Sunday Morning Hot Links

*Steve Clevinger shut the Astros offense down, wasting a perfectly good Mike Fiers start in the process, in a 3-0 Cleveland win in which the Astros didn't get a hit until the bottom of the 7th. Houston struck out 10+ times in consecutive games for the first time since April 26-27, also against Cleveland, and also the last time the Astros took consecutive losses. The Astros are 1-4 against Cleveland this season, and batters have struck out 53 times in those five games. The Astros got three hits, tying a season low (April 20 vs. Anaheim, and they won that game).

*Reddick, on Cleveland:
They're a good team. We saw that last year when they went to the World Series and what they did. They're going to be good. They've got a great bullpen. Their [starting] staff is pretty decent, too, and their lineup is stellar.

*Correa, on Clevinger:
He did a great job. Sometimes you have to give credit to a pitcher, and today was one of those days.

*Fiers threw 6IP, 6H/2R (1ER), 3K:1BB. His 56 Game Score matched his best of the season - his season debut against the Royals in G5. Of course he gave up a home run, making this the 8th straight start in which he has allowed a homer, matching a career-high from when he allowed homers over the last five starts of the 2015 season and the first three starts of 2016.

*Biggest news of the day was probably Dallas Keuchel's trip to the 10-Day DL with a pinched nerve in his neck. He'll only miss one start as it's retroactive to Wednesday. Keuchel was scheduled to pitch tomorrow (Monday) against Detroit, but now Brad Peacock will get that start. Lefty reliever Ashur Tolliver has been called up in Keuchel's absence. Keuchel:
Nobody wants to be hurt or miss time, so that was kind of the double-edged sword...I don't anticipate this being a lengthy issue. It takes a lot for me to say something. 

*And just this morning we find that Brian McCann has been placed on the 7-Day concussion DL. Hits just keep on coming. Juan Centeno has been called up. Centeno is hitting .368/.395/.487 in Fresno this season with nine strikeouts in 83 PAs.

*Brian T. Smith writes that this Astros team could make a championship run. Correa talked about the difference in chemistry from 2016 to 2017:
We have leadership this year and we have great team chemistry. We don't have a guy that's going to mess with that team chemistry. Last year, the chemistry was not that great. We didn't have a leader to lead us on the right path. This year we have two. We have Beltran and we have McCann leading us on the right path. 

INTERESTING.

*One of Nick Cafardo's major league sources says the Astros are "very interested" in Gerrit Cole. Cole is arbitration-eligible for two more years and won't be a free agent until 2020.

*Joel Sherman has a quarter-season awards update that prominently features Jose Altuve and Dallas Keuchel.

*FanRag's Kate Morrison: Are the Astros the new Cubs?

*Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox signed Cuban OF Luis Robert.

Astros team chemistry is "good"

Jim Crane talked to Mark Berman yesterday, and has some encouraging things to hear about the clubhouse chemistry, from Bud Norris.

Crane also acknowledged chemistry problems last year:
"We knew we had a few problems last year and we addressed them early and told the guys to play as a team and play hard and (Norris) said they're all pulling together and you can see that. They're all rooting for each other."

I can't quit you, Berkman

Jerome Solomon has an article up in which he talks to Lance Berkman.

How does Berkman feel about the reportedly improved chemistry after he got traded?

"When you're losing, which we were — we got off to a terrible start — when you're underperforming as a veteran player, you do tend to sulk a little bit. We were used to (thinking) 'Hey, we're right here. If we're not the best team in the division, we can certainly contend for that.' For the majority of Roy's and my careers, we had a good team, and we had a chance every year. You get spoiled.

"I didn't do a very good job last year when things weren't going well. It's difficult when you look around and see that things weren't going well and you look around and realize that it's going to be tough to contend. I wish that I could go back and do it differently. I'm not proud of how that was last year. I'm sure that it was a better environment (after the trades)."

Sigh. /Slow Clap.

SI has a nice little recap

SI's Joe Lemire has a nice article up on the off-season, and it's not a "Jeebus, you guys suck" article.

Lots of good stuff, but we'll pull our favorite part - click it and read.

Lemire:
The Astros have the makings of a nucleus that should contend in the NL Central in a couple years.

Much of that group -- largely at the urging of All-Star rightfielder Hunter Pence -- worked out together at Minute Maid Park four days per week in November and December and five days per week starting in January. Among the young players working out regularly alongside Pence, 27, were third baseman Chris Johnson, 26; Norris, 25; catcher Jason Castro, 23; Wallace, 24; and outfielder Brian Bogusevic, 26.

In all, about a dozen major leaguers and the rest minor leaguers gathered to have their butts collectively kicked by Coleman.

"When they went to walk out the door," Coleman said, "they could barely walk to the door."

Here's some good news

Hunter Pence just tweeted:

This team has come together more than any I've been a part of.

Considering the team has been together as a whole for approximately 36 hours, that's damn skippy.