Thursday Morning Hot Links

Alright so let's clear a few things up:
No Hot Links yesterday morning because Tuesday night I was up until 1:30am writing something you'll hopefully read here soon. Hot Links late this morning because I overslept from staying up until 1:30am writing something you'll hopefully read here soon. Tomorrow morning's posting plan is to be determined. Could be a late scratch, who's to say?

*Big News of the day yesterday was not the 4-2 loss to the Twins, but that of Yuli Gurriel's impending hand/wrist surgery to remove the hamate bone that will keep him off the field for 5-6 weeks, or from now until his suspension ends (if you are the Cynical Type).

Jake Kaplan writes about how this is, of course, better news for Tyler White, J.D. Davis, or A.J. Reed - all of whom had hoped to win an Opening Day job even with Gurriel's 5-game suspension. Luhnow:
It will provide an opportunity for somebody on our roster to play in the big leagues while Yuli is recuperating. We knew that was going to be the case anyway for the suspension, but instead of five days, it might be 10 or 15 days. Whoever it is who gets that spot is going to have more time to prove themselves. 

*Jeff Bagwell came to West Palm yesterday. Bagwell:
They're a machine right now. As great as last year was, there's such an opportunity for us to continue this. We're a good team. We're going to be a good team for a while.

*

Are you kidding, @tonykemp?? 😱😱#NeverSettle | #KempinAintEasy pic.twitter.com/ZbqsmcYjTg

— Houston Astros (@astros) February 28, 2018

*Tony Kemp's diving catch was SportsCenter's #1 top play. He talked about it to McTaggart.

*Hinch said that AC Favorite Rogelio Armenteros will pitch in the majors this season.

*Missed this from a couple of days ago: undrafted free agent Jacob Dorris is an inspiration to A.J. Hinch:
I have a soft spot for guys that never expect to be here or never had the way paved for these opportunities. He's a good story for the minor league camp that anything's possible. He hasn't been a top prospect, he wasn't a high pick, he wasn't handed anything, he just performed his way to big league camp.

Dorris was signed in 2015 out of A&M Corpus Christi. In 33.2IP for Fresno he allowed 22H/7ER, 28K:13BB for a 1.87 ERA/1.04 WHIP.

*Gerry Fraley writes that the Rangers are trying a new plan to beat the Astros this year: Start mostly lefty pitchers.

*Colby Rasmus walked away from baseball, but now he's back in Baltimore. Rasmus, on why he left:
Man, it wasn't fulfilling me with all the happiness in the world. It's always been that love-hate relationship. That's how it is with every player. All of my life it's all I've been around. I realized that even more when I went home. That's about the only thing I'm good at. Or, that I could get lost in.

I miss Colby Rasmus.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*Gosh, where have we seen a ball up the middle bounce of Tony Sipp's glove and lead to multiple runs instead of a routine double play before? Astros lose to the Twins for the 1st time this season, 4-2.

*Joe Musgrove, by inning:
1st: 1H/1ER (Dozier solo home run), 1K:0BB
2nd: 1H/0ER, 0K:0BB
3rd: 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
4th: 2H/0ER, 2K:0BB
5th: 2H/1ER, 1K:1BB
6th: 2H, 1BB

*The Astros are 6-9 (not nice) in Musgrove's 15 starts this season. Musgrove's two starts since coming back from Fresno: 10.2IP, 13H/8ER, 11K:2BB.

*The Astros and Angels were the only two AL West teams to lose last night, so the division lead stands at 15.5 games over the Rangers with 71 games left.

*Marwin kept it real when discussing losing to Ervin Santana:
The pitcher is trying to get us out. We're not facing a pitching machine, you know. He did good today. He threw a good game. And he's one of the best pitchers in the league. It was just one of those games. We're not going to score ten runs every game. 

*The Astros loaded the bases in three separate innings, were 1x9 w/RISP, and left 11 on base for the 2nd straight game. Hinch:
When things don't go your way, there are a lot of what-ifs, a lot of could-haves, there's a lot of nonsense. You have to try to win the at-bats, and we did, just came up short. 

*Jose Altuve hit his 14th home run of the season. In 2016 Altuve hit a career-high 24 home runs in 717 plate appearances, averaging a home run every 29.875 plate appearances. He has 14 home runs in 390 plate appearances this season, one every 27.857 PAs.

*Yuli Gurriel was 2x4 with an RBI double. In his first seven games of the season, Gurriel hit .125/.125/.167. Since then he's hitting .314/.341/.520.

*If you missed it yesterday, there is a raffle to benefit George Springer's SAY Foundation, in which the winner receives a sweet-ass working replica of Minute Maid Park.

*Reymin Guduan was called up to replace Will Harris as he rests his shoulder. Hinch, on why Guduan got the call:
They've got a lot of switch-hitters on [the Twins] and a lot of left-handed hitters on the Mariners. Adding him, we wanted to have multiple left-handed options out of the bullpen. 

*Dallas Keuchel will make a rehab start tomorrow (Monday) in Corpus. Keuchel:
I'm really anxious. That's the most fun part, the competition...So as long as I feel good and continue to progress, I'm hoping to be out there soon. It's going to be a little bit of a process just based on how I respond to Monday...I feel like a normal person for the first time in a while. That feels really good.

*The Astros are doing background work on a possible trade for the Giants' Jeff Samadzija. The Shark is 4-10 on a terrible Giants team, but has a league-leading 1.1 BB/9 and a league-leading 9.07 K:BB ratio. If traded, though, the Astros would be on the hook for the rest of his $19.8m salary for 2017 and $59.4m through the 2020 season (unless the Giants paid down some of his salary).

*Peter Gammons writes that, if you want Marcus Stroman or Gerrit Cole, it's going to cost someone on the 25-Man roster.

*Here's a cool story about Torii Hunter and an 8-year old George Springer.

*Buster Olney writes that the Braves are open to moving Julio Teheran and the A's hope Sonny Gray absolutely kills starts to drive up his value.

*Chris Archer talked a lot with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers over the All-Star Break, writes Marc Topkin. Archer, on the Astros' All-Star contingent:
You can tell they're like brothers. It really stands out. 

Also Topkin, on Colby Rasmus:
As a colleague who covered him earlier in his career told me: Think of the most country player you've ever covered, then go about six more miles into the woods. 

*Jenny Dial Creech: It's okay to be excited.

*Last night Forrest Whitley threw 5.2IP, 3H/0ER, 10K:1BB in a 6-2 win over Frederick. In three starts for Buies Creek, Whitley has thrown 15.2IP, 8H/1ER, 24K:2BB.

*Myles Straw is hitting .318/.423/.408 for Buies Creek with 53K:59BB. The .318 AVG is tied for 2nd in the Carolina League, while the .423 OBP leads the league by 32 points. His .831 OPS is 8th in the league.

*Yordan Alvarez was a late scratch from last night's BCA game, fueling #HugWatch speculation, but he was just a little dinged up.

*Mike Foltynewicz is starting to thrive in Atlanta.

*

Korean baseball is so great pic.twitter.com/3sjWhup8iO

— Baseball Fam (@ShtBallPlayrsDo) July 15, 2017

Friday Morning Hot Links

*Minnesota comes to Houston tonight (they actually probably got to Houston, like, yesterday or something). Jose Berrios is the Twins' starting pitcher. On May 29 Berrios allowed 5H/4ER, 5K:4BB in a 7-2 loss to the Astros, after the Twins spotted him a 2-0 lead.

*Tonight's Astros/Twins game will be streamed live on Facebook.

*Brian McTaggart says the Astros likely won't do what they did last Trade Deadline (nothing) and would like to add a couple of pitchers. He even has a trade scenario for you:
Houston receives: Sonny Gray and Ryan Madson
Oakland receives: Francis Martes, Derek Fisher, Daz Cameron, J.D. Davis, and Rogelio Armenteros.

Would you make that trade?

*He also says in an Inbox that Derek Fisher is more likely to be traded than Kyle Tucker.

*Jake Kaplan says yesterday's Quintana trade will increase the Gray-to-Houston speculation and has a notable quote from Luhnow:
Billy Beane and I have the same philosophy, which is we want to make win-win trades. And if there's a trade that helps your club and helps the other club even if it's a division rival, it's not worth putting it aside just because it's a division rival.

*Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox were insistent on both Kyle Tucker and Francis Martes for Quintana (and the White Sox wanted Gleybar Torres or Clint Frazier from the Yankees). The White Sox are stupid. Later in his (surprisingly useful) Notes Column, he says if the starting pitching market is too pricy, the Astros could go after Zach Britton. One scout compared Yordan Alvarez to David Ortiz. /fans self.

*You want Brad Hand, that cool lefty reliever from the Padres? They're asking for one of your top prospects.

It is 17 days until the Trade Deadline.

*Jeff Sullivan: The Astros lineup has been historically good.

*ESPN asked 27 baseball experts (BREAKING NEWS: ESPN STILL APPARENTLY EMPLOYS 27 PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT BASEBALL) for their rest-of-season predictions and here's what they got:
18 of 27 think the Astros win the pennant
10 think the Astros win the World Series, 10 think the Dodgers win the World Series
6 think an Astro is MVP
The Astros will finish somewhere between 96 and 113 wins (note: if the Astros go 36-37 in the 2nd half, it will be disappointing)

*Yahoo's Big League Stew staff made their revised World Series predictions. Two picked the Astros.

*Twitter Bregs is back, baby!

*Astros County favorite Colby Rasmus will step away from baseball, according to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays do not expect him to return this season. Tony Rasmus says on Twitter that Colbs can't get his hip back to game shape.

*The Reds are modeling their rebuild after the Astros. Which is funny because Reds Executive Assistant to the CEO Walt Jocketty (who had been the GM of the Reds until the end of the 2016 season) left St. Louis after becoming "unhappy" that Jeff Luhnow was promoted to VP of amateur scouting and player development.

*Brett Phillips will open the second half with the Brewers.

*I know we're all supposed to hate every single thing about the West Terrell Rangers, past and present. And while that's fun to an extent, that's not really my thing. So you need to read Evan Grant's interview with Prince Fielder on life after baseball.

*Vice: When the lights went out at Shea Stadium.

*Vice: The $5 bump of cocaine that destroyed an Olympic dream

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros will receive the Cardinals' bonus pool money for the extra picks in the 2017 draft. The Astros don't get the Cardinals' 1st Round pick, because they had already forfeited that to the Cubs for signing Dexter Fowler. Still, the Astros will now get to spend a little over $8.6m on the draft, an increase of about $1.8m, which is slightly less than the $2m the Cardinals have to pay the Astros.

*I had some thoughts re: Correa's "lone wolf" status

*Bob Nightengale: The real damage was only done to the "Cardinals' pristine reputation." /gets cramp from making jerk-off motion.

*Tom Verducci says the Cardinals got off easy.

*So does Ken Rosenthal, because - as he says - the Cardinals' figured they'd at least lose their 1st Round pick, so they were able to be more aggressive in targeting free agents. The #19 overall pick (which now belongs to the Cubs for the Fowler signing) is slotted at more than the #56 and #75 picks combined.

*Cards GM John Mozeliak thinks the penalty was "stiff:"
I think the organization, even though we didn't do anything wrong, we understand that the commissioner had to make a decision and that that ruling obviously affects us. I think his message is this can't happen again. And, therefore, the penalty did have to be stiff. 

*SI's Ben Reiter notes that just about the only one who is - on the surface - okay with the Cardinals' penalty is the Astros themselves.

*Tim Brown: Nobody in this dumb affair won.

*Phil Garner will spend a week at Spring Training helping A.J. Hinch.

*Colby Rasmus will make $5m in Tampa Bay this year, with up to $2m in incentives.

*The Rangers and Rays have discussed a trade involving Jurickson Profar.

Mailbag!

It's that time of year again, when I can't think of anything to write, so I turn to you - the reader - for ideas.

From (Not Hank) Aaron: Why don't some of your writers ever write anything on the blog anymore? 

AC: Hey, Cockroach has a good piece on Bob Aspromonte up today! But you bring up a good point. There are close to 11 people who are able to write on Astros County. It's been a slow off-season. I'd appreciate it if they could pick up my slack.

From The_Batguy: Whatever happened to Joel?

AC: Joel is living the high live in Illinois. Still an Astros fan.

From DeathBySexy: SP you are most concerned about? Excited for? 

AC: They're actually the same pitcher: Lance McCullers. We've seen flashes of brilliance for parts of two seasons now, but the injuries are a concern. He says he's fine, so we'll see, but it sure would be nice to have him in the rotation for 30-35 starts.

Second place on this list is Tony Sipp. If the Astros don't have a viable lefty out of the bullpen, this season could go sideways quick.

Another from The_Batguy:  What do you have planned for when you hit 5,000,000 total page views sometime this season? 

AC: A pithy tweet, followed by bursting balloons and releasing of 5,000,000 doves into the air.

From DieselDuGong: Who wins in a fight between 100 possum-sized Colby Rasmuses or one Colby Rasmus-sized possum?

AC: I congratulate you on the proper spelling of possums, first and foremost. Second, 100 possum-sized Colby Rasmuses win, hands down. They can swarm, and those teeth will make you bleed out in under 15 minutes. GUARANTEED.

From ErnieBreakfast: Of the new acquisitions, who do you see having the most impact? Also, which (one) will inevitably not work out (injury, decline)

AC: Have we learned nothing from Carlos Gomez? None of them will work out. Carlos Beltran will inexplicably forget how to hit the ball. Worst-case scenario is that he's a Trojan Horse, sent by the Rangers to mess up the middle of the lineup. Brian McCann will have the most impact in sucking the fun out of the clubhouse, closing down Club Astros because of slime in the ice machine. All of this is true until the Astros prove that they are not cursed.

From MDavidColeman (a real life writer): Hi AC. First time, long time. If you had to fight any current or former Astro, who would it be and why? Would you win? 

AC: This is a good question. I'm going to fight someone I think I can beat, because I'm not going to willingly get whooped when I'm the one who gets to pick. So Evan Gattis is off the list. Colby Rasmus is off the list. As much as I'd like to fight Brett Myers, I would get waxed. Same with Jarred Cosart - he's 6'3" 205lbs and Clear Creek Crazy. We need to evaluate former professional athletes I think I can take in a fight. We could spend a decent amount of time debating whether the worst baseball player in the league is still exponentially better of an athlete than I could ever hope to be. Because that is true. But we're not talking about a skills competition, we're talking about who I could drop in a fight like 3rd Period French. Here's a list of former Astros I would under no circumstance fight:

Chris Carter, J.R. Richard, Carl Everett, Morgan Ensberg, Pete Munro.

Here's my preliminary list of five Astros against whom I stand a chance, in no particular order:

Adam Everett
Julio Lugo
Jordan Schafer
Lucas Harrell
Clint Barmes.

I just want to fight Lugo, Schafer, and Harrell. Harrell is a little too White Boy Crazy for me, so I'll pass on him. Schafer is probably yoked now that he's a pitcher, and he looks like he's just begging someone to try to steal off on him. Lugo has a documented violent past, so maybe he's out. I'm going to go with Clint Barmes. Why? Because I'm left-handed, and Barmes couldn't hit lefties.

From 12Cahill: Who finished the year with the most time at 1B? 

AC: I'm going to assume you're asking "who finishes" the year, because that question could be answered by Baseball-Reference. I think Gurriel finishes the year with the most time at 1B. I'm okay with A.J. Reed getting more time at Fresno and, as I have said previously, we need to stop thinking of Triple-A as a death sentence. With Bregman at 3B, I see Gurriel sliding over to 1B for most of the season.

From FireDrayton: If a conjoined twin committed a murder (without help from the other twin), would you jail both, or let both go free?

AC: They're both getting locked up because the unwilling twin is still an accessory to murder. He can't text the cops? Knock out his murderous companion? Not saying/doing anything to stop a crime still makes you implicitly guilty in the carrying out of the crime.

From Montessi: Assuming everyone is healthy, what's the worst-case scenario for this team? 

AC: World Series Game 7: Top of the 9th, two outs. Astros leading the Cubs 4-3 with two strikes. Ken Giles is about to throw the pitch when - BLAM - nuclear war with China. You know it's a possibility because Houston.

From TexasBBTown: HOF season: will there be a push for Berkman to get elected? 

AC: Six-time All-Star, four Top-5 MVP seasons, .943 career OPS. I think there will be a push, and he'll stick on the ballot for a few years, but ultimately will top out in the 30s as far as voting percentage.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*Jake Kaplan has a pretty remarkable note in his story on roster depth and Hinch's penchant for playing matchups: In two seasons as manager he has never used the same lineup more than four times. Hinch:
As the batting order evolves, as the playing time is sorted out, I'm likely to have an angry guy next to me on the bench which is a good problem to have, maybe I'll have two. I hope all three of them are mad and want to play.

*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan has an entertaining article: A Very Stupid Jose Altuve Hypothetical

*Jeff Bagwell is now on 38 of 43 known ballots (88%) for the HOF. Having picked up two votes from returning voters over 2016 (the same number as Mike Mussina), Bagwell needs to pick up at least 12 more votes to make the 75% needed Last year Newsday's Steven Marcus only voted for Trevor Hoffman and Ken Griffey, Jr. This year his only two selections are Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero.

*The seven-year old kid that wrote Jeff Luhnow is now Elementary School Famous.

*Colby Rasmus made ESPN's Danny Espinoza All-Star Team for players who can't be defined by a single stat.

*Alex Speier wrote about the Red Sox players involved in the Chris Sale deal.

*People in Corpus are being advised not to drink the tap water.

Qualifying Offers and Other Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Pitchers & Catchers report on February 14.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*Trey Hillman did not know anybody in Korea, and was quite surprised to find himself agreeing to move there with his wife to manage the SK Wyverns. Hillman:
Honestly, we just kind of felt like this was God's plan telling us this is where He wanted us at this point and time in our lives. We were perfectly happy going back with the Astros. It's a good group of people and a young, talented team and I enjoyed being the bench coach.

*Colby Rasmus had surgery - two of them on the same day - reports SportsNet's Shi Davidi:
He underwent a pair of surgeries October 18 - one to repair his core muscle, another to shave down a bone spur and repair the labrum in his left hip - but will be running at full strength by January and healthy for Spring Training.

There's virtually no chance the Astros extend a $17.2m qualifying offer to Rasmus, but watch him have a decent year...somewhere else.

*Ken Rosenthal tweeted that Pat Neshek is available in a trade.

*Francis Martes and David Paulino will play in the AFL's Fall Stars Game on Saturday night, televised by MLB Network.

*John Sickels took a crystal ball look at George Springer going forward.

*Only three teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series, but 61% of teams down 3-2 have won Game 6.

*The highest-rated World Series games of all time.

*NOTABLE FROM FANGRAPHS: The problems with projecting pitchers from the minors to the majors.

*Here's an interesting article about keeping the Heights dry.

*Here's a brutal story about Teddy Bridgewater's knee injury.

*Hunter Pence as Napoleon Dynamite is simply amazing and we are all better off for it.

#VoteForPedro pic.twitter.com/A132uEPOQ8

— Hunter Pence (@hunterpence) November 1, 2016

Friday Morning Hot Links

*I wrote about the haunting past of Cesar Cedeno.

*Jose Altuve won the Sporting News Player of the Year award (voted on by the players themselves), joining Jeff Bagwell on a short list of Astros to have ever won it. Altuve:
I really appreciate that from my teammates and players on other teams. These are the kind of things that make you keep getting better. You wake up every morning and realize you won this award by the players, and you want to keep getting better. Not only for the team, but for the fans and for everybody that's been [helping] you. 

In each year since 2006, whomever has won the Sporting News Player of the Year award has won either the MVP or Cy Young Award.

*A.J. Hinch is looking for a bench coach after Trey Hillman accepted the manager gig for SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization. Hillman will be the first to manage three pro teams in three different countries (USA, Japan, Korea). Hinch:
Even on my staff, looking at how responsibilities can be divided up, I'm not really sure how we really want to go about it other than being on a Major League staff is very interesting to a lot of different people. We'll have to navigate through a lot of different candidates, but also a lot of different skillsets. 

*Dallas Keuchel, George Springer, and Colby Rasmus are all up for Gold Glove awards. Those will be announced on November 8. The only election announcement that will really impact the country on that day, imo.

*Hinch thinks that, because of the 2016 playoffs, managers may utilize their bullpens differently in 2017 though he doubts the game will undergo a significant bullpen revolution.

*Following up on yesterday's Cionel Perez news, Luhnow would only confirm that he is not currently with the organization.

*Astros pro scouts were in Houston this week to prepare for free agency and trade targets.

*You'll have to scroll all the way down, but Jon Heyman's latest column has a note about how free agent catcher Wilson Ramos' knee injury likely cost him a nine-figure payday.

*Palm Beacher Magazine has a deep look into the Ballpark of the Seven Isles Palm Beaches.

*Where are baseball's minority managers?

*Steve Bartman: Still a touchy subject in Chicago!

*They're peaking too early in Chicago...

It's 5 AM the morning of Game 3 of the World Series. The Cubby Bear has a line already. #FlyTheW #cubsonthescore https://t.co/8bpluZ8Ooe pic.twitter.com/FzMFtIAAGn

— WXRT Chicago (@93XRT) October 28, 2016

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

That should pretty much do it. Not that it was even somewhat likely the Astros would make the one-game playoff before last night, but losing 4-3 to Robinson Cano the Mariners is the final nail in the coffin. Starting out 1-4 on a must-win seven-game home stand has been just brutal.

Cano hit his 2nd homer of the game in the top of the 11th (and his career-high 35th homer of the season - eight of which came against the Astros) with two outs and two strikes. It wasn't a bad pitch from Gregerson. Altuve:
(Cano's) a great player. Everybody knows that. I think Luke made a really good pitch and I don't know how Robbie hit that ball. 

We won't spend too much time mentioning James Hoyt's bone-headed error in the top of the 9th that allowed the game hit 3-1 Mariners, resulting in an Astros tie in the bottom of the 9th, but a walk-off. Also the Mariners were 1x15 w/RISP and struck out 16 times. And won. So open up that window and make sure you jump out head-first.

*McHugh:
There's no doubt that we need help. We need some other teams to beat some other teams and we need to win the rest of them. 

*FanGraphs: 1.3%.

*Alex Bregman, for some reason, might play in a game this weekend. Luhnow:
He's chomping at the bit. I think if we asked him to play today, he would play, but we have to be careful because we really need to protect him in the long term, but there's no doubt he wants to be out there. Hopefully it's not too far in the future he can be out there and help us. 

*Bregman and pitcher Brady Rodgers were named Astros minor-league player and pitcher of the year, respectively.

*You know who won't play in a game this weekend? Or in any other Astros game? Ever? Colby Rasmus. He's now in Philadelphia getting an opinion on a rather vague hip/groin issue. Hinch:
This season has been a physical grind for him, so he's going to go and get the opinion that he needs. I'm not expecting him to be back with us for the remainder of the regular season.

And since the playoffs aren't in the cards, that'll do it for Rasmus. I'm working on a Rasmus retrospective - a Rasmospective, if you will - and, man, what a roller coaster experience for Rasmus in an Astros uniform.

*So let's run down the Astros who have lost significant time to injuries this season: Luis Valbuena, Colby Rasmus, Lance McCullers, Dallas Keuchel, Luke Gregerson, Alex Bregman, Preston Tucker.

*Preston Tucker is glad 2016 is behind him and his jacked up shoulder:
It wasn't one thing that did it. It was slowly falling apart, but I'm excited that I'm going to feel better than I did this year and obviously, my shoulder is going to be stronger than ever next year, which is a plus for me. That's something I get to look forward to.

*Tony Kemp is taking advantage of regular playing time, something I hope comes his way more regularly in 2017. Kemp:
I'm just a small part on a big team and anyway I can help, I'll do that whether it be start, come off the bench or give water to the guys. No matter what it is, I'll do whatever it takes to get wins.

*Yulieski Gurriel hung a Jose Fernandez jersey in the Astros' dugout.

*Jeff Passan: The tragic final night of Jose Fernandez.

*A bag of Jose Fernandez-signed baseballs washed on shore in Miami.

*Inside the wall at Fenway.

*Mid-sized European soccer clubs are missing out on the US Soccer Gold Mine

Thursday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Happy birthday, Carlos Correa and Larry Dierker:

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

— Daren Willman (@darenw) September 22, 2016

*An oral history of Vin Scully.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

I see you, Astros. Chris Devenski retired all 11 batters he faced in a long relief role between Joe Musgrove - who carried a no-hitter into the 6th - and Ken Giles, shutting the A's down long enough for the Astros to get a 2-1 win.

Hinch:
This is exactly why Devenski's valuable in the role that he's in. I never know when a game like this is going to come up, and for him to take 3 2/3 of a really good performance in a game that we needed it the most, is very, very valuable for us. I understand the appeal of him starting, but in a couple of days he's going to be back in there again in some clutch games over the course of the season. 

Devenski:
I like relieving. I get a good little rush going out there and I've been going out there and giving it my best. 

*The Orioles and Mariners lost. The Tigers and Blue Jays won. Here's where we are:

WC1: Toronto +1 (83-68)
WC2: Baltimore - (82-69)
Detroit -1.5 (80-70)
Houston: -2 (80-71)

There are 11 games left. If the Astros go 9-2, Detroit could go no better than 8-4 and Baltimore would need to go no better than 6-5. Unless there's a tie-breaker. FanGraphs gives it 19.4%. FiveThirtyEight puts it at 25%.

*Tony Kemp, to George Springer before the game:
I was talking to George and before the game today everyone just seemed really loose and ready to go out there and play. No one's really panicking. Everyone's having fun at this last stretch and we're just trying to finish as strong as we can.

*Jose Altuve recorded his third-straight 200-hit season, an accomplishment that hasn't happened since Ichiro did it from (gulp) 2001-2010, or for a right-handed hitter since Michael Young did it from 2003-2007. The only other second basemen to get 200 hits in three straight seasons are Rogers Hornsby and Charlie Gehringer - both Hall of Famers.

*Colby Rasmus isn't playing as much, and it's tough on him. Hinch:
There's no doubt he's had a tough season on a lot of levels. He's had to battle a number of things. He's also grinding to the point of being really hard on himself and not performing at a level that he's used to.

Rasmus:
It makes it tough, but that's the game. I ain't mad at nobody. I ain't mad about it. Just not playing as good as I would like to play.

*Evan Gattis doesn't even have any triples this year, bro. Why is he sacrificing his Triples Game to hit more homers?
Swinging at better pitches. Not chasing as much. Knowing the difference in balls I can drive, and strikes. 

*Colin Moran might play winter ball. Luhnow, who indicated that it might be a good idea to get some time at 1B:
Anybody who's in sort of that between Triple-A and the big leagues (tier) as a position player, I think those guys can all benefit from (winter ball) because it's good competition. You have to play well to stay. It's a good environment.

*Tyler White has trimmed down over the season.

*Crowds are really bad at Camden Yards, despite the Orioles being in the WC2.

*Check out Pakistan's baseball team.

Friday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Fightin' Rasmuses beat the A's 3-1 last night, with Collin McHugh throwing 6IP, 4H/0ER, 5K:1BB. Ken Giles needed 12 pitches to strike out two batters in the 9th for his 6th save. Evan Gattis hit his 22nd homer of the season and Alex Bregman recorded another RBI single.

Rasmus had an outfield assist and a home run to pace the Astros to the win. Rasmus:
It's about as good a feeling as you can have being a baseball player. I was just glad to be able to get out there and contribute and do some good for the team in a time where we needed a little spark. 

A fan ran on the field but it was nowhere near as great as this fan's hijinks.

Scoreboard Watchin' 

Who Won: The Rangers (of course), Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees

Make it 30-8 in one-run games for the 2016 Rangers, the best one-run team in MLB history.

— Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri) August 31, 2016

Who Lost: The Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, Royals

So the Astros are 70-62, 2.0 up on the Mariners, still 8.5 GB of the Rangers. Houston is 3.0 GB of Boston for WC1 and 2.0 GB of Baltimore for WC2. Wild Card looks essentially like this:

Boston: +1
Baltimore: 0
Detroit: -1
Houston: -2
Kansas City: -3
New York: -3.5
Seattle: -4

The Astros only have a 1.7% chance at winning the division, according to FanGraphs, but a 21.2% chance at making the playoffs. Here are the Wild Card odds for non-division leaders, again, according to FanGraphs:
Red Sox: 48.6%
Orioles: 34.4%
Tigers: 33.9%
Astros: 21.2%

*The Astros shook up their front office, most notably by not renewing director of minor league operations Allen Rowin's job and promoting scouting director Mike Elias to Assistant GM. Also receiving promotions are Pete Putila and Armando Velasco.

*Some Southern California company that has to do with 360-degree athletic performance evaluation has signed an endorsement deal with Carlos Correa. Correa ain't about that league-minimum life.

*Ken Rosenthal writes that 2016 could be the first year two 2Bs win MVP awards.

*Brady Rodgers and James Hoyt were named to the 2016 All-PCL Team.

*A team has claimed Yasiel Puig on revocable waivers. It wasn't the Astros.

*Does Mount Everest have a doping problem?

*This is why he must be stopped:

I love the fact @TimTebow wants to play baseball. Looks like a left handed version of Jeff Bagwell. #mlb #tebowdroppintankstime

— Josh Donaldson (@BringerOfRain20) August 30, 2016

*Before You Go: The Tweet of the Day:

Thank God they finally cloned Altuve. @AstrosCounty pic.twitter.com/bYl6qi2wmH

— Chris Jackson (@ChrisCJackson) August 30, 2016

Monday Morning Hot Links

*Astros pitching got lit up in the 8th in yesterday's 10-4 loss to the Rays. Michael Feliz allowed a single and a home run to make it a 6-3 game and then Tony Sipp allowed a three-run homer on his second pitch because that's what Tony Sipp does in 2016, apparently.

Hinch, on Sipp:
We're trying to work with his delivery. Today, they were saying his breaking ball wasn't breaking as much. His fastball leaks over the plate. Those are all bad signs for him. 

*Alex Bregman made another couple of errors at third base by seemingly over-correcting from the two errors on Saturday night. Hinch:
You have one shot at third base to judge whether to come in or go back. Yesterday, [Bregman] went back and the ball took the second hop and it hurt him. Today, he tried to come in, and he couldn't quite reach it, and the ball gets under his glove. It's still a learning curve for him. 

*Who won yesterday: North Cleburne (of course), Baltimore, Toronto, Kansas City
Who lost yesterday: Houston, New York, Boston, Detroit.

The Astros are 8.5 GB of Lower Wichita Falls and 3.0 GB of WC2. The Ramgers open a series at home against Seattle; Baltimore plays Toronto; the Yankees are at Kansas City.

*The New York Times says the playoff race isn't as chaotic as it seems.

*Will the potential lack of October baseball hurt Altuve's MVP chances?

*Joe Musgrove, who will start tonight against Oakland, is trying to be better at making adjustments in the middle of the game, rather than battling through it and waiting to adjust before the next game starts.

*Yulieski Gurriel will get a start in the field this week.

*Colby Rasmus may not need a rehab start and, depending on how he runs and swings, could be back in the lineup this week.

*Louisiana native Will Harris is helping out flood victims.

*Corpus has won 80 games for the second straight year. According to the Hooks' Michael Coffin, four Texas League teams have won 80 games in back-to-back seasons. The Hooks have done it twice.

*Watch Fresno's Andrew Aplin make a ridiculous catch in center-field.

*George Springer's parents were named Little League Parents of the Year.

*The Detroit Free Press' Mary Chapman spoke to a longtime umpire to talk about ejections. Like every link I put in here, it's well worth your time.

*Before you go: This is the greatest gif of all time.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Jose Altuve reached Hit #1000, Alex Bregman hit his first career MLB home run and the Astros pitchers all collectively fellated the Cardinals in an 8-5 loss.

Keuchel (6ER, 5+ IP), picking up where he left off in the Not Game at Minnesota said:
This is probably the most frustrating loss of the season because of the way we bounced back and got four runs off (Garcia) and had a lead at home. I just have to be better than that. 

*Hinch:
We have to be perfect right now it feels like, and our margin for error is small. Can't leave five guys on in the first two innings like that. 

Jedd Gyorko hit only the 2nd home run by a right-handed hitter off of Pat Neshek this season.

*The Ramgers, of course, scored three runs, sure, in the 10th, why not, for another walk-off win. The Angels beat the Mariners.

*The Red Sox beat the Orioles, the Blue Jays beat the Yankees, the Royals beat the Tigers,

*The Astros are now 9.0 GB of South Ardmore, and 5.5 GB of the Wild Card spots with Detroit, Seattle, and New York between them and October.

*Of course the biggest news of the night was Altuve's 1000th hit. Hinch:
I'm so proud of that guy. He continues to be exceptional, and to have that moment where, in front of our home crowd, he can get his 1000th hit in a very short time in his career is a real highlight in my career.

More Hinch:
I hope the people that are here and the people around him and the people that get to watch him daily appreciate what he does and how he does it. We're scratching the surface of what's possible. 

Altuve:
I feel right now like I don't want to stop. I want to keep getting better and help my team, and I'm not going to be satisfied until I take my team to the World Series. 

*Richard Justice: Altuve beat the odds to get 1000 hits.

*After hitting .053/.143/.053 in his first ten games, Bregman is hitting .295/.333/.477 in his last ten games. Only Jimmy Wynn was a younger 3B than Bregman when he hit his first career homer

*Meat Wagon update: Valbuena has done some light jogging around the field and will at least make the road trip to Baltimore. McCullers won't even throw for another week. Rasmus is a week removed from surgery to remove the cyst in his ear. National Treasure Colby Rasmus:
When they went to Toronto, it was a tough series. I cut it off halfway through because I didn't want to break my remote, so we turned the Disney Channel back on and eased things up a little bit. 

*A 9-run 4th inning was impossible to overcome for Fresno, but Yulieski Gurriel - in his Triple-A debut - went 3x4 with a homer, double, walk, and 2RBI.

*Corpus outfielder Danry Vasquez was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence after a surveillance camera caught him striking his girlfriend "several times."According to the affidavit:
The first slap knocked her glasses off and sent her tumbling down the stairs. Then, he struck her again. When Vazquez left her, he returned two minutes later with the male Hooks employee and appeared "to have a heated conversation" with him. Vasquez struck his girlfriend a third time, knocking her glasses off again, after the employee left the stairwell. The couple left together...

*Check out Vice UK's worst drunken tattoos.

Monday Morning Hot Links

*Hey whaddayaknow. The Rangers beat the Astros again. Shocker.

*As of August 8 FanGraphs gives the Astros a 6.1% chance of winning the division and a 16.2% chance of making the postseason. Check this out:

July 24: 53.1% ALW / 70.8% Playoffs
August 1: 18.2% ALW / 40.8% Playoffs
August 8: 6.1% ALW / 16.2% Playoffs

*The Astros are in 3rd place for the first time since June 21. Since putting up 22 runs on the Angels from July 22-24, the Astros have scored 31 runs in 13 games, going 3-10. The Astros are 7.5 GB of the Rangers, 4.0 GB of WC2 and 5.5 GB of WC1.

*Pitching, since July 24: 3.92 ERA / 1.18 WHIP. 137K:26BB. The Astros' starting pitcher has racked up a Game Score of 60 or better in seven of the 13 games.
*Hitting, since July 24: .205/.261/.306, 128K:32BB. The opposing pitcher has racked up a Game Score of 60 or better in nine of the 13 games.

*After hitting eight home runs in the final two games of the Angels series, the Astros have hit eight home runs in the last 13 games.

*The Rangers are 24-8 in 1-run games. The Astros are 19-21. This is stupid. The Astros are 40-50 in 1-run games since the beginning of 2015. The Rangers are 51-30 in 1-run games since the beginning of 2015. This is very stupid.

*The Astros are 8-24 against the Rangers since the beginning of 2015. This, too, is stupid. The Astros are 2-11 against Texas this season with a run differential of -15. Nine of these losses have been within two runs. Incredibly stupid.

*Hinch is pissed.
Any time I leave this podium after a loss, I hate it. I don't care what team is on the other side. I don't care what division they're in, what league they're in, how the loss happened...I'm not naive. I know that those games [against the Rangers] are going to be magnified...but if we had lost to an unnamed team not named the Rangers, I would be just as disappointed.

*Contrary to what you might see when you, you know, watch the games, the Astros say they know how important these games are. Hinch:
We've worked our tail off to get to even where we're at...I know it's been a little bit of a roller-coaster season for us, but for those of us that have been here the entire season, it's been a grind and an uphill battle.

*Joe Musgrove was great. Musgrove:
Any time you go out and face a team like that, especially with a guy like Darvish on the mound, you can't really afford to give up many runs. If our guys aren't hitting, I have to do everything I can to keep them off the board. And if the pitching's not there, the hitting has to come around to pick us up.

*Tony Kemp, battling a severe toothache while catching a red-eye to Houston, was basically the only offensive bright spot yesterday. Kemp didn't get the tooth fixed until just before the game:
He's giving me shots in my mouth and I'm wondering if I'm gonna pinch-hit in the sixth inning.

*Colby Rasmus landed on the DL with the cyst behind his ear drum. It has led to vertigo and dizziness and flying was becoming an issue. Rasmus:
I'm hoping that I won't be out too long and can get back to playing at 100 percent to help this team. I haven't been doing quite as well as I would like or the team would like, so I feel that I need to do something to try to get it right.

*Ken Giles became the third pitcher since 1913 to strike out six batters in 1.2IP. Hinch:
He's been so good in his run here of sort of getting his swag back in terms of how he goes about it. He comes out there with a ton of confidence, and he doesn't back down.

*Luis Valbuena hasn't even started running yet.

*Yulieski Gurriel hit a grand slam and drove in five runs for Lancaster yesterday. He'll join Corpus tomorrow.

*We recorded Episode 21 of Lima Time Time with SportsRadio 610's Seth Payne.

*Colin Moran hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th.

*With Tony Kemp's arrival in Houston, Derek Fisher got called up to Fresno.

*Tri-City beat Brooklyn 18-4 with only two extra-base hits - both from 2016 16th Round pick Spencer Johnson.

*Ichiro joined the 3000-hit club yesterday.

*How the NFL's Hall of Fame Game got cancelled.

Friday Morning Cold Links

Hey whaddayaknow the Astros couldn't score. This is getting familiar. The Astros only managed one run in a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays. Of course the Rangers won, the A's beat the Angels, the Red Sox beat the Mariners in 11 innings.

*The Astros are 6.5 GB of Farmer's Branch, 5.5 GB of WC1 and 3.5 GB of WC2. FanGraphs now gives the Astros an 11.7% chance of winning the division and a 12.4% chance of making the postseason. Losing eight out of ten against pretty good teams in late July/early August will sink your season.

*Since beating the Angels 13-3 on July 25 nine games ago, the Astros are "hitting" .188/.242/.304 with 90K:20BB. Since the beginning of the Tigers series the Astros are 1-6 with a .178/.222/.263 line, with 60K:10BB. They have reached by HBP and errors more times (4) than they have hit home runs (3).

*It's not on the pitchers, who set a MLB record by striking out 58 Blue Jays in a four-game series.

*A.J. Hinch:
We're searching for solutions because we're a better offense than this. Sometimes you go in a few ruts individually. Sometimes you go through it collectively. Right now, the collectively is pretty painful.

*Tyler White is trying not to be the roster casualty when Doug Fister returns from paternitying. His double last night drove in the only Astros run of the season night.

*Colby Rasmus is struggling, and it's eating him up. He started wearing batting gloves and has taken "hundreds" of extra swings before games. Rasmus:
The game is just kind of socking it to me a little bit...I'm not going to make excuses...I was brought in here to do a job and I haven't done it up to my own ability, so my pride is hurt a little in that respect... This year, man, it's just like they know what I'm doing before I even get up to the box. I don't know if I'm giving it away by how I stand or what's going on, but I feel like they just have a better idea of what I'm trying to do.

Rasmus has been God-awful, it's true, but I still like the guy.

*Brady Rodgers won his 11th game last night and has a PCL-leading 1.34 BB/9.

*The sheriffs of baseball were at it again last night.

*Legendary Venezuelan scout Andres Reiner, who revolutionized baseball in the country for the Astros, passed away Wednesday night at the age of 81.

*The Indians' Francisco Mejia ran his hit streak to 46 games last night.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*The offense has gone full Prestige on us, and by now there are hundreds of drowned bats in a basement underneath Minute Maid Park. Astros lose again, 3-1. So that's seven losses in their last nine games. They have scored six runs in their last 51 innings.

*The Orioles beat the Rangers, so the Rangers have lost back-to-back games since the Trade Deadline in Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels starts. Would have been nice to get to 3.5 GB but lolz. The Angels beat the A's, the Mariners beat the Red Sox.

*5-9 in the lineup has gone 6x61 (.098) with 19K:0BB this series. They have gone 13x115 (.113), 33K:3BB since the beginning of the Tigers series.

Astros slumps:

Springer 6-for-30
Gattis 4-for-20
Tucker 1-for-25
White 2-for-15
Rasmus 3-for-63 (two HRs)

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 4, 2016

*Hinch, on the "offense":
This is a dry spell for us. Right now you've got some guys grinding mentally and physically, and they're trying to do too much and ultimately not finding the results....We've been through this before. We've seen this happen, and we've come out of it pretty explosively in the past, and I think we'll do it again.

Yeah but the difference between it happening in August and it happening in April is about three months of wiggle room.

*We did get to see James Hoyt make his Major League debut, though. The 29-year old is the 2nd-oldest Astro to make his Major League debut, 49 days younger than Don Bradey in 1964. Bradey only pitched in three games in his career, allowing 6H/5ER, 2K:3BB in 2.1 career IP.

*The prognosis on Lance McCullers is an elbow sprain, and he won't even pick up a baseball for two weeks, which would then require a throwing program and at least one rehab start. McCullers won't be back before September. Brad Peacock came up and will fill Feldman's role as long man in the bullpen.

*Hinch, on McCullers:
It's all guesswork. You're guessing, I'm guessing. Everybody wants to know what's possible...We want to know today what the future holds in late August and September. But until he gets some rest and things calm down, we're just not going to know.

*Joe Musgrove will get his start on Sunday. Hinch, on Musgrove:
We really like this guy. He's got a lot of charisma, a lot of polish to him. Even to be able to warm up in front of a full crowd and both teams waiting and the umpires sort of pushing the action, it's not easy. His maturity came through, with rave reviews.

*Alex Bregman got the night off last night after starting his ML career 1x32, after spending some extra time working on his swing:
It's just a mechanical issue that we're working out to get back to how it was. Today was great. We got back to what I was doing before.

*ESPN's David Schoenfield took a look at each of Alex Bregman's plate appearances and drew some good conclusions. Among them:
His track in the minors is just too good to think he wasn't ready for the majors. Every hitter has bad stretches; Bregman just happened to start his career with one.

And if that's not a summary of the 2016 Astros, I don't know what is.

*The Toronto Star talked to former Blue Jay Colby Rasmus about Jose Altuve. Quote of the year?
He just has a crazy ability to find holes. He don't hit gloves. It's crazy, especially today when it seems that whenever you start doing good they've got a whole staff of super-nerds trying to come up with ways to get you out. They got their super nerds, and we got ours, crunching the numbers trying to figure it out. So for him to stay on top of his game and being just five-foot-six, 160 pounds, he's one in the world. I don't think there'll be another one like him.

*This is worth probably five games in the 2016 standings: MLB.com ranked the Astros as the 3rd-best farm system.

*Indians minor leaguer Francisco Mejia (who would have been in the Lucroy deal had Lucroy not dropped it like 3rd Period French) ran his hitting streak to 45 games - a modern minor-league record.

*Want some free agent help this offseason? MLBTR updated their 2017 Free Agent Power Rankings.

*An oral history of Kenny Lofton's ridiculous catch - 20 years ago today.

*The Phillies' Aaron Altherr almost replicated Merkle's Boner.

*The lead singer of Modest Mouse caused a chain reaction wreck. He just drove off sometimes life's okay.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the Yankees last night behind yet another strong Lance McCullers outing.

ERA leaders in the AL the last 10 years among starters age 22 and under. Lance McCullers tops the list. pic.twitter.com/4nz5ey2Ox7

— Matt Hammond (@MattHammondShow) July 28, 2016

Career ERA coming into today:
Lance McCullers Sr. 3.25
Lance McCullers Jr. 3.26

Updated:
Lance McCullers Jr. 3.21
Lance McCullers Sr. 3.25

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) July 28, 2016

*McCullers' 11.79 K/9 is #onpaceto set the franchise record by Nolan Ryan, who had an 11.48 K/9 in 1987.

When Lance McCullers gets his spin rate above 3000 RPMs on his curve batters are 4 for 40 with 25 strike outs.

— Daren Willman (@darenw) July 28, 2016

*Rasmus came alive last night, snapping an 0x29 slump and a career-high seven-game hitless streak. Rasmus:
Any time you get a hit or a home run or whatever, just to help the boys is great. Especially as much as I've been letting us down, to be able to do that against the Yankees in a game we needed to win, since they beat us the first two, I'm thankful and happy to do it.

*Rasmus has a cyst on his inner ear that will require surgery.

*Carlos Gomez joins Luis Valbuena with a strained hamstring. Now with the possibility of just one healthy player on the bench, Hinch says a move will likely be made, but it's an easy move:
...We're expecting to put Fister on paternity leave soon. His wife is going to deliver his first child in the next couple of days, so we might have a transaction in Detroit that will probably be a position player. 

*AL West: the A's beat the Rangers, the Pirates beat the Mariners, the Royals beat the Angels.

-Red Oak: -
-Houston: -2.5
-Seattle: -6
-Golden State: -11
-Anaheim: -12.5

*Wild Card Watch: the Padres beat the Blue Jays, the Tigers beat the Red Sox.

-Toronto: +0.5
-Boston: -0
-Houston: -1

*FanGraphs has the Astros at 45.7% to win the division (Ramgers at 45.6%) and 62.9% to make the playoffs.
*BP has the Astros at 36.5% to win the division (Ramgers at 50.6%) and 58.2% to make the playoffs.
*FiveThirtyEight has the Astros at 39% to win the division (Ramgers at 52%) and 58% to make the playoffs.

*The County Mountie wrote up Round 3 of potential Astros trade targets.

*I wrote about the life and times of Rangers great Lucas Harrell.

*Trade talks are picking up on Brewers' catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and the Astros are apparently in the mix.

*Ken Rosenthal wrote that the Astros might be okay with letting Gattis be the catcher next year and to find a backup elsewhere, searching instead for pitching.

*Today's Knuckleball writes that Castro is the best catcher in the AL.

*MLB.com updated their prospect rankings for the midseason, and here's where we are:
Bregman (#1, yes, the #1 prospect in baseball), A.J. Reed (#38), Francis Martes (#41), Forrest Whitley (#85), David Paulino (#86), Joe Musgrove (#87), Kyle Tucker (#93).

Houston also is ranked as the 5th-best system in baseball by MLB.com.

*Francis Martes' line last night: 7IP, 1H/0ER, 9K:1BB.

*Sean Pendergast has the 10 Most Important Trades in Astros history.

*Eno Sarris has what it's like to get traded, from a player's perspective.