Friday Morning Hot Links

I had a really cool thing happen yesterday and, no, I'm not going to tell you about it. And I will not let what popped up ruin that. Let us also observe that paranoia and conspiracy theories arise out of a place of distrust. And while nobody trusts the Astros, there's an awful lot of distrust getting thrown towards Manfred and MLB. Anyway, just to be on record, let's do this.

*Everyone's favorite YouTube jacknut Jomboy had himself a flawed theory and, since he had a lot of funny Ejection Videos and isolated some trash can banging, everyone went ALL IN. 

Noted Imbecile Jomboy claimed that there were a couple of tweets from Carlos Beltran's niece saying that Altuve was wearing a buzzer on his shoulder when he hit the Pennant-Winning Walk-Off (and he had five different anonymous parties corroborating it).

Plot Twist: It was not Carlos Beltran's niece. In fact, there's some chatter that the initial tweets came from a player's burner account. Oh, and also that Mike Trout takes HGH and MLB has known this for two years. Sure, let's burn everything down and go back to the days of barnstorming. Of course Altuve denied it.

Jomboy got a taste of the big time when everyone legitimized his spending hours upon hours of watching the Astros beat the Yankees. And now he can just tweet whatever InfoWars douchebaggery he wants to make himself feel better and get instant validation. A great recipe!

*Joel Sherman got a quote from MLB:

MLB explored wearable devices during the investigation but found no evidence to substantiate it.

*Ranking the absurdities of this week in baseball. 

*Marc Carig said the Astros started the biggest scandal in sports since Steroids.

*Tom Verducci: Baseball is in an ethical crisis.

*Josh Reddick became the first player to speak out about the Astros' Winter of Discontent, saying:

We're not talking much about it...We've got to keep our focus on winning. It's as simple as that. We keep our focus on winning and everything will work itself out.

*The Astros interviewed Buck Showalter on Wednesday, John Gibbons yesterday, and will interview Will Venable today. McTaggart:

A source told MLB.com the Astros would like to have a manager in place by Feb. 1 before the club turns its attention to finding a new general manager.

Dan Connolly writes that Buck Showalter is a perfect candidate:

...Two of Showalter's best attributes are the two things that the Astros probably need the most right now: He brings immediate accountability and credibility, and he's a maestro at getting a team to believe that it is them against the world.

Dusty Baker said he's interested, hasn't been contacted, but "there's a few questions" he'd want to ask.

*George Springer avoided an arbitration hearing with the Astros when he agreed to a $21m deal for 2020.

*Dean Deetz, who was DFAd last week, was assigned to Round Rock.

*The 2017 Astros are here to wreck all the franchises: Carlos Beltran stepped down before ever managing a game. His statement was strong to quite strong.

*File this under, "I Thought This Happened Two Years Ago:" Carlos Gomez retired.

*Alyssa Nakken is about to become the first woman to be on an MLB coaching staff.

*GQ: Why is Putin's power play so shocking?

*Japanese billionaire's girlfriend entrants top 20,000 to go to the moon.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Got swept by the Rangers. We struck out 19 batters in a 9 inning game and lost.

McCann's knee ain't right, Altuve just went on the DL, Correa's back still hurts. Yuli is out here doing this, J.D. Davis is batting .154 WORSE than what he was in Fresno, Stassi hasn't gotten a hit since May, Kempin' aint easy, Devo exploded, fireworks exploded (and it was 80s themed because THE FANS VOTED FOR IT WHAT THE HECK GUYS??) Anyways, it generally hasn't been the best week for our Houston Astros (see above). The good news is we got swept by the White Sox last year and things actually turned out okay. That does not make what we as Astros fans went through any more fun, but I thought it would be nice to share.

Let's knock out some more bad news first before we get to the good stuff.

A.J. Hinch has implied that multiple people will have to play more unconventional positions.
"If you've got (Tyler) White and (J.D.) Davis and (Alex) Bregman and Marwin and Yuli and (Evan) Gattis, getting all of those into the lineup, some guys are going to have to play at a few different positions."
Can't wait to see Evan Gattis play 1st base this road trip!

A young boy with Down Syndrome has lost his special toy at Minute Maid Park yesterday. If you know anything where it might be, make sure to let this family know.

James Paxton is coming back just in time to face the struggling offense. Then we finish up in Seattle, then hit the Dodgers and Giants to finish up the road trip. Correa and Altuve better get fixed fast is all I'm saying.

Ugly Tweets have resurfaced involving Astros outfielder George Springer. I'll link the worst one here, but viewer discretion is advised...

Ken Giles is not having a great time in Fresno either. The Astros are shopping him(?) but I don't know how much interest is there.

GOOD NEWS TIME

Trade Deadline is tomorrow. Get your twitters ready!

Your day probably wasn't as bad as Jurickson Profar's.

There is a chance Forrest Whitley shows up on the team by September.

Max Stassi is a stud and should be blessed to have an opportunity to cheer for him.

Tyler White went 3/3 yesterday, and is currently hitting .286 with 3 home runs in 35 ABs. Pleasant surprise for the Astros thus far in 2018. Maybe he changed his approach and started thinking about Carlos Gomez hitting his Range Rover while he's in the box.

On this day in 2004, the Mets moved former Houston Astros Greats Scott Kazmir and Ty Wigginton to acquire former Astros Great Jeff Keppinger (and others but whatever).

These goofball Egyptians painted a donkey like a zebra and told everyone their zoo had a zebra.

This guy in New Hampshire went to a Planet Fitness naked because "it was a judgment free zone."

If you haven't read this piece on how one guy rigged McDonald's Monopoly, you should.

Sorry for the Springer tweet thing. That was stupid. I will be better.

I hope the Astros will win a game before I have to do this again. Hang in there guys. This slump will all be over soon.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Oh great the Badstros are back, just like we all knew. Winning streak is snapped at 12. Houston is 49-26, 20-15 at Minute Maid Park.

*It was Justin Verlander's 400th career start, and he threw 6.2IP, 6H/1ER, 10K:1BB, and allowed a 2nd inning C.J. Cron home run. It was Verlander's first 10+ K game since May 1. Verlander has now thrown 14 straight Quality Starts and has three starts of double-digit strikeouts with one or zero walks.

*Verlander's 122 pitches were the most in a regular season game since 2014.

*The Astros are 10-6 in Verlander's starts. In those six losses Houston has scored a total of seven runs.

*Run Support, Astros' rotation, 2018:
Cole: 6.22 runs/game
McCullers: 5.70
Morton: 5.34
Keuchel: 5.14
Verlander: 3.99

*Houston pitchers have double-digit strikeouts in 44 of their 75 games (58.7%). The 2017 Astros got 10+ Ks in 84 of their 162 regular season games (51.9%).

#Rays manager Kevin Cash on #Astros manager AJ Hinch giving Jose Altuve the night off: “Thank God.” #TBRvsHOU

— MoiseKapenda Bower (@moisekapenda) June 19, 2018

*Rays starter Blake Snell allowed just three hits, but walked seven batters. The Astros were 1x6 w/RISP. It was the 6th time this season the Astros drew seven walks in a game. Somehow they're 3-3 in those games. Hinch:
Snell's nasty. Look at the league and look at the numbers, the entire league is having a hard time hitting him when he's in the strike zone. 

*The Astros had the bases loaded in the first with one out and did not score. Carlos Gomez - proving that a broken clock is right twice a day - threw out George Springer trying to score from 3B on Evan Gattis' flyout.

-Houston had runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs in the 6th, and did not score. And had runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs in the 9th, and did not score.

*After homering in eleven straight games, the Astros have now gone back-to-back games without a home run for the first time since May 14-15. Houston is 10-12 in games when they don't hit a home run.

*Alex Bregman was 1x2 with 2BB. He was 40K:44BB on the season. George Springer led the 2017 Astros with 64 walks. The last Astro to have more walks than strikeouts in a season was Carlos Lee who, in 66 games (276 PAs) in 2012, drew 19 walks and struck out 17 times. The last player to do it with over 300 PAs in a season was Jeff Keppinger, who posted a 36K:51BB ratio in 575 PAs in 2010.

The Athletic's Eno Sarris: Bregman is on the cusp of stardom. Lots of good, hard math in this one to back it up.

*Carlos Correa was 0x3 with 2K:1BB.
Correa, Away, 2018: .328/.401/.552
Correa, Home, 2018: .203/.299/.424

*Marwin Gonzalez was ejected in the 4th inning after striking out on three pitches. AP:
Gonzalez argued with home plate umpire Pat Hoberg before throwing his bat and helmet and being tossed. He kept barking at Hoberg after the ejection and continued yelling at him until third base coach Gary Pettis pulled him away and pushed him toward the dugout.

Tony Kemp replaced Marwin in LF an Altuve pinch-hit for Kemp in the 9th inning.

*Beyond the Box Score's Patrick Brennan: The 2018 Astros might be the best team in the history of modern baseball.

*A.J. Hinch isn't getting caught up in all this "history" talk:
It's nice when you put things in perspective over time, and we'll recognize what a championship was like last year or what some of these streaks are like this year or what a rotation we have. I don't want to rush to judge history until I'm old and realize exactly what it means.

*Get this Hugs For Homers shirt and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Astros Youth Foundation.

*Carlos Gomez was 0x3 with a strikeout (and two outfield assists) to drop his season slash line to .190/.265/.333. Of 81 MLB outfielders with a minimum of 200 plate appearances, Carlos Gomez's -0.6 fWAR ranks 80th. From 2016-2018, Gomez has hit .231/.307/.402 for a 90 OPS+.

*Joe Smith is working his way back from elbow discomfort and is on track to rejoin the team for the next homestand. Smith:
If I feel good tomorrow, we'll walk in and play catch again and keep on going. Hopefully I can join this group because they're rolling right now and it seems like a lot of fun.

*If you've ever wanted to see Dallas Keuchel naked, here's your chance. Those Free Agent dollars aren't going to make themselves.

*SI.com's Jon Tayler: The Astros are the best team in baseball. Tayler:
Is there a weak spot anywhere on the Astros? If there is, it's pretty easily papered over by the superstars who are performing so far above average that they mask the deficiencies of those struggling. That's bad news for everybody else in the AL, particularly the Mariners, who trail Houston by two games in the West despite going 29-15 since the start of May.

*Jose Altuve is still currently projected to be the only Astros position player starting for the AL All-Star Team. Here's where the Astros stand, relative to the position leader:
Gurriel: -267,803
Correa: -212,766
Bregman: -483,118
McCann: -276,823
Springer: -549,555
Marwin: -760,676
Reddick: -783,038

*Watch this episode of Jayson Stark's Baseball Stories, featuring Jeff Luhnow.

*Check out this Mike Feinsand podcast with Astros Senior Director of Baseball Operations Brandon Taubman.

*Speaking of podcasts, check out this Alex Bregman spot with Friend of Astros County Mike Oz.

*Kyle Tucker was 3x4 with a walk in a 5-3 Fresno win over Round Rock that completed a four-game sweep. Tucker has a 9-game hitting streak in which he's 19x39 with 5K:4BB. Brock Dykxhoorn threw 7IP, 4H/2ER, 8K:0BB. Fresno outscored Round Rock - the Rangers' temporary Triple-A affiliate - 26-8 in the four-game set. Fresno is 44-27, 6.5 games up in the Pacific Northern Division, while Round Rock is 30-41, 12.5 games back of Memphis in the American Southern Division.

*Corpus beat San Antonio 9-6 last night and Randy Cesar's 9th inning infield single extended his hitting streak to 36 games. Yordan Alvarez, since returning from the DL: 7x15, 2HR, 8RBI.

*Bob Nightengale has an in-depth piece on the Royals' decision to trade star closer Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals in the middle of June. Not gonna lie: I wanted Kelvin Herrera in Houston.

*Giants reliever Hunter Strickland blew a save Monday night. Then he punched a door. And broke his hand. And now he's out for 6-8 weeks.

*New Yorker: Looking for life on a Flat Earth.

Round 18 of chemo: $15,000
Ticket to game: $25
Dollar Dog: $1
Seeing the defending champ @astros while beating cancer: Priceless. pic.twitter.com/l4uY7fBm9N

— Daniel Begnaud (@DanBeg1) June 19, 2018

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the piss out of the Rangers while Jose Leclerc tried to kill Jose Altuve. Astros win 11-2 and win this boot-shaped trophy that's all silver and whatnot. I guess it means something. A win tonight against West Tyler officially eliminates the Rangers from the postseason. Shoutout to Jon Daniels for making sure the season ticket holders got to see it in person.

Good thing the Rangers did not swap home series with Houston. Hate to lose this crowd; pic.twitter.com/FBfuyjXiGT

— Gerry Fraley (@gfraley) September 26, 2017

*Keuchel:
They've done very well against us the last couple years. If we're able to eliminate them from postseason play, that would be awesome.

*The Astros are 96-60 and are now tied for 3rd all-time in single-season wins with the 1986 team. They'll need to win out to match 1998, but 98 wins puts them in 2nd place.

*Houston went 10-28 against Wichita Falls between 2015 and 2016. They're 10-7 against them in 2017.

*The Indians were off yesterday, so the Astros are two games back with six games to play. With Cleveland holding the tie-breaker, the Astros need to finish three games better than Cleveland, who opens a home series against Minnesota tonight. Houston, who is five up on Boston, can clinch home field in the ALDS with a win tonight and a Red Sox loss.

*The Astros scored eight runs in the 4th inning in which only one of the runs was earned thanks to some Benny Hill-inspired fielding by the Rangers. That 4th inning went as such:
Single, Single, Sac Fly (1-2), walk, line out, HBP, error (2-2), walk (3-2), error (4-2), single (6-2), double (8-2), foul out.

Seven runs scored with two outs.

*Collin McHugh needed 112 pitches to throw 5IP, 7H/2ER, 6K:3BB. 69 of those pitches were for strikes.

*The Astros bullpen of Hoyt, Sipp, Clippard, and Feliz threw 4IP, 1H/0ER, 8K:1BB. Michael Feliz struck out the side in the 9th in his first game since September 9.

*So it seems that The Outlaw Jose Leclerc retaliated to a non-issue between Collin McHugh and Carlos Gomez, in which Gomez took issue to a pitch up and in, changed bats, fouled a ball off up over the plate (which sort of negates the "we're going to hit you" position) and then marched like a brave soldier towards McHugh. McHugh:
I asked him what the issue was and he said, 'Yeah, I got a problem with you.' And everybody else was out there by that point in time. The game goes on. I don't want to spend any more mental effort thinking about Carlos Gomez. It is what it is.

Gomez saw it differently and, WAIT FOR IT, there is a Snitch in the Astros clubhouse:
It's always going to be I am the troublemaker. I'm always going to get blamed. The truth is I got told by one of the people who work for them that he was going to hit me. So, last time I faced him he hit me right away. No one said anything about that, but I react to something, I'm the troublemaker. How am I supposed to react?

How indeed. Fact is Carlos Gomez is going to play Victim and ask the cashier why he's the troublemaker when the local HEB runs out of his favorite hummus.

*Gomez went on to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about McHugh, whom Gomez said ran away "like a little cat" when the benches cleared in May after Mike Napoli's life was threatened by a pitch 20 feet behind his back.
I'm a man and am responsible to my stuff. I don't think I did anything wrong. When I'm wrong, I apologize. He tell(s) one of his people that he was going to hit me. You tell me to my face. I go after you personally, you run away. What kind of man are you? I have nothing against this team, I have something against him.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article175385556.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article175385556.html#storylink=cpy

*Altuve was 1x3 with a walk before getting plunked by Jose Leclerc (SAY HIS NAME AND REMEMBER IT), giving him 199 hits on the season. Altuve:
When I got hit, I thought it was something really, really bad, but thank God it was just a hard hit and I feel good. 

Here's the video of the Leclerc pitch:

95 MPH up near the face??? #Astros pic.twitter.com/dgoD9wiKQR

— Pivoting 2 Video (@MrJoshua) September 26, 2017

X-rays were negative. Hinch said that Altuve might not play "the next couple of games, anyway" so it may be that Altuve gets tonight off as it is. I want that 4th consecutive 200-hit season, though, sooner than later.

*Marwin Gonzalez was 4x5 with 3RBI including his 23rd home run of the season. It was Marwin's 3rd career 4-hit game, his first 4-hit game since August 11, 2016 and his 41st multi-hit game of the season.

*Carlos Correa was 0x5 and is hitting .222/.282/.306 in September as he works to regain his form after missing significant time during the season. His .588 September OPS is the worst of his young career.

*A.J. Hinch is trying not to overthink the regular season-ending series against Boston. Hinch:
Exposing guys to different matches and things like that is a little tricky, but you can overthink that, too. You really just need to play the games and compete and let whatever happens happen, and not get too caught up in that stuff. 

*The upcoming rotation through the end of the season:
Tonight: Keuchel
Wednesday: Verlander
Thursday (at Boston): Peacock
Friday: Morton
Saturday: McCullers or McHugh
Sunday: McHugh or McCullers or Keuchel

*Here are five questions Hinch has to answer this week.

*Brian T. Smith writes about Hinch's impending Lance McCullers decision

*Rolling Stone (?!) offers up a piece on how the Astros are helping in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

*Check out photos from Puerto Rico and re-evaluate what's making you Mad, Online.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*I want to start off this morning with a little sermon. In my previous career I was fairly data-driven. I ran an education department at a major museum. I had people working under me, and about a $250,000 budget. Some of you might laugh at that, but for a history major, that was sort of a big deal. I wanted/needed to show that the department was improving over the previous years. As we started going through the year I would keep a monthly track and make projections about where the department might end up the year. At the bottom of my spreadsheet I would make notes such as, "Remember: three days of rain in mid-May," or, "X School cancelled field trip because of funding issues." These were things that could impact our numbers. Not that I was planning on not improving, but I wanted to have a couple of easy things to point to just in case we fell short.

This is what concerns me about the Astros. The Trade Deadline had no impact on this 16-game stretch. As Grant Brisbee wrote last week:
It's not fair to look at the Astros' record since the trade deadline and make any sort of point. It's not just unfair, but it's also incompetent, brainless, and rude. The Astros didn't make a trade at the deadline, the Astros are 2-4 [now 2-9] since then, and I need new tires for my car. Those three facts correlate with each other roughly the same.

And it's easy to look and see that Sonny Gray or Yu Darvish have definitely not made any starts for the Houston Astros since July 31, so that explains why the Astros suck right now. It's not the case. But there's a creeping thought in the back of my mind that guys like Keuchel and Reddick have this ready-made excuse for why things aren't going well, and that in their minds, the Astros' record and the Astros' inactivity at the end of July are very much linked. That kind of mindset can snowball on you because "Well we didn't get any help, that's why we suck," and then they go out and do exactly that: suck. So it would be real nice if the Veteran Presence guys like Beltran and McCann could smack some dudes around in the clubhouse (maybe they have, I don't know) and get everyone on track.

*Mike Fiers gave up a 3-run homer to #9 hitter Brett Nicholas - his first home run of the season and the third home run of his career - as the Astros lost their fifth straight game, 8-3. The Astros are 71-45. The Angels beat the Mariners to take over sole possession of 2nd place, and are 12 games back. In their last five games the Astros are 0-5 while the Angels are 5-0. This is just kinda starting to get old. There are 46 games remaining.

*Hinch:
Times like this will always feel miserable, bleak, frustrating. But every team goes through them. Now while you're going through them, they're hard to describe. It's the same thing over and over again.

*Mike Fiers: 4IP, 5H/6ER, 2K:4BB, 2HR, 1HBP. Fiers:
That's pretty much the key to failure and success for me I think is the walks and the home run again. One home run turns into three runs.

More Fiers:
Hopefully Dallas can get us back on track, but it starts with the starting pitcher. I think we need to really go out there and attack these hitters and not give them too much credit and just be aggressive and things will start turning our way [Ed. note: that is a run-on sentence]. It's a rough stretch right now, but we'll be able to pull through and go back on a run.

*In this 16-game stretch where the Astros are 4-12, Astros pitchers have thrown 139IP, 163H/95ER, 137K:67BB for a 6.15 ERA/1.65 WHIP. They've lost seven straight road games.

*Carlos Gomez got HBP'd twice: once by Fiers and once by Francisco Liriano (who, once again, allowed both inherited runners to score). Gomez:
I don't know what's going on, I've got nothing to say.

Oh great here comes Hacksaw Jeff Banister:
It's puzzling.

More Gomez:
Everything that I do, I'm the trouble-maker so I have to take it. When I do something, they talk about it really good. When they do it to me, nobody says nothing. I understand. 

Neither pitcher is exactly the picture of command. Greg Maddux isn't up there. Fiers leads the league with 12 HBPs and has 51 walks in 128IP this season. Liriano goes through patches where he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. He has 46 walks in 85.1IP this season. Nothing's going on, Carlos Gomez. For once in your life try to remember that it's not about you.

*Tyson Ross threw 5.2IP but allowed four hits and five walks. The Astros were 2x6 w/RISP and left seven on base.

*Astros catchers haven't thrown out a baserunner since June 18, with opposing baserunners taking a base in 27 straight attempts.

*Alex Bregman's K-less streak ended at 54 plate appearances.

*Congratulations to J.D. Davis, who drove in his first MLB RBIs and got his first MLB extra-base hit.

*ESPN's Bradford Doolittle asks if the Astros have enough pitching for the postseason. The answer: Maybe!

*Brian T. Smith asks if this is a slump or the beginning of the end.

*The Astros released lefty Ashur Tolliver yesterday. In 35.1IP for Fresno, Tolliver allowed 39H/28ER, 28K:33BB.

*The Astros promoted pitchers Forrest Whitley and Cionel Perez from High-A to Corpus. Whitley made seven appearances for Buies Creek, throwing 31.1IP, 28H/11ER, 50K:9BB. So this season Whitley has 117 strikeouts in 77.2IP with a 3.01 ERA/1.29 WHIP. He'll be 20 next month.

LHP Cionel Perez made five appearances for BCA, throwing 25.1IP, 27H/8ER, 18K:5BB.

*Riley Ferrell faced six batters last night and struck out five of them in a Corpus loss to Springfield.

*Sean Pendergast tweeted out the original feel-good story of the Astros acquiring Randy Johnson.

*Inside the thriving subculture of eclipse chasers.

*Dallas Keuchel will take the mound today in an attempt to have a Game Score higher than the number of baserunners he allows.

*Closing note: at some point in the last two or three days Astros County reached five million page views. I used to care way more about page views than I do now, but I just want to thank you for visiting this dumb little web site. It's a labor of love, and I love all of you. Unless you're a Nazi.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*We got Inefficient Fiers yesterday and a rare Devo-saster which, combined with a fantastic start from Future Astro Marcus Stroman, resulted in a 7-2 Astros loss. The Astros are 59-29 and have a 15.5-game lead in the AL West.

*Creepy Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, on Future Astro Marcus Stroman:
Stroman was dynamite today, against a good hitting club, too. His finger was great, but he just stayed on the attack.

Stay tuned for whatever the hell "his finger" means.

*The Astros managed to GIDP four times in the first five innings. Those four GIDPs in a single game is the highest for the Astros since August 7, 2014, a 6-5 loss to the Phillies (the 2014 Astros GIDP'd four times in a game three times). So are four GIDPs going to happen often? No. Was it frustrating? Yes. Am I glad I was at my daughter's birthday party instead of watching this game? Also, yes. But weird things happen. Let's go get Marcus Stroman before someone else does.

*But Mike Fiers didn't have a great start. Thirty of his first 60 pitches were balls. Or balls, if you're a negative person. That's okay, because Mike Fiers has been fantastic over the last six weeks, so he can turn back into Mike Fiers once in a while. His final line: 6IP, 5H/3ER, 6K:4BB. The last time he allowed nine baserunners in a start was on May 25, a 7-6 win against the Twins (10 hits, 1 walk). The walks are a little troubling. He's walked four batters in consecutive starts after having walked four batters just once this season previously.

After five rough innings, Fiers went back out for the 6th and did a pretty good job, for that inning. Fiers:
I thought I was coming out. I had to talk A.J. into letting me stay out there. I just wanted to save the bullpen a little bit more, save it another inning and help out. 

*Noted Ramger-killer Josh Donaldson got a pitch up and in from Fiers, which apparently pissed him off, right before he hit a three-run home run:
I don't think the guy was trying to do it intentionally. But at the same token, it's up around the head area, and nobody appreciates that. At the end of the day, I was happy to help our team win. 

*Chris Devenski had a bad day, allowing four earned runs on three hits and a walk in one inning of work. Way to go All-Star (/sarcasm). Those 4ER broke a nine-appearance run-less streak. You'd have to cumulatively go back to May 24 (19 appearances, 24.2IP) to get his last four earned runs. Ridiculously, his ERA is still at 2.73.

*Carlos Correa's 0x3, BB day broke his 15-game hitting streak but kept his on-base streak alive at 24 games.

*Marwin got his 16th home run of the season ranks 40th among MLBers, and tying him with Mike Trout, which means Marwin = Trout. However, his 218 ABs (note: not PAs, because I'm trying to get a jump on these by doing as much as I can on Saturday night while my wife is in the shower) are the fewest among those players with 16HR.

*Via the very valuable Christian Boutwell, the last time the Astros played a game without hitting a double was May 20. That's 45 games, homey. Offense is fine.

*SportsNet's extremely good reporter Shi Davidi talked to Jeff Luhnow about the Astros' plans for the trade deadline. Luhnow:
We want to win now, for sure, and we're going to do whatever it takes to win now. But at the same time, we've been building up currency, all these players in the pipeline so that we could be good for a long time. The Braves showed that they can do it for a decade plus. I don't know if we're going to be able to do that, but I certainly want it to be more than a three- or four-year run.

Imagine two to three more years of winning like this. (Mixed in with some dumb losses to the Blue Jays). If you don't click on any other article, read this one. It talks about the Astros planning moves to combat teams like Cleveland and Boston in October. And take notes. And change your pants when you're done.

*Jake Kaplan wrote about how Lance McCullers developed his curve.

*A.J. Hinch says everyone in the clubhouse wants more (and references the 2015 ALDS Game 4, a game of which we shall not speak):
I don't worry about contentment for our team. When you go to a man in our clubhouse, they want to be elite. They want to be really good. We want to lead the league in wins. Our aspirations are as high as they could possibly be. But everybody's are who feel like they have a chance. 

*The Astros are 10-6 in 1-run games; the Rangers are 6-14.

*The Astros "came the closest" to a trade this past off-season for the Tigers' lefty reliever Justin Wilson, but balked at the Tigers' offer of Wilson for Derek Fisher. This season Wilson has thrown 32.2IP, 18H/9ER, 48K:12BB. The Detroit Free-Press' Anthony Fenech writes that the Astros (as well as the Cubs and Nationals) have had "high-level scouts" at Tigers games recently. And the Dodgers, who are probably going to land J.D. Martinez, are interested in Wilson, as well. Fenech also writes that, while the Astros will likely check on the availability of Justin Verlander, a deal for him would be out of character for Luhnow.

*Tyler White and Forrest Whitley were named organizational players of the month for June, presumably, unless they're just projecting (which, yanno, Ground Control, yanevaknow). Tyler White hit .381/.455/.783 in June with 9HR/28RBI, 21K:13BB. Whitley threw 20.2IP, 18H/4ER, 31K:12BB in June for a 1.74 ERA/1.45 WHIP. Check out the unfortunately named "Houston, We Have Prospects" podcast with Corpus' Sam Levitt, whose latest guest is Forrest Whitley.

*Corpus outfielder Ramon Laureano - going into last night's game - was hitting .214/.294/.321. But he's heating up. In seven July games he's hitting .407/.448/.852 with seven extra-base hits. Laureano had eight extra base hits in 47 games in May-June.

*All six of the Astros' All-Stars came up through the farm system, and Hooks manager Rodney Linares is stoked:
It tells you that we did a lot of hard work, and I think Jeff Luhnow and his crew what they did up there drafting those guys and kind of allowing us to put our hands on those guys. Also, all the credit goes to the players because they are the ones that play.

*Today is the Futures Game - 3pm Central on MLB Network or MLB.com. You can watch Derek Fisher and Kyle Tucker on Team USA and Yordan Alvarez on Team World. 64% of the rosters from last year's Futures Game have been in the majors this year. Joe Musgrove and Alex Bregman were on the team last year.

*The Dodgers beat the Royals on a walk-off home run, and now have the best record in baseball by a half-game.

*Former Astros 2015 Wild Card Great Carlos Gomez says playing baseball in the United States is both a challenge and a dream.

*Do you want Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb this month? It's probably not going to happen.

*Arian Foster and Glover Quin invested in a 12-year old's lemonade stand.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*Well well well. How the turns have tabled! Mike Fiers was hot garbage yet again - more on him soon AND later today - but the Astros turned yet another 5-run deficit into a W. After Jonathan Lucroy hit the Rangers' 4th home run of the game in the 4th inning, the Rangers had a 92.3% Win Expectancy.  Altuve's 2-run homer still gave the Rangers the a WE of 79.3%. But Marwin's grand slam in the 8th shifted the probability 71.2% in the Astros favor. Luke Gregerson had to make it interesting, but Will Harris shut the door to preserve the Astros' come-from-behind win.

*Beltran, who went 3x5:
As a team we believe in ourselves and we know we're a good-hitting ball club. At one point people are going to get hot and we're going to be able to do just what we did. 

*That was Marwin's first career grand slam, and the second 2HR game of his career. Furthermore, he hit a homer from both sides of the plate last night. Marwin, on the grand slam:
It was an unbelievable moment to be able to come back in the game like that. We have been doing that the whole year, and hopefully we can keep doing that and we're going to be in a good spot for playoffs.

SHHHHH you don't talk about playoffs in May, Marwin, come on you know better than that.

*Mike Fiers is now allowing 4.26 HR/9 innings. Among pitchers in 2017 who have thrown at least 20IP, that's the worst in baseball by almost a full home run. Among qualified pitchers in 2016, the league-worst HR/9 was James Shields, at 1.98 HR/9. In fact, from 1962-2016, the qualifying pitcher with the highest HR/9 was the Patron Saint of Lima Time Time, Jose Lima, who gave up 2.20 HR/9 for the 2000 Astros.

Also, 46.2% of the fly balls he is giving up end up leaving the yard. For as long as they've been keeping track of HR/FB, Jaime Garcia allowed an all-time worst 20.2% HR/FB rate in 2016. That is obviously unsustainable, but maybe because the Astros can't afford to see if it's unsustainable. I know they have the best record in baseball, but Fiers is a train wreck right now. What options do they have? Well, the best starting pitcher in Fresno - Brady Rodgers - had Tommy John surgery yesterday. Within the confines of the 40-Man roster, the Astros could flip Peacock and Fiers, but who knows if Peacock's success is owed to him embracing his new role as a Devenski-style long man? For now I think the Astros just strap Fiers in a seat, pry his eyelids open Clockwork Orange-style, and make him watch film of his mechanics. Fix your crap, Fiers.

*Collin McHugh may start playing catch this weekend, putting his return approximately around the time the Astros won't need him anymore.

*This was the 3rd time the Astros have come back from a five-run deficit this season, and because symmetry is just gorgeous, it's also the third time the Rangers have blown a five-run lead.

*The Astros have scored 68 runs off of relief pitching in 27 games. The 2013 Astros didn't score 68 runs all season this is a fact.

*Shoutout to James Hoyt for striking out five in 2IP.

*Regarding Rodgers and his Tommy John surgery, Luhnow:
...We felt like he could really make a difference up here this year. It's not going to happen. 

In response, the Astros purchased the contract of LHP Casey Coleman and sent him to Fresno. Coleman will be 30 in July and appeared in parts of four seasons with the Cubs and Royals. He has a career 5.72 ERA/1.69 WHIP.

*Cole Hamels was scratched from his scheduled start last night due to tightness in his oblique during warm-ups.

*Carlos Gomez is still salty about the dust-up between McCullers and Napoli:
You want to hit him, hit [him], why do you want to be a tough guy? 

[Pause to remember that McCullers, in fact, did not hit Napoli, but threw a ball behind his shoulder blades. This resulted in a catastrophic lack of injury to Mike Napoli, God preserve his soul.]

Gomez, on McHugh:
He is standing up in the dugout when he is on the DL and yelling. If he has something to say, say it to me. He is not man enough to stand in front of me and say it.

*Evan Grant says an Astros/Rangers rivalry is good for baseball.

*David Paulino threw 2IP in an extended spring training game yesterday.

*Adam Jones went to town on the Red Sox organization.

*If you're looking for a starting pitcher that won't cost half of your Top 20 prospects, Buster Olney says Trevor Cahill could be available.

*Grant Brisbee on the fan reading the newspaper about the Giants winning the 2014 World Series from his front row seat at Dodger Stadium.

PreStros Report - Games of May 2:

Fresno (11-15) fell to Sacramento 5-4 last night with Brian Holmes allowing 6H/5ER, 2K:4BB in 3.1IP and pushing his ERA to 7.89. Kevin Comer, Tyson Perez, and Dayan Diaz threw 5.2IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:1BB in relief. Tyler White went 3x4, Derek Fisher was 2x5 with a double and an outfield assist; Andrew Aplin was 2x2 with 2BB and 2RBI. Reid Brignac hit his 3rd homer of the year.

Corpus (15-10) lost the opener of a series at Midland, 6-1. Rogelio Armenteros wiggled in and out of trouble, allowing 7H/2ER, 3K:2BB in 3.2IP. Eric Peterson allowed 4H/3ER in 1.1IP. Josh James allowed 4H/1ER, 3K:2BB in 3IP. Bryan Muniz was 2x4 with an RBI. Jon Singleton was 1x3 with a double and a walk.

Buies Creek (18-8) allowed the tying runs to score in the bottom of the 9th but a Kyle Tucker homer in the top of the 12th gave BCA a 4-3 win over Carolina. Matt Bower threw 5IP, 5H/1ER, 3K:2BB; Carlos Sierra threw three hitless innings. Ryan Deemes got the BS/W with 4H/2ER, 3K:2BB in 3.1IP.  Kyle Tucker was 1x4 with the aforementioned homer, walk, and 2RBI. Osvaldo Duarte and Arturo Michelena had a triple and a walk. Jason Martin was 1x4 with 2BB.

Quad Cities (13-10) scored the last six runs of the game for a 9-5 win over Fort Wayne. Enoli Paredes went 5IP, 3H/2ER, 8K:3BB; Ryan Hartman allowed 2H/3ER, 4K:3BB but got the win. Jake Rogers was (wink) a triple shy of the cycle with 3RBI; Randy Cesar was 2x3 with a double, two walks, and 2RBI; Rodrigo Ayarza was 1x2 with a homer and 2RBI. Stephen Wrenn was 2x5 with an RBI.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*Boston got Chris Sale, which means the Astros didn't get Chris Sale (and also means the Ramgers didn't get Chris Sale, either). The cost was Yoan Moncada (maybe the best prospect in baseball) and Michael Kopech - a flame-throwing pitcher who apparently hit 105mph on the radar gun - plus two more prospects. The Chron's Jake Kaplan:
Market dynamics are such that the Astros probably wouldn't be able to acquire a pitcher the caliber of...Chris Archer or...Jose Quintana without parting with Alex Bregman as a centerpiece to the deal. That is a price they are not willing to meet. 

Luhnow doesn't feel the urgency of adding a starting pitcher this week at the Winter Meetings:
I don't feel like we have to do anything this week necessarily, and it could be that if we have any moves left, it's going to happen after the winter meetings...but we're certainly active in finding out what's available and how much it would cost us. 

Lots of good quotes from Luhnow on how he sees the rotation shaping up, so be sure to click and give that one a full read.

*As with free agency deals, the Sale trade provides a reference point for the Rays in negotiations for Chris Archer. Rays GM Erik Neander, of Chris Archer:
You're talking about a top-end talent with three years of control. The price to get those guys is not cheap. 

*Excellent article from The Ringer's Michael Baumann: The Astros aren't trying to be the Cubs anymore.

*A.J. Hinch is pretty excited about filling out his lineup card next season:
It's been exciting...we were the most active team with the most success at getting to the finish line. We've got to be one of the [deepest] teams, position-player-wise, in our league. 

*McTaggart thinks that the Astros are more keyed-in on Jake Odorizzi, Sonny Gray, and Drew Pomeranz than they are Chris Archer.

*The additions of Reddick and Beltran likely push Yuli Gurriel to 1B, and A.J. Hinch is just fine with that:
We threw him in the middle of the pennant race at first base in [South Ardmore] and he was a little raw because of the responsibilities that come with the position. But he can play infield. He has good footwork. He can handle the glove...him getting a full Spring Training of work at first base will do wonders for him. 

*The Astros are going to prepare Chris Devenski as a starter going into Spring Training before determining if he's in the rotation or the bullpen. Luhnow:
He's going to be a multi-inning pitcher one way or another. Whether it's two or five or seven (innings), that remains to be seen. 

*Michael Feliz, however, will likely stay in the bullpen until he can develop his changeup.

*The Astros signed LHP C.J. Riefenhauser to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. Riefenhauser's MLB numbers don't exactly blow up your skirt, but the 26-year old is dealing with a small sample size there - he only allowed runs in four of his 17 appearances in 2015, and they were all 2-3ER allowed. Still, you see the Astros making yet another move to shore up their lefty reliever role. His 2.62 ERA/1.10 WHIP in Triple-A is worthy of at least a look.

*Carlos Gomez re-signed with the Rangers on a 1yr/$11.5m deal for 2017.

*The fun part will be the potential for a rematch, 19 times over, between Astros Great Brian McCann and Noted Asshole Carlos Gomez. From September 2013:


*With 19 ballots known so far, Bagwell is running at 86% in the BBWAA.

Qualifying Offers and Other Notes

*Patrick and I interviewed Astros Director of Pro Scouting Kevin Goldstein for Lima Time Time.

*Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, and Mike Trout are the three finalists for the AL MVP award. As McTaggart notes, Altuve is the first 2B to get to 100 runs, 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 homers, 95 RBI, and 30 SB in a single season.
If I win it's going to be great, if not, I'm going to feel proud because I feel like I did what I had to do to help my team and I don't want to stop here. Like I said before and will say 100 times, I want to keep getting better. 

*McTaggart also notes that the Astros may have no choice but to overpay for Jason Castro, but could be major players in free agency.

*Predictably, the Astros did not extend the 1yr/$17.2m qualifying offer to any of their impending free agents: Colby Rasmus, Jason Castro, Luis Valbuena, or Doug Fister. It's worth noting that some potential free agent targets Edwin Encarnacion, Yoenis Cespedes, Mark Trumbo received Qualifying Offers from their respective teams. This would mean the Astros would lose their 1st Round pick in the 2017 draft should they sign one of these players. Catchers Wilson Ramos and Matt Wieters did not receive a QO.

*That said, the Blue Jays are reportedly making a push to re-sign Edwin Encarnacion.

*You can filter through MLBTR's free agent tracker.

*Francis Martes is using his time in the Arizona Fall League to work on his changeup, while Garrett Stubbs is trying to add some bulk to his frame, and Aaron Rowand - remember him? - guarantees that Ramon Laureano will be a major-leaguer.

*Carlos Gomez would like a five-year deal, please and thank you. Heyman:
Boras pointed out that Gomez, by virtue of his movement from Houston to Texas in-season, can not get a qualifying offer, which should aid him in free agency. The agent also credited the Rangers with helping him receive information that aided his vision, and led to a stark turnaround in performance. 

*Pitchers & Catchers report on February 14.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Astros managed to hold on despite the best efforts of umpire Clint Fagan to sweep the A's 6-5. Evan Gattis homered twice to become the first Astro with 30 home runs in a season since Chris Carter in 2014. In fact, here is a complete list of Astros to hit 30+ homers since 2007:

1. Chris Carter, 2014
2. Evan Gattis, 2016

Gattis:
Just trying to finish strong...You don't want to limp out of the season. You kind of want to sprint, you know? 

*Hinch, on the win:
We're really taking this one game at a time, which is the worst cliche you can use at this time of year, but it's the reality of how we show up every day....We know if we win, good things can happen to us. 

Here's how the Wild Card race looks now:
Toronto: 83-69 (+1)
Baltimore: 82-70 (-)
Detroit: 80-70 (-1)
Houston: 81-71 (-1)

*FanGraphs has the Astros' odds at 28%. FiveThirtyEight has it at 36%. This is remarkable

*Worth noting that George Springer - who has admittedly had a down year - is really struggling in the 2nd half:
1st Half: .262/.359/.473, 19HR, .302 BABIP
2nd Half: .234/.346/.415, 9HR, .306 BABIP

August: .246/.360/.412
September: .200/.326/.373

But that was a pretty sweet slide to score a run yesterday.

*Colby Rasmus had a remarkable interview yesterday with the Chronicle on why he's not playing as much down the stretch. Rasmus:
I just haven't been feeling like myself out there on the field, so I just felt that it may be better for somebody else to get in there. (Tony Kemp) got in there and did something cool. Just taking a little breather...I just don't feel that I can get out there and do as good a job as somebody else. So I don't think that it's fair for them or fair for the team for me to try to just get out there if I'm not feeling like I can get the job done. 

I've never heard anything like this from a player before. This goes to the very heart of something I've wrestled with: if you're struggling, is it more admirable to try to play through it - hurting your team in the process - or do you have an obligation to take the field every time you're called upon, regardless of how it turns out.

*MLB overturned one of the error calls on Altuve last week, to give him 203 hits on the season.

*FanGraphs: The Astros gave the Rangers a quality outfielder named Carlos Gomez. Pro tip: Don't read this.

*Hardball Times: Jose Altuve and the quest for .400.

*Preston Tucker had surgery on his shoulder blade, ending a season of pain. Hinch:
It bothered him a little bit in the Minor Leagues before he got called back up, and he was able to tolerate it as long as he didn't swing and miss or have an awkward swing.

Oh, okay. Tucker should be ready for Spring Training.

*David Paulino has been added to the Arizona Fall League roster.

*Happy birthday, Carlos Correa and Larry Dierker:

For Carlos Correa's 22nd birthday... Here's a spray chart of all his base hits. Beautiful. pic.twitter.com/dDSDI6dhYn

— Daren Willman (@darenw) September 22, 2016

*An oral history of Vin Scully.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Astros will carry a W1 against the Rangers until May 2017 after last night's costly win. Why so costly? Because Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman both left the game with injuries. Because that's how Astros fandom goes.

More on that in a second. George Springer tied Craig Biggio's franchise mark with his 8th leadoff homer of the season, Teoscar Hernandez hit a 2-run shot, and Joe Musgrove threw 6.1IP, 5H/3ER, 7K:2BB, throwing 79 of his 106 pitches for strikes.

*Hinch, on playing the Rangers:
I want to see them again. If we see them again, it means we're meeting in October, so bring it. I hope we're there. 

*Marwin Gonzalez played three infield positions and smoked a two-run single to clinch the victory. Hinch:
He's been stuck at first base quite a bit, but that doesn't speak to his versatility. When something happens, Marwin can fill in admirably. 

Hinch had to negate the DH role when Yulieski Gurriel switched from DH to 3B in the 8th. Hinch:
I didn't have a lot of options. We had players going down left and right. I wanted to put our best defense in when we had the lead. 

*Altuve left with oblique discomfort and one inning later Bregman was pulled after grabbing at his hamstring. Hinch:
They're getting looked at, getting all the tests. They're going to have a full evaluation before we know anything. I'm not optimistic about Friday for either one of them. 

So just to recap the injury situation since July 27, here's who has missed time with injuries:

Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Luke Gregerson, Luis Valbuena, now Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman. Two starting pitchers and three key position players. 

*Wild Card update: The Astros are 3.5 GB of WC2 with the Tigers, Mariners, and Yankees between them and the Blue Jays. There are 16 games left. If the Astros go 12-4 over their last 16 games it means the following would need to happen to get into the postseason:

Blue Jays: 8-9

Tigers: 9-8

Mariners: 9-7

Yankees: 10-7

The Astros begin a series at Seattle on Friday, with Seattle riding an 8-game winning streak. 

FanGraphs: 6.3%

FiveThirtyEight: 8%

*24 of the first 33 games in 2017 will be against AL West teams. Check the schedule here. To be honest, I don't even want to look at Friday's schedule, much less 2017. They'll close out 2017 with three games at Grapevine Mills and four games at Boston. 

*Lourdes Gurriel told reporters following his showcase in Panama that he would love to play with his brother Yulieski. And we would love to watch that. Lourdes Gurriel:

I've always thought of (the possibility) to play with my brothers from the beginning. He's in the big leagues and I can do it, too. Why not? It's a goal of mine to be up there with him. 

Open that checkbook, Jim!

*A "fan" apparently threw a lime at Carlos Gomez as Tuesday night's game ended. When Gomez gestured towards the fan, they threw a baseball. Gomez:

I thought it was a golf ball. It was a lime. They were screaming at me the whole game in really offensive language, but I didn't even look at them. You can talk, but when you try to injure me, it's not fun. 

Between lime/baseball throwing and drunk angry truth-telling Astros fan, Tuesday night wasn't a good night for Astros supporters.

*San Antonio's mayor shelved a plan to bring Triple-A baseball to the city by 2019.

*Boston Globe: Bill James and the inside-baseball explanation for the rise of Donald Trump.

*The hypocrisy of Tony LaRussa

Monday Morning Hot Links

Well the starting pitching did its thing last night, "its thing" being giving up a crooked number in a 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball. Down 9-3, the Astros loaded the bases with one out in the 6th but Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus popped up to end the threat.

Carlos Correa was pulled in the 4th inning after the Cubs made it 9-0 because Hinch didn't want him to reaggravate his shoulder.

Hinch:
Very proud of our guys for fighting back and making it semi-interesting.

Fiers' final line: 2.1IP, 7H/7ER, 0K:2BB. It was the first start of Fiers' career in which he didn't strike out a single opposing batter, and he leads MLB with 17 wild pitches. Fiers:
I thought we played pretty well. I just didn't hold up my end of the bargain and we ended up losing because of it. Big games like his, I need to lock it in and play a lot better than I did. I put us in a hole pretty quick and it was tough to get out of, especially against a pitcher like Jake. 

Well it's about to not matter much as there are only 19 games left in the season. FanGraphs has the Astros at 11.5% to make the playoffs. FiveThirtyEight has it at 14%.

Feliz, Hoyt, Neshek, Rodgers: 5IP, 0H/0ER, 8K:1BB.

*Who Won Yesterday: Red Sox, Orioles, Royals, Mariners
*Who Lost Yesterday: Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers

*WC1: Toronto/Baltimore
WC2: Detroit/New York -2
Houston/Seattle: -3.5

The Astros are chasing four teams, down 3.5 games, with 19 to go. It's not looking good.

*Astros starters have made it to the 5th inning once in the last ten games. Starters' September ERA: 8.64.

*The Astros are 1x18 w/RISP in their last four games.

*So now the Rangers come to Houston for the final time this season, and we can all give God a round of applause for that.

*Rangers Great Carlos Gomez isn't worried about getting booed:
I got booed when I played there, too. I'm not going to be surprised if I get booed when I'm (with) the opposing team.

Evan Grant, on Gomez's totally predictable resurgence with the Rangers:
The Rangers and Gomez believe they have fixed a flaw in his approach at the plate, by getting him to stay on his back leg longer and create more "separation" in his swing. Gomez says he's experiencing something in his swing that he's never felt before. It looks like his swings are much more under control and his takes are more well-informed. 

Because of course. Would have been nice for the Astros to have found - and fixed - a flaw in his swing.

*Rosenthal: Everyone loves Alex Bregman

*Jeff Luhnow discussed the Dexter Fowler/Luis Valbuena trade. The closing quote, though:
They're going to be good for a long time, and so are we.

*McCullers is hopeful he can get on the mound again this season, even if it is in a relief role.

*Brent Strom taught Joe Musgrove a cutter, allowing him to throw inside a little bit more.

*Here's a good read on Rich Hill's scrubbed perfecto bid.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

If the Astros are going to keep this "lose dumb games to the Ramgers" thing up, maybe it's a good thing that college football starts back up this weekend. (Ed. Note: Go OU).

The Astros took an early lead, gave up seven runs in the 4th and did battle back but, in what may be a metaphor for this season, they couldn't overcome that 4th inning in which Fister allowed home runs to Beltran, Odor, and Lucroy. The Astros lose 10-8.

*Yulieski Gurriel took grounders at 1B and played the position in the 6th inning.

*Who Won Yesterday: The Orioles, Tigers, Red Sox, Mariners
Who Lost Yesterday: The Yankees, Blue Jays, Royals,

Not that we didn't know this, but the division is done. No chance. The Astros would have to be 10 games better than the Rangers with 27 games remaining. Meaning if the Rangers somehow went 13-14 over their remaining games, the Astros would have to go 24-4 to finish the season. The Astros are playing spoiler...with our hearts.

So the Wild Card race now looks like this (numbers relative to the Astros):
WC1: Boston: +2
WC2: Baltimore/Detroit: 0
Houston: -2

*Carlos Gomez says the energy in the Rangers' clubhouse is different:
You go 0-for-4 with strikeouts and you feel like it's 4-for-4 with all the positive energy. Everybody comes to you like you're the best. That makes this team extremely good.

Since we do not know anything for sure, we will not compare/contrast the energy in the Astros' clubhouse. It is notable that this was Gomez's quote, though. /slams head in car door

*Dallas Keuchel will not pitch until Tuesday as he deals with fatigue. Hinch:
He's not responding to the in-between starts as well as we want him to. We're just going to give him as much time as possible. If we have to address it again, there will be some concern. With a week of playing the Rangers and the Indians, this is the best way to do it. 

*Alex Bregman hit a homer and a two-run triple, and Hinch says we're watching a player mature right in front of our eyes. Hinch:
He's just maturing. I think he's a good hitter, but he's a good [overall] player. He was a good player when he went 1-for-32, and he's been a good player with the way he's played this last month.

*Brady Rodgers, James Hoyt, Jandel Gustave, and Tyler White are the first wave of September call-ups. It's Houston native Rodgers' first stint with the Astros. Rodgers:
It's been really emotional. Not too many kids get to say [they get] to play for the team that they grew up watching and put on the jersey for a big league team they grew up loving. 

*Awful and sad news as the 10-year old boy who inspired an Altuve home run against the Mariners has passed away.

Friday Morning Hot Links

*The playoffs start tonight! Three-game series at East Weatherford. Pitching matchups:

Friday: Fister vs. Griffin
Saturday: Keuchel/Musgrove vs. Holland
Sunday: Keuchel/Musgrove vs. Darvish

*Yesterday I broke down the September schedules of a few contenders. And no one ahead of the Astros in the standings played yesterday, so the math will be valid for a few more hours, anyway.

*That said, Springer and the Astros know what's ahead of them - the next 13 games are against first-place teams. Springer:
We understand there's 29 games to go, and we clinched in the 7th inning of Game 162 last year, so we understand this is far, far from over. But also at the same time, we've got to have a sense of urgency and not let it slip away.

Luhnow:
It's a tough schedule, but if we're going to make an impact this year in the postseason, we're going to have to learn to beat good teams. So no better time to start than now.

*Dan Szymborski says it'll take 88 wins to make the playoffs this season. If that's true, the Astros will need to go 17-12 over their last 29

*Jon Heyman feels like Altuve is the "sentimental favorite" in the AL MVP race.

*Rasmus, on facing Gomez for the first time:
It will definitely be interesting. He's a different character. There may be a chip on his shoulder and I think that he's going to definitely come with some extra juice against us. Which is fine. That's something we'll have to combat at the time and hopefully our pitchers can quiet him down and we can beat 'em.

If Colby Rasmus says you're a different character...

*Fresno lost 2-1 in the bottom of the 14th inning - a game that lasted 4h59m - featured 31 combined strikeouts and 20 combined walks. Fresno and Tacoma were 4x22 w/RISP and left 33 men on base. Fresno is 70-69 and has already been eliminated from the playoffs. They'll need to go 2-2 to finish with a winning record.

*Corpus was held to three hits in a 3-0 loss at Frisco last night. Corpus is 82-54 and will play Midland in the first round of the playoffs beginning next Wednesday.

*Lancaster allowed six runs in the final two innings to lose 6-3 to Rancho Cucamonga. Lancaster has a two game second-half lead with four games remaining in the regular season.

*Quad Cities rode three unearned runs to a 3-2 win over Kane County, but their loss on Wednesday night eliminated them from playoff contention.

*Tri-City scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th to walk it off against Staten Island, but were eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday.

*The Greeneville Astros' season finale was rained out last night. No playoffs for the Gastros.

*This guy answers FiveThirtyEight's analysis of the Rangers' 30-8 record in one-run games with some sabermetrics of his own:
As someone who is blessed enough to watch and to cover this team, I have another theory. How about heart, determination and good old-fashioned TWTW, as White Sox longtime TV announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson likes to call it?...That heart, determination and sheer will to add another W are all things which can't be accounted for in statistical analysis pieces. 

*From Jon Heyman: The Astros claim Jeff Luhnow was joking about the no-trade clause flap, but he shouldn't have said it at all.

*The Boston Globe: Is Triple-A a critical step for development?

Friday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros were off last night, and there are only three off-days left this season. The Astros close the season with 35 games in 38 days.

*Mike Petriello writes about how Altuve became one of the league's top sluggers

*Jake Kaplan writes that Alex Bregman needs to be the 3B of the future.

*September Call-ups are just around the corner, but the Astros probably won't add too many players.

*21st Round pick Jon Kemmer is busting it in Fresno with a 1.021 OPS since the All-Star Break.

*It is both hilarious and suicidal that Carlos Gomez ripped a 3-run homer in his first AB for the Ramgers. The Mariners lost

*The Tigers won, Red Sox lost, Orioles lost, Blue Jays lost, Royals won

*The Astros are 8.5 GB of the Rangers, 1.0 GB of Seattle in the division. They are 5.0 GB of the Red Sox/Blue Jays (tied for the AL East lead), 4.0 GB of Baltimore, with the Tigers, Mariners, Royals, and Yankees all within 2.5 games.

FanGraphs is giving the Astros a 13.5% chance of making the postseason.
FiveThirtyEight is giving them a 16% chance of making the postseason.
I do this too early to account for BP's playoff odds each morning.

*Jon Heyman: Lamenting trades that didn't happen is a cheap excuse.

*The Sunday, September 11 game against the Cubs will be on Sunday Night Baseball.

*Why did the Dodgers trade A.J. Ellis?

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat the Pirates in what was the 3rd-shortest game of the year.

*Teoscar Hernandez's 2-run homer in the 5th provided the margin for the Astros' 3-1 win. Hernandez:
I just try to be patient at home plate, try to make some adjustments. The past couple of games, I was swinging at pitches out of the zone. I'm just trying to do the best I can - see the ball and try to hit it hard and do some damage. 

Hinch, on Hernandez:
A year ago, he was struggling in Double-A and was all over the batter's box...Our development staff did a really good job of honing him in and getting him in the strike zone...He's staying with his approach and recognizing pitches at a much better level than we expected, given how his career track had been.

*Doug Fister's seven scoreless IP means he has now thrown over 150IP, giving him an extra $1m in the ol' bank account. Fister:
Guys feed off of one another and that's something we've done the last few days. We've bounced back from rain delays and tough outings in Baltimore, but we're playing well and that's what it comes down to.

*Via Daren Willman, opposing hitters are 8x93 with 61Ks against Ken Giles' slider.

*Scoreboard watchin': the Orioles won, as did the Red Sox, and the Mariners beat the Yankees. The Rangers, Royals, and Tigers were off.

So the Astros are 8.0 GB of West Forney, 2.5 GB of Seattle in the AL West.
The Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles are in a three-way fight for the AL East/WC spots: Right now Toronto and Boston are tied at 70-54 the Orioles a game back for three of the AL playoffs spots. The Astros are 3.5 GB of the WC2 with the Mariners and Tigers between them.

*The Ringer: The evolution of Jose Altuve's strike zone.

*Vice Sports: Yulieski Gurriel's debut was the end of an era for Cuban baseball.

*Luis Valbuena will meet with a specialist tomorrow (Wednesday) to determine if he needs surgery on his hamstring.

*Preston Tucker is getting close to a rehab assignment in advance of the September 1 Call-Up date.

*Carlos Gomez will be the starting LF for the 1st place Ramgers:
I have no hard feelings toward the Astros. I did not do my job, and they released me. I take it like a man. Now I refresh everything. My new season starts today. Whatever I did from the last five months is gone. The only thing that counts is the next five weeks. I've got a lot left to give. 

*Fresno's Jon Kemmer is hitting .346/.411/.704 with seven homers in August. Kemmer:
It wasn't really a ton of big things, I just put the right work in the cage and I've taken advantage of my opportunities. There have been a lot of outfielders get called up to the big leagues and stuff, so I had a couple meetings with the coaches...they told me to be patient and take advantage of my opportunities.

*Corpus' J.D. Davis was the Texas League Player of the Week after going 10x23 with 6RBI last week.

*Scott Miller writes that there's more to Rougned Odor than one punch.