Friday Morning Hot Links

The White Sox and A's had themselves a bullpen game to determine who would face the Astros. The Coward Mike Fiers threw 39 pitches in 1.2IP, allowing 5H/1ER to start it off. Ultimately, the A's string of eight pitchers was slightly better than the White Sox' string of nine pitchers, and the A's won the game 6-4, and the series 2-1. It was Oakland's first playoff series win since the 2006 ALDS. Game 1 is Monday vs Oakland at Dodger Stadium.

*FanGraphs currently has the Houston/Oakland ALDS at 56.5-43.5 Houston.

*FiveThirtyEight has it 53-47 Houston and I'll just cross my leg over my other leg and let you tell me the last time FiveThirtyEight had an outcome wrong in October of an election year. 

*McTaggart: The heated Astros/A's rivalry hits the postseason. Reddick:

We have to grind it out and get our butts in gear. Playing a team in your division is going to give you an upper hand recognizing and knowing how...[bullpen] guys are going to pitch you, and starters, because they've faced you before.

Oakland's Liam Hendriks:

I think there's a little bit of us wanting to make sure they know what they've done and we can prove it to them that they weren't the top team in the AL West. But we also don't want to be petty and let our emotions get the best of us.

Houston was 3-7 against Oakland in the "regular" "season," with Oakland outscoring the Astros 38-35. Five of those losses were within two runs, as were all three of Houston's wins. The Astros took both ends of a double-header on August 29 before COVID forced the rescheduling of the third game on August 30. 

*Chandler Rome: A Best-of-Five-in-Five-Days series is going to require some careful pitching management, but Dusty deserves some credit for how he's deployed the pitching staff this season.

*SI's Stephanie Apstein: Will riding the bullpen help the A's against the Astros?

*ESPN: Looking for some playoff spice? Astros/A's could be for you.

*Justin Verlander had Rob Manfred Tommy John Surgery on Wednesday, and his timetable to return is 12-14 months which [takes off socks] is somewhere between October-December 2021. So unless he signs an extension, his time in Houston is over. 

*Roberto Osuna is happy for his teammates:

I'm very proud of these guys. It's been a tough year for them and I'm so happy for them to go to Minnesota, sweep them and move on to the next round.

Osuna said Tommy John surgery was recommended, but a second opinion said otherwise. Osuna:

I started playing catch about three weeks ago and I've been feeling much better. So at this point right now, we don't believe we're going to need surgery, which is good. Hopefully, it stays this way and continues to get better and better.

Ahhh the old Verlander recovery plan. Worked out well for him, too. 

*In two games (22 Innings) against the Braves, the Reds' "offense" scored exactly zero runs on 13 hits. The Reds were 1x15 with runners in scoring position in two games.

*A reporter for NFL Network tweeted the following yesterday:

A bus driver who drove the Tennessee Titans last weekend in Minnesota also drove MLB's Houston Astros on their trip for a playoff series this week against the Twins, per sources. After the Titans' COVID-19 outbreak surfaced, the Astros removed the driver.

*Human Delight Fernando Tatis, Jr. hit two home runs, becoming the third youngest player to hit multiple homers in a game, behind Carlos Correa and Andruw Jones.

*The untold story of the 2018 Olympics cyberattack, the most deceptive hack in history.

*Psyche: How to wait well.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Huh. Well the Astros crapped the bed late, but the Angels out-crapped the Astros, and Houston is headed to the postseason for a franchise-record fourth straight year. Houston is 29-29. There are two games remaining, and the Astros need to win one to extend a season .500 streak to six seasons, tying a record set from 2001-2006. One more win also means the Astros won't be the first team in MLB history to make the playoffs with a sub-.500 record. Dusty Baker is the first manager in MLB history to take five different franchises to the postseason (Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Washington). 

*Houston was down 2-1, took a 3-2 lead, and then allowed the Euless Rangers to tie it in the bottom of the 9th, before scoring in the top of the 10th and allowing two in the bottom half of the inning. Alex Presley Josh Pressly Ryan Pressly and Enoli Paredes were the culprits, though the Astros "hitting" 1x10 with runners in scoring position was as big of a culprit. Ronald Guzman hit a two-out two-strike home run to ensure Pressly's 4th Blown Save of the season in 16 chances. Pressly was asked in the post-game if he was going to stay up and watch the end of the Dodgers/Angels game:

Who cares? We've got to take care of business first.

The playoff berth gifted by the [squints] Dodgers means the Astros don't have to start Lance McCullers tonight or tomorrow, instead being able to save him for the 1st Round. All of Greinke, Framber, and McCullers will be on full rest, however the matchups happen. Today is likely a bullpen game. 

*Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy: 7IP, 7H/2ER, 5K:0BB. Urquidy has walked two batters in his last 20IP. 

*Something from the Rangers called a "Sam Huff" hit two home runs. 

*Alex Bregman hit homers in back-to-back games for the first time since September 24-25, 2019 - one year to the day. 

*Jose Altuve was 0x2 w/RISP last night. In 47 ABs with runners in scoring position in 2020, Altuve is hitting .149/.216/.255. He hit .255/.360/.638 w/RISP in 2019. 

*The Astros made the playoffs despite getting 6IP all season from Justin Verlander, nine total PAs from Yordan Alvarez (that's the reigning Cy Young and Rookie of the Year), 4.1IP from Roberto Osuna, and a .220 year from Jose Altuve, and injuries up and down the roster that led to 201 Innings from pitchers who had never pitched in the Majors before. Given that the Astros have thrown 508 Innings all season, that's 39.6% of their innings pitched by rookies. Houston is also 10-14 in 1-run games, and 2-7 in extra-innings. 

McTaggart: How the Astros got to the postseason.

*As of now, the Astros would play the Twins in the 1st Round, with Games 1-3 taking place from Tuesday-Thursday. As the 6-seed, the Astros will play the 3rd seed, likely whoever wins the AL Central. Here's 2-5 in the AL:

Oakland: 35-22

Minnesota: 35-23

Cleveland: 34-24

Chicago: 34-24

*With three games left in the regular season, Josh James was placed on the IL - likely with COVID, since they won't actually talk about it. It's decidedly not ideal, something we would have laughed at not a month ago. 

Josh James, July 27-Sept 9: 11.1IP, 13H/14ER, 14K:16BB, 11.12 ERA / 2.56 WHIP. 

Josh James, Sept 10-Sept 22: 6IP, 2H/0ER, 7K:1BB, 0.00 ERA / 0.50 WHIP. 

This is a massive blow to an already-thin bullpen (presuming that James had actually figured something out) going into the playoffs. 

*Check out Alex Bregman breaking down his own swing from Thursday night's breakout game.

*The Marlins are in the postseason for the first time since 2003, and they've won the World Series literally every time they've tried. 

*The Appalachian League will become a collegiate wood-bat league, as MLB continues its breathlessly determined effort to destroy the minor leagues.

*Texas Monthly: James Magee has been working on his masterpiece for decades, but completion isn't the point.

*An Italian couple met on their balconies during lockdown. Now they're engaged.

*Ode to Desolation: Life as one the last Fire Lookouts.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The Trade Deadline came and went at 3pm Central yesterday afternoon and...nothing happened. We can debate whether or not that's a good thing, but - on the surface - it makes some sense. Here's my case for standing pat being the right call:

1. This is a really weird season. The farm system has taken a hit by trading for Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Zack Greinke in a two-year span. Why further deplete it for a 60-game season that was in danger of being Asterisk'd before it even got started?

2. Houston is on the verge of getting Jose Urquidy back, bolstering the rotation. Alex Bregman is presumably coming back in the next couple of weeks. With any luck at all (something the Astros haven't experienced since 2017), Justin Verlander is a viable option for the rotation. And we haven't even brought up the fact that surely there's no way that Springer is actually a .209 hitter, and Altuve isn't a 58 OPS+ guy all of a sudden. The reinforcements you might trade for are potentially on their way already. 

3. There are 27 regular season games remaining for the Astros, and Baseball-Reference says (FanGraphs is being weird this morning) Houston has a 99.8% chance of making the playoffs, and the best odds (22.7%) of winning their third Pennant in four years. Every team below the Astros in the AL West got worse. Oakland has 10 of their 26 remaining games against the Astros, Padres, and Dodgers. Houston has six of 27 remaining games against the A's and Dodgers. Even with this injury-depleted roster with two massive underperformers in the top half of the lineup, it's feasible to think that the Astros can catch the A's and win their fourth straight division title. 

And a few cases for why doing Absolutely Nothing was not the right call.

1. This current incarnation of the Houston Astros - the golden years, in many respects - is about to be a chapter in the past. Springer, Brantley, and Reddick are all free agents in two months (and say what you want about Reddick, but he's hitting .280/.361/.439 this season). Correa, Verlander, Greinke, McCullers, Pressly, and Osuna (who might get non-tendered here in a couple of months) are all free agents after the 2021 season. If you're going to win another Pennant or World Series with this group of players, this is the year to do it. So the Red Sox wanted a pitching prospect for a reliever to fill in the gaps? Pull the trigger. 

2. That's actually all I can think of and, while that's a pretty big one, it's still just one. I'm okay with it. 

*James Click (renamed Jiminy Clicket by my esteemed co-host Pat McLellan on last night's Lima Time Time) to Brian McTaggart:

We weren't going to make a move just to make a move. We were going to make a move if we thought that helped us put ourselves in a better position to win a World Series. And at the end of the day, I just couldn't line up something that we thought was reasonable both for the current team and the permanent franchise overall.

Chandler Rome: Why the Astros didn't do anything at the Trade Deadline.

Meanwhile, we still don't know if the Astros are playing the Rangers tonight, pending a round of COVID-19 testing following Oakland's positive case over the weekend. 

*ESPN: What the Trade Deadline means for October.

*The 2021 MLB Draft will be held in Atlanta during the All-Star Break and will be between 20 and 30 Rounds. 

*The Rise and Fall of the Bombshell Bandit.

*The Almost-Unbelievable Story of the First 100-Mile Ultra.

*This is not the Musical Selection for today, but I have fallen down a Marc Rebillet rabbit hole:

 

*A Musical Selection from Sleepercar, a project that began out of the ashes of At The Drive In:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

 Shorter one today. You may have noticed that my friend IRL Jeff Blogwell is taking the Hot Links on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I very much appreciate it, and him. The Astros...wow. Houston lost to San Diego 13-2.

*The Astros are 0-7 against the Dodgers, A's, and Padres. Those are the only teams the Astros have played who are over .500. The Astros are 0-7 against good teams, and 15-5 against everybody else. Houston and Arlington are the only two teams without a win against a team over .500. 

*The Padres hit six home runs. The Astros have allowed 6+ home runs in a single game just 12 times in franchise history. Trent Grisham is just the 10th player to hit three home runs in a game against the Astros.

*Brandon Bielak "started" the game: 1.1IP, 5H/7ER, 2K:1BB, 4HR. Bielak:

They were just hitting the pitches they were supposed to. I didn't have my best stuff.

Dusty, on Bielak:

It was just a bad night for a young man that's been doing so well. You knew it was going to happen sooner or later. We're just hoping he learns from it.

*Jose Altuve went 3x4 with two doubles. Altuve:

I think it's a combination of a lot of things - good positioning, good pitches to hit, good approach and just be patient and wait for your pitch.

Altuve has raised his batting average from .168 to .221 in the last four games, and his OPS has risen 107 points. 

*Taylor Jones hit his first career MLB home run. 

*Michael Brantley was activated from the IL and replaced on the IL by Josh James.

*The organization shut down the alternate training site in Corpus after a (1) positive COVID test. After contact tracing, there was apparently no contact with the Main Roster or the Taxi Squad. Imagine seeing this paragraph in a Hot Links seven months ago. Related: Cionel Perez's return to the Astros was delayed after a positive COVID test.

*Lance McCullers [don't do it] had [please no] TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE Friday night. Lance:

I just think sometimes my stuff throughout the games or throughout batters is doing different stuff than I'm accustomed to. I think that's just part of coming back from the surgery and getting the feel.

Click (get it?) that link for some good numbers from McTaggart on his curve/slider usage, and the damage opposing hitters are doing against each pitch.

*Machete is Greinke's personal catcher, now.

*Bregman: Said he's "doing great, considering."

*Carlos Correa set a franchise record with 84 consecutive error-less games at Shortstop. 

*ESPN's Dan Szymborski says Kevin Gausman is a realistic trade target for the Astros in the next [opens Timepage app] eight days.

*This week is going to be crazy for Houston, and the Gulf Coast in general.

*Texas Monthly: The Man Who Walked Backward.

*One of the few podcasts I regularly listen to is Radiolab. Here's an NYT profile on Radiolab producer Dr. Latif Nasser. 

*A Musical Selection, an old-school banger, no way dudes who look like this today achieve any semblance of fame:

The Hot Links playlist is officially over 24 hours of straight bangers, if you're interested.

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:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

"Baseball!" they threatened. There was an intersquad game. I guess it went okay. The Astros won. The deadline to submit the 30-Man Roster is today at noon.

*Tags: How Ryan Pressly got his groove back, and how Taylor Jones is hitting his way to a roster spot.

*Jose Altuve was thrown out trying to steal 2nd base, so I guess his leg is okay.

Astros 2019 American League Championship rings given to players & staff today include 11 baguette diamonds in the “H” representing the 11 postseason wins it took to win the AL title, 25 blue sapphires: # of home runs hit in 2019 postseason & 107 diamonds for club record 107 wins: pic.twitter.com/42AA6wGwW0

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 22, 2020

*The Royals' Hunter Dozier tested positive for COVID-19. He played against the Astros on Monday night. Hozier > Hunter Dozier. Dusty and the coaching staff are confident that no Astro came really anywhere near him (sick way of saying "he didn't get on base.")

*Check out Jake Kaplan's Astros 2020 Season Preview, or Do the Astros Have the Pitching To Stay On Top of the AL West?

*Then click here for McTaggart's really bold season preview.

*Here's ESPN's Baseball Writer Roundtable, with predictions and whatnot. Houston also came in at #4 in ESPN's Power Rankings.

*Mookie Betts is apparently signing a 12-year $360m extension with the Dodgers. Betts, who will be 28 in October, debuted on June 29, 2014. George Springer will be 31 in September, but also debuted just a couple of months before Betts, on April 16, 2014.

Betts: 794 games, 3629 PAs, .301/.374/.519, 134 OPS+, 139 HRs, 229 doubles, 470 RBI, 37.2 fWAR
Gerorge: 744 games, 3345 PAs, .270/.361/.488, 131 OPS+, 160 HRs, 131 doubles, 426 RBI, 24.6 fWAR.

Springer is probably the best outfielder to potentially hit free agency this off-season, now that Betts is off the board. George isn't going to get Mookie Money, but he's going to get some serious coin. Boston's Blunder: How LA got Mookie Betts for the next 13 years.

*No Astros feature in SI's MLB season preview of potential MVP and Cy Young picks.

*Dusty Baker, on protests and social justice.

*MLB and MLBPA are working on a last-minute deal to expand the 2020 postseason to 16 teams. Gotta hand it to Manfred, nobody tries to fix what doesn't need to be fixed quite like him.

*ESPN's Marly Rivera: How Gerrit Cole bought into the power of pinstripes.

*The Toronto Pittsburgh Buffalo Blue Jays?

*Space City WX: Heads-up this weekend.

*Shoutout to the Houston Dash

.@HoustonDash beat Portland 1-0 to advance to the NWSL Challenge Cup Final on Sunday. First final in club history pic.twitter.com/7oqv9DyiGr

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 22, 2020

*If you have not watched "Home Game" on Netflix, specifically the first episode on "Calcio Storico," then you need to remedy that ASAP.

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros put the beat down on the Royals, clinching the 2015 ALDS, 15-6. Some notes:

George Springer was 1x1 with a home run, two walks, and an HBP. He was 1x1 with two walks in Monday's game. This will be a fun 60-game season if George Springer literally does not get out at the plate.

Kyle Tucker, Jack Mayfield, and Abraham Toro had doubles. Springer, Aledmys Diaz, Nick Tanielu, Alex De Goti, and Taylor Jones all hit home runs.

Enoli Paredes threw 2IP, 5H/0ER, 5K:1BB, striking out the side on 11 pitches. Reminder that 24-year old Enoli Paredes struck out 128 batters in 94IP in Fayetteville and Corpus in 2019. Paredes took the opportunity to pitch in Kansas City as an homage to Yordano Ventura. Check this article from Jake Kaplan on Paredes (and Bryan Abreu and Cristian Javier) as one of the potential breakout prospects for Houston in 2020.

Andre Scrubb struck out five batters in 1.2IP, navigating a hit and two walks.

Jojanse Torres threw 1.1IP, 3H/2ER, 0K:5BB.

Astros pitchers walked 11 batters. I know this game doesn't count, I'm trying to get back into mid-season form, but the last time the Astros that many batters in a single game was September 9, 2017, when Houston pitchers walked 13 in an 11-1 loss to Oakland. The last time the Astros walked that many batters and still won was on June 11, 1994 in a 7-6 win over Atlanta. There are only 16 instances in franchise history of 10+ walks and a team win. It's still 16 instances, because this game doesn't count.

Altuve and Bregman were hit by meaningless, unintentional pitches. Sorry to break it to the morons who are using the Astros to take out their frustration about absolutely everything.

*Jose Altuve left the game with a left leg contusion (bruise). Dusty Baker:
We're hopeful he'll be ready on Friday. We'll analyze him tomorrow and see where he is in the morning. Usually the day after that, you're pretty sore.

This is incredibly stupid.

*Josh James was scheduled to start yesterday's game, but the threat of inclement weather in Kansas City kept him in Houston, where he'll throw a simulated game today.

*Monday's lineup is likely going to be Friday's Opening Day lineup, with the notable switch of Bregman and Brantley in the 3-4 spots.

*I guess there are some predictions: Yahoo says Gerrit Cole will win the AL Cy Young (Verlander 2nd), and Lance McCullers may just have his "breakout year."

*Check the Astros' wallpapers available to download.

*Todd Kalas tested positive for COVID and Kevin Eschenfelder will fill in.

*ESPN: A day inside MLB's COVID protocols.

*Jayson Stark: Eight numbers that will define baseball in 2020.

*Congratulations to Alyssa Nakken on becoming the first female 1B coach in MLB history. Related: RIP, Aubrey Huff.

*Outside: The Difference Between Effort and Pain

*Marcelo Bielsa:
Being successful deforms us as human beings, it relaxes us, it plays tricks on us, it makes us worse individuals, it helps us fall in love with ourselves. Failure is the complete opposite, it forms us, it makes us more solid, it brings us closer to our convictions, it makes us more coherent.

*Vox: How Hollywood accidentally built Netflix.

*If you want to follow something super-fun today (Wednesday), check the Championship:

Leeds United has already clinched the League and promotion, but the 2nd-place team also gets automatic promotion. Here's how it stands with the last game of the season starting at 1:30pm Central Wednesday (reminder that the playoffs are 3v6, 4v5 over two legs, where the winners meet in a one-off 90-minute brawl for promotion to the Premier League):

2. West Brom (82 points) vs. Queens Park Rangers (14th place)
3. Brentford (81 points) vs. Barnsley (23rd place)
4. Fulham (80 points) at Wigan (13th place)
5. Nottingham Forest (70 points) vs Stoke City (17th place)
6. Cardiff City (70 points) vs Hull City (24th place)
7. Swansea City (67 points) at Reading (15th place)

*A Musical Selection:



It will get worse.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the Royals 6-3. Lance McCullers threw 5IP, 4H/1ER, 6K:0BB.

McCullers:
The word for the day for me was 'grateful.' I was grateful for the ability for the stars to align for us to play tonight with the weather that was possible. Grateful for my teammates and the opportunity to pitch on a big league mound. It was a good day.

Chandler Rome: McCullers showed the Astros he's ready for the regular season.

Josh Reddick and Martin Maldonado each hit two-run homers.

Aledmys Diaz was the DH over Tucker because Diaz needs the PAs.

The bullpen will be the problem.

*Ryan Pressly will be the Astros' closer until Roberto Osuna returns from...whatever he is returning from. Also, Dusty on traveling to Kansas City:
The major difference was guys were yelling across the cabin versus going over and talking to them because you had to stay in your seat. That's going to be really challenging, especially for the real social guys, to stay in your seat. Guys like to play cards on long trips to Seattle or something like that.

*Dusty said that the travel to Kansas City was "typical minor-league activity"

*Justin Verlander, on what getting the ball on Opening Day 2020 means to him.

*The Athletic did an AL West roundtable. It's very well-done, and I love Jake Kaplan, but Levi Weaver needs to be a National Baseball voice.

Throwback to Jake Kaplan's February piece on Cristian Javier's "Invisiball."

*It has been (now) 18 days since there has been any sort of update regarding Yordan and Urquidy. God bless God bless.

*Nine years ago last night Jose Altuve made his Major League debut. Your MLB hits leaders since July 20, 2011:

1. Altuve - 1567
2. Robinson Cano - 1395
3. Eric Hosmer (?) - 1387
4. Adam Jones - 1386
5. Freddie Freeman - 1361
5. Starlin Castro - 1361
7. Nick Markakis - 1357
8. Elvis Andrus - 1345
9. Paul Goldschmidt - 1337
10. Mike Trout - 1323

*ESPN's Sam Miller, who I generally appreciate and respect: What We Lose When We Can't Boo The Astros. Some reactions, as I read this piece:

1. No, no one in Minute Maid Park would boo the Astros on Opening Day.
2. It's a good history of booing and sign-stealing.
3. Sam Miller is a good writer, and has been a Net Positive for baseball coverage at ESPN dawt cawm.
4. Aubrey Huff is an insufferable prick, and needs to be remembered forever as such.
5. Boo whoever and whatever you want.

*ESPN says to take the Astros at -130 to win the AL West.

*FanGraphs' David Laurilia: Brent Strom remembers his MLB debut. It's a delight.

*Clayton Kershaw is actually a Good Person, no matter what shirt he wears over 162 games (and however many postseason games result in not-a-World-Series).

*The Brain Geniuses at MLBHQ started to take a look at modernizing Base Ball. Did it include accountability of umpires? No! Did it include making sure that you could take your family to a game for less than $200? Haha! Did they save the minor-leagues? Getouttatown! No, the Best and Brightest decided that maybe you could press a button to boo someone and it would play over the loudspeakers. You know that saying that the worst thing about Christianity is actual Christians? The worst thing about Baseball is MLB.

*I Didn't Know Why I Was Running Until I Was Forced To Stand Still. I've had some setbacks recently, given the general cultural climate, in my goals regarding my overall health, but I'm sort of planning today to recommit to it.

*An Oxford University COVID vaccine is promising.

*AL.com: Inside College Football's Coronavirus Information War.

*Freakin' Bryan Adams and Sporty Spice did a duet a long time ago that I had forgotten about, but remembered this morning, so if this (banger) has to be in my head, then it shall be in yours also:

Thursday Evening Hot Links

First off: Thanks for sticking with me while I fight the Sads and try to find motivation to do normal things. Hot Links *should* return daily starting...right now, transitioning back to mornings next week.

*The Astros played an inter-squad game today, with Josh James squaring off against National Treasure Zack Greinke.

Zack Greinke on Brent Strom referring to him as the silent assassin: “First I’ve heard of it..probably not the most creative thing I’ve ever heard.”

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 16, 2020

*Make sure you check out this Greinke profile from last week by Chandler Rome.

*For the 12th time in his career, and the 3rd time as an Astro, Justin Verlander will start Opening Day. Verlander:
One of my goals was to get my mechanics back to what they had been and get my velocity up to what it used to be, or better than last year anyway. I looked at this as an opportunity to get better. I went through a full rebuild process, working on getting my mechanics where I wanted them. I went down the rabbit hole.

*McTaggart also has an Inbox, in which he addressed the Astros' DH until Yordan's return, the Astros' bullpen with Joe Smith opting out, Forrest Whitley, and Cristian Javier.

*In yesterday's Notebook, McTaggart talked about Joe Smith, Austin Pruitt's impending IL stint, Bryan Abreu ready to come out of the bullpen, and Yuli Gurriel's desire to end his MLB career in Houston.

*Brent Strom is confident in his pitchers, despite [waves hands] all this.

*We are all Brent Strom.

Brent Strom on game7 of the World Series:”I know people will laugh at me,but on my screen saver on my computer is the 2-1 changeup (Greinke)threw to Soto that was a strike that got called a ball n the 7 inning & I think changed the entire World Series..I’m still pissed about it” pic.twitter.com/dOfncre6Ts

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 16, 2020

*Click here to find the radio/tv broadcast info for the two exhibition games with Kansas City.

*ESPN's Baseball Dudes answered some big questions, and the Astros feature prominently.

*Former Astros Great Bud Norris was released by the Phillies. I had not noticed that Norris was not with a team in 2019 - he last pitched for St. Louis in 2018.

*Former Astros Great Tyler White has signed with South Korea's SK Wyverns.

*I'm so triggered by the Baseball-Reference Simulated 2020 season, with the Astros in 4th place at 50-45.

*Yahoo's Tim Brown: Are "MLB's newly-appointed villains" still feeling the hate?

*SI's Emma Baccellieri: How MLB families are navigating the 2020 season.

*The Athletic's Grant Brisbee in a must-read: 10 years ago, Bengie Molina did the most unlikely thing in baseball history.

*Back in April I wrote up a history of Leeds United on this here bolg. You would have to be deliberately obtuse to not know that I'm a fan. Today, Leeds beat last-place Barnsley 1-0, though to be fair, the one goal was an own goal on Barnsley. I had some definite World Series Blood Pressure going. Doesn't matter. What it means is that, with a West Bromwich Albion and/or a Brenford tie or loss, or - should those two teams win out - Leeds only need one point in their last two games to go back to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

*A Musical Selection:



*Vice: 26 essential albums you may have missed in 2020.

*How Rich are The Rich? If only you knew...

*Coronavirus has only made the mafia stronger.

*Outside: A new theory on exercise's anti-cancer effect.



Each day is better than the next.

Sunday Evening Hot Links

Today is the beginning of Month Three of being a vegetarian (except for last Monday when I randomly ate a Popeye's Spicy Chicken Sandwich and immediately fell asleep and felt like crap for the rest of the day). I'm down 14 pounds and I feel really good. I've mentioned my struggle with depression and anxiety #onhere before, and I appreciate those of you who have reached out. Lately I've been thinking a lot about the 1992 NLCS, and how the fortunes changed after Sid Bream's slide for both the Braves and the Pirates. I don't know why. Anyway, if you would read a deep dive into that series and the years preceding and following, comment down below. Just kidding, you can't do that, and my life is happier for it.

Catching up on a few Hot Links as I get back in the habit of thinking about this blog...

*Pitchers weren't part of today's workout at Minute Maid Park, and that included Brent Strom, as they await (yet again) the results of their COVID test. Dusty:
You don't like it, but you have to adjust and make the best of a potentially bad situation. I'm proud of how the guys responded. I haven't heard any complaining.

Like anyone would complain within earshot of Dusty Baker. Click that link and stay for some thoughts on the back-end of the rotation, as well as Aledmys Diaz. Also, we don't know when Strom - or the pitchers - can return.

Twelve days from their season-opener, the Astros:

- Have canceled two workouts
- Had Alex Bregman miss another because of delays
- Don't have their major league pitching staff or pitching coach in camp and are awaiting COVID-19 results on all after a "potential exposure"

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 12, 2020

*Aledmys Diaz plans on wearing a mask during games, as he has kids at home. Diaz:
I have kids, I have my wife at home. I just try to do everything I can to protect them. The same thing with my teammates. If it's something that's not uncomfortable and it lets me do my job when I'm taking ground balls or hitting, I'm going to use it.

Anyone who has an issue with Diaz, or anyone opting out of the 2020 season, is kindly invited to consume all of my genitals and never visit this site again.

*Chandler Rome: Astros lose more ground as pitchers miss time.

*Check out McTaggart's 2020 Milestone watch - there's some gems in there. Add Carlos Correa's quest for four straight years of playing less than 110 games. SMH.

*Here's some now-two-day-old news about Zack Greinke and Garrett Stubbs.



*The Blue Jays are desperately trying to find a home to play in. Could Buffalo host a Major-League team for the first time since 1915?

*Ben Lindbergh: MLB is trying to get a grip (ha ha) on foreign substances. What does that mean for pitchers?

*Check out this really cool David Nuno feature on Kim Miller.



*The Secret To Giving a Compliment That Makes People Glow.

*I'm pretty obsessed with Alex Honnold's "Free Solo" documentary. You can find it on Hulu and Disney+ and it will 100% make your palms sweat and elevate your heart rate. This is the one where he attempts to climb Yosemite's El Capitan without ropes. Just...start at the bottom with no support or back-up plan, and hope you make it to the top. I've seen it 50-60 times. I'll probably watch it again tonight. My wife can't figure out why I watch it...so many times. I just like to watch people try to do cool s*** that I won't ever try to do. Anyway, here's a 2017 profile on Alex Honnold: Less and Less Alone.

*If you've watched Hamilton, make sure you pay attention to The Bullet.

*I recently revisited this old-school Deadspin piece on a Carolina Reaper challenge and, buddy, make sure you read this.

*The strange and mysterious death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis.

*I'm currently reading Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of The Beatles and I really like it.



It's cute how many people think they're going to be able to have access to a vaccine any time soon.

Tuesday Evening Hot Links

Some items:

*There will be no minor-league season in 2020. It's the first time since 1901 that minor-league baseball will not be played in a calendar year. This is not surprising in the least, but it still sucks. You can feel Manfred's sweaty, greasy hands all over this because, when minor-league baseball returns, there will undoubtedly be fewer teams in existence. MLB is in the process of taking advantage of a global pandemic to force its will on the minors. Rob Manfred is the worst.

*Here's McTaggart's Inbox. It's a good one, with an interesting note about Dusty/Hinch.

*Should the MLB season actually happen, the Astros will operate the roof as they always have.

*Corpus' Whataburger Field will serve as a secondary location for the Astros' taxi squad.

*Czech out this crazy story from The Athletic on Jared Hughes' search for answers to his sinker.

*The Astros have the 3rd-best odds to win the 2020 World Series, at +700.

*ESPN: Inside the rise of MLB's Ivy League culture.

*Koshien: The baseball documentary that captures a nationwide passion.



*Esquire: Inside pop music's most famous all-nighter.

*1843 Mag: In the summer of 2018, a 54-year old Indonesian woman was discovered, intact and fully clothed, inside a 23ft python occupying her vegetable garden.



It's going to get worse before it gets better.

Wednesday Evening Hot Links

What We Know So Far:

*In McTaggart's 2020 Season FAQ, we find...
-Spring Summer Training will take place at Minute Maid Park, with players reporting by July 1. Fans won't be in the stands.
-The season will start on July 23 or July 24. The schedule has not yet been set.
-It's a 60-game schedule, with 40 divisional games and 20 games against the NL West in inter-league play.
-The Astros will open with a 30-Man Roster, and reduce it by two every two weeks for the first month of the season.

New Rules:
-Universal DH
-Extra innings begin with a runner on 2nd.
-If a player/manager comes out to shout at Joe West or Angel Hernandez or Ron Kulpa and gets within six feet, he's immediately ejected and could be fined/suspended.
-Pitchers can have a wet rag consisting only of water in their back pocket.

Is it weird? Yeah. Is it crazy? Sure. But let's just enjoy it for what it is, and let's hope that every player and coach and staff member stays healthy (and all of their families, as well) so they can entertain us in a crisis. Let's not get bogged down with the rule changes and the weirdness - we can complain about Crooked-Ass Manfred and umpires and greedy billionaires, for sure - but let's chill out.

*Dusty Baker is pumped, but worried:
I've been staying in contact with the players. Most I've talked to seem excited. Some didn't want to be too excited, because they didn't want to be let down if there wasn't a season. The guys are ready. They've got a great attitude. We want to go back to where we belong.

*Two possibilities for the "Taxi Squad:" Sugar Land's Constellation Field and the University of Houston.

*Jim Crane wants fans in the stands. This is, of course, a terrible idea. Also, Crane, on potential moves this coming off-season:
We're in a position to be aggressive, no matter what the market looks like.

Keep in mind that George Springer, Josh Reddick, Michael Brantley, and Brad Peacock are free agents after this season. Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, Joe Smith, Roberto Osuna, Martin Maldonado, and Chris Devenski are free agents after the 2021 season.

*In Dan Szymborki's updated ZiPS projections, the Astros have one of the easiest Strength of Schedules, and Houston is projected for a 36-24 record, three games better than the A's. BetOnline has the Astros at 35.5 wins.

*Richard Justice: 20 reasons to be excited about the 2020 season.

*Chandler Rome: Meet Cody Orr, the Astros' "most fascinating free agent signing." Orr runs a 6.43 60, can play five positions, and pitches out of two different arm slots.

*Jake Kaplan: What if the Astros had re-signed Charlie Morton? I'll help: Houston doesn't have to trade a bunch of dudes for Zack Greinke. Before the pro-rated salary thing became A Thing, the Rays were on the hook for $15 million in 2020 with a vesting $15m option for 2021. The Astros are on the hook for $50m (again, pre-pro-rated salary stuff in 2020) for Greinke in 2020-2021.

*Beyond the Box Score's Sheryl Ring says the Yankees might be in sign-stealing trouble, noting that Mark Teixeira said the Yankees would use a replay monitor to signal signs to a runner on 2nd, who would then notify the hitter. Ring:
The Astros' use of video rooms was considered to be an unacceptable rules violation, and the Yankees were doing something similar. The big difference here is the contemporaneous use of a trash can to signal pitches to hitters, and whilst that's a significant difference, both teams were using video monitors in order to learn and decode opposing signs. Assuming Teixeira is being entirely honest, this doesn't launch the Yankees into an upper echelon of cheaters, but it also doesn't absolve them from any wrongdoing.

*The Chicago Tribune had a piece calling for the Arlington Rangers to change their name. The team issued a statement saying they wouldn't do it.

*The Nashville Sounds might host a free-agent league.

*The MLB Transaction Freeze lifts on Friday.

*Collin McHugh is getting screwed.

*Friend of Astros County, Fenway Park organist Josh Kantor talked to the NY Times about his daily livestream concerts benefiting food banks.

*The Baseball Hall of Fame will reopen on Friday.



*Drew Magary: Bill Simmons has had this coming for a long time.

*Me: What happened to Seneca Village?

*NY Times: Ancient Rome was teetering, then a volcano erupted 6,000 miles away.

*Rolling Stone: Rhett Miller (whom I am blessed to call a friend) wrote killer drinking songs. Now he's sober and still at the top of his game.



It's going to get worse before it gets better.

Friday Evening Hot Links

Feel free to skip past this next section, if you so wish:

I mentioned this on Twitter a couple of times in the last few weeks, but I've been struggling. Officially it's Depression and Social Anxiety. Not terribly surprising, actually. I've probably had it longer than I realized, but all the distractions sort of pushed it under the surface. Could explain why I'd get super-pissed if the Astros lost a game that I, a Knower of the Game, felt they shouldn't have lost. I am not on medication as of yet. I've tried a couple of other things just to see how it goes: I've been a vegetarian for almost five weeks, trying to eat one vegan meal a day. I quit drinking. I run a lot more. I set a goal with my dude Tyler to run the Houston Marathon, should it actually take place. If it doesn't, I'll run around for 26 miles on a Sunday morning in January here. Anyhow, I haven't been on Twitter as much lately (not so much, since the Cheatin'-Ass Yankees news broke last Saturday) but I've had to take a step back. Also, 30 billionaires holding the game of baseball hostage aided by the commissioner hasn't been a ton of fun. And honestly, what with everything happening in the USA (and I don't mean that as a catch-all, literally everything is happening) it didn't feel right to devote too much time to this blog. That said, I found that I need this blog. It gives me something on which to focus, even when it's not the original intended subject of the blog. The hiatus is over, for now.



Astros News

*An Astros player working out in West Palm Beach tested positive for COVID-19. Allegedly it was only the one positive test out of the 50-ish people who were there, exhibiting minor symptoms.

*Dusty Baker (as well as other leading African-Americans) spoke to USA Today about the meaning of Juneteenth.

*The Astros have agreed to terms with 2nd Round pick Alex Santos ($1.25m, well over the slot value of $870,700) and 5th Round pick Shay Whitcomb ($56,000, well under the slot value of $324,100). They had already signed their 3rd Round pick Ty Brown and 4th Round pick Zach Daniels.

While Whitcomb was the last official pick of this incredibly stupid draft, he's hardly Mr. Irrelevant. Whitcomb:
My wanting to get with (the Astros) was definitely high on the list. That was one of the teams we were targeting more, and I'm really happy it worked out.

Houston's bonus allotment (another owner ploy to keep costs down) was $2,202,600 and they spent $2,283,000 will pay a 75% tax on the overage of $80,400, or $60,300.

*The Astros also agreed to terms with a few undrafted free agents, notably Carlos Correa's brother JC. 'Litos, on his brother:
I'm very proud of his accomplishments. Now is when the real work starts. I know that with his work ethic and his talent, he will become a big leaguer someday.

Houston also signed: OF Justin Dirden, RHP Cesar Gomez, RHP Kyle Gruller, RHP Zack Matthews, and 1B/LF Peter Zimmermann

*The Athletic took a look at all 30 MLB owners, and the valuations of each team. Notably for the Astros, Jim Crane took his $680m investment and has already almost tripled it, with the team's estimated value at $1.85 billion.

*Alex Cora talked to the Boston Globe and expanded on last week's interview (which I completely missed) with ESPN's Marly Rivera.

Cora, to Rivera:
There has been a narrative out there of what happened. Ever since mid-November until the commissioner announced the results of the Red Sox investigation, I have read many things that are true and others that are not. Out of this whole process, if there is one thing that I completely reject and disagree with is people within the Astros organization singling me out, particularly Jeff Luhnow, as if I were the sole mastermind...If there is one thing I am absolutely sure of, it is that it was not a two-man show. We all did it. And let me be very clear that I am not denying my responsibility, because we were all responsible.

Now, Cora told the Boston Globe:
The reason I talked about the Houston thing the way that I did was because I know too many things about that investigation. For some reason, the information was leaked to the Wall Street Journal. I read that [Beltran] was a bully. The timing is right for me now to talk about that. I think I did a favor to the commissioner, telling him, 'We f***ed up.' I told Rob, 'You held me hostage for seven months. I stayed quiet. Now this is what I'm going to say.' I said what I said about the Houston thing because of what Jeff did. Everything I said, I meant. The whole thing that really bothered me was Jeff just saying 'the bench coach.' He should have just said 'Alex Cora.' That's why I said what I said.

I updated the How We Got Here page...

*ESPN's David Schoenfield: How current players and their MLB Dads of the 90s stack up.



Other Stuff

*Tony Kemp stays a good guy.

*MLB and ownership rejected the MLBPA's offer of a 70-game season and will not make a counter-offer. Apparently there is such a thing as Too Much Baseball, especially if you, you know, own a team. The owners are duplicitous cowards and we need a Guillotine Day.

*SI: Love, Loss, and Baseball: Letters From 1918.

A subtle thing, but nice touch: @MLB has inverted the colors on the black-and-white version of its logo. pic.twitter.com/NtXOCCikK0

— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) June 19, 2020

That head is a bird head.

Non-Sports Things I've Read

*Drew Magary: The Gentlemanly Hater's Guide to Gone With The Wind.

*Men's Journal: The Great Whiskey Heist

*Mental Floss: 15 albums that cost a fortune to make.

*Outside: The business of building utopia.

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 31

Yes, The Last Dance was cool, and necessary in these Trying Times. But I'm super-pumped about the Lance Armstrong documentary, which starts this Sunday evening on ESPN. Also, and this is very unrelated: If you say the name "Pete Wentz" to me, I automatically assume it's Kyle from Party Down.

*Jeff Bagwell's June 24, 1994 game against the perennial silver medalist Los Angeles Dodgers is MLB.com's best single-game offensive performance in franchise history.

*Alex Bregman was voted as the Astros' best glove.

*The Astros will be opening up Minute Maid for individual workouts soon.

*The Astros' 1988 Draft was the best in franchise history, according to MLB.com. The 1988 Draft gave the Astros Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez, and the soon-to-be fired Scott Servais.

I know what you're thinking, because I was thinking it, too: What about 2012?

It's true that Carlos Correa has posted 24.5 bWAR since his debut. It's also true that eight of the Astros' first nine picks in 2012 have also made the Majors, even if for a handful of games. But those non-Correa picks have combined for 6.3 bWAR - and that includes Lance McCullers' 6.2 bWAR.

*Former Astros Great Doug Brocail was on Buster Olney's podcast, which was likely recorded from the bottom of a Vermont well.

*Greg Rajan: The two former Astros' minor-leaguers who went on to win four Stanley Cups.

*Richard Justice: Trei Cruz is looking to become a 3rd-generation Major Leaguer.

*SI's Emma Baccellieri talked to the two people who used to hand-make every team's MLB schedule to see how they would approach the 2020 season. If you haven't seen The Schedule Makers, you definitely should.



*The Athletic: Yoga, Plyometrics, & Vomit - Inside James Harden's boot camp.

*The icy village where you must remove your appendix.

*Vox: The Haunting of Girlstown.



*35 million people still play Microsoft Solitaire.

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 29

*RIP Bob Watson. In 14 seasons with the Astros, Watson hit .297/.364/.444, for an OPS+ of 130, and six seasons of over 3.0 fWAR. Watson is still 3rd on the Astros' franchise record list with a career .297 average (only Moises and Altuve have a higher BA with the Astros), 9th in OBP, 19th in SLG.

Former #Astros 3B Enos Cabell,now special ass’t to GM,on how the late Bob Watson impacted Baseball &African-Americans n the game:”He’s prob n the top5 all time b/c of him being a player,coach,GM,working for MLB-(w/ guys like)Hank Aaron,Roberto Clemente,Joe Morgan,Jackie Robinson” pic.twitter.com/28gwuTj548

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) May 15, 2020

In 1982 Watson was traded by the Yankees to Atlanta for Scott Patterson, aka Luke from Gilmore Girls. A little over four years ago I wrote about Watson scoring MLB's One Millionth Run. Watson also was the first player to hit for the cycle in both the NL and AL, and the first African-American GM to win the World Series.

Jake Kaplan: Enos Cabell, on Bob Watson. Cabell:
He was always the stable one. Me, J.R (Richard), and a few other people, we'd want to jump up and own and Bull would say sit down. He hardly ever cussed. You know me, I'll say it. But Bull would not say it. He would just grab you and tell to sit down. What are you going to do? You're going to sit down.

Dusty, on Bob Watson.

*Obviously Myles Straw is the fastest player on the Astros. Having seen both, Straw makes J.B. Shuck look like Carlos Lee.

*Check out Dream Bracket 2.

Join @ApolloHOU as we stream for 24 hours straight starting at 7:13pm tonight simulating the @astros vs @yankees series.

We are raising funds for the @LMcCullersJrFdn and the @HoustonFoodBank

Be there or be square. pic.twitter.com/8DbzLq7VaN

— SPACEMAN (@CopierCollin) May 15, 2020

*Minute Maid made an appearance on SI's best ballparks in baseball list.



*Nolan Ryan's legend transcend his numbers.

*The Navy released more UFO incident reports. 2020 is so insane the government basically said "Ye, we don't know," and everyone collectively shrugged their shoulders.




*OU (BOOMER!) landed the #1 WR.

Reminder that UT football is like Tiger: Three solid days in July and THEY'RE BACK.

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 28

*Art Howe is in the ICU with COVID-19.

*Chandler Rome has five prospects who could be impacted by the potential expanded roster rule.

*Brian McTaggart caught up with Former Astros Great Bill Doran.

*2004 Roger Clemens gets the MLB.com nod for the best debut season in franchise history. Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA / 1.16 WHIP, 218K:79BB, and won his 7th Cy Young. He got 18 outs in 28 of his 33 starts. There were six other starts in which he threw 7+ IP, allowed 0 or 1 earned runs, and got a No Decision.

*How the A's got Former Astros Great Ramon Laureano.

*If there's an 82-game season in 2020, it's worth remembering that the...

2013 Astros went 21-61 from June 28 through the end of the season.
2019 Astros went 57-25 from June 25 through the end of the season.

*FanGraphs: Snowstorms, Lies, and the Greatest Baseball Game Ever Played.

*Got dang it the Simulated 2020 Astros are 23-21 and in 4th Place.

*Yadier Molina says his "numbers are there" to be a Hall of Famer.

Let's look, because I hate Yadier Molina. In parentheses are his ranks as compared to every other catcher in MLB history.

1983 games (16th), 7655 PAs (17th), .738 OPS, 1963 hits (17th), 379 doubles, 156 HR (39th), 54.0 fWAR (12th), 99 wRC+ (134th), 98 OPS+, 366.7 defensive rating (1st).

Let's do this again, but from when Molina debuted in 2004:

1983 games (1st), 7655 PAs (3rd), .738 OPS, 1963 hits (3rd), 379 doubles, 156 HR (6th), 54.0 fWAR (3rd), 99 wRC+ (27th), 98 OPS+, 366.7 defensive rating (1st).

We're also not counting the four pennants, two World Series rings, nine Gold Gloves, nine All-Star nods. Among catchers already in the HOF, Molina is generally in the Top 10. Dammit yeah he's a Hall of Famer.

*Blake Snell says he won't play this season for reduced pay.

*Scott Boras on MLB owners:

Regarding MLB plan to seek a 50-50 revenue split, Scott Boras, noting franchise value increases and previous profits (he mentioned a $476M gain in ‘19 for Braves, the one team owned by a public company), said on @JoeandEvan “You don’t privatize the gains and socialize the losses”

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 14, 2020

Which brings to mind this headline.

*Jayson Stark: The day Jean Segura stole 1st base.

*Doc Gooden appeared on Old Baseball Cards.

It's going to get worse before it gets better.

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 27

*There was a thought experiment floating around today about an expansion draft: What would happen if there was one, and who would the Astros protect? The rules are quirky, and the ones from the last expansion draft - in 1997 - (in which the Astros lost Bobby Abreu to Tampa, who turned around and traded him to Philly) would seemingly still apply. That said, here's my list of 15 protected players, were I the Astros' GM...and I think I should be:

Bryan Abreu, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Zack Greinke, Josh James, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers, Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, George Springer, Kyle Tucker, Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander,

Here's the 40-Man Roster. It's hard!

*Jake Kaplan: The time an Astros GM ripped the umpires on the scoreboard.

*Any version of a 2020 MLB season would feature a universal DH.

*Chandler Rome notes that a shortened draft is still alright with Rice's Trei Cruz.



*ESPN: Meet Dan Kurtz, the stay-at-home dad who has become an international expert on the KBO.

*SI: Before ruling baseball's economics, Scott Boras sucked at baseball.

*Tim Kurkjian: Stan Musial and a called shot to end an All-Star Game.

*I'm not a huge board game guy, but Keith Law's review of The Sherlock Files has me interested. Also, make your plans to buy Godspeed, which my actual cousin designed and wrote.

*Rolling Stone: An oral history of The Dinner Party episode from The Office.



*Vice: This guy got hit by lightning and became a concert pianist.

*Spencer Hall & Jason Kirk: What were sports?

Here's an entire performance by the Thievery Corporation:



Watch this whole documentary soon:



It's going to get worse before it gets better.