It's Game Day.
Here's your note to get out of your responsibilities.
Here's your official playoff roster.
Here's the official Walk-Up Music Playlist.
ESPN's Best Bets for the Series ($)
A reminder: The 2018 Astros are the 2017 World Champion Houston Astros who got better.
Alex Cora will be borrowing a lot of Astros tactics tomorrow in the ALDS.
Wanna watch the same with some people? I got some details for that.
Carlos Correa "hopes" this rest helped his back. Me too.
It's the day before a huge series, but a fella needs his fruit!
Wondering what Chris Correa is up to? Sports Illustrated catches up with him.
TIME Magazine says that the Astros are one of the Top 50 Most Genius Companies around.
The analytics say it'll be a rematch.
Jenny Dial Creech talks about just how important depth can be.
The Astros hit "the media" to talk about how and why they will repeat their playoff success.
LMJ was on Sports 610 Radio in case you missed it.
There's a pumpkin paddle in Germany, where you jump in a giant pumpkin...and paddle.
On This Day in History
In 1941, Mickey Owen's passed ball turned a 4-3 Brooklyn win turned quickly into a heartbreaking loss, letting the Yankees win 7-4.
In 1951, Mickey Mantle's season abruptly ended after getting his cleat stuck in a drainage cap.
In 1993, the Astros announced that Bob Watson would replace Bill Wood as GM of the team, making him the first black GM in baseball history.
In 2001, the Giants and Dodgers played the longest nine inning game in MLB history clocking in at 4:27.
In 2002, the Angels win their first playoff series in franchise history.
In 2011, the Rally Squirrel was born.
Carry on with your hyperventilation. I know I will.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Chris Correa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Correa. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2018
Friday, February 3, 2017
Friday Morning Hot Links
*Jim Crane expects to be in the playoffs this year, writes USA Today's Bob Nightengale. Also, Crane:
You always need more pitching. We would have loved to have Chapman and Sale, too. But we're a mid market team. We look at a lot of stuff but can't go crazy on the payroll. We can't afford to make a mistake on a bad contract.
Read the full article.
*Evan Grant seems to think that the report of the Rangers stepping up their pursuit of Jose Quintana is a ploy by the White Sox to re-engage the Astros.
*Beyond the Box Score asks when the Astros will break through.
It's not truly fair to compare the Astros to the Cubs, especially since one of these teams is coming off a World Series victory. However, it's difficult not to see parallels between such young, talented teams.
*FanGraphs examines why the Astros didn't catch Chris Correa snooping around in Ground Control.
*FanGraphs asks if the Cardinals deserved a competitive balance pick in the first place
*Francis Martes has some of the best tools in the game.
*New Zealand is feelin its oats, giving Whataburger Field and Minute Maid Park two spots in the Eight Worst Stadium Names In Sports.
*For just $37.9m, you can buy Jim Crane's house in Pebble Beach.
*Former Astros reliever Anthony Young has an inoperable brain tumor.
You always need more pitching. We would have loved to have Chapman and Sale, too. But we're a mid market team. We look at a lot of stuff but can't go crazy on the payroll. We can't afford to make a mistake on a bad contract.
Read the full article.
*Evan Grant seems to think that the report of the Rangers stepping up their pursuit of Jose Quintana is a ploy by the White Sox to re-engage the Astros.
*Beyond the Box Score asks when the Astros will break through.
It's not truly fair to compare the Astros to the Cubs, especially since one of these teams is coming off a World Series victory. However, it's difficult not to see parallels between such young, talented teams.
*FanGraphs examines why the Astros didn't catch Chris Correa snooping around in Ground Control.
*FanGraphs asks if the Cardinals deserved a competitive balance pick in the first place
*Francis Martes has some of the best tools in the game.
*New Zealand is feelin its oats, giving Whataburger Field and Minute Maid Park two spots in the Eight Worst Stadium Names In Sports.
*For just $37.9m, you can buy Jim Crane's house in Pebble Beach.
*Former Astros reliever Anthony Young has an inoperable brain tumor.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Former Cardinals Scouting Director Gets 46 Months
Former Cardinals Scouting Director Chris Correa was ordered to pay almost $280,000 in restitution and was sentenced to 46 months in prison today.
Astros legal counsel Giles Kibbe said that Correa accessed Ground Control - the Astros internal database - at least 60 times between March 13-June 28, 2014. This is a far higher number of breaches than was previously indicated by prosecutors.
The County Mountie, our InfoSec specialist, wrote up a little something back in January:
Correa is the criminal here. He accessed the Astros database unauthorized. Whether or not he was looking for proprietary data is irrelevant. His timing coincided with both the trade deadline and the draft. This wasn't about what the Astros took, it's what the Cardinals took and gained an advantage from. Whether or not Correa shared the information with GM is irrelevant. He was in a position to gain from the position he accessed.
Not Hank Aaron, our Legal specialist, wrote last July, of Correa's defense that he broke into Ground Control to see if the Astros stole any of the Cardinals' proprietary data:
Now, I don't claim to be an expert in this area of law, but, this is really dumb. Unauthorized access to someone else's computer is a federal crime, under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That's why the FBI is involved in this investigation. You don't get to commit a federal crime just because you think someone has wronged you. I feel like this is important advice.
It's sort of like going into someone else's house to see if they have the tv you think they stole from you. If you get caught, you're the one breaking & entering.
It's worth noting in David Barron's write-up in the Chronicle that Judge Lynn Hughes got salty with Correa:
But even as Correa admitted his wrongdoing, Hughes interjected his own descriptions of the defendant's actions - "intentionally, over a long period of time, stupidly."
Motherboard has this take:
It's also debatable whether guessing a password - or even sharing a password - to access a database should lead to almost four years in prison. In this case, the sentence was based on the calculation that Correa's unauthorized access to the data cost the Astros $1.7 million. Correa caused this damage by accessing the Astros' "notes on its trade discussions with other teams," as well as their scouting reports.
Now the matter is turned over to MLB and Rob Manfred, who may or may not do anything to the Cardinals.
Astros legal counsel Giles Kibbe said that Correa accessed Ground Control - the Astros internal database - at least 60 times between March 13-June 28, 2014. This is a far higher number of breaches than was previously indicated by prosecutors.
The County Mountie, our InfoSec specialist, wrote up a little something back in January:
Correa is the criminal here. He accessed the Astros database unauthorized. Whether or not he was looking for proprietary data is irrelevant. His timing coincided with both the trade deadline and the draft. This wasn't about what the Astros took, it's what the Cardinals took and gained an advantage from. Whether or not Correa shared the information with GM is irrelevant. He was in a position to gain from the position he accessed.
Not Hank Aaron, our Legal specialist, wrote last July, of Correa's defense that he broke into Ground Control to see if the Astros stole any of the Cardinals' proprietary data:
Now, I don't claim to be an expert in this area of law, but, this is really dumb. Unauthorized access to someone else's computer is a federal crime, under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That's why the FBI is involved in this investigation. You don't get to commit a federal crime just because you think someone has wronged you. I feel like this is important advice.
It's sort of like going into someone else's house to see if they have the tv you think they stole from you. If you get caught, you're the one breaking & entering.
It's worth noting in David Barron's write-up in the Chronicle that Judge Lynn Hughes got salty with Correa:
But even as Correa admitted his wrongdoing, Hughes interjected his own descriptions of the defendant's actions - "intentionally, over a long period of time, stupidly."
Motherboard has this take:
It's also debatable whether guessing a password - or even sharing a password - to access a database should lead to almost four years in prison. In this case, the sentence was based on the calculation that Correa's unauthorized access to the data cost the Astros $1.7 million. Correa caused this damage by accessing the Astros' "notes on its trade discussions with other teams," as well as their scouting reports.
Now the matter is turned over to MLB and Rob Manfred, who may or may not do anything to the Cardinals.
Monday Morning Hot Links
*The Astros beat the Mariners 8-1 on the back of Carlos Gomez's grand slam yesterday. The Rangers beat the Cubs. The Angels beat the White Sox, and the Blue Jays beat the A's. The Ramgers division lead remains at 4.5, while the Astros are back to four up on the Mariners. The Astros are two behind the Red Sox for WC1 and one behind the Blue Jays for WC2.
FanGraphs has the Astros at 40.3% to win the division (Oak Cliff is at 54.6%) and 63.3% to make the playoffs.
*Lima Time Time: Episode 18 with special guest Nick Mundy is up now.
*Collin McHugh Houdini'd his way through six scoreless innings.
*Jose Altuve recorded his 5th 4-hit game of the season, and he got 36 votes from 74 players asked who could break Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak, which ended 75 years ago yesterday.
*Hinch said he never really felt comfortable during yesterday's 8-1 win.
*Jon Heyman hasn't heard a target date for Alex Bregman's call-up, but it isn't going to be this series at Oakland. Austin is gearing up for four games with Fresno starting in Round Rock tonight.
*Yulieski Gurriel will be a free agent at the end of his essentially 4 1/2-year contract.
*2016 2nd Round pick Ronnie Dawson went 2x2 with 2HR/5RBI and two walks yesterday.
*Six hours and 31 minutes after first pitch the Greeneville Astros walked it off against Bluefield in the bottom of the 20th inning.
*The Cardinals' Chris Correa may be looking at three years in prison. Sentencing is today at 1:30pm.
*Barring an "overwhleming" offer, Chris Archer is not available.
*The new CBA negotiations could include a return to the 154-game season.
FanGraphs has the Astros at 40.3% to win the division (Oak Cliff is at 54.6%) and 63.3% to make the playoffs.
*Lima Time Time: Episode 18 with special guest Nick Mundy is up now.
*Collin McHugh Houdini'd his way through six scoreless innings.
*Jose Altuve recorded his 5th 4-hit game of the season, and he got 36 votes from 74 players asked who could break Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak, which ended 75 years ago yesterday.
*Hinch said he never really felt comfortable during yesterday's 8-1 win.
*Jon Heyman hasn't heard a target date for Alex Bregman's call-up, but it isn't going to be this series at Oakland. Austin is gearing up for four games with Fresno starting in Round Rock tonight.
*Yulieski Gurriel will be a free agent at the end of his essentially 4 1/2-year contract.
*2016 2nd Round pick Ronnie Dawson went 2x2 with 2HR/5RBI and two walks yesterday.
*Six hours and 31 minutes after first pitch the Greeneville Astros walked it off against Bluefield in the bottom of the 20th inning.
*The Cardinals' Chris Correa may be looking at three years in prison. Sentencing is today at 1:30pm.
*Barring an "overwhleming" offer, Chris Archer is not available.
*The new CBA negotiations could include a return to the 154-game season.
Friday, June 24, 2016
Friday Morning Hot Links
*Astros were, of course, off yesterday. The Mariners lost to the Tigers in extra innings and the A's beat the Angels. East Weatherford was off, as well. So your division looks as such:
-Ramgers: -
-Houston: -10
-Seattle: -11
-Anaheim: -16
-Oakland: -16.5
1st WC: -3.5
2nd WC: -2.5
*The Astros "have done their homework" on 32-year old Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel, but Luhnow declined to comment on whether the Astros will invite him in for a workout.
*Carlos Correa has been more aggressive early in the count to go along with better timing, helping him spark a mini-resurgence.
*Pretty much everyone thinks Will Harris should be an All-Star.
*Cheatin-ass Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa's sentencing has been delayed for the third time, to July 18.
*The Astros sold Fresno OF Eury Perez to the Rays.
*A.J. Reed hit another home run and Joe Musgrove threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 7K:1BB, with 58 strikes in 72 pitches as Fresno beat Albuquerque. Brendan McCurry got his first Triple-A save, striking out three in 1.2IP. Fresno has now won 10 of their last 12 games.
*Corpus beat Frisco 3-2. Derek Fisher was 1x2 with 2BB. Teoscar Hernandez stole his 29th base of the season. Kyle Smith threw 5IP, 6H/2ER, 2K:0BB - both runs coming on solo homers. Cy Sneed got the piggyback start and went 4IP, 2H/0ER, 10K:1BB.
*Lancaster scored a run in the bottom of the 9th and got the Garrett Stubbs walk-off in the 10th to beat Lake Elsinore. Bryan Muniz was 3x5 with two doubles, a triple, and 3RBI; Bobby Boyd hit a two-run homer. Relievers Yeyfry Del Rosario and Jacob Dorris combined for 5.1IP, 0H/1ER, 7K:5BB.
*The 31-39 Quad Cities River Bandits were held to one hit in a defeat at Wisconsin. Jose Hernandez threw 5IP, 3H/0ER, 5K:0BB.
*Tri-City fell to 2-5 with a 4-3 loss vs Vermont. Randy Cesar was 2x4 with a double. Ronnie Dawson was 1x3 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Reliever Erasmo Pinales had a rough one, recording one out while walking five.
*Greeneville lost its season opener to Johnson City, 10-6. 3B Wander Franco was 2x3 with a 2-run homer and a walk.
*Washington's Michael Taylor may have just had the worst game in baseball history.
-Ramgers: -
-Houston: -10
-Seattle: -11
-Anaheim: -16
-Oakland: -16.5
1st WC: -3.5
2nd WC: -2.5
*The Astros "have done their homework" on 32-year old Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel, but Luhnow declined to comment on whether the Astros will invite him in for a workout.
*Carlos Correa has been more aggressive early in the count to go along with better timing, helping him spark a mini-resurgence.
*Pretty much everyone thinks Will Harris should be an All-Star.
*Cheatin-ass Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa's sentencing has been delayed for the third time, to July 18.
*The Astros sold Fresno OF Eury Perez to the Rays.
*A.J. Reed hit another home run and Joe Musgrove threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 7K:1BB, with 58 strikes in 72 pitches as Fresno beat Albuquerque. Brendan McCurry got his first Triple-A save, striking out three in 1.2IP. Fresno has now won 10 of their last 12 games.
*Corpus beat Frisco 3-2. Derek Fisher was 1x2 with 2BB. Teoscar Hernandez stole his 29th base of the season. Kyle Smith threw 5IP, 6H/2ER, 2K:0BB - both runs coming on solo homers. Cy Sneed got the piggyback start and went 4IP, 2H/0ER, 10K:1BB.
*Lancaster scored a run in the bottom of the 9th and got the Garrett Stubbs walk-off in the 10th to beat Lake Elsinore. Bryan Muniz was 3x5 with two doubles, a triple, and 3RBI; Bobby Boyd hit a two-run homer. Relievers Yeyfry Del Rosario and Jacob Dorris combined for 5.1IP, 0H/1ER, 7K:5BB.
*The 31-39 Quad Cities River Bandits were held to one hit in a defeat at Wisconsin. Jose Hernandez threw 5IP, 3H/0ER, 5K:0BB.
*Tri-City fell to 2-5 with a 4-3 loss vs Vermont. Randy Cesar was 2x4 with a double. Ronnie Dawson was 1x3 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Reliever Erasmo Pinales had a rough one, recording one out while walking five.
*Greeneville lost its season opener to Johnson City, 10-6. 3B Wander Franco was 2x3 with a 2-run homer and a walk.
*Washington's Michael Taylor may have just had the worst game in baseball history.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Friday Morning Hot Links
*This is the last Hot Links until Monday morning as I have to go out of town this weekend with such a dumb schedule that it will not allow me to Get On This Blog.
*Check the Masked Marvel's recap on a night where Collin McHugh was good and Chris Sale was...well, Chris Sale.
*"George is just doing George things out there..." - Collin McHugh, on Springer's over-the-wall grab.
*Evan Gattis had a pretty good night behind the plate. McHugh:
I know a lot of people haven't had a chance to see him because it's been a couple of years since he's been back there, but he's solid. He's a big league catcher and everybody needs to understand that and recognize that.
*Tyler White is finally adjusting to all the adjustments the League made to him:
It's having to calm his body down and he's doing that not (as) consistently as he's going to do, but quite a bit. So his mechanics, his body rhythms, his timing all seemed to take a hit as the league adjusted to him.
*Hinch is hopeful Carlos Gomez can resume "baseball activities" next week.
*The Astros are Jayson Stark's Most Disappointing Team of the Year.
*Corpus' J.D. Davis hit three home runs last night as the Hooks won their 10th straight game, his 7th HR in his last 12 games. Alex Bregman homered again, too. '
*Oh hey whaddayaknow the Ramgers have apparently decided that maybe a roof is a good idea.
*The Cheatin-Ass Cardinals former scouting director's sentencing is delayed, yet again, until July 5.
*Vanderbilt pulled off a triple steal.
*Check the Masked Marvel's recap on a night where Collin McHugh was good and Chris Sale was...well, Chris Sale.
Chris Sale lifetime vs. Astros: 4-1, 0.66 ERA, 41 IP, 3 ER, 56 K, 4 BB. Sale's Houston ERA went up tonight from 0.56— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 20, 2016
*"George is just doing George things out there..." - Collin McHugh, on Springer's over-the-wall grab.
*Evan Gattis had a pretty good night behind the plate. McHugh:
I know a lot of people haven't had a chance to see him because it's been a couple of years since he's been back there, but he's solid. He's a big league catcher and everybody needs to understand that and recognize that.
*Tyler White is finally adjusting to all the adjustments the League made to him:
It's having to calm his body down and he's doing that not (as) consistently as he's going to do, but quite a bit. So his mechanics, his body rhythms, his timing all seemed to take a hit as the league adjusted to him.
*Hinch is hopeful Carlos Gomez can resume "baseball activities" next week.
*The Astros are Jayson Stark's Most Disappointing Team of the Year.
*Corpus' J.D. Davis hit three home runs last night as the Hooks won their 10th straight game, his 7th HR in his last 12 games. Alex Bregman homered again, too. '
*Oh hey whaddayaknow the Ramgers have apparently decided that maybe a roof is a good idea.
*The Cheatin-Ass Cardinals former scouting director's sentencing is delayed, yet again, until July 5.
*Vanderbilt pulled off a triple steal.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Friday Morning Hot Links
*Just like you, the Astros are frustrated with their 7-15 record.
*Collin McHugh's fastball Wednesday night averaged 92.39mph - his highest of the season.
*Speaking of McHugh, he is one of ten professional athletes to sign with Fantex, a stock exchange of sorts in which he will receive $3.96m now in exchange for 10% of all future on- and off-field earnings.
*You MUST read this story about Colby Rasmus buying cattle.
[Rasmus] said he wanted [cows] more for personal satisfaction. He wanted to look out his window at his place and see some really good cows.
*Little update on the rumblings around the minors: A Fayetteville, North Carolina city official confirmed that the Astros are looking to bring a High-A Carolina League team to the city. Reid Ryan toured Fayetteville and nearby Fort Bragg on Monday.
-Meanwhile, California League president Charlie Blaney offered a "no comment" when asked if the California League - where the Astros have their High-A affiliate in Lancaster - was planning to contract and lose two teams to the Carolina League. In order for the Astros to move to the Carolina League, they would have to buy their own Cal League franchise. This is something the Rangers apparently tried to do, but the deal fell apart this winter.
*Astros/A's/Astros/A's great Jed Lowrie is really looking forward to this weekend series against the Astros.
Oh yeah, I want to beat them for sure.
*Viva El Birdos has an interesting story about free agency, and when the Astros tried to sign Ozzie Smith in 1992.
*And speaking of the cheatin-ass Cardinals, MLB is "not close" to a ruling on how to punish them for their criminal mastermind Chris "Moriarty" Correa breaking in to Ground Control. And it's taking so long that insiders don't think the Cardinals' 2016 draft class will be impacted.
*Collin McHugh's fastball Wednesday night averaged 92.39mph - his highest of the season.
*Speaking of McHugh, he is one of ten professional athletes to sign with Fantex, a stock exchange of sorts in which he will receive $3.96m now in exchange for 10% of all future on- and off-field earnings.
*You MUST read this story about Colby Rasmus buying cattle.
[Rasmus] said he wanted [cows] more for personal satisfaction. He wanted to look out his window at his place and see some really good cows.
*Little update on the rumblings around the minors: A Fayetteville, North Carolina city official confirmed that the Astros are looking to bring a High-A Carolina League team to the city. Reid Ryan toured Fayetteville and nearby Fort Bragg on Monday.
-Meanwhile, California League president Charlie Blaney offered a "no comment" when asked if the California League - where the Astros have their High-A affiliate in Lancaster - was planning to contract and lose two teams to the Carolina League. In order for the Astros to move to the Carolina League, they would have to buy their own Cal League franchise. This is something the Rangers apparently tried to do, but the deal fell apart this winter.
*Astros/A's/Astros/A's great Jed Lowrie is really looking forward to this weekend series against the Astros.
Oh yeah, I want to beat them for sure.
*Viva El Birdos has an interesting story about free agency, and when the Astros tried to sign Ozzie Smith in 1992.
*And speaking of the cheatin-ass Cardinals, MLB is "not close" to a ruling on how to punish them for their criminal mastermind Chris "Moriarty" Correa breaking in to Ground Control. And it's taking so long that insiders don't think the Cardinals' 2016 draft class will be impacted.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Thursday Morning Hot Links
Jon Singleton hit a homer and a double to maybe! shake out of his Spring-long funk, but the Astros fell to the Tigers 7-3. Today the Astros will split the squad and play the Braves and the Blue Jays.
*Lance McCullers, Max Stassi, Evan Gattis. How the Astros deal with these injuries will tell Today's Knuckleball a lot about the team early.
*Richard Justice writes about 2016: The Encore.
*Brian T. Smith: Carlos Gomez never turns down.
*A day after George Springer got plunked, the Tigers hit Carlos Gomez and Jason Castro, giving the Astros seven HBPs on the Spring. A.J. Hinch isn't bout that life. "I can do without our guys being smoked...We'll pay attention to that. Let's put it that way.
*Luke Gregerson made his Spring Training debut with an 18-pitch scoreless inning yesterday, and anytime he can get absolutely blasted by a baseball is really what gets him going in the mornings.
*Feldman threw four innings in an intersquad game, working on a changeup that is 12 years in the making.
*Cheatin-ass Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa had his sentencing date moved yet again, from April 18 to June 6, because his lawyer is involved in a separate case and is just too darn busy.
*Judge Marvin Isgur ruled yesterday that CSN Houston can continue their lawsuit against Comcast for the whole...network...debacle.
*Want MLB.tv for free? Sign up with T-Mobile.
*The LA Times is straight panicked about Scott Kazmir's terrible Spring Training, but apparently the Dodgers do not share their panic.
*51-year old Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds beat the much-younger Marlins in a home run contest.
*Why did Adam LaRoche retire from the White Sox and leave $13m on the table? Because White Sox GM Kenny Williams didn't like that he kept bringing his son to the clubhouse. You can read this background piece from last June on LaRoche and his son's relationship. White Sox: Trash since 1919.
*20 years ago Western Carolina almost pulled off the #16 v #1 upset. And everything changed for their coach.
*Here's the New York Times' review of The Godfather from 1972.
*Lance McCullers, Max Stassi, Evan Gattis. How the Astros deal with these injuries will tell Today's Knuckleball a lot about the team early.
*Richard Justice writes about 2016: The Encore.
*Brian T. Smith: Carlos Gomez never turns down.
*A day after George Springer got plunked, the Tigers hit Carlos Gomez and Jason Castro, giving the Astros seven HBPs on the Spring. A.J. Hinch isn't bout that life. "I can do without our guys being smoked...We'll pay attention to that. Let's put it that way.
*Luke Gregerson made his Spring Training debut with an 18-pitch scoreless inning yesterday, and anytime he can get absolutely blasted by a baseball is really what gets him going in the mornings.
*Feldman threw four innings in an intersquad game, working on a changeup that is 12 years in the making.
*Cheatin-ass Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa had his sentencing date moved yet again, from April 18 to June 6, because his lawyer is involved in a separate case and is just too darn busy.
*Judge Marvin Isgur ruled yesterday that CSN Houston can continue their lawsuit against Comcast for the whole...network...debacle.
*Want MLB.tv for free? Sign up with T-Mobile.
*The LA Times is straight panicked about Scott Kazmir's terrible Spring Training, but apparently the Dodgers do not share their panic.
*51-year old Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds beat the much-younger Marlins in a home run contest.
*Why did Adam LaRoche retire from the White Sox and leave $13m on the table? Because White Sox GM Kenny Williams didn't like that he kept bringing his son to the clubhouse. You can read this background piece from last June on LaRoche and his son's relationship. White Sox: Trash since 1919.
*20 years ago Western Carolina almost pulled off the #16 v #1 upset. And everything changed for their coach.
*Here's the New York Times' review of The Godfather from 1972.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Monday Morning Hot Links
*Ignoring the fact that 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are National League teams, Jonah Keri ranked the Astros as the third-best team as of the beginning of Spring Training. The Rangers are #7.
*Doug Fister will be your Grapefruit League Opening Day starter on Thursday against the Phillies.
*Doug Fister will be your Grapefruit League Opening Day starter on Thursday against the Phillies.
Hinch: "It made sense to have our newest guy to kick us off so we can have competition with him."
*George Springer just wants to stay on the field.
*Neal Cotts joined the Astros because he wants to win.
*Jason Castro has made a concerted effort to improve his defense.
*Ken Giles learned his slider from Brad Lidge, who learned it from former Astros coach Dewey Robinson...
*A.J. Hinch is excited about 29-year old reliever James Hoyt.
*Between Alex Bregman, Colin Moran, J.D. Davis, and Tyler White, the Astros like what they have on the left side of the infield. Moran is trying to recover from an injury-plagued 2015:
I got off to a pretty slow start and then broke my jaw (sliding into a base). And then I came back, I rolled my ankle, and I had a back spasm. But then after that, I was all good to go for the last two months.
-Colin Moran
Moran hit .306/.381/.459 in 96 games for Corpus in 2015. From the beginning of the season to the end of June, though, he was hitting .261/.323/.348 - finishing the season with a .333/.416/.526 kick.
*John Sickels has your Top 20 Astros prospects for 2016, with Alex Bregman and A.J. Reed leading the way with A-grades.
*Dallas guy thinks the Astros win the AL West ahead of the Rangers.
*That cheatin'-ass Cardinals scouting director's sentencing will not be held on Opening Day.
*The Rangers signed Ian Desmond to a 1-year/$8m deal. Ian Desmond rejected a 7yr/$107m extension offer before the 2014 season, and rejected the qualifying offer from the Nationals in November...
Monday, January 11, 2016
Monday Morning Hot Links
What with the Texans' loss, it's officially baseball season.
*You have Castro as your C1 and Max Stassi as your C2.
*Make sure you read Jeff Passan's piece on the Chris Correa and the Cardinals' climate of cheating
*Tal Smith: Database pioneer.
*The Cubs signed 2014 Astros legend Jesus Guzman to a minor-league contract.
*25 years ago yesterday the Astros traded Glenn Davis for Curt Schilling
*You have Castro as your C1 and Max Stassi as your C2.
*Make sure you read Jeff Passan's piece on the Chris Correa and the Cardinals' climate of cheating
*Tal Smith: Database pioneer.
*The Cubs signed 2014 Astros legend Jesus Guzman to a minor-league contract.
*25 years ago yesterday the Astros traded Glenn Davis for Curt Schilling
Friday, January 8, 2016
Friday Late-night Links: Cardinals breach of Astros
I'll have some thoughts on the Cardinals breach of the Astros systems below. Here are some links to get you started.
David Barron is killing it (as usual): Chris Correa has pleaded guilty to five of 12 counts of unauthorized access to a computer owned by the Astros. Sentencing is April 11. Which as Barron notes is the home opener for both the Cardinals and Astros.
MLBTradeRumors is also killing it (as usual), with a well rounded update of the days actions.
Here's the actual indictment of United States of America v. Christopher Correa. It's only a five page read (anyone in information security will get a kick out of it).
Walkthrough and thoughts
Perusing the web, most people seem interested in what the Cardinals punishment will be and/or what the Astros will get out of this. I don't have any insight into what could happen here. This is uncharted territory for MLB. The Astros most likely can't sue the Cardinals and the case will have to be handled in house.
What I can speak to is how this went down and lessons learned.
Per the indictment, Chris Correa got access to the Astros database because of password reuse. Plain and simple. When Victim A turned in his equipment to Correa, he was asked for his password. Victim A gave Correa his password. Why would he do this? I'm not entirely sure, but my inclination would be that Victim A had important information on that laptop that Correa needed. Either way a password change of Victim A's Cardinal account or admin account would have accomplished the same thing.
Then Victim A reused or used something similar when setting up his Astros database and email account. This gave Correa the password or something similar to the password. A few character changes and he gets in. That's it.
Correa is now longing into the Astros system, with a legitimate account, accessing information that give the Cardinals a leg up in trade and draft scenarios. This is something that would be very hard to detect, especially with personnel traveling all over the world.
The Astros then have Ground Control featured in the Houston Chronicle, and whoops the non-public URL for logging into the database is in a photo prominently displayed on the Houston Chronicles website. They decide to reset all passwords. Good move. Except that it gave Correa even more access than he already had.
Passwords for the database were reset for everyone (but not email). An email was sent out with a new default password for everyone. Correa, still having access to email, got that password and was now able to login to any account that didn't change the default password. Which how Correa got into Victim B's account. Which had quite the trove of information.
Correa is the criminal here. He accessed the Astros database unauthorized. Whether or not he was looking for proprietary data is irrelevant. His timing coincided with both the trade deadline and the draft. This wasn't about what the Astros took, it's what the Cardinals took and gained an advantage from. Whether or not Correa shared the information with GM is irrelevant. He was in a position to gain from the position he accessed.
On the other side, this was preventable. Password reuse is a big one. Giving a password to another person is even worse. Even with that two-factor authentication prevents this entirely. The password reset is a good idea for keeping people on the outside from getting in. When someone's already in it's much tougher to defend again.
I'm not sure how the database was setup, but sending the same default password to everyone is a bad idea. So is sending a password in an email in general a bad idea. Forcing a password reset the next time someone logs in is probably the best way. Correa could have changed the password for his account access, but that would have sent up a red flag when that person tried to login and his password didn't work.
My question is who and why was internal data dumped on pastebin. Correa had an inside on the Astros database that he could have maintained for a really long time. The pastebin dump was the big red flag that someone was in the Astros database and likely prompted the organization to call in the FBI to investigate. Correa was using TOR but wasn't likely doing enough to clean up his tracks on the inside the database and outside to keep from getting caught.
There's still plenty to follow in this story, but it looks like it's finally winding down. Sentencing, MLB's investigation results, and punishment (or lack-thereof).
This has been fun. Remember kids, never give your password to strangers or anyone for that matter.
David Barron is killing it (as usual): Chris Correa has pleaded guilty to five of 12 counts of unauthorized access to a computer owned by the Astros. Sentencing is April 11. Which as Barron notes is the home opener for both the Cardinals and Astros.
MLBTradeRumors is also killing it (as usual), with a well rounded update of the days actions.
Here's the actual indictment of United States of America v. Christopher Correa. It's only a five page read (anyone in information security will get a kick out of it).
Walkthrough and thoughts
Perusing the web, most people seem interested in what the Cardinals punishment will be and/or what the Astros will get out of this. I don't have any insight into what could happen here. This is uncharted territory for MLB. The Astros most likely can't sue the Cardinals and the case will have to be handled in house.
What I can speak to is how this went down and lessons learned.
Per the indictment, Chris Correa got access to the Astros database because of password reuse. Plain and simple. When Victim A turned in his equipment to Correa, he was asked for his password. Victim A gave Correa his password. Why would he do this? I'm not entirely sure, but my inclination would be that Victim A had important information on that laptop that Correa needed. Either way a password change of Victim A's Cardinal account or admin account would have accomplished the same thing.
Then Victim A reused or used something similar when setting up his Astros database and email account. This gave Correa the password or something similar to the password. A few character changes and he gets in. That's it.
Correa is now longing into the Astros system, with a legitimate account, accessing information that give the Cardinals a leg up in trade and draft scenarios. This is something that would be very hard to detect, especially with personnel traveling all over the world.
The Astros then have Ground Control featured in the Houston Chronicle, and whoops the non-public URL for logging into the database is in a photo prominently displayed on the Houston Chronicles website. They decide to reset all passwords. Good move. Except that it gave Correa even more access than he already had.
Passwords for the database were reset for everyone (but not email). An email was sent out with a new default password for everyone. Correa, still having access to email, got that password and was now able to login to any account that didn't change the default password. Which how Correa got into Victim B's account. Which had quite the trove of information.
Correa is the criminal here. He accessed the Astros database unauthorized. Whether or not he was looking for proprietary data is irrelevant. His timing coincided with both the trade deadline and the draft. This wasn't about what the Astros took, it's what the Cardinals took and gained an advantage from. Whether or not Correa shared the information with GM is irrelevant. He was in a position to gain from the position he accessed.
On the other side, this was preventable. Password reuse is a big one. Giving a password to another person is even worse. Even with that two-factor authentication prevents this entirely. The password reset is a good idea for keeping people on the outside from getting in. When someone's already in it's much tougher to defend again.
I'm not sure how the database was setup, but sending the same default password to everyone is a bad idea. So is sending a password in an email in general a bad idea. Forcing a password reset the next time someone logs in is probably the best way. Correa could have changed the password for his account access, but that would have sent up a red flag when that person tried to login and his password didn't work.
My question is who and why was internal data dumped on pastebin. Correa had an inside on the Astros database that he could have maintained for a really long time. The pastebin dump was the big red flag that someone was in the Astros database and likely prompted the organization to call in the FBI to investigate. Correa was using TOR but wasn't likely doing enough to clean up his tracks on the inside the database and outside to keep from getting caught.
There's still plenty to follow in this story, but it looks like it's finally winding down. Sentencing, MLB's investigation results, and punishment (or lack-thereof).
This has been fun. Remember kids, never give your password to strangers or anyone for that matter.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Friday Morning Hot Links
On April 9 the Astros' chances of winning the AL West were 3.5%. This morning, with a 5-game lead after 81 games, their chances of winning the World Series are 7.2%. This season has been weird.
But we still gotta go get Edinson Volquez.
*Despite backtracking on his no-trade list, a Jon Heyman source says that Cole Hamels is unlikely to approve a trade to the Astros. "He's just trying to say the right thing," A Person said.
*The Cardinals fired their Scouting Director, Chris Correa, yesterday in the wake of the hacking/cheating scandal. Within that story we are told that Correa was not the one who leaked the Astros' information to Deadspin, which means that someone else did. The FBI has apparently narrowed the culprits down to "four to five" individuals within the Cardinals' organization.
*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz has an interesting response to the Cardinals. To cherry-pick a quote:
Fairly or unfairly, there's a deep stain on the Cardinals organization. And with the investigations continuing there could be new findings that increase the taint. DeWitt and Mozeliak need to perform a vigorous scrubbing to make sure the baseball side is clean and replenished.
*Be sure you read Not Hank Aaron's - who is a lawyer - response to this tomfoolery/douchebaggery.
*The Houston Press's John Royal - also a lawyer - has a take.
*Carlos Correa is your AL Rookie of the Month.
*The Astros signed 16-year old Dominican outfielder Gilberto Celestino to a $2.5m signing bonus. Celestino is ranked #7 on MLB.com's international prospect list.
*2nd Round pick Thomas Eshelman signed for $1.1m, $225,700 under the slot value for that pick.
But we still gotta go get Edinson Volquez.
*Despite backtracking on his no-trade list, a Jon Heyman source says that Cole Hamels is unlikely to approve a trade to the Astros. "He's just trying to say the right thing," A Person said.
*The Cardinals fired their Scouting Director, Chris Correa, yesterday in the wake of the hacking/cheating scandal. Within that story we are told that Correa was not the one who leaked the Astros' information to Deadspin, which means that someone else did. The FBI has apparently narrowed the culprits down to "four to five" individuals within the Cardinals' organization.
*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz has an interesting response to the Cardinals. To cherry-pick a quote:
Fairly or unfairly, there's a deep stain on the Cardinals organization. And with the investigations continuing there could be new findings that increase the taint. DeWitt and Mozeliak need to perform a vigorous scrubbing to make sure the baseball side is clean and replenished.
*Be sure you read Not Hank Aaron's - who is a lawyer - response to this tomfoolery/douchebaggery.
*The Houston Press's John Royal - also a lawyer - has a take.
*Carlos Correa is your AL Rookie of the Month.
*The Astros signed 16-year old Dominican outfielder Gilberto Celestino to a $2.5m signing bonus. Celestino is ranked #7 on MLB.com's international prospect list.
*2nd Round pick Thomas Eshelman signed for $1.1m, $225,700 under the slot value for that pick.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Cardinals Scouting Director Fired - Says Dumb Things
The St. Louis Post Dispatch dropped a bombshell today regarding the hacking scandal. Belying the notion that it was just some rogue intern, a Cardinals lawyer announced today that they have fired their scouting director, Chris Correa, over the hacking of the Astros database. This is huge news, and eliminates any possibility this will just be swept under the rug and forgotten. This isn't Bill DeWitt or John Mozeliak, but it's higher up in the organization that anyone could have imagined.
This is in no way the end of the story. Correa admitted to the accessing the database once, but has not admitted to any subsequent acts or leaking the information. Which either means he is lying, or some other rogue actors will come to light soon.
In the story, a statement from Correa's attorney offered up his "defense"
In a prepared statement, Correa lawyer Nicholas Williams wrote, "Mr. Correa denies any illegal conduct. The relevant inquiry should be what information did former St. Louis Cardinals employees steal from the St. Louis Cardinals organization prior to joining the Houston Astros, and who in the Houston Astros organization authorized, consented to, or benefited from that roguish behavior."
Correa has admitted hacking into a Houston Astros database but said it was only to verify whether the Astros had stolen proprietary data, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.Now, I don't claim to be an expert in this area of law, but, this is really dumb. Unauthorized access to someone else's computer is a federal crime, under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That's why the FBI is involved in this investigation. You don't get to commit a federal crime just because you think someone has wronged you. I feel like this is important advice. If the Cardinals generally, or Correa specifically, believed the Luhnow stole proprietary information, there were avenues available to them to redress that alleged wrong. Major League teams cannot sue each other, but they can bring complaints to the commissioner's office, who can investigate. Luhnow has already denied that anyone has approached him with such an inquiry. Based on the hacking timeline as we know it, with the first hack occurring in 2012, it seems unlikely the Cardinals have been sitting on this for over three years. Especially considering that the statute of limitations, under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, is three years from the discovery of the breach.
This is in no way the end of the story. Correa admitted to the accessing the database once, but has not admitted to any subsequent acts or leaking the information. Which either means he is lying, or some other rogue actors will come to light soon.
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