Wednesday Morning Hot Links

I last posted on Astros County Dot Com on November 13. This may be the longest I've gone without posting on this blog and, to be honest, it's been quite nice. I needed a break from...everything. I haven't posted in a while because there's...been nothing to post about. It's extremely quiet across AstroWorld. Which, I guess, makes sense when you're trying to navigate a global pandemic. 

That said, Ken Rosenthal dropped some notes on Tuesday morning (which he updated later in the morning). I know not everyone subscribes to The Athletic, but it's a pay site, and I respect that. The gist is:

-The Astros are open to the idea of acquiring DJ LeMahieu which, might I remind you, means "DJ The Mahieu" in French...but that would hinge on whether or not the Astros can trade [blinks into the camera for an uncomfortably long time] Carlos Correa. The Astros are apparently listening to offers because, after so long with the Rays, Click may not be aware that extending superstar franchise cornerstones is even an option. Rosenthal said the Astros are not actively shopping Correa but, "like most teams" are at least listening to whatever is happening. Also, don't expect the Astros to try to sign anyone who rejected a Qualifying Offer (Bauer, Realmuto, though LeMahieu fits this profile as well, sooooo).

I can understand listening to any offer. If the Astros tell the Angels, "We will give you our entire Triple-A roster for Mike Trout," I would expect the Angels to listen to that offer. That said, if the Astros trade Carlos Correa this off-season, less than a year after he had the balls to tell Cody Bellinger to shut the fk up on national tv, months removed from jerking a knot in Framber Valdez's chain in the middle of a playoff game, I will be forced to exhale very hard and go for a walk. I can't say that anything the Astros do will make me not watch them - I've had a blog about the Astros since 2008 - there's no debasement I would be unable to withstand. 

*Charlie F. Morton signed a 1yr/$15m deal with the Braves, dashing the hopes and dreams of Astros fans across the world. I think we need to sort of realize that most members of the 2017 Astros team who have had - however theoretical - a chance to return to the Astros, haven't. Altuve and Bregman signed their extensions prior to the Fiers article dropping. That's not to say they wouldn't have, but it's worth noting that maybe getting heckled mercilessly online may have an adverse effect on your mental state when playing a game. 

That's pretty much it as far as the Astros go. That said, you may or may not know that I have started a new podcast: The Michael Bourn Identity. If you subscribe to Lima Time Time on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, it should be in your feed. If you don't listen to podcasts, but still want to check out the episodes:

Ep. 1 w/Roosh Williams.

Ep. 2 w/Steph Stradley.

Ep. 3 w/AstrosFansUK.

Ep. 4 will drop Wednesday so you have something to listen to if you're executing your ill-advised travel plans for Thanksgiving and I'm recording at least two more episodes this week. I really like just talking to my online friends, but over Zoom.

A quick note on Lima Time Time. As far as I know, it's still an active podcast that is simply on hiatus.

*Randy Arozarena got Milkshake Duck'd as he has been detained in the Yucatan on allegations of domestic violence. 

*Other things (often my personal favorite part of the Hot Links):

-I've been enjoying "Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes" by Maria Konnikova, and her book "Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win" is on deck.

-On Sunday the Fantastic Leeds United tied Arsenal 0-0 despite hitting the post/crossbar three times in the last 15 minutes of the game, and out-shooting Arsenal 25-9, and out-squandering chances Infinity-0. I hate Arsenal. I hate every other team in the Premier League, though, so it's nothing personal. Leeds are 14th in the Premier League, though it feels unlucky so far. Meanwhile, Leeds signed a partnership with Jay-Z's Roc Nation agency, and I love Jay-Z, so shove it. Leeds plays Everton on Saturday morning at 11:30am Central.

-Sergino Dest became the first American to score for Barcelona.

-On Sunday, the 57th anniversary of JFK's death, I wrote on my History Nerd Blog about Judge Sarah T. Hughes, the only woman to ever swear in a president. There's also a recent post about The Compromise of 1877, if that sort of thing catches your fancy.

-Business Insider: A Sommelier rated 11 low-cost wines.

-A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The biggest Astros news of the day was that Former Astros Great Jeff Luhnow has sued the Houston Astros in Harris County District Court for $22m for a breach of contract, alleging that his firing was negotiated between Jim Crane and Rob Manfred. ESPN:

Luhnow's attorneys wrote in the filing that the agreement between Crane and Manfred 'scapegoated Luhnow for a sign-stealing scandal that he had no knowledge of and played no part in.'

Luhnow wants a jury trial and hoooooboy would that be something. Just from a "burn it all down" perspective I want this to happen.

In the filing we find Luhnow's lawyers alleging that Tom Koch-Weser, the Astros' director of advance information and the "Dark Arts/Codebreaker" guy, was told by the Astros that he could keep his job as long as he implicated Luhnow. 

Brian T. Smith: The lawsuit adds more tarnish to the once-golden Astros era.

David Barron says not to expect some grand John Grisham-esque courtroom drama - it'll likely play out in a closed-door arbitration case.

*Kyle Lewis was the unanimous 2020 AL Rookie of the Year. He hit .262/.364/.437 for the Mariners in 58 games. Ten of those games were against Houston, Lewis hit .303/.439/.485 with 2HR and 5RBI, both of which feels low by about 20. Cristian Javier finished 3rd.

*Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Astros are trying to work out a deal with Michael Brantley.

*Houston has checked in on Jackie Bradley, Jr. 

*At least ten teams - of which the Astros may or may not be one - have expressed interest in Charlie F. Morton, who is leaning towards a 1yr deal with an option for a 2nd.

*Toronto has expressed interest in George Springer. I have expressed interest in Indian food for lunch today.

*Tony LaRussa was charged with a DUI the day before the White Sox hired him, if you want to know how that's going. And the White Sox knew, and hired him anyway.

*The Athletic's Eno Sarris: Your favorite pitcher is probably cheating.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Here in a few weeks, Astros County Dot Com will be 12 years old. In late 2008 my wife told me I could either play video games or do Astros County, and I obviously chose the latter. Earlier on Friday this cursed blog/website hit seven million total pageviews. That's probably not a lot in the Grand Scheme of Things, and for other baseball/sports websites, but it's pretty damned impressive to me. Thank you for continuing to come here, even when I sprinkle some social commentary in which I try to radicalize you. I have a little something coming on Monday in the Chronicle on George Springer and the Astros payroll, and that's going to be somewhat temporarily it for my association with the Houston Chronicle, through no fault of theirs or mine. And if it doesn't come out on Monday, I'll put it here. Again, thank you for being a witness for my descent into delirium and madness. 

*Brian McTaggart: Five key questions facing the Astros this offseason.

*Chandler Rome: Carlos Correa became a team leader, but is a free agent after the 2021 season. Now the team has to decide on an extension.

*Check out Eno Sarris' deep dive on Charlie Morton's postseason magic.

*The two candidates running to be the governor of Utah made an ad...together.

*Texas Monthly: How one state history textbook erases the stories of Black and Hispanic Texans. Textbooks are for slack-ass teachers. This is my seventh year as a public school history teacher (had a bit of a career change in my early-30s) and I have never used the textbook other than for a mapping activity. Because you really do need to know Where Things Are.

*Aston Villa 0 - Leeds United 3. Hat Trick Patrick Bamford scored all three goals. You can check the highlights here, but it very easily could have been 5-1 Leeds (pay particular attention to Luke Ayling recovering from losing the ball to saving a certain goal.) I never thought I would have said this after 2003 but holy Hannah, Leeds United are responsible for bringing me the greatest soccer joy I have ever experienced. 

*Really looking forward to The Queen's Gambit, on Netflix.

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links: A Decompression

And in the end the Astros lost their last game of the season, something that has happened in 58 of their 59 seasons. Despite out-hitting Tampa 59-44, Houston lost a seven-game series getting outscored by a total of three runs. The Rays simply took advantage of more mistakes than the Astros. That said, coming back from an 0-3 deficit to force a Game 7 for a 3rd Pennant in four years, in a "season" in which you got six innings from Justin Verlander, nine PAs from Yordan Alvarez, 4.1IP from Roberto Osuna, is extremely impressive. I'm mad as hell, but I appreciate what this team did since the end of July. Super-appreciative of the ride they gave us, but I'm going to need some space from this team.

Dusty Baker:

The legacy of this group is that these guys are ballpayers. These guys are men; they have been through a whole bunch other than on the ballfield. Now these guys can forget the problems they had that it out there and come together as a group and be forever friends.

More Dusty:

This is painful when you're one game away from going to the World Series. I'm proud of these guys, because nobody expected us to even be in the position or even to be here....One thing's for sure: We'll be back in this position again next year.

*MLB: Anatomy of the Astros' comeback, and near-miss.

*Houston, as a team, was 11x46 with runners in scoring position. The 2020 ALCS, w/RISP:

Springer: 1x5

Altuve: 2x4

Brantley: 2x5

Bregman: 0x9

Correa: 3x6

Gurriel: 0x4

Tucker: 1x5

Reddick: 0x1

Maldonado: 0x2

Diaz: 2x4

Garneau: 0x1

Chandler Rome:

Saturday's loss lived as a microcosm of Houston's 73-game run, one riddled with ineffectiveness, injury and invective from the outside following the sign-stealing scandal. The lineup disappeared, as it so often did during a 29-31 regular season. A clutch hit never came.

*Carlos Correa drove in the only two runs of Game 7. He hit .362/.455/.766 in the 2020 Postseason, with 17 RBI. Correa:

We didn't fold. We kept battling. We got to the playoffs and no one gave us a chance in Minnesota. We won three games against Oakland. They beat us in the regular season and we came up huge and won that series. Down, 0-3, everybody was talking about the Astros getting swept and this and that. We came back and forced Game 7. It wasn't the finale we wanted, but I'm just proud of this team, man. It's been unbelievable.

*I have no idea, and will never understand, why the Astros continued to challenge Randy Arozarena. Arozarena hit a 2-run home run.

Arozarena: .321/.367/.786 in the ALCS

Ji-Man Choi: .385/.529/.615 in the ALCS

Nobody else in that lineup had an average over .278. Six of the Rays' Game 7 lineup had an ALCS average under .167. Sixteen of the 25 runs the Rays scored - yes, they only scored 25 runs in seven games - came on home runs. Kevin Cash:

We are lucky to have Charlie Morton. For a group that doesn't have a wealth of experience in these roles, Charlie does. He has been there, done that. It lined up really, really well for us.

*Charlie Morton in Game 7s, career: 14.2IP, 6H/1ER, 15K:3BB. Beginning with the 2017 ALCS Game 7, Morton has recorded seven straight Wins in the postseason. 

*Lance McCullers: 3.2IP, 4H/3ER, 7K:1BB, 2HR. McCullers:

It sucks, man. It really does. But congrats to the Rays. They're a damn good team. They've been the best team in the AL all season. They went through the Yankees and they went through us. You have to tip your cap to them, as well. It sucks because it just feels like we were right there.

More McCullers:

We got down 3-0 and we fought and we showed the kind of team and kind of grit that makes up this team. We weren't on a revenge tour. That's not what this was. This was a bunch of guys that came together, wanted to play damn good baseball and win a World Series. And we fell short of our goal.

*Bregman, 2020 Postseason: .220/.316/.300. After recording three straight two-hit games from ALDS Game 3-ALCS Game 1, Bregman went .083/.154/.083 in 26 PAs. And we still don't know why Bregman was pulled late in Game 7.

Bregman, 2020 until the hamstring injury: .272/.374/.500, 13 extra-base hits, 15K:14BB.

Bregman, 2020 after the hamstring injury: .187 (I'm bad at calculating OBP and SLG)

Bregman:

I'm extremely proud of this team for fighting every single day, battling every pitch and going out there and playing hard and playing for one another. But like I said before, our goal is always to win the last game of the season, so it's time to work extremely hard in the offseason and get better.

*Gurriel, 2020 Postseason: .114/.245/.114.

*Jayson Stark: The Weird and the Wild of ALCS Game 7.

*Brian T. Smith: The Astros' revival hit a wall.

*Of course now the focus of the front office turns to free agency. Is this the end of the Astros era? George Springer, Michael Brantley, and Josh Reddick are all free agents once the World Series ends. Correa, on Springer:

Some guys that we love very much and we've been playing with forever, and hopefully they come back, but if they don't, we're going to miss them for sure. We've got George Springer. He's been my teammate since I got to the big leagues and been a great leader and role model.

Springer:

I haven't really thought about that yet. Our season just ended. I'm more focused on kind of what's happening now, what happened tonight, and I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

*Jerome Solomon: There is plenty for the Astros to look forward to.

*Jake Kaplan: All the looming off-season questions for the Astros.

*Now, I guess we just wait. Read for pleasure. Go to bed early. Drink some herbal tea. Hot Links will continue throughout the off-season with or without Astros news. Thank you for reading along.

*Reading in an age of catastrophe.

*The United States of Dolly Parton.

*The Atlantic: The mad, mad world of niche sports among Ivy League-obsessed parents.

*Wired: His writing radicalized young hackers, now he wants to redeem them.

*A season-ending Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. Verlander Day has come early. You know it's October when it seems like JV is pitching every other day 1911-style. The Rays are doing an opener, with Diego Castillo getting the call to start the 1st.

As for yesterday afternoon, we got Morton'd, Greinke got shelled, and the Astros couldn't get anything started with the bat. The Astros are now 1-4 in the Trop this season.

However, the Astros are confident Game 4 is theirs. Here are the upcoming keys to the game.

Here were some of the winners and losers across all of the postseason yesterday.

Will Harris has been irreplaceable this season.

The Astros really want to stay under the luxury tax threshold, so let's enjoy Gerrit Cole while we have him.

Ken Hoffman writes about how Houston really needs a better broadcast crew for October.

Why the Astros and Yankees would be a perfect ALCS.

The New York Times is looking ahead for an Astros-Yankees ALCS as well. And Houston is even better this time.

Which pitcher had the most dominant start for the Astros in their history: Mike Scott, Justin Verlander, or Gerrit Cole?

Here's a fun little story about the acquisition of Yordan Alvarez.

Everybody seems to have space helmets now. Here's how to get one.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Well. The Astros destroyed CFM and the Rays in the first-game of the series with a 15-1 win. Houston is 86-47, and won their 50th home game of the year. Houston is 17-2 at home since the All-Star Break.

*Oakland got by Kansas City, 2-1.
New York whooped Seattle.
Los Angeles whooped San Diego.

*You can watch the 1-minute long tribute to Charlie Morton here. The greatest gift Charlie F. Morton gave to Houston was a World Series. Last night's game was the 2nd-greatest.

*Verlander's double-digit strikeout streak came to an end in the 6th when he got ejected by home plate umpire Pat Hoberg (Verlander had four strikeouts in the 6th - it was coming to an end last night regardless). Verlander:
I probably could have had better language when I said that, but in my history with umpires, I think turning my back to the situation, I'm trying to just vent at this point. I never called him a name. I never said anything egregious toward him. I just expressed my displeasure with the call on the field, and unfortunately he made the decision to run me.

The good news about the umpires and their conduct is that no one holds them accountable for their actions, and nothing will come of trying to make them explain themselves.

You can see Jomboy's recap of the Verlander ejection here, and it's well worth your time.

*Yordan 2HR game. Astros rookies with 20+ homers:

1. Carlos Correa: 22 (2015)
2. Yordan Alvarez: 21 (2019)
2. Lance Berkman: 21 (2000)
4. George Springer: 20 (2014)
4. Glenn Davis: 20 (1985)

Jake Kaplan lists the MLB players with 40+ extra-base hits in their first 60 games: Joe Dimaggio (46), Yordan Alvarez (40).

MLB.com notes how Yordan could be one of the few "Small Sample Size ROYs."

Notably, last night Aaron Judge became the 3rd-fastest player to hit 100 home runs, doing it in 371 games (1608 PAs). Ryan Howard did it in 325 games, Gary Sanchez did it in 355 games. Yordan Alvarez is #onpaceto do it in 286 games (1224 PAs).

*Is Josh Reddick back? He has five hits - three for extra-bases - in his last two games. He had five hits in his previous 39 PAs, and had 127 PAs (July 11-Aug 24) before he racked up three extra-base hits.

Chandler Rome notes how Reddick's resurgence could just be traced to a towel.

*In McTaggart's Notebook, we find that Myles Straw was optioned to Round Rock instead of Abraham Toro (and why) when Aledmys Diaz was activated. We also see that Correa did some sprints and rotational exercises, certainly good news, and that Josh James could be activated as soon as Saturday.

*Mark Feinsand writes about how Wade Miley bet on himself last offseason.

*Forrest Whitley will pitch in the Arizona Fall League, not the postseason.

*Kyle Tucker is among MLB.com's most interesting potential September Call-Ups.

*Deadspin: What's the matter with baseball?

*Awful news in the minors: Rays' Double-A pitcher Blake Bivens' wife and child were allegedly killed by his wife's brother.

*The Forgotten History of New York's Bagel Famines.

*Seattle Met: An Inmate Turn Millionaire Turned Lone Survivor.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros gave up three unearned runs in a 4-2 loss to the Rays on Charlie Morton Night. Houston is 1-1. The Astros have played 1.23% of the regular season.

*Three of the Rays' runs came with two outs (both of the Astros' runs came with two outs).

*Aledmys Diaz was 0x3 with two strikeouts and an error. Through this 1.23% stretch, Diaz is 0x7 with three strikeouts and two errors.

*The Astros were 1x7 w/RISP.

*Michael Brantley opened scoring with a 2-run double, giving him 3RBI on the year. He had 7RBI total in 2016.

*Yuli Gurriel drew a walk! He had one walk in his first 36 PAs in 2018.

*Alex Bregman was 0x4 with a strikeout, ending his franchise-record road on-base streak at 56 games, the longest in MLB since Jeter had a 59-game road on-base streak in 2006-2007

*Gerrit Cole threw 6IP, 5H/4R (1ER), 10K:0BB. It's his 5th 10+ strikeout/ 0BB game as an Astro. The Astros are 3-2 in those games. Cole:
They put some good swings on some good pitches and they found some holes. It got a bit challenging there and I wasn't able to put my foot down.

Hinch:
(Cole) had a little bit of a hard-luck loss tonight. I thought he pitched fine...They did a good job of getting some two-strike hits with two outs after we gave them an extra out. He battled, he did everything he could. We had a couple of different situations that put him in a tougher spot than he needed to be in, but that's part of the game.

*Astros Legend and Former Pirates Great Charlie Morton admitted that it was "weird" to face the Astros. Morton:
It was the fact I was out there against my former team. I was a little emotional, and it was the first start of the season. To get it out of the way and come out with a great team win, it was a big deal.

*The Astros are targeting tomorrow (Sunday) for Correa's regular season debut. Correa:
(Friday) is the best I've felt ever since the injury happened. I made great progress through the day today. I'm really close to being back out there. We're excited. It's a good step forward, the way I woke up today.

*Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman are MLBShop.com's #16- and #17 top-selling jerseys.

*Jayson Stark says the Astros have "the look" of the Best Team in Baseball, with the stats to back it up.

*MLB.com ranked 30 impact call-ups - one for each team. Forrest Whitley is the Astros'. Former Astros Great Daz Cameron is the Tigers' impact call-up. Franklin Perez - the other major prospect sent to Detroit for Justin Verlander - will miss the next 4-6 weeks rehabbing from shoulder tendinitis.

*This Marc Carig story in The Athletic details how MLB hands out a championship belt to the team that either won the most arbitration cases, or saved the most money. MLB is a $10 billion industry. Astros Player Rep Collin McHugh says the belt is "embarrassing." It's, uh, it's not going over well with the rest of the MLBPA.

*Hardball Times: Brewers TV statistician Mike Falkner and the evolution of baseball broadcasts.

*SI's Tom Verducci says the tech boom is fundamentally altering baseball.

*Collin McHugh faces Tyler Glasnow tonight at 5:10pm Central.

*While my high school's soccer team got bounced in the first round of the 6A UIL Soccer playoffs, Elsik (whose head coach is one of my best friends) did Elsik Things.

*Long-suspected, it is now proven that Winston Churchill caused a famine in India that killed three million people.

*Competitive Slapping? Competitive Slapping.

*Two of my favorite writers - Dave Eggers and Nick Hornby - are teaming up to auction off setlists for charity.

*From LA Mag: The best California vanity plates of 2018.

*A Musical Selection:



*You can subscribe to the Hot Links Music Spotify playlist here. It currently runs 75 songs and almost five hours of delicious Hot Links music.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Baseball is back folks. Unfortunately, the WiFi went out at work and I wasn't able to stream the game, but I got home in time to watch enough baseball to put a smile on my face.

The Astros won 5-1 on Opening Day last night. Notes:
Springer: 1/5, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Altuve: 2/4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Brantley: 2/4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Verlander: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
The rest of the box score:

Tags has the full wrap-up and videos here in case you missed it.

Justin Verlander is still an ace. A really good ace.

There are mixed emotions about having to go up against Charlie Morton on Opening Day.

Here's a full look at the new Astros Hall of Fame.

The Chronicle staff writers released their full 2019 MLB predictions.

Here are the five Astros players that will define the 2019 Houston Astros season.

Ryan Cline is supernatural. I was so wired after this game that I couldn't sleep last night, but I'll take this feeling of tiredness every day of the week for a win like this. Please think of me on Saturday night. 

On This Day in Baseball History

In 2002, the MLB announced that God Bless America will be played in Major League Baseball games nationwide.

In 2007, the first female umpire, Ria Cortesio, made her debut in a split-squad game between the Cubs and the Diamondbacks.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Two days until Opening Day. Why hasn't anyone signed an extension this week this is ridiculous. I found out that one of my responsibilities at work will keep me away from the entire G1. That's probably good news for everyone else's enjoyment of the day.

*The Astros played Pittsburgh and a 7-run 3rd inning was able to hold off a Pirate 5-run 6th inning for a 12-9 win. Notable:

-Forrest Whitley: 3IP, 6H/3ER, 2K:1BB
-Framber Valdez: 1.2IP, 3H/5ER, 1K:2BB
-Myles Straw, Nick Tanielu, Tyler White, and Garrett Stubbs all homered.

FOAC Cody Stoots has the recap of Whitley's outing. David Barron hopes that Whitley's next start in Houston will go a little better.

*Houston leads MLB.com's first Power Rankings of the year.

*A.J. Hinch literally loves the 2019 Houston Astros. Hinch:
I have as much confidence as I have ever had. I love the edge we have, and we all know what it takes to get to the finish line. 

*Justin Verlander still thinks that free agency is broken, but that isn't why he signed a 2yr extension last week. Verlander, on Houston:
I just can't see a better situation. 

*Sean Pendergast has four thoughts on the Verlander extension.

*The Bold Prediction for the 2019 Astros is that Carlos Correa will be the best player on the team.

*Somehow the Astros' bullpen ranks 4th in MLB, behind the Yankees, A's (?), and Pirates.

*Jake Kaplan has a really good Q&A with Hero Charlie F. Morton.

*The Astros released Ryne Birk (13th Round, 2016), Alex Winkelman (21st Round, 2015), and Carlos Sierra (2016 international signing).

*SI says that Indians and Pirates fans should strongly consider boycotting their teams.

*Cool story in The Athletic about Andre Hal's internship with Headspace - an app The Wife and I use on the reg.

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. This is the last Sunday without baseball in some form until October. God bless us, everyone.

*2018 Teams with 5.0+ fWAR position players:
2: Boston
2: Anaheim
2: Cleveland
2: Milwaukee
2: Colorado
1: Houston, Oakland, Washington, Atlanta, Kansas City, Arizona, Chicago Cubs.

Could the Astros have three 5.0+ fWAR position players?

*Alex Bregman is progressing from elbow surgery, having already taken care of hitting and fielding, he's now throwing the ball 90+ feet.

Elsewhere in that link, the coaching staff is doing team-building exercises and ropes courses and various icebreakers.

*Carlos Correa is feeling healthy for the first time in a while. Correa:
I learned so many things from my injury last year, and this year my main focus is I already showed up ready in Spring Training...I feel like I overdid it in Spring Training, so this year I'm going to be smarter about that...work smart and not just hard all the time.

*Brian T. Smith: Michael Brantley deepens an already deep lineup.

*Detroit Free-Press: Here's how Justin Verlander plans to pitch until he's 45. Verlander:
You can start making adjustments now to prepare. The steps I've gone through the last four, five years to transform my body and get back to being healthy, (those) are going to allow me to, knock on wood, stay healthy and thrive late in my 30s, early 40s. 

Peep this quote from Luhnow:
Our payroll has been going up, it's going to continue to go up. There's room in there to have several well-compensated players. 

*

#KHOU #Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick @JSMarisnick has arrived in camp and he’s ready to compete for playing time. He says he’s motivated by his “failure tools”.... pic.twitter.com/wYwo7f4mBI

— Matt Musil (@KHOUSportsMatt) February 17, 2019

*Joe Smith and Allie LaForce share their story of fertility and Huntington's Disease.

*Marc Topkin has a host of stories about what a great person Former Astros Great and All-Time Astros Legend Charlie Morton is.

*Former Astros Great Cameron Maybin is now a Giant. Literally.

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Alright pitchers and catchers, get to reportin'. We have some baseballs to toss.

While they do that, I will also accomplish something by tossing around some articles in a hyperlink format on this blog page, which will hopefully hit you chest-high and with some force just in time to get the runner at first.

Here is an Astros 2019 Preview, now that the offseason is now over and baseball is back out of technicality.

Look here's a cute little slideshow of what everybody did last summer!!!

For a more serious and detailed rundown of what happened in everybody's personal life the last four months, you can go ahead and click here. AstrosCounty.com, the perfect blend of astros.com and the E! television station.

Alex Bregman is one of several players to speak publicly against the "opener". 

Jake Kaplan takes on the biggest questions involving the Astros on The Athletic ($).

Charlie Morton spoke to the Tampa Bay media yesterday 😔

Don't shake Pete Hegseth's hand.

An Oregon wildlife center is allowing you to name a fish after your ex and then throw it directly at a bear. 

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. Pitchers and catchers report in 15 days.

*Take a minute to think of the families and friends of the officers killed/injured in yesterday's shooting in Southeast Houston.

*I missed this from a few days ago, but Alex Bregman is straight up predicting a dynasty for the Astros. Bregs:
The day they gave us the ring, I put it in my closet and I haven't looked at it because I want another one. I'll put the second one away after we win the third. The Astros are going to be a dynasty.

*Jake Kaplan took a stab at predicting who fills out the Astros' rotation.

*The Red Sox lead FanDuel's odds for a 2019 World Series title at +550, but the Astros are right behind at +600. And they haven't even landed Bryce Harper yet! Odds around the AL West:

Oakland: +2600
Anaheim: +5000
Seattle: +6000
Arlington: +10000

*Check out this video interview from Randy McIlvoy with A.J. Hinch.

*Andy Langer's National Podcast of Texas (from Texas Monthly) sits down with Nolan and Reid Ryan to discuss payroll, MLB in San Antonio, and how MLB has (or hasn't) changed since Nolan played.

*The Tri-City ValleyCats' (Astros' NYPL team) 27-year old new manager Ozney Guillen is ready to carve out his own path. The Albany Times-Union:
Even Ozney Guillen acknowledged he was "shocked" the Astros decided to take a chance on him. He has never coached or managed. He just finished playing after a five-year career spent as an infielder and outfielder with several independent minor league franchises..."I've never been part of the Astros organization," Guillen said. "I've never played affiliated ball and it just showed me that hard work, and when you do things right, things will go the right way...

...Guillen interviewed with Astros director of player development Pete Putila, who says he prefers a younger, less-experienced candidate who can be taught the Houston way of instructing players.

/slow whistle

Good article, definitely worth a click.

*The Rockies and A's are ESPN's David Schoenfield's picks for 2018 playoff teams to miss the 2019 playoffs.

*Rays manager and Former Astros Great Kevin Cash on Rays starting pitcher and Former Astros Great Charlie F. Morton:
We want Charlie to come in and go about his leadership, his way. Certainly he's going to be looked upon by our young pitchers and young players for that matter - and our staff. He played for a pretty good team the last couple of years...and I'll pick his brain a lot.

*Here's a fantastic article in The Athletic from John Lott about Ken Giles and how he has changed since landing in Toronto. Giles:
I needed to work on the mental part of my game. When you're young, you think you know everything. People say that as you get older, you get wiser, and you try new things. You need to broaden your horizon a little bit and reach out to other people. I just got to the point where I got tired of doing everything myself.


*

Altuve’s swing is so beautiful 😍 pic.twitter.com/qDReqOHIBr

— Baseball King™ (@BasebaIlKing) January 29, 2019

*Chris Nunn, who played for Corpus, Fresno, and the Independent League's St. Paul Saints in 2018, has signed with the Ramgers after getting some exposure thanks to the inimitable Rob Friendman aka @PitchingNinja. It's a cool story. Nunn signed the day after his mom underwent her first chemo treatment for breast cancer, and will likely start the season at Triple-A in his hometown of Nashville.

*Complete Description of the Laminar Express. (Yes, it's vague. Yes, you should click it.)

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*Busy day around Base Ball yesterday as a ton of moves were made. To recap:

-Perennial Silver-Medalists the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired Homer Bailey and some prospects for Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, and Alex Wood.
-Seattle acquired Former Astros Great Domingo Santana from Milwaukee in exchange for Ben Gamel and another guy.
-The Angels signed Matt Harvey.
-Oakland traded for Jurickson Profar.
-Oakland signed Joakim Soria.
-Daniel Murphy signed with Colorado.
-Tampa officially announced the signing of Charlie F. Morton. Houston will pay Michael Brantley $2m more than Tampa will pay CFM. I do not have an opinion on how this should be taken.
-Meanwhile, the Astros did not trade Kyle Tucker.

*Does Charlie Morton even think about us anymore? Regarding Tampa:
The thought of being able to play close to home and with such a talented group, a young group, an exciting group, seemed something too good to be true. I guess I was looking for a really good situation overall more than a dollar amount, more than a year amount. The quality of character in the clubhouse, those things are really important to me. 

But, b-but...

*Shoutout to Buster Olney for finally blowing the whistle:

The Dodgers are experts at baseball money-laundering. They have cleared the slate for Harper, if they can work it out:

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 21, 2018

*In The Athletic, Jake Kaplan took a look at the bullpen in the wake of Joe Smith's injury.

*Jon Heyman thinks the Astros made a mistake in not extending a Qualifying Offer to Morton and Marwin.

*ABC13 is trying to start some beef between Reddick and Bregman. They also highlighted Dallas Keuchel's new Houston-inspired shoe.

*Meanwhile, here's Brian McTaggart on Lance McCullers, Jr and his charitable efforts.

*Jay Jaffe broke down Billy Wagner's HOF case.

*Here's a KERRRRAZY story from ESPN: a new lawsuit accuses the Mariners - and GM Jerry Dipoto specifically - of discrimination. A wild paragraph:
The lawsuit also says several Latino players complained to Dr. Lorena Martin about feeling excluded and that general manager Jerry Dipoto took midseason steps to deliberately undermine the progress and mental state of star pitcher Felix Hernandez.

*The complicated free-agent case of Manny Machado.

*Here's Eduardo Perez on what the U.S.-Cuba deal means to him.

*Here's SI on the statistical trends that will dominate baseball in 2019.

*The New Zealand Herald is super-pumped about Nick Tanielu joining the Auckland Tuatara. Tanielu (2014 14th Round pick) has hit .295/.341/.421 in parts of five minor-league seasons.

*Please make sure you listen to the almost-hour-long interview with Lance McCullers, Jr. on Lima Time Time.

*2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg: Not Here To Dance.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Happy Friday folks. You will not get 2 different Hot Links today. This one is all me. Buckle your seat belts and do not read these while you drive. Please wait until you get to the workplace. Don't even sneak a peek at a red light either. I care about your safety.

The Astros officially did absolutely nothing at Winter Meetings 2018, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a waste.

Tags still believes at least one impact move is on its way.

I have absolutely no idea how the Rule 5 draft works, but we did it. It happened. We stole Alejandro Flores from the Nationals but were robbed the talents of Riley Ferrell, Drew Ferguson, and Ryan Thompson. More info here but the info is unfortunately only about the players mentioned above and not about how this whacked out draft works.

Alex Bregman posted a 50 minute podcast/roundtable discussion with Alex Rodriguez, Jake Marisnick, and other current major leaguers on his Youtube channel.

Astros and Drew Pomeranz?

Charlie Morton is gone, so I went to Youtube and found a 3 minute video of the lad straight dealing. Miss you already buddy.

And uh yeah. That's it.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Mayhaps you saw that Flick and I straight up double-teamed you with Hot Links on Wednesday though, somehow, absolutely nothing happened. Probably won't happen again. I'm glad he's back.

*The Astros hired Former Astros Great Mickey Storey to be their new manager at Fresno Round Rock. Storey, one of the storied members of the 2012 Astros, was Quad Cities' manager in 2018.

*It appears as though CFM has moved on from the Astros to take a 2-year $30m deal from Tampa. I have Sad. More on Morton later, when I can process this. Luhnow:
We wanted him back, and he will always be part of Astros history. He had two of his best years here, and if he gets a deal he's happy with, I'm happy for him. 

Remember the Astros reportedly offered CFM a 1-year deal with an option for a 2nd year back in November. Makes me wonder if the shoulder that gave Morton trouble also scared off the Astros.

Later Luhnow talked about Morton as a selling point to future targets:
It has become a selling point and players recognize it, and they feel they will get the best information if they sign with the Astros. What they do with it is up to them, but they'll have a chance to figure out ways to make themselves even better.

Charlie Morton's fWAR by season, highest-to-lowest:
2017: 3.2
2018: 3.1
2011: 1.8
2014: 1.6
2013: 1.5
2009: 1.3
2015: 1.0
2016: 0.4
2012: 0.3
2008: 0.2
2010: -0.3

Or you can look at it like this:
Career fWAR, 2008-2016: 7.8
Career fWAR, 2017-2018: 6.3

Or, 2008-2016: 4.54 ERA / 1.44 WHIP, 84 ERA+
2017-2018: 3.36 ERA / 1.18 WHIP, 121 ERA+

Fare thee well, CFM.

So the Astros have erased the following salaries off the books from 2018 (note: it's possible, nay probable, that this changes)

Dallas Keuchel: $13.2m
Brian McCann: $11.5m (the Yankees, get this, paid the Astros haha $5.5m per year to take McCann and win a World Series)
Evan Gattis: $6.7m
Marwin Gonzalez: $5.125m

Total: $36,525,000

Now, Gerrit Cole will get a hefty raise from his $6.75m arbitration salary. Robinson Chirinos will get $5.75m in 2019. But there's some wiggle room from last year, if the Astros' want it.

Using that previous link, Luhnow said the Astros will not be the ones who are aggressive in their bidding:
We're not going to be the ones setting the market. We'll be reacting to it and making sure we get players we want for the value we want....Fans need to have that perspective that it does feel like things are happening later and later in the offseason, and that's okay. It doesn't mean your team's not going to do anything. It might, but it doesn't necessarily mean that. 

The Astros aren't not going to do anything. Maybe they won't, but not necessarily. Got it.

Jeff Luhnow: "We definitely moved the ball forward on a couple deals today, then saw a couple go away. We’re closer on some and that’s about where it stands. This seems like the lowest transaction volume that I’ve ever witnessed at a Winter Meetings in my history."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) December 13, 2018

*Jake Kaplan writes about why the Astros aren't terribly worried about Forrest Whitley's 2019 workload.

*A.J. Hinch talked about Aledmys Diaz's versatility.

*Meanwhile the Yankees signed J.A. Happ to a 2yr/$34(-ish)m deal with a vesting option for a 3rd year.

*The Rangers have reportedly signed Lance Lynn to a 3yr/$30m deal.

*Here's Joe Posnanski with a wonderfully-long read on the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee.

*The Globe and Mail's Jana Pruden: The day I met a serial killer.

*This Dallas kid straight up assaulted another kid during a Dallas-area hockey game.

*A musical selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. Thank God that week is in the rear view mirror.

*Alex Bregman, March-May 2018 (250 PAs): .262/.380/.419, 18 2B / 5 HR, 31K:36BB
Bregman, June 1-end of reg season (455 PAs): .299/.402/.594, 33 2B / 26HR, 54K:60BB

*From Eno Sarris in The Athletic, on the unregulated trend of player development:
Multiple sources tell me that the Astros have spent more money on the hardware hooked up in Minute Maid Park than other teams spend on their entire player development department in a year. Every team has Trackman...but the Astros have enough high-speed, high-definition cameras capturing video of each of those movements for biomechanics analysis to make most player development directors blush.

*The Rays have "expressed interest and had initial conversations with" Charlie Morton's camp, reports the inestimable Marc Topkin. Please don't let CFM go to Tampa and pitch in Shag Carpet Stadium.

*Ralph Bowden says the Astros are still in on J.T. Realmuto, but not as aggressive as the Mets, Phillies, Braves, Padres, and Rays.

*Jon Heyman says the Astros have considered Josh Harrison as a Marwin replacement, "if they can't sign Gonzalez." Harrison is coming off a year in which he hit .250/.293/.363 with eight home runs in 374 PAs.

*With a year left on his deal and getting increasingly platooned, Yasiel Puig might get traded. In 2018 Puig got 291 PAs vs righties, with a .297/.357/.564 slash line and 153 PAs vs lefties, against whom he posted a .209/.268/.360 line.

Please note that Josh Reddick, ALSO A RIGHT-FIELDER, got 343 PAs against RHPs and posted a .231/.318/.351 line. Against LHPs, though, he hit .269/.319/.507, in 144 PAs.

It wouldn't help the angst over getting platooned, but Puig (owed $9,214,000 in 2019) and Reddick ($13m) combined would make a pretty damn good RF option

*The Astros' Triple-A trainer, Lee Meyer, has been promoted to Houston as assistant athletic trainer. This is where we are with this offseason.

*Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car crash murdered by bandits. Four people have been arrested.

Thanks for the memories, Luis Valbuena. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1KqMyq4b1Q

— MLB (@MLB) December 7, 2018

*The Valbuena game I will always remember happened on July 8, 2016. The Astros had a 7-4 lead on Oakland going into the top of the 9th at Minute Maid. Collin McHugh wasn't great, throwing 6IP, 8H/4R (3ER), 3K:2BB. Oakland starter Daniel Mengden was worse. Will Harris and Michael Feliz combined to hold Oakland to just five runs in the top of the 9th, giving Oakland a 9-7 lead. Marwin led off the inning and tried to bunt his way on, and it didn't work. One out. Altuve singled and stole second, bringing up Correa. Correa struck out on a terrible pitch, so terrible that the ball got away from catcher Stephen Vogt, and he reached base, giving Valbuena runners on the corners. He ambushed the first pitch Ryan Madson threw that AB to deep right field, giving the Astros a walk-off win.

Rest easy batflip king 🤧 pic.twitter.com/LosTJJbQVc

— brandt (@NombreEsChile) December 7, 2018

It wasn't the bat flippiest of celebrations, but that was fun.

Yahoo's Tim Brown: Luis Valbuena celebrated life.

*Yesterday was the 77th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, one of the monumentally dumbest acts of military aggression in history. That attack ended the Great Depression and ushered in an era of American dominance on the world stage. This 97-year old man swam through burning fuel to survive.

*A musical selection: Here's Prince covering Creep.



*The story behind the $100m deal between Netflix and Friends.

*Good news: A Nazi was convicted of murder.

*Then there's this 22-minute film from 1943:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Hello everybody, I have just finished the busiest week of college I have ever had as a student and have awakened from my slumber on the blog to continue making some Hot Links. New Hot Links this week Monday/Wednesday/Friday and this is my promise to you. But without further ado, let's talk about the Astros and also the Woodpeckers. ⬇⬇⬇

Dallas Keuchel messed around and got another Gold Glove for his 2018 performance. Only four Astros have won at least 4 Gold Gloves.

Martin Maldonado and Alex Bregman lost their Gold Glove Awards to Salvador Perez and Matt Chapman, respectively.

Tony Kemp is just such a good person.

Sig Mejdal, our NASA scientist, is not sticking around in our front office in 2019 just like everybody else in the front office. The Astros have now lost the following:

Sig Mejdal, Analytics Lead/Draft and Major League Personnel Decisions Contributor
Mike Fast, Director of Research and Development
Ryan Hallahan, Senior Technical Architect
Doug White, Bullpen Coach
Jeff Albert, Assistant Hitting Coach
along with these 2019 Free Agents unlikely to come back:
Brian McCann, Catcher
Evan Gattis, Designated Hitter
Dallas Keuchel, Starting Pitcher
and 2019 Free Agents that may or may not come back:
Charlie Morton, Starting Pitcher
Tony Sipp, Relief Pitcher
Martin Maldonado, Catcher
Marwin Gonzalez, Anywhere

This list does not include Joe Espada, who still might find a managerial job in 2019 as well as Astros assistant GM Mike Elias, who has been contacted by Baltimore.

That is a lot of departures.

Our new Class A team is the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, which is arguably the best Astros minor league team they have ever snatched up.

Look at this guy. What a unit. I love everything about this. I love how overly intimidating this bird is, I love how he pecked through his bat, which is just a phenomenal touch that I would have never even thought about including in the logo but it just makes so much sense and it makes me smile from ear to ear. This is the best bird logo in sports. It all just makes sense. Somebody ship me a Woodpeckers hat and don't screw up the mascot costume please.

How does the Clayton Kershaw resigning affect how the Astros attack pitching in free agency?

Will Charlie Morton even be good in 2019 or is that run done?

The Curious Case of Jeff Luhnow.

Boy these Astros really are going to need Forrest Whitley to be good.

A scientist stabbed his colleague because he kept telling him endings of books he wanted to read.

There are gay penguins in Sydney, Australia that are just like my dudes Tux and Flipper on Parks and Recreation.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*It is 145 days until the Astros open the 2019 season at beautiful scenic historic Tropicana Field.

*The Red Sox and Astros are listed as 6/1 favorites to win the 2019 World Series.

*The Astros extended a Qualifying Offer (1yr/$17.9m) to free agent Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel:
I would assume we'll turn it down and look at other offers and figure out what's best.

That's a safe assumption. Dallas Keuchel racked up 3.6 fWAR in 2018, and a total of 14.6 fWAR from 2015-18. That ranks 15th among all MLB SPs, one spot above Chicago's Jose Quintana who signed a very-friendly 6yr/$37m contract for the 2014 season. That's one end of the possible spectrum for a Keuchel contract. Another comparison might be David Price, who has 15.2 fWAR since 2015. Prior to the 2016 season Price signed a 7yr/$217m contract prior to his Age 30 season. While Keuchel doesn't have the track record that Price did, he still is a former Cy Young winner, three-time Gold Glove winner, Top-5 MVP season, lefty pitcher with command.

So I think I'm safe in assuming that Keuchel will get somewhere between $6m and $31m this season. I'm thinking someone ponies up 5yrs/$100m for him. One expert predicted 5yrs/$105m.

More Keuchel:
It's the element of the unknown that's a little concerning, but I have a few vacations lined up. I'm not going to be thinking about it much. I'll be getting updates and doing my due diligence. I'm going to be enjoying the whole process and I'll figure out where me and my family want to be.

If this is the end of the road for Keuchel in Houston, let's just take a second to appreciate his time with the Astros. He was here for the worst, and most magical, seasons in franchise history.
76-63 record. 3.66 ERA / 3.72 FIP / 1.25 WHIP.
Three-time Gold Glove winner
Two-time All-Star
2015 IP leader / SHO leader / WHIP leader
World Series champion

4-2 record in the postseason. 3.31 ERA / 1.14 WHIP.

*MLBTR predicts Keuchel signs a 4yr/$82m deal with Washington. In addition to that pick, MLBTR also predicts:
-Marwin signs with Minnesota for 4yrs/$36m
-Morton to Philly for 2yrs/$32m
-Catcher Wilson Ramos to Houston for 3yrs/$36m
-Zach Britton to Houston for 3yrs/$33m

*The Astros did not make Qualifying Offers to Marwin Gonzalez or Charlie Morton.

*The Astros declined their $5.5m option on Will Harris, but he'll remain with the team as he's arbitration-eligible for one more year.

*The Astros did claim catcher Chris Herrmann off waivers from Seattle. The lefty-hitting/righty-throwing Herrmann will be 31 later this month and hit .237/.322/.421 in 2018.

*But if he's the Opening Day Catcher then something may have gone wrong. Brian McTaggart asks if J.T. Realmuto is a Realpossibility (see what I did there) for the Astros this off-season. McTaggart runs down some other catching options on the market, as well.

*The Astros did decline their option on Brian McCann (not surprising) and outrighted a rehabbing Jandel Gustave off of the 40-Man Roster.

*SI's Tom Verducci writes that sign-stealing is this off-season's most important topic for baseball. Verducci:
Many clubs now have as many as six high-magnification cameras installed in their home ballpark specifically designed to steal signs from opponents.

"Many," huh?

*Collin McHugh and Brent Strom are part of MLB's team heading to Japan for the Japan Series, November 8-15.

*ICYMI: Alex Bregman talked to Friend of Astros County Mike Oz about dressing up like Mark McGwire every year for Halloween.

*The Athletic's Lindsay Adler writes about Joe Girardi's summer coaching youth baseball.

*The Guardian: Meet the Marathon Cheats.

*A musical selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Brewers beat the Dodgers in an exhibition match. I only call it an exhibition match because I can't figure out why anyone is playing baseball anymore, since the season ended on Thursday. The Astros have a 0.0% chance to win the World Series for the first time since 2016.

*The Astros are aching, and planning to get better next year. Bregman:
We'll learn from it and everyone in here will have a little bit of an edge to play with, it will be a chip on their shoulder knowing that we believe we should have been back-to-back champions. And I know every day when I wake up and the rest of these guys wake up during the offseason, there will be one thing on their mind, and that'll be working toward winning it next year. 

Hinch, on Altuve:
It's all about heart with him. He is such a great example of what's right...I wish you guys knew what he had to go through to play every day and get himself prepared and then contribute and do well.

Keuchel, on his upcoming offseason of question:
There's been seven years where there could have been extension talks, but one thing or another it just hasn't come to a head. But I'd like to be in this locker next year...it's just going to be a weird feeling not knowing what's next. 

*Alex Cora went on a Boston talk show and talked about how the Red Sox used the Astros' paranoia against them. Cora:
I was like, 'Paranoia is working for us.' Like they are panicking. Throughout the series we did a lot of stuff as far as like dummy signs and all this stuff to keep the paranoia going. That is part of the game - tipping, stealing signs, relaying pitches and paying attention to details. That is the way I took it. If they feel that way about us, we might as well push the envelope and keep doing a lot of things that are going to make them uncomfortable and you saw it. They kept changing signs and the tempo of the games was awful, but that worked to our advantage, I think. 

*Brian T. Smith: The pitching let the Astros down at the worst possible moment.

I love you, Houston.

— Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) October 19, 2018

*FanGraphs has the 2019 Astros' Doomsday Scenario, just in case you were feeling too good about baseball right now.

*I don't know how a Mets blogger has a source who says that Lance McCullers needs Tommy John Surgery, but McCullers didn't rule out that he'll need some kind of surgery.

Charlie Morton, who is 34 and a pending free agent: “I’d love to keep playing, I’d love to be an Astro. I’d love to be part of this again. Ultimately, it’s not really up to me. It’s not solely up to me.”

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 19, 2018

*On the complex, melancholy creation of the iconic old-school Brewers logo.

*A musical selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Well friends, it was a good effort. We did what we could, but unfortunate events, bad misplays, and poor health ended our season quicker than what we wanted it to. I'm not going to go over the game in detail. There just wasn't a lot that stood out besides the Marwin home run and I don't really want to relive it, so I will turn it over to Tags' recap here.

Before I get started on any Hot Links, I would like to talk what a fun thing I'm adding during Offseason Hot Links. Since the amount of links has a good chance of decreasing since, you know, the Astros won't be playing anytime soon, I am planning on creating online Astros-related quizzes to attach at the end of the Hot Links. There will be no prize, because you could easily just Google the answers. I highly suggest that you don't do that though, because it kind of takes the fun out of the whole thing and c'mon nobody is really going to remember you "the guy who knows everything about the Astros because of his Astros quiz scores" This might decrease the amount of actual links posted on Fridays since I will have to make them from scratch, but it brings more interactivity to the daily posts. Anyways I have a few ideas lined up, so stay tuned for those starting next Friday.

~Now Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming~

Was the Justin Verlander trade the best deadline deal in baseball history? Michael Baumann has the answer.

Sure we lost in the ALCS, but it gave us this cool stat.

Remember when Erik Kratz tripped in our 2016 intros? That was on purpose.

2018 playoff games are running long. Is that a problem? Can we fix it?

The Astros were cleared from their sign-stealing allegations and other teams are not happy about the ruling.

No matter how good your team is, you still need at least a little luck on your side.

The fans who tried to catch Altuve's Home Run Ball That Wasn't open up about what they experienced.

There is a report that Lance McCullers was pitching through a torn UCL. LMJ would not comment on the report. Potentially no Keuchel, Morton, and LMJ heading into 2019. We'll see.

Let's start looking at some thoughts about upcoming free agents:

Marwin Gonzalez: I Hot Link'd this video a couple weeks ago and it seems as if Marwin is seen as part of the "core" of Astros, so there is a better chance than not of him returning to Houston. (pls)

Dallas Keuchel: Likely gone. He's going to get paid big money by somebody this free agent season (like the Yankees, probably). He has the 2nd highest 2018 WAR for a free agent pitcher going into this offseason.

Charlie Morton: likely the biggest question mark of them all.

Maldonado and Gattis are both free agents. Which one do we bring back? Or is this Realmuto trade still a thing?

Tony Sipp: Believe it or not, Tony posted a decent 0.9 WAR, but it's good enough for the 7th highest available relief pitcher on the market.

We Might Finally Know What Smacked Uranus Sideways (welcome back, funny headlines. I missed you.)

This is like the third drunk bird story I've shared, but dangit it's just so funny every time.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1972, the A's beat the Reds 3-2 in Game 4 of the World Series thanks to four 9th inning singles, three of which were hit by pinch hitters.

In 1981, the Expos were eliminated and were never in the playoffs again after Rick Monday hit a 2-out 9th inning home run to move the Dodgers to the World Series.

In 1999, Andruw Jones won the Braves a pennant by taking ball four with the bases loaded in the 11th inning.

In 2004, Alex Rodriguez was called out for interference after swatting the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove. The Red Sox went on to force a Game 7 after winning this game, the first team to ever do so after going down in the series 0-3.

In 2005, the Houston Astros decided they wanted to go play in their first ever World Series.

In 2008, the Rays went on to play in their first ever World Series after defeating the Red Sox 3-1, the first time in franchise history.