't think I'll get a job at The Athletic (wink) for pointing this out, if the Astros can get into the Nationals' bullpen, things look pretty good for Houston.

Now for the position players. For Washington, I used the defensive alignment from NLCS Game 4 as a guide, but included production over the year from that position, as well:

First Base:
Houston: .287/.350/.498, 111 OPS+, 4.1 fWAR (5th)
Washington: .280/.330/.513, 109 OPS+, 2.9 fWAR (11th)

Second Base:
Houston: .290/.343/.535, 136 OPS+, 5.2 fWAR (6th)
Washington: .259/.354/.468, 123 OPS+, 2.6 fWAR (13th)

Third Base:
Houston 3Bs: .268/.379/.512, 124 OPS+, 12.0 fWAR (1st)
Washington 3Bs: .314/.402/.570, 143 OPS+, 6.6 fWAR (3rd)

If there is a legit threat to Bregman's standing as the Best 3B in Baseball, it's from Houston's own Anthony Rendon, who had a monster year in 2019.

Shortstop:
Houston SSs: .283/.375/.543, 137 OPS+, 12.4 fWAR (1st)
Washington SSs: .281/.340/.458, 107 OPS+, 2.8 fWAR (16th)

Left Field:
Houston LFs: .313/.370/.515, 124 OPS+, 5.1 fWAR (T-6th)
Washington LFs: .281/.397/.536, 137 OPS+, 5.1 fWAR (T-6th)

Center Field:
Houston CFs: .273/.348/.516, 130 OPS+, 7.6 fWAR (5th)
Washington CFs: .260/.327/.430, 103 OPS+, 2.5 fWAR (13th)

Right Field:
Houston RFs: .270/.330/.417, 88 OPS+, 8.4 fWAR (3rd)
Washington RFs: .271/.350/.418, 98  OPS+, 2.5 fWAR (17th)

Catcher:
Houston Cs: .217/.317/.390, 98 OPS+, 2.7 fWAR (12th)
Washington Cs: .240/.316/.427, 107 OPS+, 1.1 fWAR (19th)

*I guess, if you wanted to, you could read Mike Petriello's position-by-position breakdown and see who he gives the edge to, including giving the Nationals the edge in Starting Pitching, with a prediction: Astros in 6.

*Jim Callis: How the Astros and Nationals built their Pennant-winners.

*MLBTR: Examining the ripple effects of the failed Bryce Harper-to-Houston trade in July 2018.

*Bench Coach Joe Espada spent yesterday interviewing for a second time with the Cubs.

*New York reliever Chad Green, on the Yankees' strategy of aggressively deploying the bullpen:
There's only so many things that we can do. It makes us try to be too perfect. You can kind of get yourself into trouble the more you face guys.

Related, but not paywalled: The Yankees had a starting pitcher-sized hole in their roster construction.

*Want tickets to Games 1 or 2? TicketIQ has been gracious enough to #pay me to include this link so you can get yourself to the game.

WE LOVE THIS WHOLE CITY. 😭

Thank you for riding with us. We ain’t done yet! pic.twitter.com/LUAN6Xft1G

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 21, 2019

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

My apologies for the no Hot Links on Wednesday. I wish I had a good excuse, but I fell asleep earlier than anticipated and woke up later than anticipated, thus slipping out of the proper posting time. I can't promise that that won't happen again.

The Bryce Harper saga is over. He will now make $5,000 more than the average income of a Philadelphian after one at-bat.

The regulars got their action yesterday, top to bottom. Some Notes:
-Peacock went 6 up, 6 down
-The Astros walked as many times as they struck out (7).
-Altuve went 0-3 and is still looking for his first hit this Spring Training.
-Abraham Toro went yard. He is now hitting .417 this Spring after hitting .348 in the Arizona Fall League.

The Astros and Padres are "keeping in touch" with Dallas Keuchel, and I personally believe it's going to be one or the other.

Fellow Indiana native A.J. Reed wants to play in the majors anyway he can. Fun Fact: Terre Haute South was in the same conference as my high school back then, so I'm always willing to give him tons of chances because he played on our diamond a handful of times and thats pretty cool.   

Ronnie Dawson headlines the new kids that are really impressing this Spring Training.

Alex Bregman is the most engaging baseball athlete on social media, by a wide margin.

Speaking of Bregman, the Astros are already talking contract extension. He's under team control until 2022.

I love Orbit.

Apparently, Zebras are striped to disorient blood-sucking insects.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Spring Training is in full swing so we can finally start looking forward to new Hot Links nearly every single day instead of the sporadic offseason uploads. A week from tomorrow is the Astros first spring training game where I will happily watch 6 innings of baseball, be satisfied, not watch another spring training game the rest of the year, and get way too excited for Opening Day.

The Astros are going into this season with something to prove.

The Astros are listed as one of the five teams that still have room to "win the offseason".

The Crawfish Boxes ran the numbers on the Astros 2018 outfield defense.

Luhnow did confirm the Astros had a trade deadline deal for Bryce Harper in place before the Nationals chickened out.

Pitchers set to throw today: Josh James, Forrest Whitley, J.B. Bukauskas, Roberto Osuna, Cionel Perez, and Hector Rondon.

Gerrit Cole calls his record arbitration a "win for players in general".

Speaking of Gerrit, he just like everyone else in baseball it seems kinda hates openers. I feel like I'm in the minority when I say that it's kind of cool we are still introducing new strategies for the 200 year old game of baseball and welcome any other odd ideas managers have this year with open arms.

Bregman is hitting, throwing short distances, and taking ground balls. He is still on track to return by Opening Day. 

Collin McHugh talks about being back in the rotation in 2019. 

Justin Verlander talks about life as a father. He also says he wants to pitch until he's 45.

J.B. Bukauskas is wearing #69.

On This Day in Baseball History is back!

In 1946, Edith Houghton becomes the first female MLB scout for the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 2011, former United States President Barack Obama gave Stan Musial the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2016, New York Republican State Senator James Seward announced that he introduced legislation to make baseball the official sport of New York.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is your host for this morning's Hot Links: give it up for Flick Nickem!

*Crowd claps politely but nothing crazy. They just didn't want him to feel bad*

Yes that's right folks I'm back behind the keyboard ready to cook up some hot links regarding the Houston Astros baseball team for the next few months again. My """""break""""" is over, but in all actuality I was buried in things I had to do for my coursework so James let me take a vacation while I got everything smoothed out. Well, my finals are all the way done and I do not have to worry about anything school-related so hopefully that means better and more thought-out content coming up in the coming days. Remember, if you don't like me doing the posting on this website, I still post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so you can go ahead and skip those days if you would like I won't mind or tell. 

But ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's Hot Links time!

~Jeff Luhnow says the team had "a very productive day" yesterday at the Winter Meetings, so it sounds like we can expect some sort of free agent news in the coming days. I hope this means we offered Bryce Harper a quarter of a billion dollars because if I had a quarter of a billion dollars I would definitely do that. Or give it to Marwin.

~And speaking of Bryce Harper, let's talk about just how likely this fantasy would be.

~Forrest Whitley messed around and threw a baseball 110 miles per hour so maybe this kid could be an alright pitcher. Scouts were so impressed that they're letting him come to Spring Training this year. 

~ICYMI from yesterday and since the offseason is still slow: here is a great piece by Chandler Rome on the Astros' 2-sport athlete Kyle Tucker. Speaking of the kid, he is the main topic on this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast so we should all head on over and check it out.

~Last evening, Alex Bregman got #wet.

~The Rangers and Astros will be the only teams in 2019 to only have a 3 day All-Star break which is absolutely fine by me but I will still miss them dearly and three days is still a long time for my heart to wait.

~I hope we aren't banning the shift.

~Tony Kemp is making pure-hearted content on Twitter dot com again.

~They keep grooming Aledmys Diaz to be the next Marwin Gonzalez which is weird because we don't need two super utility players on the team. What a silly org lol

~The animal that was initially believed to be rat which turned out to be a ferret is actually a weasel. Also it appears as if there is a Ferret Association of Connecticut, which really brightened my day.

~"Hawaiian Monk Seals Keep Getting Eels Stuck Up Their Snouts, Nobody 'NOSE' Why." I have nothing to add.

On This Day in Baseball History

-In 1930, the rules committee created the ground rule double. Originally, if a ball bounced into the stands, it was ruled as a home run.

-In 1933, arguably the trade with the best names from top to bottom, the A's traded Lefty Grove, Rube Wallberg, and Max Bishop to Boston for Bob Kline and Rabbit Warstler.

-In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 4 to 3 to not review Wisconsin's suit to block the Milwaukee Braves move to Atlanta.

-In 2007, the Astros traded to acquire Miguel Tejada from Baltimore in exchange for Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Luke Scott, Dennis Sarfate, and Michael Costanzo.

-In 2009, the Astros made their free agent splash on the same day, this time for pitcher Brandon Lyon.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Okay, so catching up on some things that I missed yesterday because I woke up late and had to leave early:

*The Astros and Former Ramgers Great Robinson Chirinos agreed to a 1yr/$5.75m deal. So, at present, it looks as though the Astros will go through 2019 with a combo of Chirinos and Max Stassi. I'm in favor of this deal solely because my Ramger Fan Brother-in-Law is heartbroken.

Chirinos, who will be 35 in June, had an outlier year in 2017 in which he hit .255/.360/.506, good enough for a 120 OPS+. In 2018 he came back to the rest of his career's benchmark, hitting .222/.338/.419. He didn't hit well last year but he sure did strike out a lot (140 Ks in 426 PAs), though he hit a career-high 18 home runs.

Chirinos would actually be an offensive upgrade considering the Astros' offensive struggles behind the plate: Astros catchers collectively put up a .223/.298/.375 line in 2018. Max Stassi hit .226/.316/.394 in 88 games, .220/.307/.379 after April. Oh yeah, but Chirinos is a bad defensive catcher. So, no, I don't get it. I do, sort of, if I squint and shake my head.

Jake Kaplan has an excellent look at the questions surrounding Chirinos' acquisition.

So does FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan.

*Brian McTaggart has himself an inbox, in which we find that Altuve and Chirinos are really good friends

*There's a report that the Red Sox' negotiations with Nate Eovaldi are intensifying at 4yrs and (approximately) $68m, though the Astros are the Red Sox' main competition.

*Arizona traded Paul Goldschmidt to the Cheatin-Ass Cardinals for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andy Young, and St. Louis' Comp B pick.

Weaver was St. Louis' 1st Round pick in 2014 and went 7-11 with a 4.95 ERA/1.50 WHIP/ 78 ERA+ for St. Louis in 2018. Carson Kelly, a catcher, was St. Louis' #3 prospect heading into 2018 and has hit .154/.227/.188 in 131 MLB PAs. He was BP's #44 overall prospect coming into 2018 and hit .269/.378/.395 for Triple-A Memphis. Andy Young hit .276/.372/.444 for High-A Palm Beach and in 35 games at Double-A Springfield hit .319/.395/.556.

I'm not sure what a comparable package from Houston would have been for a year of Paul Goldschmidt, but at least I can delete the draft of the "What Paul Goldschmidt Would Mean to the Astros" piece I was working up for The Athletic. That's good. Who needs a little extra money, anyway?

*Are the Astros a Sleeper Team on Bryce Harper?

*Just in case you were feeling too good, what with the sun going down around 5:20pm, A.J. Hinch reflected on Andrew Benintendi (easily my least-favorite character in The Count of Monte Cristo) and his Game 4-saving catch. Hinch:
What Benintendi's play really showed you is how small the distance [is] - in just one play - between hope and despair in sports.

*The Astros' organization was/will be well-represented at the funeral services for George H.W. Bush.

*The Baltimore Sun takes a look at what the additions of Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal could mean for the Orioles' franchise.

*Jayson Stark is hearing that there is momentum building towards limiting defensive shifts in baseball, because Rob Manfred knows what's killing baseball and it is DECIDEDLY NOT that a family has to take out a loan to go to a game, or that a 6-year old cannot actually stay awake for an entire World Series game. Thankfully Rob Manfred (Smart, Handsome) knows that what fans (Dumb, Ugly) need in order to flock back to baseball is a rule about where the shortstop can legally stand.

*The Nationals gave Patrick Corbin 6yrs/$140m. I don't believe that Patrick Corbin is worth twice as much as Nate Eovaldi.

*Daniella Yoko Rodriguez picked Noel Gonzalez (wife of Former Astros Great Marwin Gonzalez) and Kara McCullers to be her bridesmaids.

I did a Twitter mailbag:

Did you ever, inspired by the Jose Lima, eat at Casa Ole?

— Brian Arbour (@bkarbour) December 6, 2018

Yes. Every September 30 - Jose Lima's birthday - I get my pitch over this plate at Casa Ole. My gluten-intolerant wife even comes with me. I call it Casa Ole Day.

Why isn't Gerald Ford one of our most respected presidents after being handed the worst presidential promotion EVER? UNRELATED.... Who's our opening day catcher?

— flinchböt (@flinchbot) December 6, 2018

GREAT question. Not only was Ford never elected to the Presidency, he was elevated to Vice President without being elected because Spiro Agnew was a sack of crap. He is basically Tom Kirkman minus the terrorism but with All The Crimes added. He is not respected because he pardoned Nixon, and did not satiate the American people's desire for BLOOD! in the wake of Watergate.

I'm going to go out on a Big Limb, upon which I have zero support or sources, and say that Sal Perez is the Astros' Opening Day catcher.

More painful loss...99 to Walt F’n Weiss or game 4 vs Boston? https://t.co/1kzPayyo5r

— Alex Sandoval (@LEXthePEX) December 6, 2018

Walt Weiss, because I came back to Houston during my freshmen year Fall Break and watched that game at the Dome. Terrible way to close out the Astrodome.

are american arsenal fans the cops

— All we are is Dustin Nguyen, Holiday Edition (@itsdtrain) December 6, 2018

I laughed, because I hate Arsenal (Fever Pitch notwithstanding - I love that book). I also hate Chelsea mainly because of John F. Terry and Frank "Shia" LeBoeuf. Sorry, George. You like Tottenham Hotspur? Nice job, Cowboys fan who also likes Duke, or whatever.

That said, I'm all for Americans enjoying English soccer. I respect you more if you like an absolutely God-awful team. Back in April 2017 I wrote about the Astros and Leeds United (my favourite football team) being too much alike, and then six and a half months later the Astros won the World Series so suck it. Currently Leeds sits in 2nd place in the Championship, which is not as impressive as it sounds, so things might be turning there. But I'm all for Americans picking up a sport that brings them misery, particularly if they get up at 6am on a Saturday to be miserable. Arsenal loves misery, so I hope their fans enjoy the weekly pain.

That said, I'm interested in the Why. Why do Americans pick their favorite English soccer teams? Fulham? You liked all the Americans, including Clint Nacogdoches Dempsey. Everton? Maybe Tim Howard. Manchester United? You don't have a soul and probably also like the Yankees. Manchester City? Bandwagon lookin' ass boiiiii. Now, you want to roll Wigan? Preston North End? Millwall? Rushden & Diamonds? I got your back.

I want Bum. I think we need Bum. Bum would help. That and the magical healing of Altuve’s knee and Correa’s back. Also how does one get invited to the Correa wedding? MY COLUMN

— Bill Kelly (@billkellytexas) December 6, 2018

I can't think of a good reason not to let Madison Bumgarner be the Astros' SP3/4. I'm assuming that you mean Bumgarner, and this isn't a 1960s British Booty Call. While I do think McHugh is better than Bumgarner at this point. However, a rotation of Verlander/Cole/McHugh/Bumgarner/James would be pretty okay with me.

Will there ever be another @LimaTime_Time episode again?

— Craig Harmann (@CraigHarmann) December 6, 2018

If someone wants to pick up this Bad Boy for me (times is tight), it would be sooner than later. I'll accept PayPal. $500 should cover it.

if you could wipe one show or movie from existence based on its cultural impact, whatcha pick

— CHANDLER™ ⏣ (@1STROS) December 6, 2018

Okay. If I could take one show out of human existence, it would easily be Gray's Anatomy. I don't trust that show. I don't trust anyone who watches it. If you watch Grey's Anatomy you are watching a time capsule. Please stop reading this web site if you still watch Gray's Amanoty.

Can I do Hot Links again starting a week from today? (please don't answer right now I would like to read about it in tomorrow's post)

— Flick Nickem, Fayetteville Woodpeckers #1 Fan 😎 (@FlickNickem) December 6, 2018

PLEASE DO. THIS IS A TRAIN WRECK.

*It's the 25th anniversary of a movie that 13-Year Old Me really liked. The Ringer: How Cabin Boy turned Chris Elliott and Adam Resnick into Hollywood pariahs and comedy legends.

*A Musical Selection:


*A bonus Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot(-ish) Links

There is nothing. The World's Coldest Stove. Jeff Luhnow and Robert Mueller have a bet to see whose office will leak something first. In June 2019 we're going to say, "There's a move coming any day now."

*Jeff Passan has an interesting piece for Yahoo about the courtship of Bryce Harper. Passan:
The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres are expected to check in. The Washington Nationals, with whom he has spent his seven major league seasons and who offered him a 10-year deal worth around $300 million toward the end of the season that Harper rejected, almost certainly will circle back. Harper's affection for the Houston Astros is well-known, as is the St. Louis Cardinals' for him. 

Harper loves the Astros? Bandwagon fan.

*Jake Kaplan has a mailbag in The Athletic in which he answers some reader questions, like the potential rotation, Forrest Whitley's timeline, what to do about catcher, and a crazy note that Scott Feldman is the highest-paid free agent pitcher by Jeff Luhnow ($30m).

*Brian McTaggart has three free agent outfielders that could fill a hole for the Astros, though they're not exactly new names: Andrew McCutchen, Michael Brantley, A.J. Pollock.

*NBC Bay Area: The Mariners complete tear-down makes the AL West a two-team race.

*Ken Rosenthal mentions that the Reds would be a good fit for Dallas Keuchel. Jon Heyman notes that Toronto is hot after Keuchel.

*This is crazy:

From when Jerry Dipoto took over as #Mariners GM on Sept. 28, 2015, there are now two players left on the 40-man roster, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager. But check back tomorrow.

— Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) December 3, 2018

*Stop me if you've heard this before: The success of what the Mariners have done in the last four weeks will not be determined for a few years.

*The Mariners have saved themselves a ton of money.

*A Musical Selectionm, the story behind one of my favorite moments in music history:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Yesterday I had the "opportunity" to drive from Galveston back home in Central Texas. There was a wreck on 45 North before the Beltway. Then there was one on 610. And another on 290. It was a Saturday. All the while I was leading a co-worker who wasn't familiar with driving in Houston, so I had to make sure that I couldn't lose him. How in the world did I ever learn to drive there?

*Yesterday Jeff Luhnow made his first Move of the off-season by acquiring Aledmys Diaz from Toronto in exchange for Rule-5 Draft-Eligible pitcher Trent Thornton. Thornton was the Astros' 5th Round pick in the 2015 Draft. The 25-year old Thornton put up a 4.85 ERA in 124.1IP for Fresno in 2018, though he was Fresno's rock in the rotation for most of the year. Regard:

-Thornton made 24 appearances in 2018. He allowed 3ER or less in 18 of them.
-His stats are belied by his July 5 start in which he allowed 8H/10ER in 1.1IP.
-In his last two starts of 2018 Thornton threw 10.2IP, 18H/11ER, 12K:4BB.

Trent Thornton is a good pitcher and maybe he missed his buddy Ken Giles in Fresno and maybe he'll be okay or maybe not.

Cuban-born 28-year old Aledmys Diaz is basically 2019 Astros Marwin. He posted a 1.6 fWAR in 130 games with a 102 wRC+. Marwin posted a 104 wRC+, so the difference is negligible, and Diaz is under team control until 2023 while Someone is about to give Marwin $60m+. Diaz played 38 games at 3B, 95 games at SS, and played three games in LF for St. Louis in 2017. He only struck out in 13.7% of his Plate Appearances last year, which would put him between 2018 Jose Altuve (13.2%) and 2018 Tony Kemp (14.9%) if all things were equal (and they're not. Like, at all.)

I love Marwin, but this is a cost-saving move for the Astros with little-to-no-dropoff in offensive production (as of 2018). The removal of Thornton from the system means Ronnie Dawson cracks the Org Top 30!

Toronto GM Ross Atkins:
Trent is someone that we've targeted for some time, and are confident that his deep repertoire and strike-throwing ability allows him to be a factor for our major-league rotation in the near term.

Ken Rosenthal notes that the Astros still want to keep Marwin.

*Jon-Paul Morosi has a (some?) source(s?) that say the Astros are far more involved in trade negotiations than free agent discussions. On the list? Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto. But Miami, which is basically a criminal organization, want one of Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley. This is understandable, but the Marlins are actually Very Stupid.

*Are the Astros a dark-horse to sign Bryce Harper? One dude from SI seems to think the Astros will sign Harper to an 8yr/$280m deal.

*Oh hey the Mariners did an internal review of Dr. Lorena Martin's accusations and just up and decided that her claims were unfounded. Click the link to read the But Wait! section.

*From The Ringer, American Curmudgeon: On Jeff Tweedy.

*I just finished the first season of Rabbits, a podcast that was Very Weird and Enjoyable.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

It was a hilarious sight at HEB yesterday when a Freeze Warning for last night/this morning took effect and pretty much all of Central Texas descended to relieve the grocer of all their milk, eggs, bread, and alcohol. Lines to check out approached Impending Hurricane level, even though it will be in the 60s by Friday. That said, even though we survived three New England winters, cold is cold. I don't care how much snow I've seen - a windchill in the 20s sucks. I'm not "Better" than these poor freezing souls because I know what 50 degrees colder than this feels like. No, it's my own fault for knowing what it feels like to begin with.

*So I guess we lead with the biggest story of the day: a former Mariners exec took a flamethrower to the Mariners' organization. Dr. Lorena Martin, Seattle's director of high performance until getting fired a month ago, accused basically the top of Seattle's front office as well as manager Scott Servais of racism, sexism, and intimidation. Martin was hired away from the Lakers and has two years left on her contract. Martin:
And then they wonder why they didn't make it to the playoffs. Leadership is to blame, under Jerry Dipoto's leadership no team has made the playoffs. All talk, no substance. Poor leadership. This is how the Seattle Mariners treat people of color (women and minorities).

Obviously the Mariners strongly and categorically denied all of her claims. But holy crap.

*Jose Altuve - wearing a hinged knee brace but walking on his own - talked to reporters Sunday and said he aims to be "120 percent" by the time Spring Training starts. Altuve:
We have a lot of time before Spring Training. We're not doing a lot. The only thing they told me is we're going to be 120 percent for the first day of Spring Training, and that's what really matters. 

*SI's Jon Tayler made a case for all 30 teams to sign Bryce Harper. He puts the Astros in Tier 3: Dark Horses.
Just picture the panic every pitcher will feel knowing that they have to survive a gauntlet of George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, Harper, and Carlos Correa multiple times. That alone is reason enough to do this.

And here's Tayler, giving Dallas Keuchel the bulletin board material by saying he's one of the likeliest free agency busts of this class.

*Should the Tigers decide to move Nick Castellanos, the Astros could be a fit as the Detroit Free-Press' Anthony Fenech says Houston made a move for him prior to the 2018 trade deadline. Castellanos played 142 games in Right Field in 2018, hitting .298/.354/.500 for a 130 OPS+. He would be an offensive upgrade over Josh Reddick (99 OPS+ in 2018), OR because of the drop-off in defense from Reddick to Castellanos, could serve as DH with the occasional RF start. Castellanos has one more year of arbitration before being eligible for free agency. Kyle Tucker figure it out, please.

*Dallas Keuchel officially rejected the Astros' 1yr/$17.9m qualifying offer. Should Keuchel sign with another team, the Astros will get an extra draft pick at the end of the 2nd Round in 2019.

*Members of the Astros stopped by Santa Fe High School to meet with their baseball team and to give them new cleats.

*Alex Bregman decided to drop in on Steven and Haylee Lopez's wedding in Cypress. Steven Lopez:
We were just looking at each other. She was jumping up and down like a little kid. We were both star struck.

Shoutout to Bregman, who made sure that Haylee Lopez's wedding day memory will be of Alex Bregman. Prima nocta lookin ass boiiiiii.

*Doug Brocail will not return as Rangers' pitching coach in 2019.

*Wired: It started as an online gaming prank, then it turned deadly. (Note: this is not a sunshine-and-rainbows story.)


*A musical selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

I'd like to take a moment to offer my heartfelt appreciation for all of the Veterans who have served this country. Thank you for your sacrifice, whether that sacrifice was their life, whether that sacrifice was a 100% healthy body and mind, or whether that sacrifice was time away from your families. I appreciate you. 

The power of silence:
Using the real-life sound graph below The @I_W_M has recreated the ceasefire on the 11th of the 11th month 1918.#WWI #Armistice100 #WeWillRememberThem pic.twitter.com/rdjFWWECCq

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 6, 2018

*In a story developing just this morning, Ken Rosenthal reports that the Astros are one of a number of teams in on Mariners pitcher/Astros-killer James Paxton. Paxton, who threw 160.1IP of 3.8 fWAR baseball in 2018 (for comparison: Charlie Morton threw 167IP with 3.1 fWAR), has enjoyed four straight seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA, and three straight seasons with a sub-3.50 FIP and xFIP. Of course he's been deadly against the Astros. In 12 career appearances, he has held the Astros to a .605 OPS with a 2.89 ERA/1.12 WHIP.

*Someone has been talking to Ken Rosenthal. In the last 24 hours he has the Paxton news, as well as a blockbuster report that, on July 30, the Astros had a deal in place to acquire Bryce Harper for J.B. Bukauskas, Garrett Stubbs, and another pitcher, but the Nationals' ownership turned it down.

After that deal was rejected, the Astros were working on a Frances Martes-to-Chicago-for-Avisail Garcia trade, but the Astros rejected it out of concern over Garcia's knee. Then (or, "instead") they tried to trade for someone in St. Louis, presumably Tommy Pham.

I don't know why the Harper news came out when it did, or who leaked it. Is the source someone within the Astros organization, letting the world know how hard they tried to win consecutive World Series (which wouldn't exactly be breaking news)? Is it someone in Washington trying to save a little face in what was, expectation-wise, an absolutely miserable season? The Astros usually aren't the ones doing the talking, but Rosenthal has been all over the Astros lately.

*Jake Kaplan has a Q&A in The Athletic with Lance McCullers, and his decision to pitch through a torn UCL. McCullers:
I expect to crush the rehab. And I expect to finally be able to take the ball 30-plus times. That's the only thing I really haven't accomplished as an Astro. I've been an All-Star. I've set some club records as an individual pitcher. I won a World Series with this team. I've pitched well in the postseason. The only thing I haven't been able to do is run out there every time and just be able to take the ball and be considered a horse. That's, like, the one thing that I'm still really striving for and I'm trying to accomplish. Personally, that's still something that in my last two seasons here under team control through (the arbitration process) I really want to be able to accomplish. 

*Josh Reddick would like the Astros to look into Jonathan Lucroy. He also said at a Shriners event yesterday at MMP that the Astros weren't interested in seeing the Dodgers win the World Series, and that the Red Sox had a 2017 Astros feel about them.

*Carlos Correa news: Had surgery to repair a deviated septum and does not think he needs back surgery.

*MLBTR takes a look at the Astros from a financial standpoint.

*The Cespedes Family BBQ guys look at the Astros' motivation, and need, for Patrick Corbin.

*Abraham Toro hit a 2-run home run in a Scottdale win yesterday, and his OPS is up to .952.

*Justin Verlander and Kate Upton had their baby, if that's something that matters to you.

*Some non-baseball reading for your Sunday morning:

-Lapham's Quarterly: Making an Ancient Roman Murderer
-New Yorker: Mystery of the Havana Syndrome
-New York Times: The Lounge Pianist Who Invented Samba Funk

I am on my second reading of Adam Sternbergh's "The Blinds" and highly recommend it.

*A musical selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

More Like Oakland L's!

What a big day for the Houston Astros yesterday afternoon. These bats were alive and the Astros have thankfully regained sole control of first place in the west. Everybody got a hit (except Reddick) and Maldonado was a single shy of the cycle, which would have been the first cycle since Luke Scott in 2006 (because I strongly believe Brandon Barnes was out at 2nd base in 2013 do not @ me). 

Another big moment in yesterday's game is Justin Verlander collecting his career 200th win, and he got dunked in champagne to celebrate. Verlander, Hinch, and other key players to the game post-game interviews and recapped can be found here (you might read something about Verlander being dunked in champagne, and that's because I stole that bit because I wanted to tell you that first. Don't worry though, sources cited).

Anyways, now its time for the rapid fire Hot Links part of the program. 

Rondon has not had the greatest few outings. Will Osuna become the closer anytime soon?

Josh Reddick apologized after Oakland fans took one of his quotes out of context.

Altuve was hit by a pitch in his Fresno rehab assignment. He is expected to be okay.

This is the last week for 9:10 CST first pitches. The Sun People are very excited for this, and the Night People are also kind of happy about it as well because then the Sun People don't judge us to harshly about our tweeting habits at that hour of night. Pretty much a win-win everywhere.

The Astros are now ever so close to being #onpace for 100 wins. FiveThirtyEight also gives the Astros a 97% chance of making the playoffs and a 74% to win the division.

Hinch is basically as fast as Jake at this point, in case you were wondering how that was progressing.

Julia Morales blew the lead in the mascot race. Unacceptable imo. 

Felix Hernandez is back in the rotation just in time for the Houston Astros to roll into town.

Here is a piece on Ex-Astros prospect Ramon Laureano and how he's been since he went on to pursue other opportunities.

Bryce Harper AND Daniel Murphy were placed on revocable trade waivers.

I listened to the new episode of Lima Time Time while making these and it is good. You should listen to it.

Big Al was quite the hit at the Williamsport Sunday Night Baseball game.

16 nurses are pregnant in the same hospital and it is extremely suspicious.

On This Day In Baseball History

In 1921, Ty Cobb got his 3000th hit.

In 1997, Wade Boggs pitched. He threw one inning and did not allow a hit.

In 2010, the Astros traded Pedro Feliz to the Cardinals for David Carpenter. The trade was made so the Cardinals could replace injured third baseman David Freese.

In 2012, the Mets-Nationals game screeched to a halt after a praying mantis was discovered in the outfield.

  

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Big thanks to Flick, who will be taking over Hot Links on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until he gets burned out or goes insane - whichever one will inevitably come first. I go back to work today, and I'm not at all happy about it.

*15 years ago yesterday was my wedding anniversary. 15 years ago today, I was in a hotel up by Intercontinental with my wife because we were going on our honeymoon 15 years ago tomorrow. Anyway, a bunch of my buddies were all, "We're going to the Astros game today, you should come." And I was like, "No way, dudes. Well my wife took a nap from 11am-4:30pm.  The Astros beat the Cubs 3-1 in a 2:28 game that started at 12:20pm. I totally could have slipped out, gone to the game, and been back before she woke up.

*The Astros lost 3-2 on a Charlie Blackmon walk-off home run. They're 67-37 with a 5.0-game lead on Seattle, who are 1.5 up on Oakland. It's the 6th time this season that teams at Coors Field have combined to score five or fewer runs. The Rockies and their opponent are averaging 11.17 runs/game in 48 games at Coors Field.

*Lots of moving parts in this game. Colorado scored the tying run on a foul pop-up that took J.D. Davis over the dugout railing. Alex Bregman had a triple called back because of fan interference. Altuve left the game early with discomfort in his right knee.  On Altuve, Hinch:
Been bothering him a little bit for a few games now. Nothing's wrong with it. He could've played through it. He fought to stay in the game, but we felt it was best to take him out and give him a little bit of a blow just given that he was limping. 

Altuve:
I think it's not a big deal, but I think it was smart for AJ [to take] me out of the game. With a day off tomorrow, maybe that can help me a lot and be good Friday or Saturday.

*On the fan interference call, Bregman was hot:
There is no possible way you can say the left fielder jumping backwards into a wall is guaranteed to make the catch. We're up 2-1 at the time. I'm at third base. We need a fly ball to the outfield to get me in and it's 3-1. It's horrible.

Some good expletives were sprinkled throughout. It's the third time this season fan interference has altered an Astros game.

The impeccably manicured left fielder, Gerardo Parra:
I never saw the fan, never saw the glove, because I was focused on the ball. I was surprised, because I put up my glove and the ball almost hit me in my face. I said, 'What happened? Did the ball move at the last second?' I never saw the fan. When I saw the replay, I felt better. I said, 'I'm all right. I'm not crazy.' I thought, 100 percent, I had it. 

*Houston got one hit, from Jose Altuve. It's the 2nd time the Astros have been held to one hit, both of which resulted in one-run losses. They also struck out 10 times for the 24th time this season. Colorado starting pitcher Jon Gray lowered his ERA to 5.16 and made his 6th start of 21+ outs. He had not thrown 7IP with one hit allowed since May 7, 2016.

*Charlie Morton threw 6IP, 4H/1ER, 6K:4BB, WP, HBP. It's the 6th time Morton has walked 4+ batters, but it's the 10th start - out of 20 - in which Morton has allowed 0-1 ER. Morton also allowed his first home run - to Carlos Gonzalez - since June 3.

*Collin McHugh threw 2IP, 3H/1ER, 4K:0BB and the game-winning Blackmon home run. It's the first time since July 10 he has allowed a run (also on a home run). It's his first loss and first blown save of the season. His ERA is 1.09.

*Chandler Rome reports that the Astros don't have a timetable for Ken Giles' return to Houston. Hinch:
Still no timetable on what our plans are or what to do with him, but I'm happy that he's getting the regular work and happy with the openness to try and make a few subtle chances that will hopefully make him better. 

*The Trade Deadline is next Tuesday. MLB.com's Mike Petriello predicts the Astros get White Sox reliever Joakim Soria.

*The Ringer's Zach Kram: The Astros should trade for Bryce Harper and make the rest of MLB cower in fear.

*What the hell: People have been lined up outside the team store since yesterday afternoon for a Josh Reddick bobblehead.

*UPDATE: Carlos Correa is being held hostage in the lion car of a circus train chugging its way towards Provo, Utah.

Carlos Correa hit off a tee again today and did more baseball activities, A.J. Hinch said. Hinch said the club will "push him a little bit harder" when they return to Houston on Friday.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 25, 2018

*A.J. Hinch ain't care about the Yankees getting Zach Britton.

*Jake Kaplan: Why hasn't Bregman been the Astros' everyday SS since the kidnapping of Carlos Correa?

*Pitching matchups vs Ramgers:
Friday: Keuchel v. Gallardo
Saturday: Verlander v. Hamels
Sunday: McCullers v. Minor

*Multiple women brought harassment allegations against three current Mariners execs, including team president Kevin Mather. Hinch

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*The American League hasn't lost an All-Star Game since the Astros moved over.

*I wrote on the State of the Astros.

*Ned Yost called on Trill Harris to get the AL out of an 8th inning, bases-loaded jam, and now Game 1 will be in Houston. Harris:
You just want to do your job. And now the game counts for so much, with home-field advantage, that there's a little bit extra on the line, which makes it that much more fun.

*Richard Justice: Will Harris is a lesson in perseverance.

*Jose Altuve went 0x3 and doesn't have a hit in seven plate appearances across four All-Star Games. Trade him.

*Harris said that the 2016 Astros are like the 2015 Rangers and the 2016 Rangers are like the 2015 Astros. Hole Camels:
I don't think our schedule benefited us much. It's a good refresher for us, and I think it's going to re-energize us and get us back on our purpose and our track of what we've been setting up to accomplish.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article89015357.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article89015357.html#storylink=cpy

*Hamels needed eight stitches after falling outside his hotel room at 5am...because of course.

*Jim Bowden caused a storm when he tweeted that a SOURCE indicates the Astros will call up Alex Bregman as early as this weekend.

*A new generation of shortstops is taking over the game.

*The AL Batting Champion will now win the Rod Carew Award.

*Commissioner Rob Manfred says the increase in home runs in 2016 is not related to PEDs or juiced balls.

*The oral history of Bryce Harper's record-setting JuCo season.

*A Jonathan Lucroy foul ball destroyed Chronicle beat writer Jake Kaplan's laptop:

RIP @jakemkaplan’s laptop. Jon Lucroy killed it. pic.twitter.com/eSm3vEKX6L

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) July 13, 2016

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*Alex Bregman is the #7-ranked shortstop prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Here's a video.

*Baseball Prospectus released its Top 101 prospects yesterday. Graduated Astros include Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers. Remaining Astros on the list?
#39: Alex Bregman
#55: A.J. Reed
#63: Francis Martes
#85: Daz Cameron
#93: Kyle Tucker

Also notable: The Rangers have three in the Top 15.
Also notable: The Astros traded #61 Brett Phillips, #64 Mark Appel, #66 Jacob Nottingham in the last eight months.

*Fox Sports asks what impact Alex Bregman could have on the Astros in 2016.

*The 2015 Astros were the third-most unlucky team in the last 12 years, with Hardball Times noting how bad the Astros were under pressure.

*Tom Lawless is still looking for a job.

*The Astros are a sleeper candidate for signing Bryce Harper.

*Richard Justice made a decent team completely made up of remaining free agents.

*Drew Butera still has the ball from the final out of the Royals World Series winning game.