Tuesday Morning Hot Links

 *The Michael Brantley re-signing is officially official. Among the things he said on a Zoom call (of which I was not a part, hmph):

-He signed, in part, out of respect for Jim Crane.

-His teammates thought he was going to Toronto, as well. As did he, but Brantley feels as though he has "unfinished business" in Houston.

*Carlos Correa has personally reached out to James Click to indicate that he wants to stay in Houston beyond 2021. Click is "obviously" very interested. As am I. And damn if it didn't take Correa's response to the worst scandal in franchise history to bring me on board.

*McTaggart has the ten best moments in Minute Maid Park history.

*Apparently I missed that the Astros traded Cionel Perez to the Reds for a minor-league catcher. Watch Cionel Perez carve up the NL Central where only like two teams are trying to win their division.

*SI's Emma Baccellieri: How should we (the rest of baseball) feel about the Astros? It's complicated.

*Arizona has asked MLB to delay the start of Spring Training due to the high positivity rate in Arizona. MLB basically told Arizona to piss off. The Cactus League said "okay."

*The Hall of Fame will announce the Class of 2021 on Tuesday. Among David Schoenfield's look at 40 current MLB players on a HOF trajectory, we see Current Astros Greats Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke as Locks, Gerrit Cole and Jose Altuve as On The Right Path, and Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa as Have Some Work To Do, with Yordan Alvarez as The Next Generation. I swear the thought of the 2019 Astros, with seven Hall of Famers and no World Series, makes me want to throw a kitten in a river.

*My new favorite NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers, have increased their ownership in my beloved Leeds United, to 37%. Leeds play Newcastle at 12pm Central on Tuesday.

*You can watch Hank Aaron's memorial service at 12pm on FoxSportsGo on Tuesday.

*Vice: The furniture salesman who saved Houston. You already know who it is.

*Astros County HQ highly recommends "Night Stalker: The Hunt For A Serial Killer" on Netflix.

*One of my favorite bands is Travis. NME interviewed lead singer Fran Healy on what he remembers from his own career.

*A bunch of Redditors (a site which I previously thought was just for planning murders and whatnot) made GameStop's stock price soar in an effort to screw over hedge fund managers trying to short it.

*Before we go, it's time for another installment of Hello, I'm A Massive Nerd! Let's get to it:

1. The Astros are hosting the Pirates, and Jason Castro is up to bat, hitting .193. The Astros are up 3-2 in the 6th. Some other names we recognize that can narrow down that window: Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee, Jeff Keppinger, Chris Wallace, J.A. Happ. 

2. Jason Castro only played with the Astros in the NL in 2010 and 2012. Hunter Pence only played with Jason Castro in the NL in 2010. JA Happ only pitched for the Astros in the NL with Jason Castro and Hunter Pence in 2010. The only possible explanation is that this game is from 2010. 

3. JA Happ (and Jonathan Villar and Anthony Gose) was acquired from the Phillies for Roy Oswalt on July 29, 2010. Anthony Gose was immediately flipped to Toronto for Brett Wallace, who is hitting 6th in this game. 

4. Brett Wallace made his MLB debut on July 31, 2010. The only games he played against the Pirates at Minute Maid Park in 2010 were from August 13-15. 

5. On August 13 Brett Wallace batted 7th. On August 14 he came into the game in the 8th and didn't record a Plate Appearance. On August 15 Wallace batted 6th. JA Happ started that game and threw 6IP, 3H/2ER, 5K:4BB. 

7. We see from the picture that Jason Castro is hitting .193, he singled in the 2nd and struck out in the 4th. The Astros have put two on the board in the bottom of the 6th. If we go back to the box score for that August 13, 2010 game, we find that Castro singled to CF in the 2nd off of Jeff Karstens, but Karstens struck Castro out to end the 4th inning. 

8. We know that the Astros were up 3-2 when Castro comes to bat. The Astros started the 6th Inning down 2-1. Hunter Pence hit a ground-rule double to lead off the inning. Carlos Lee flied out to deep RF for the 1st out, sending Pence to third. Jeff Keppinger hit a sac fly to score Pence. Brett Wallace got hit by a pitch (the only time the Pirates hit Brett Wallace at home). Chris Johnson singled through the left side to move Wallace to 2nd. Jason Castro singled through the right side to score Brett Wallace and Chris Johnson to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. 

9. This photo was taken immediately after Castro's AB, in the bottom of the 6th Inning on August 15, 2010. Houston would go on to win 8-1 to "improve" to 51-65.

10. Send me a picture of a scoreboard and I will absolutely do this again. 

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

What a stupid day. After putting Jose Altuve on the IL, the Astros lost two games in which they scored 15 runs and got 21 hits, dropping to 21-18 on the season, which includes a 5-12 record when they play in other empty stadiums, and 6-10 in 1-run games. Houston is 3.5 games back of Oakland. The Astros have lost 13 games in which they had the lead. Houston is tied for 11th in win% in MLB with the 9th-best run-differential (+24).

Game 1

After letting a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 3rd get away, the Astros scored three runs in the top of the 7th to take a 9-7 lead, and then the Angels scored three in the bottom of the 7th to walk it off. Everyone in the Astros' lineup got at least one hit, except for Abraham Toro (now hitting .141/.218/.282). It was 109 degrees at 1st Pitch, the highest 1st Pitch temperature recorded in Anaheim.

Kyle Tucker was 3x4 with a home run and 3RBI. He has a team-leading seven home runs. 

George Springer hit the 12th triple of his career, and his first since August 2, 2019.

Astros pitchers allowed 13 hits and three walks. Eight of the Angels' 13 hits were for extra-bases. 

Bullpen: 2.2IP, 6H/6ER, 2K:3BB

Game 2

The Astros had a 4-0 lead...and then blew it, allowing three runs in the top of the 7th without an answer in the bottom half (Houston was the "home team" even though it was played in Anaheim, due to the rescheduling of one of the Hurricane Laura games) in a 7-6 loss. 

George Springer was 2x4 with two home runs and 3RBI. He hit his 37th career leadoff home run, tying him for 8th all-time with Ichiro. It was the 13th 2HR game of his career, three of which have been against Anaheim. 

Josh Reddick had his 17th 3+ RBI game as an Astro, his first of 2020.

Bullpen: 3.1IP, 4H/5ER, 6K:1BB

*Chandler Rome: Lack of pitching moves at the deadline could prove to be costly. Dusty:

These guys have a lot of pride. They know how to win. They've probably never been with their backs against the wall like this. They had a lockdown bullpen for a number of years here. Every year is different.

Bullpen:

2020: .252/.359/.418, 4.49 ERA / 1.56 WHIP

2019: .226/.295/.399, 3.75 ERA / 1.20 WHIP

2018: .214/.276/.353, 3.03 ERA / 1.06 WHIP

2017: .234/.310/.409, 4.27 ERA / 1.28 WHIP

More Dusty:

We've got to just continue to fight. You've got to be a fighter. That's what it's all about. You got to fight through tough times. You can either hang your head and quit, or you can tighten your belt up and keep fighting.

*Jose Altuve was placed on the 10-Day IL with a right knee sprain, the same knee that cost him a number of games in 2018 and required surgery in the offseason. Jose Urquidy and Brad Peacock were activated and pitched on Saturday. Dusty:

He felt a little better [yesterday] but can we afford to play short for possibly another week? We're hoping that he's ready to come back a couple of days before, so he can get some swings in and some running in and feel 100%, not only physically but psychologically. That's the hard thing about any injury, and especially in an area where you had hurt it before.

Cionel Perez was optioned to the alternate training site, and Rogelio Armenteros was transferred to the 45-Day IL. 

*Justin Verlander, at Deshaun Watson's press conference:

I'm so happy. Being able to go to games and sit in the stadium and see you sign this extension, it's pretty special. Crazy how fast it comes. Thankful to call you a friend and watch you in Houston for a long time to come.

*The Cubs' Steven Sousa, Jr. was DFAd in between games of a doubleheader.

*ESPN: Why the minor-leagues as we know them will disappear on September 30.

*BBC: What happens when a player gets called up to the Scotland National Team?

*The Verge: These students figured out their tests were graded by AI, and the easy way to cheat.

*Mental Floss: 24 strange predictions for the 21st century.

*A Musical Selection: 

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros won their 8th straight Opening Day game with an 8-2 win over Seattle. Houston is 19-1 against Seattle since Opening Day 2019, and 42-16 against Seattle since the beginning of the 2017 season.

Also winning in the AL West: Arlington, Oakland.

Dusty Baker:
The guys had a lot of energy, a lot of belief and a lot of relief, getting back and playing a real game, because it didn't look like this was even going to happen.

Justin Verlander: 6IP, 3H/2ER, 7K:1BB. Both runs scored on solo home runs. 28 of the 36 home runs he allowed in 2019 were solo homers. Verlander:
They swung at the first pitch of the game and really didn't stop swinging from there. I needed to execute my pitches and the boys did the rest...You can come up with the best game plan in the world and you can abort it three pitches in, which is basically what I did. I was able to adjust quickly and have success.

It was Verlander's 74th regular season start as an Astro. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 52 of those starts.

Michael Brantley hit a three-run homer. It was his second straight Opening Day home run. Dusty, on Brantley:
There's no tension in him at all and it's effortless. It almost looks like he's in slow motion and the ball just jumps off his bat.

Zero Astros batters were hit by a pitch, much to the chagrin of incels across the world.

Chris Devenski struck out the side. Enoli Paredes and Blake Taylor made their MLB debuts and combined for 2IP, 1H/0ER, 0K:0BB.

*Yordan Alvarez, Jose Urquidy, and Cionel Perez are alive, and headed to Corpus! Dusty:
I know they'll probably say they're ready sooner than they are. No matter what they tell me, I'll still give them another couple of days. I know how players are anxious to get back. They missed a lot of time. It's going to take probably almost equal time they missed to get back. We'll be in constant contact with the people in Corpus and we're relying on their opinion of them and their progress.

It stands to reason that, if you're just looking for a DH, Yordan could come back more quickly than Urquidy and Perez. We don't know if they had COVID and had enough negative tests to be able to join, or there was some government clearance that was necessary. We just don't know anything because the Astros kept their mouths shut.

Also in that link: Bregman addresses how he can't afford a slow start again, and how today is the first MLB start for Lance McCullers since August 4, 2018.

Also Shawn Dubin and Ralph Garza have been cleared to return to baseball activities.

*Osuna might be available. Dusty:
I don't want them to know. You understand and this isn't football. You don't have to disclose stuff. As much as I hate to tell you guys that, it's the truth. 

*Clayton Kershaw was placed on the IL with a sketchy back.

Regular Season Kershaw: 169-74, 2.44 ERA / 1.01 WHIP, 2464K:577BB. 157 ERA+
Regular Season Verlander: 225-129, 3.33 ERA / 1.14 WHIP,  3006K:850BB. 129 ERA+

Postseason Kershaw: 9-11, 4.43 ERA / 1.11 WHIP, 170K:45BB.
Postseason Verlander: 14-11, 3.40 ERA / 1.07 WHIP, 205K:60BB

World Series Kershaw: 26.2IP, 23H/16ER, 27K:7BB, 5.40 ERA / 1.13 WHIP
World Series Verlander: 38IP, 35H/24ER, 39K:14BB, 5.68 ERA / 1.29 WHIP

Maybe back off of Kershaw.

*84 MLB players from 28 teams have tested positive for COVID.

*RIP Former Astros Scout Johan Maya.

*Yoenis Cespedes has hit a home run in three consecutive games spanning 803 days.

*The Toronto Pittsburgh Baltimore Blue Jays of Buffalo.

Holy crap, the Brewers’ new uniforms are so damn beautiful... 😍 pic.twitter.com/dZ87Vp3CGk

— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) July 24, 2020

*Jason Heyward doesn't want to stick to sports.

*How to see Comet Neowise before it's gone.

*Heads-up, South Texas.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Thoughts & Prayers for Flick. I'm taking over for the next few days while he recovers. The Astros, well, like Flick, at least no one died. Houston lost the third game of the Blue Jays series 12-0. It's the third time this season have allowed 12 runs in a game. They're obviously 0-3 in those games. Since the Astros dropped three of four at Minnesota from April 29-May 2, the Astros have won (or at least split) 13 straight series. Houston has won or split all 12 series at Minute Maid Park this season. The Astros are 48-24.

*Houston went 5-3 on this eight-game homestand. Houston outscored their opponents 44-37 in those eight games, even with today's beatdown.

*Former Astros Great Trent Thornton handled the Astros lineup: 6.2IP, 6H/0ER, 7K:3BB. It's the third time Thornton has had an outing with zero runs allowed. Thornton:
I knew I was going to be pretty amped up for this game, but I just kind of wanted to slow things down and execute each pitch. For the most part, I was able to do that. And the bats just exploded, so it was a great team win.

More Thornton:
I'm close with a lot of the guys over there. It was just going to be a fun game to pitch, with a little chip on my shoulder. I was glad I ended up pitching.

Pretty Cool of Trent Thornton to get JACKED UP for a game against the team who traded him to another team so he could actually have a chance at a decent career, rather than get log-jammed in the Astros' system. So I admire his tenacity, but it's not like the Astros screwed him over. Give me a break. Woody from Toy Story lookin ass boiiiiiiii.

*The Astros were 0x7 w/RISP. They GIDPd three times for the 6th time this season.

*The bottom three in the lineup (Kemp-Mayfield-Straw) went for a combined 2x12 and 0x3 w/RISP. Jack Mayfield had one of those hits - the first single of his MLB career (he had four doubles and a home run coming in). Tyler White was 0x2 w/RISP yesterday, and he's now 5x30 (.167) with one double with runners in scoring position in 2019.

*Josh Reddick enjoyed his 23rd 2+ hit game of the season. He had 25 multi-hit games in all of 2018.

*Michael Brantley was 1x2 with a walk. In June he's 10x46 (.188). Brantley's last home run was May 11.

*For the third time this season Astros pitchers allowed five home runs, tied for the season-high. They're 1-2 in those games.

*Brad Peacock allowed 4ER in back-to-back starts for the first time since August 24/30, 2013. Hinch:
He had a tough time getting into the game and then the one slider to Gurriel that ended his outing. All in all, I think he was doing fine to control the game with what he could. A couple homers and a couple mistakes - not a horrible game for him - but not a day that feels good for anybody.

Peacock:
There was one pitch I'd like to have back to Gurriel. Out of the hand, I kind of knew something bad was going to happen. It didn't feel good. I'm in a little funk right now, but I'll find a way to get out of it.

*Cionel Perez threw 68 pitches over 3IP in relief and it was clear that he was out there just to eat innings and let Hinch not use Harris/Pressly/Osuna: 3IP, 7H/7ER, 1K:1BB, 2HR.

*Tyler White made his 3rd appearance in relief. The Astros are 0-3 when he pitches.

*Jose Altuve could return to the lineup on Tuesday in Cincinnati. George Springer will run the bases today and could go on a rehab assignment this week. Carlos Correa's dumbass rib is still broke as hell.

Altuve was 1x4 with a walk last night in a 6-3 Round Rock win. Max Stassi was 2x4 with 3RBI including a 2-run home run. Yesterday I said that Corbin Martin had given up 7ER in 1IP when actually Hunter Martin did. Corbin Martin started for Round Rock last night and went 5IP, 6H/2ER, 8K:3BB.

*McTaggart took a look at how the injury replacements have fared in their absence.

*Ryan Pressly's father passed away a few months after Pressly made his MLB debut. He signed his extension on what would have been his 66th birthday.

*Corpus got swept by Springfield. Bryan De La Cruz was a homer shy of the cycle. In five games since getting promoted from Fayetteville, De La Cruz is 6x12 with two doubles and two triples, 4K:3BB.

*Fayetteville landed seven players on the Carolina League All-Star Team roster. They were up 4-3 going into the 8th inning yesterday before Potomac put up a 9-spot in the 8th and won 15-4.

*Quad Cities got two in the bottom of the 7th and beat Wisconsin 3-2. They are 43-23. Jose Alberto Rivera threw the final 3IP, allowing 2H/0ER, with 8K:2BB.

*2019 1st Round pick Korey Lee joined Tri-City prior to yesterday's game, which was postponed due to rain.

*Combined, the Astros' minor-league system is 148-126, an organizational .540 win%.

*The bonuses for all but one of the top 10 picks are Known, so the 2019 Draft page is updated.

*According to Mark Feinsand's sources, the Astros (and Rays)were "extremely involved" in the Edwin Encarnacion trade talks, but the Yankees picked up the most salary. Fake-Ass Mariners stay Fake. How the Yankees' trade for Edwin Encarnacion affects the AL Playoff Race. The Mariners do not have any money committed to their roster in 2022. The Rebuild has hit Seattle, and Jerry Dipoto is exactly the guy I want to rebuild them.

*Forbes' Barry Bloom on using MLB balls in Triple-A.

*Power is being restored to millions in Argentina and Uruguay after they were knocked off the grid.

*The Guardian: The Mindfulness Conspiracy.

*How to disappear.

*Esquire: My father, the spy.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Hot Links will be short and sweet today it looks like. Easy to write, maybe not as fun to read. Let's go.

The Astros defeated the Orioles 4-0 yesterday afternoon to move them to 45-22 and are 9.5 up on the Rangers for 1st in the division. Notes:

Alvarez: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI
Reddick: 2-4, RBI
Miley: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Bullpen (Pressly, Rondon, James, Osuna): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Full Box:
Full Recap:

The Chron has the overall series takeaways from this Baltimore series.

Here are the four major things that the Yordan callup told us.

Here are the 7 other Astros to homer in their MLB debut (it's not exactly the Houston Astros Hall of Fame behind this link just prep now)

Which pitching staff was better? Version 2018 or Version 2019?

Wednesday is George Springer Thumbs Up Bobblehead Day so pick that one up if you can. All fans will get one.

Cionel Perez rocks, per A.J. Hinch.

Ever wonder why there are so many pigeons in cities? It's because of this weird evolutionary trait. This and more pigeon facts found right here!

The NBA Season is winding down. See how Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green have saved McDonald's $6 million dollars.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1997, Kevin Brown no-hit the Giants in Candlestick Park. He faced only 28 batters, hitting one in the 8th inning.

In 2002, Marcus Thames became the 2nd Yankee to ever hit a home run on the first MLB pitch he saw.

In 2006, Reggie Sanders became the 5th MLB player ever to record 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases.

In 2011, Michael Acosta, a 17-year old who survived testicular cancer, had his wish granted by being given the opportunity to manage the Minnesota Twins for a day, his lifelong favorite team.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros finally beat the Oriololololes in a game that was completely stupid and unnecessary. They won, so yay, but got dang. That game was dumb. Houston is 44-21, and the lead is back to 10 games over Arlington.

*Houston has an MLB-best 23-7 record over their last 30 games. They're 9-5 vs AL East teams in 2019. (Baltimore is 9-18 vs AL East teams in 2019).

*The Astros are 4-0 in extra-innings and 12-6 in 1-run games.

*Houston won their 2nd straight extra-inning game on a Maybe slide by Gurriel after Chirinos doubled in the bottom of the 11th. Hinch:
You can't really tell did Yuli touch the plate or not. Whatever he called was going to be the play that he saw. He's the closest guy there...it's a tough play and nearly impossible to be perfect. I'm still not sure what happened, but I like the ruling.

*Gerrit Cole threw a gem: 7IP 4H/3R (1ER), 14K:0BB. The 14Ks are the second-highest of his career (16Ks vs Arizona on May 4, 2018). He got a career-high 29 swings-and-misses. More on Cole's mean streak from the Chronicle here.

 It's the fourth instance across MLB this season in which the starter struck out 14+ and didn't walk anybody (Chris Sale has done it twice, Shane Bieber did it for Cleveland, and now Cole). In three of the four instances in 2019, Baltimore has been on the Walking-Back-To-The-Dugout end.

It's the first start in his career in which Cole has had a 14K:0BB line. It's the 10th time he's had double-digit strikeouts and no walks.

*Gerrit Cole's 1st Innings this year:
-March 29 @ Tampa: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-April 3 @ Arlington: 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB
-April 9 v. New York: 1H/1ER, 1K:0BB (1HR)
-April 14 @ Seattle: 1H/1ER, 2K:0BB (1HR)
-April 20 @ Arlington: 4H/5R (4ER) , 1K:2BB
-April 25 v Cleveland: 0H/0ER, 2K:2BB
-April 30 @ Minnesota: 0H/0ER, 0K:2BB
-May 6 v Kansas City: 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 11 v Arlington: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-May 17 @ Boston: 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 22 v Chicago (AL): 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 27 v Chiacgo (NL) 1H/1ER, 2K:1BB (1HR)
-June 2 @ Oakland: 0H/0ER, 1K:2BB
-June 7 v Baltimore: 2H/3R (1ER), 2K:0BB, 1HBP

Mostly pretty good. A bad one against Arlington, somewhat inconsistent to set the table.

*Cole's 130 strikeouts lead the American League.

*Cionel Perez threw 3IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB and got his first career MLB win. Good for Cionel Perez, good for Us. Hinch, on Perez:
It was a night where we needed Cionel. It was his game, and he was going to continue to pitch. He's had a rough season in Triple-A and strike-throwing has been an issue for him. He throws a ton of strikes and is really conservative with his pitch total - no hits, huge innings. Just an incredible night for him.

*From May 7-June 6 the Orioles' pitching staff had allowed 251 hits in 241.2IP, a 5.77 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. So of course the Astros got six hits in eleven innings.

*Top four in the lineup (Fisher-Bregman-Brantley-Gurriel) went for a combined 1x18 with two walks, both via Derek Fisher. Alex Bregman went 0x5 for the 7th time in his career, and the first time since March 31, 2018.

*Josh Reddick homered and stole a base in the same game for the first time since July 4, 2018. Tony Kemp homered into the upper deck, as well.

*Baltimore's Rio Ruiz plated the 2nd and 3rd Oriole runs. Why does that name sound familiar? Because the Astros picked Ruiz in the 4th Round of the legendary 2012 draft. Houston traded him to Atlanta as part of the deal that brought in Unconscionably-Unemployed Evan Gattis. The Braves waived him in December 2018, and Baltimore picked him up.

*A tranzaction as the Astros work to get healthy and also to not lose against horrible teams. Via McTaggart:
-Cionel Perez is up, Brady Rodgers was optioned back to Round Rock.

Hinch:
Fourteen innings will create a little urgency to mix things up and find a fresh arm. [Cionel Perez] has been here before, has been in the 'pen before and he's stretched out to help us as much as he can in a very tired and depleted bullpen after the road trip.

Rodgers made his 2019 debut on May 22 and threw 37 pitches. Then he didn't pitch again until June 4, where he threw a clean inning. And then he pitched on June 5 (the rough one against Seattle) where he threw 63 pitches. I don't know that 12 days off in between your 1st and 2nd outings are ideal, following by a 60+ pitch outing the next day. Tough situation for Brady Rodgers.

Meanwhile, Altuve, Springer, Diaz, Stassi, and McHugh could go on a rehab assignment by the end of the homestand.

*Framber Valdez gets the start tonight.

*Jose Urquidy threw 6IP, 3H/0ER, 8K:0BB as Round Rock beat Salt Lake City 10-0. Yordan Alvarez, who is still in Triple-A so he can work on his defense, got the start at DH and hit his 23rd home run of the year. Josh Rojas hit three doubles.

*Seth Beer hit his third home run of the season for Corpus last night.

*Fayetteville's Chad Donato threw 6IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:2BB.

*You hate to see it:

The Seattle #Mariners, who opened with a 13-2 record, have since gone 13-38. The Houston #Astros, who opened with a 2-5 record, have since gone 41-16. That’s a 25-game gap in just two months for those counting.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 7, 2019

*Lance McCullers threw a no-hitter as himself on MLB The Show.

*Dallas Keuchel is now an Atlanta Brave and Former Astros Great Mike Foltynewicz (and Josh Hader) credit Keuchel for taking them under his wing. He'll make $4.9m less than he would have if he/Boras would have accepted the Qualifying Offer from the Astros.

*Seattle's Mitch Haniger was put on the IL after Thursday's game against Houston with...a ruptured testicle.

*Corpus' Abraham Toro gets a nice shoutout from Baseball America in their latest report.

*Math With Bad Drawings: Why Baseball Statistics Matter

*How John Smoltz went from a media darling to the topic of debate.

*Outside: A Supposedly Fun Thing I Might Do Again

*Check out this Texas Monthly interview with Shea Serrano, a Legit Legend.

*Deadspin's Laura Wagner: Competitive musical chairs is New York's friendliest sport.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Five hours and six minutes after first pitch, the Astros won a crazy tight one in the series finale against Seattle 8-7 in 14 innings. Notes:

Bregman: 3-6, Solo HR
Chirinos: 1-3, HRI, 2 RBIs, 4 BB
White: 3-6
Myles Straw recorded the Astros fastest triple since 2015.
Verlander: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.
       ~He afterwards said he "had a little something that crept up out of nowhere today" but said later in his postgame interview said that is is "not an issue" anymore.

Full Box:
Recap:

Keuchel finally signed with someone, Atlanta, for $4.9 million dollars less than what the Astros offer was initially set at.

Cionel Perez is very very likely to join the team today after being scratched from his start in AAA.

The series preview against the Orioles is up on the Crawfish Boxes.

It's Star Wars night tonight! Tickets are still available (as of now) and there's a lot of things happening. Also somebody should definitely send me one of them Max Stassi bobbleheads

Could we realistically see 9+ Astros All-Stars this year?

The Express hung a 13 spot in the 7th inning last night. Kyle Tucker hit his 19th AND 20th home run during this game (for anyone counting at home, that's only 2 behind Yordan Alvarez).

Lance Berkman has stepped down as the Second Baptist High School coach

Welcome to my state! After two days, somebody finally lured their pet cockatoo out of a tree using a bag of nuts.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1966, Bob Gibson became the 12th pitcher to ever strike out 4 batters in the 4th inning, which occurred due to a wild pitch that allowed a runner to get to first.

In 2007, Joe Torre won his 2,000 career game as manager. 

Friday Morning Hot Links

Happy Friday! The Astros got waxed and they don't play today as they travel to Mexico. I will be attending Nick Senzel's debut tonight in Cincy to cope.

So here's what happened yesterday afternoon:

Bregman: 1-4, Solo HR
Kemp: 1-3, RBI
Diaz: 2-4
Peacock: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
Marwin Gonzalez: 2-3, 2 R
Jason Castro went yard

Full Box:

Here's Chandler Rome with the series thought about what just happened here.

Time to compare Aprils from the 2018 and 2019 Astros.

Paying for parking is bad, so here are some tips to pay less for parking.

How lucky have our pitchers been so far in 2019?

Kyle Tucker hit a HR, Yordan is hitting over .400 now, and Cionel Perez's ERA is..uh.. still under 6.

Here are notes of other minor leaguers as well:

The River Bandits are actual River Bandits now.

A dog consumed over $200 in cash. He's okay.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1975, Nolan Ryan got pranked on the mound by his former team with a rubber snake.

In 1998, Dan Wilson hit the first inside the park grand slam in MLB history.

In 2011, former Houston Astros great Francisco Liriano threw his first complete game of his career, which also ended up being a no-hitter.

Friday Morning Hot Links

We have now reached the point where nobody I know or follow on Twitter is even mentioning Spring Training so it feels like mid-January again.

Speaking of Spring Training, the Astros defeated the Marlins yesterday 4-1. Notes:
Stassi 2-2, RBI, BB
Kemp 0-1, 2 BB, SB
Verlander 3.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
Martin 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Buster Olney has reported this morning that the Astros offered Maldonado a 2-year contract earlier this offseason.

JV is experimenting with a changeup for 2019.

The Astros giveaway days have been announced.

Ken Rosenthal has reported the Astros have offered Dallas Keuchel both a 1-year and 2-year deal, but Keuchel and Boras don't like the money.

Josh Reddick plays first base now?

Jose Altuve is taking some time off due to "side soreness" and is considered day to day.

Cionel Perez threw his first batting practice of the Spring.

A handicapped man held onto the back of a semi-truck on the highway to get somewhere in a quick and efficient manner.

Wisconsin is having a normal one. 

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1930, Babe Ruth signed a 2 year, $130,000 contract. The Yankees GM at the time, Ed Barrow, said "no one will ever be paid more."

Monday Morning Hot Links

These are my first Hot Links since baseball is back but it's also at a time where I'm very busy with school stuff. Therefore, I can't go into as much detail as I'd like to today.

Also, once my schedule finally clears, I will be writing up a piece on Marwin, who as many many many of you know has been one of my favorite Astros for a long time. Like, pre-2017. Be on the look out for that one sometime this week.

The Astros beat both the Braves and the Mets yesterday. Altuve is expected to get his first Spring Training action tomorrow against the Mets (again) and Justin Verlander will take the hill to pitch. AT&TSportsNet is carrying tomorrow's game that starts at 1 EST/12 CST.

Here are some of my favorite Astros player names that played in some capacity in Spring Training games yesterday that you probably have never heard of:

Granden Goetzman (LF)

Kristopher Scheetz (P)

Nick Tanielu (3B)

Jonathan Arauz (SS)

Corey Julks (CF)

Osvaldo Duarte (2B)

Carmen Benedetti (RF)

We always have the best named players in baseball.

A.J. Hinch is not looking at just stats this spring.

Corbin Martin got a taste of some major league hitters yesterday afternoon against Atlanta.

Framber Valdez pitched and didn't allow a run, but it wasn't necessarily a pretty thing to see for a guy competing for the 5th rotation spot.

Goodbye Marwin ;-;

Cionel Perez wants to start and we should let him!

Goodness gracious Myles.

I like Abraham Toro, and because I do, I am going to bump this Athletic article about him.

On This Day in Baseball History:

In 2016, the Chase Utley Slide Rule was officially introduced.

Friday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.B. Bukauskas is wearing #69.

On This Day in Baseball History is back!

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

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

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

Monday Morning Hot Links

Hello.

The Crawfish Boxes are working on what's basically trades of the "Luhnow Era". Part 1 handles 2014-early 2015 with Part handling specifically the Gomez trade:

Part 1

Part 2

A.J. Hinch confirms that Abraham Toro-Hernandez will be invited to Spring Training.

A.J. also spent some time with some high schoolers over the weekend at the CC Baseball Camp, alone with current and former Astros such as Tyler White, Jarred Cosart, and Geoff Blum.

Cionel Perez, my new favorite Astro with the departure of Marwin Gonzalez, talks about the Rookie Career Development Program and his relationship with fellow Cuban Yuli Gurriel. 

Of course the biggest baseball news over the weekend comes from the Kyler Murray decision, which has to come at some point today. Jeff Passan reports that the MLB would waive a rule saying that rookies cannot sign Major League contracts after they are drafted just for lil ol him.

If you hate spiders, this might be your worst nightmare. Like, just knowing that this CAN happen now has me a little bit paranoid.

Costco is selling a 27 pound bucket of macaroni and cheese for $90 so you better act fast before this steal of a deal is no longer!

Wales claims to have the world's steepest street and the Kiwis (specifically the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, who are proud owners of the world's steepest street) are so mad that they might lose this record that the elected Mayor of the city said in an interview that they "will call on the gods of earthquake to tilt our street a little more and regain the title". I love it.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*Foot ain't broke. That's awesome.

*The sportsbook at Caesars lists the 2019 Astros' win total at 97.5, the highest among the four AL teams - and six MLB teams - listed at over 90 wins. H
Houston: 97.5
New York Yankees: 96.5
Boston: 95.5
Los Angeles Dodgers: 94
Cleveland: 91
Chicago Cubs: 90.5

So let's talk right quick about how the Astros get to 98 wins (bet the over).

1. It helps to have 76 games against the AL West.

a. The A's are the only ones with a legitimate shot at 90+ wins, following up a 97-win campaign though they never actually led the division outright. No, seriously, and this is crazy: the A's were tied with the Astros for 1st place for four days, but they won 97 games and never actually had sole possession of the AL West.

The A's signed Joakim Soria and acquired Jurickson Profar. Over the last three seasons Soria has thrown 183.1IP, 172H/74ER, 207K:63BB - a 3.63 ERA/1.28 WHIP to go with a 3.07 FIP. Solid pickup.

Profar, however, has been a Prospect for literally 72 seasons. He's coming off his best offensive season in 2018 in which he got a career-high 594 PAs and hit [squints] .254/.335/.458, and only struck out 88 times (54 walks) with a career-high 20 home runs. It was worth 2.9 fWAR which, among 21 qualified Shortstops, ranked 12th. He'll be getting a shot in a not-as-hitter-friendly home park.

Then there's Mike F. Fiers.

Who knows what the A's can do this year? They'll be good. But will they go 31-14 in 1-run games? Will they go 13-6 in extra-inning games? Will they match their July 1-end of season record of 51-27 (.654) over 162 games? Or will they be more like the 46-38 (.548) team they were from the beginning of the season until June 30? A .548 team would have finished just barely behind Seattle.

b. If you look at the Mariners' roster, they could maybe Do Something, maybe Not, but their current 40-Man Roster is probably going to get flipped like Chip Gaines is running the damn team.

c. The Angels are Mike Trout and 24 blokes, one of whom is Matt Harvey.

d. Then there's the Ramgers. Bless their hearts.

The Astros went 46-30 against the AL West last year. Oakland went 38-38.

2. Now we can talk about the Astros, after spending more time thinking and writing about the A's than I have in the entire previous ten years of Astros County's existence. Let's not forget that the Astros' Pythagorean Record was 109-53 - one game better than the Red Sox, whose Pythagorean Record was 103-59.

a. Will the 2019 Astros be better than the 2018 Astros? I do not know, and neither does anyone else. They lost 500IP between Keuchel, Morton, and McCullers (assuming Keuchel doesn't re-sign with Houston...an event which I think has a >1% chance of happening.).

b. I do believe that Altuve will return to being Altuve, though he wasn't far off from being Peak Altuve in 2018.

c. I do believe that Carlos Correa is the .285/.363/.495 hitter that he was from his MLB debut until he went on the DL after the June 25, 2018 game, rather than the .180/.261/.256 hitter he was from August 10 to the end of the regular season. A healthy Altuve and a healthy Correa combined with an outfield that includes Michael Brantley could cover some pitching inconsistencies. In 2018 the pitching bailed out the offense, maybe the pendulum swings the other way in 2019.

d. For the first 62 games of the 2018 season (38.3%) of the season, the Astros averaged 8.7 hits/9 innings to 8.4 strikeouts/9 innings. It was a stupid time. I don't think that holds up for over a third of the season in 2019.

3. Who is actually trying in 2019, in the AL?

a. Boston
b. New York
c. Tampa
d. Cleveland
e. Oakland
f. Maybe Minnesota

The Astros went 29-24 against those teams. And at least four of those losses were bullcrap.

Bet the over on 97.5 for the 2019 Astros.

*On to something else.

While Jim Crane says Jeff Luhnow looks to possibly add a bat & a starting pitcher other moves could still be made: "You never know. We might add something to the back of the bullpen.Everything's possible at this point,but I'm sure we'll make 2 or 3 moves before everything's over" pic.twitter.com/Tae0Bb2UKK

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 9, 2019

*ESPN's David Schoenfield predicts that Dallas Keuchel will sign with the Padres (Petco would be a good fit, I guess), though mentions the Rangers and Nationals as possibilities, as well.

He also predicts Boston's Clay Buchholz to Houston. And Marwin to the Angels, of which I would not approve.

*On Sunday, Alex Bregman will play softball to help out victims of the California wildfires.

*Forrest Whitley will appear in-person, and Kyle Tucker will phone in, on Astroline tonight. Event is at Pluckers on Shephard.

*Cionel Perez, Framber Valdez, and Josh James are at the Rookie Career Development Program.

*Former Astros Great J.D. Davis spoke to the Sacramento Bee about getting traded to the M-E-T-S METS METS METS. Davis:
I'm stoked. We've been happy with the Astros since I got drafted, but I'm excited to have the opportunity to make it as an everyday starter, to do my part to help our team win...I learned from my game failures, learned from players and I was waiting for a team to come after me, to trade for me, and sure enough, the Mets took that step. It's time to take off from here. 

The NL East is the NL West of the National League. Think about it, huh.

*Former Astros Great and World Series-winning Hitting Coach/now Blue Jays' Bench Coach Dave Hudgens is looking forward to helping with Vlad Jr., Cavan Biggio, and Bo Bichette. Hudgens:
You need a lot of depth to win and I think that's the goal and that's what's being developed in the Blue Jays organization.

*If you're active on Twitter, you already know that Tyler Bauer is a complete asshole. He provided even further evidence this week, with narrative provided by a weak-ass Cleveland reporter.

*YES Network is ranking the Yankees' 19 best Yankees games since 2000 and picked 2017 ALCS G4 as their 12th-best, one of the three games they won in an effort to end their season.

Playoff wins since Houston joined the American League:
Houston: 18
Yankees: 8

*Human lives were not of value in Sugar Land.

*A musical selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Fellas I'm gonna be honest with you..it's Monday. Are they cool? Of course not! Do I have Hot Links for you to make the day suck less? Sure I guess I can try to do that. There were a lot of links yesterday and not a lot of action since, but I might be able to conjure something up.

\Nelson Cruz is the perfect fit for the Houston Astros and they should be all the way in on this signing.

\Conner Byrne from MLBTradeRumors is reporting the Dodgers want to part with Puig and the Tigers want to part with Castellanos. Astros are interested in both.

\Luhnow wants Framber Valdez and my GUY Cionel Perez has the lefties out of the pen and honestly I am super okay with this.

\Many teams are interested in Houston Astros great Mike Fiers.

\Tony Kemp just never stops being a good dude.

\Sad news as Astros superfan Eugenia Rios lost her 5 year battle with brain cancer.

\Brian McTaggart would like to answer your questions for some reason. Guess you might as well ask him something.

\ASTROS HALL OF FAME BALLOT TRACKER (through 48 ballots):
Roger Clemens - 70.8%
Andy Pettite - 16.7%
Jeff Kent - 10.4%
Billy Wagner - 6.3%
Lance Berkman - 4.2%
Roy Oswalt - 2.1%
Miguel Tejada - 0%
Rick Ankiel - 0%
Detailed spreadsheet with additional info can be found here.

\Somebody actually pitched this idea at a board meeting. Even more surprisingly, it LANDED.

\A podcast might have ended up finding the murderer from a 36 year old case.

Here concludes the end of the post. The Internet has been scoured and all hyperlinks have been corralled. Thank you for spending your time here at astroscounty.com. Toodles!

Monday Morning Hot Links

*The Winter Meetings start today. Will the Astros do something? Maybe! Possibly not!

*Jake Kaplan has ten thoughts on the Astros as the Winter Meetings get underway. Among the names bandied about: Arizona's Robbie Ray, St. Louis' Jose Martinez, Nelson Cruz, Daniel Murphy.

*It doesn't look as though Houston is in on Japanese LHP Yusei Kikuchi.

*The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reports that the Astros have checked in with the White Sox on Jose Abreu.

*Jon Heyman said the Astros were dangling J.B. Bukauskas and Cionel Perez to Arizona for Paul Goldschmidt.

*Buster Olney has an Insider-Only piece that tells us:
-The Astros have competition looking for a starting catcher in the Dodgers and Mets.
-The Astros were not seriously involved in chasing down Nate Eovaldi, but it seems as though the Astros are more interested in upgrading the rotation via trade (meaning Kluber or Bauer or Syndergaard or Greinke).

*The price tag for Kluber or Tyler Bauer is said to be "very, very high." And why not? Also, I feel that if the Astros acquire Tyler Bauer it will be solely to troll me, personally.

*If you want Robbie Ray - a 27-year old lefty with 601 strikeouts in 460IP and a 3.89 FIP over the last three years, with two years of team control remaining - the price tag is pretty high.

*The Padres are interested in Marwin. Any team with a brain and/or a pulse should be interested in Marwin.

*Alyson Footer writes about the two-day women's inclusion conference hosted by MLB.

*Todd Kalas stays winning.

Bloodys and a day of football. Not a bad way to kick off Winter Meetings ⁦@MandalayBay⁩ pic.twitter.com/IerFq5souQ

— Todd Kalas (@RealToddKalas) December 9, 2018

*Sunday Night Baseball games will be an hour earlier next season.

👀👀👀👀👀@ABREG_1 | #INDvsHOU pic.twitter.com/9TZzBGMEfG

— TORO 🐃 (@TexansTORO1) December 9, 2018

*Harold Baines' similarity scores on B-Ref are Hall of Famers Tony Perez (1), Al Kaline (2), Billy Williams (4), and Andre Dawson (5). His election to the Hall of Fame significantly helps Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltran, Dale Murphy, and Edgar Martinez.

*If this Irish woman and her husband, a 300-year old Pirate Ghost, can't make it then what hope do the rest of us have?

*A musical selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*Happy Winter Meetings Eve!

*Chandler Rome writes that the Astros are keeping their hands close to their vest(s), preferring to add a middle-of-the-rotation starter.

*Brian McTaggart says the Astros could also use a veteran impact bat, and notes that Myles Straw and Cionel Perez have drawn trade interest.

*Beyond the Box Score: Half the world wants J.T. Realmuto.

*ESPN's David Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle suggest the Cubs trade Kyle Schwarber to the Astros for Cionel Perez or Framber Valdez; Arizona should trade Zack Greinke to the Astros for Josh James, Forrest Whitley, or Framber Valdez.

*Alex Bregman has hit 58 regular season home runs: 28 at Minute Maid Park and 30 on the road. He also only got to an 0-2 count 32 times in 2018, and only ended up striking out in 11 of those.

*Meet the woman who outruns men 200 miles at a time.

*Lima Time Time is back.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

At least we only have to wait four more days before the Astros play again. Maybe Carlos Correa and George Springer will be completely healed by then.

*Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander were named Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, by the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA.

*Brian McTaggart has the FAQs for the Astros heading into the ALDS.

*FiveThirtyEight's simulations have the Astros winning the ALDS 63% of the time, 34% to the World Series, and the World Series 22% of the time.

FanGraphs gives the Astros the ALDS by a 58-42 margin, with a 24% World Series rate. According to FanGraphs' simulations, the likeliest World Series matchup is Houston-Los Angeles.

*Here's ESPN's Ultimate MLB Playoff Preview. They give the Astros a 67-33 nod in the ALDS, would be favorites regardless of the other ALCS team, as well as any NL opponent in the World Series. ESPN's numbers say the Astros are 32% to win the World Series. I feel like this is lulling us into a false sense of security. Who's simulating the simulators, is what I want to know.

*Anthony Castrovince ranked all 45 possible playoff matchups.

*David Schoenfield: Why Alex Bregman could be the next Mr. October. Bregman, on being in the spotlight:

Oh, hell yeah. I love it. Love it. Love it. I want all eyes. My biggest moment. I love it. I don't know what it is about those situations, but I get pissed when I don't get the opportunity, and I'm fired up when I get the opportunity. I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to get out in those situations. 

*Chandler Rome: The playoffs offer Carlos Correa a clean slate.

*Dennis Eckersley and Don Orsillio will call the Astros-Indians on TBS.

*Dallas Keuchel picked up the remaining tab on a GoFundMe and adopted a dog that got hit by a car. Stroking karma in advance of the ALDS: I LIKE IT.

*Dean Deetz, Kyle Tucker, and Reymin Guduan were all sent to the house yesterday. Framber Valdez and Cionel Perez will head to West Palm Beach and stay ready in case of an emergency.

*Yasiel Puig, celebrating after beating the Rockies in a Game 163:
We're going to win the World Series. We're bringing the 2018 championship here. 

*The Astros are driving the revitalization of downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina.

*Shoutout to College Station's WTAW for the "Astros, Rangers wrap up regular season with losses" headline. The Rangers just had 36 more of them along the way.

*NL Central Division Champs https://t.co/ymLzqk6t07

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 1, 2018

*Extremely sad news. ABC13 reports that 15-year old Haidin Land passed away after a struggle with cancer. 

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Good morning one and all and welcome back to another day of Hot Links at the Astros County establishment. I'm your host, Flick Nickem, and today we will be talking about the baseball game that occurred late last night in Seattle, Washington.

The Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-2 last evening thanks to big hits by Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel. Carlos Correa seemed to finally get back on track at the plate as he went 3-3 last night in addition to the other two players I previously mentioned above.

But it wasn't all lollipops and rainbows oh no it was not. The Astros grounded into a franchise record 6 double plays last evening, killing a lot of potential offensive opportunities. The team was carried by the phenomenal pitching performances from Peacock, newcomer Framber Valdez, Smith, Osuna (kind of), and Rondon.

Here's A.J. Postgame: *click me please I have a family to feed*

It was an emotional day for myself as I had to say goodbye to Cionel Perez (or as I like to call him, Cy-onel. Just kidding I do not say that. Love that guy though.) in order to make room for Framber. While I was very excited to add yet another name to the list of funny Astros players, this isn't the way I wanted it to happen. Farewell, sweet prince. Until September :'(

However, Framber lived up to the hype. After being named minor league pitcher of the month, he notched his first career win after going 4.1 innings allowing only 2 hits and striking out 4.

Devo and McCann were hanging out with the team yesterday since Fresno was playing in Washington as well and they are on the longest "rehab assignment" in franchise history probably.

Osuna is allegedly the closer even though Rondon closed last night.

There is currently a $2 ticket available for the Angels game in Anaheim on Sunday. However if you aren't a poor, there are still tons of $4 tickets you can splurge on as well.

I don't plan on linking a whole lot of my tweets, but it is kind of terrifying how similar Josh Reddick and short-haired Kurt Cobain look.

Just in case you forgot, our last 4 regular season games are against the Baltimore Orioles, who is very well on pace to be worse than these historically bad Orioles teams.

Altuve is very proud after collecting his first career hit in AAA.

a BASEBALL PLAYER named CHICKEN WOLF?

Apparently the Huffington Post has no shame in posting an article headlined "Famously Thicc Cat, High Maintenance Cat Finds New Human As Extra As He Is." Somebody needs to lose a job over this.

It's "near-on impossible" to pick Shed of the Year this year.

On This Day In Baseball History
In 1965, Juan Marichal attacked Johnny Roseboro with his bat, sparking a nearly 15 minutes brawl.

In 1966, Orioles player Davey Johnson saved teammate Frank Robinson from nearly drowning in a pool.

In 1982, Ernie Banks number was retired by the Cubs.

Also in 1982, Cardinals catcher Glenn Brummer stole home to walk off St. Louis in extra innings. He had 4 career stolen bases.

In 1989, Nolan Ryan became the only pitcher to strike out 5000 batters.

In 2007, the Rangers became the first MLB team post-1900 to score 30 runs in a game.

In 2011, Matt Holliday was forced to leave the game after a moth got stuck in his right ear.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Note: If you're reading this, I'm already dead. Yesterday morning was my daughter's birthday party. It was a Rainbow Unicorn party and I wore an Astros shirt, Astros flip-flops, and spray-painted my hair orange. She turned six earlier in the week, but I thought I might be able to sneak it in before having to run an insane amount of errands. No go. I'm going to leave what I had, as Astros County is the paper of record for the Houston Astros.

*The Astros whooped the Tigers for the second straight game with a 9-1 win yesterday afternoon. They are 64-34. Houston's 8-run margin is the largest margin of victory since the 11-3 win over Kansas City on June 24. The Astros have held the Tigers to one run over 18 innings. AL Central teams have scored 75 runs in 25 games against the Astros. Eighteen of those runs were scored by Cleveland  on May 26-27.

*Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulmer said the strike zone yesterday was "god awful."

*Gerrit Cole needed 107 pitches to get 17 outs, allowing 3H/1ER, 8K:4BB. Cole has allowed 3+ BB in six of his last eight starts. Yeah but he has 8+ strikeouts in 14 of his 20 starts this season. Cole has 45 swinging strikes - 77 non-contact strikes - in his last two starts. That's insane.

*Chris Devenski threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB. It's his 2nd six-out 0H/0ER/0BB outing of the year.

*Cionel Perez got the 9th and needed 10 pitches to get three groundball outs in a perfect outing. I have a Very Good Feeling about Cionel Perez, which makes me a scout now. He has Plus Facial Hair - seriously, the willingness to trot out in front of 35,000 people with that facial hair shows he has huevos.

*The Astros held Detroit to three hits. It's the 7th time this season Houston pitchers have held their opponent to three or fewer hits. Houston is 26-7 when holding their opponent to five or fewer hits.

*George Springer was 2x4 with an RBI double. He back. Springer has been on base twice in a game in four of his last six games (7x24, 1K:2BB). The double was his first extra-base hit since June 26. Springer hasn't hit a home run since June 20. It's 20 starts and counting since his last home run - a new career-high.

*Josh Reddick was 2x4 with a double and a home run. It's his 4th multi-XBH game of the season, and his 2nd in July.

*Evan Gattis broke an 0x20 slump with his 19th home run of the year. He's one away from his fifth 20HR season of his six-year career. I'll never understand how he got eleven triples in 2015.

*The Astros hit three home runs, including their 5th back-to-back set of the season. It's the 11th 3+ HR game of the year. They're 9-2 in those games.

*Alex Bregman was 1x2 with 2BB. He has nine 2BB games on the year.
Alex Bregman games with at least one walk: 46
Alex Bregman games with zero walks: 49

*Tim Federowicz went 1x4. True story: The Astros are 5-0 when Tim Roger Federerowicz gets a hit.

*Mike F. Fiers and Francisco Liriano got their World Series rings prior to the game.

*Chalk this up in the "I Wish I Wrote This" section: Jay Jaffe on How Ken Giles Became a Minor-Leaguer.

*Charlie F. Morton: All-Star pitcher, All-Star human. Hinch, via Jake Kaplan:
[Morton] genuinely was concerned about who the other snubs were. 'Who didn't get in? What was happening with Collin McHugh?' The mechanics of how he became an All-Star and if that cost somebody a spot. The guy is tremendous at pitching, but he's a tremendous human.

CFM better never have to buy a drink in Houston and the surrounding areas for the rest of his life.

"For myself and my career, I can look back and say I was an All-Star," Morton said. pic.twitter.com/49ndr6x1kN

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 13, 2018

Three-fifths of the starting rotation is in the All-Star Game. The six All-Stars tie a franchise record, set last year. So, 12 All-Stars in two years. Houston had 13 All-Stars from 2008-2016.

2008: 2 - Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada
2009: 2 - Tejada, Hunter Pence
2010: 1 - Michael Bourn
2011: 1 - Pence
2012: 1 - Altuve
2013: 1 - Jason Castro
2014: 1 - Altuve
2015: 2 - Altuve, Keuchel
2016: 2 - Altuve, Will Harris

*Jose Altuve will bat 2nd in the All-Star Game on Tuesday, and Hinch is doing his due diligence on which of his guys should play and when, though he did say that all first-time All-Stars (Bregman, CFM included) will absolutely play. In there we also find that there's no real timetable for Correa to go on a rehab assignment.

*Billy Beane told Tim Kawakami that Oakland is preparing to be buyers at the deadline.

*Go visit Terry Puhl Drive in Melville, Saskatchewan. It's about 60 degrees cooler there than it is here.

*Congratulations to Justin Verlander, who successfully knocked up Kate Upton.

*Abraham Toro made FanGraphs' Fringe Five.

*The Rockies beat the Mariners, so the Astros' lead is at a season-high five games. The Mariners are 58-38 with a -1 run differential.

*For the 12th time this season, official attendance at Minute Maid was 40,000+.

*The Futures Game is today, featuring Yordan Alvarez. The Athletic's Cliff Corcoran looks back at 20 years of Futures Game data to try to predict what it tells us.

*SI's Jon Tayler: Has Chase Utley done enough to warrant a plaque in Cooperstown? Then read Jay Jaffe's piece. I say yes.

From 2005-2014 - a ten-year peak - Chase Utley put up 57.8 fWAR, just 0.2 fWAR behind Albert Pujols for the best of any position player in baseball. It's 16.7 fWAR better than the 2nd-best 2B over that span, Robinson Cano. Even accounting for the last two and a half seasons, Utley is 6.8 fWAR better than Cano. There's a point at which you have to recognize the best of a generation of baseball, and Chase Utley is among the best Second Basemen to play the game in the last 15 years.

*1954's West Germany v. Hungary: The most important soccer game ever played.