Tuesday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Evening Hot Links

*Brian McTaggart straight up stole my idea put together a list of the best Astros to wear each number in franchise history.

*Enoli Paredes is MLB.com's pick for a breakout 2021 year.

*The Astros surprised a 7-year old and his team with a bunch of cool stuff.

*FanGraphs' Jay Jaffe has been a long-time student/scholar of the workings of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year he was finally able to cast a ballot for real.

*I have no idea why I did this, but I figured up how each team's record and win% stand up from 2010-2020. The results are as follows (World Series winners in italics):

AL East

New York: 954-726 (.568)

Tampa Bay: 900-781 (.535)

Boston: 896-784 (.533)

Toronto: 826-854 (.492)

Baltimore: 780-900 (.464)

AL Central

Cleveland: 890-788 (.530)

Detroit: 805-870 (.481)

Minnesota: 801-879 (.477)

Kansas City: 784-896 (.467)

Chicago: 778-901 (.463)

AL West

Oakland: 875-805 (.521)

Arlington: 865-816 (.515)

Anaheim: 848-832 (.505)

Houston: 818-862 (.486)

Seattle: 785-895 (.467)

NL East

Washington: 905-774 (.539)

Atlanta: 878-801 (.523)

Philadelphia: 815-865 (.485)

New York: 819-861 (.488)

Miami: 738-940 (.440)

NL Central

St. Louis: 929-749 (.554)

Milwaukee: 853-828 (.507)

Chicago: 851-829 (.507)

Pittsburgh: 811-867 (.483)

Cincinnati: 806-874 (.480)

NL West

Los Angeles: 962-718 (.573)

San Francisco: 850-830 (.506)

Arizona: 818-862 (.487)

Colorado: 778-903 (.463)

San Diego: 776-904 (.462)

*The Cubs are "actively shopping" catcher Willson Contreras. In five seasons with the Cubs, Contreras has hit .265/.351/.463 and has thrown out 32% of would-be base-stealers.

*ICYMI: I interviewed artist/musician Joe Firstman, whose album The War of Women is one you desperately need to listen to, if you have erroneously not done so already. Episode 12 is coming on Monday.

*West Bromwich Albion 0 Leeds United 5 and, friends, it was a delight to watch. Leeds are currently at 2% to get relegated. 

*Baseball Prospectus (free): Baseball video games reinforce the worlds they create

*The Album Steve Earle Never Wanted To Make: A Tribute To His Son.

*Drew Magary: The only Hilaria Baldwin explainer you need to read.

*The BBC on the 2000 friendly between the United States and Iran.

*Vice: "How Do I Lose Weight" is the wrong question.

*A Musical Selection, related to the latest Michael Bourn Identity episode:

Friday Morning Hot Links

So the Winter Zoom Meetings came to an end on Thursday. The Astros lost Jose Alberto Rivera to the Angels in the Rule 5 Draft, as well as outfielder Drew Ferguson to the Mets and catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Reds in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

Rivera will be 24 in 2021 and is coming off a 2019 season in which he threw 75.2IP, 61H/32ER, 95K:36BB, but is most notable for throwing 102mph. He has to stick on the Angels' active roster for the whole season or be returned to the Astros. Prior to 2020, I would not have thought it possible to make it on an MLB roster for the entire season after having never been above Low-A. But who knows. The Angels paid $100,000 for Rivera, and if he gets DFA'd or sent to the minors, the Astros have the opportunity to get him back for $50,000. James Click said the Rule 5 rules mean that there's a good chance they get him back, and they needed the 40-Man Roster flexibility:

If we've added Rivera, we'd obviously be down to one [roster spot], and we've got quite a few holes on the roster to be filled. So we anticipate additional roster changes over the course of the season and had to balance the need for those roster spots over the next couple months with the ability to protect a player like that. 

Ferguson was the Astros' 19th Round pick in the 2015 Draft and hit .281/.395/.440 at Round Rock in 2019. Chuckie Robinson was the Astros' 24th Round pick in the 2016 Draft and hit .217/.276/.324 at Corpus in 2019.

The Astros also picked up pitcher Joe Record in the Minor-League Phase of the draft, and pitcher Seth Martinez. Record was the Twins' 27th Round pick in 2017. He threw 55IP in 2019 - his professional debut - between Low-A and High-A, posting a 5.07 ERA/1.27 WHIP, with 68K:16BB. 

Martinez, 26, was Oakland's 17th Round pick in 2016. In 2019 Martinez threw 71.2IP, 50H/20ER, 74K:18BB, 2.51 ERA/0.95 WHIP.

*James Click told Chandler Rome that the word for this offseason is "Patience."

If immediately we have not addressed some of the areas that we have identified as needs, that doesn't mean we're not looking to do that later in the offseason. We're going to have that patience and make sure that we wait until we get to Spring Training - or maybe even a little bit into Spring Training based on previous winters - to assess this roster and how this offseason has gone.

He also said the Astros are still engaged in talks with representatives for both George Springer and Michael Brantley. Click here for McTaggart's un-paywalled version of the Click conversation.

*The Athletic's Eno Sarris predicts that the Astros sign catcher J.T. Realmuto to a 4yr/$85m deal this offseason.

Sarris:

Adding Realmuto to an infield that includes Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve could be a masterstroke, particularly if a lack of competing offers suppresses Realmuto's contract requirements.

He also predicts Springer to the Mets for 5yrs/$110m. 

*If you look at FanGraphs' Depth Charts for 2021, you see the Astros are projected for a .545 win% - 88-74 - or the 3rd-best record in MLB (and the top team in the AL). I don't know how FanGraphs is doing this, but I'm not going to question it. 

*Yahoo's Tim Brown wonders whether the 2021 season will start "on time."

*Great news: Gary Pettis and his world-famous windmill will return in 2021, following his bout with Multiple Myeloma.

*SI: The Hall of Fame must act with more urgency, before it's too late (RIP Dick Allen).

*I acknowledge that the Houston Texans exist and hooboy this SI article on chaplain-turned-GM(?) East Jackerby. 

*I am adding "This is Branchburg" to my very skimpy podcast queue.

*The incredibly-true story of Renting A Friend in Tokyo.

*An Italian man had an argument with his wife and then walked 280 miles to "clear his head."

*"Xmas or Bust:" The Untold Story of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

*Leeds United v West Ham at 2pm Central Friday.

*A pre-Musical Selection: I'm obsessed with Kent Nishimura's YouTube channel:

*The Musical Selection for today, which came from a movie my kid watch a few weeks ago, and hasn't been out of my head since. So you can have this happen to you:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Get used to the slow trickle of information coming out about...well...pick an issue related to the Astros. Chandler Rome has one such article in which MLB instructed MLB employees stationed near the video monitors to listen for loud banging:
Early in the 2019 season, Major League Baseball instructed video monitors working in Minute Maid Park to listen for banging sounds emanating from the Astros' dugout, a person with knowledge of the directive said Monday.

Part of the rule clarification regarding cameras in the outfield and whatnot included that MLB had a group of people at each stadium making sure those rules were followed. That apparently was not the case in other MLB stadiums, indicating that MLB already knew what the Astros had been up to, at least in 2017. One video monitor (and I'm just assuming the "video monitor" is a person, and not a television that Chandler Rome interviewed):
What they told us was we were essentially looking for people who were using technology to steal signs.

The only live feed that is available to teams is in the Replay Room. If a player - from either team - goes in the Replay Room to look at the live feed, then apparently that is noted by MLB officials. Rob Manfred is scheduled to speak at the Owners' Meetings on Thursday in Arlington. Owners' Meetings indicates they will pass around yacht brochures and get together to figure out how to depress the market or screw over 15-year old baseball wunderkinds from the Dominican Republic.

I'm sure nothing will come of this but SI's Legal Analyst Michael McCann says that it's possible for fans to sue the Astros over the sign-stealing thing.

Right quick, let's just clear the air here: There is absolutely more to this story but no one from the Astros is talking about it because they're, you know, under investigation. Some exec from another team is, you know, not under investigation so they're more than happy to talk to whoever wants to know how many grievances they'd like to air. How this is going to work is that the Astros are trying to avoid serious punishment from MLB, so they're going to mind their Ps & Qs, and keep their mouths shut while The Narrative gets built without their voice. Then some decision is going to come down after MLB is done talking to everyone, and perhaps the decision doesn't go the way the other 29 teams wanted it to go down. We don't know. This is how these things play out. So the role on this here blog is to mention what comes out that day, add context where it feels appropriate, and just...let it play out. It's not a popular or clickbait-y thing to just say, "I just want to see where this goes," but I just want to hear the Astros' side of this before swearing off the team or throwing up asterisks. I think the Astros have messed up in the past but all of us (who are reading this) should be willing to hear the side of the Not Interested In Destroying The Astros.

*When Yuli Gurriel signed with the Astros in July 2016 it was extremely inconvenient for me as my wife and I were on our anniversary trip. That said, his five-year, front-loaded deal (2016-2020) included an option to renegotiate his final year, or go to arbitration. On Monday Gurriel renegotiated his 2020 salary at $8.3m - up $300K from his original deal with $250K more available in incentives. Unsure what it means for Gerrit Cole Money.

*Jonathan Mayo has an updated Prospect List for the Rule 5 Draft in December, seeing as how teams have until 7pm on Wednesday to update their 40-Man roster. Mayo says it's obvious that Cristian Javier and Enoli Paredes are no-brainers to get protected, while Ronnie Dawson, Nivaldo Rodriguez, and Taylor Jones could get looks from other clubs. The Astros' current 40-Man Roster has 34 Men, and Garrett Stubbs is the only catcher. I could see the Astros adding two or three to the 40-Man to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

*The Brewers unveiled a new logo, which is very similar to their sweet old logo, which is a good time to read this piece in The Athletic on the inspired and melancholy life of logo's creator.

*The Class of 2020 Hall of Fame ballot was released yesterday. Writers have until December 31 to submit their list of (up to) ten nominees. They need 75% of the vote in order to gain induction. Here is the list of  Former Astros Greats on the ballot this year (with 2019 Vote% in parentheses):

Roger Clemens (59.5%), Billy Wagner (16.7%), Andy Pettitte (9.9%), Jeff Kent (18.1%), Curt Schilling (60.9%), Carlos Pena (1st time), Bobby Abreu (1st time), Jose Valverde (1st time).

It's a damn shame that Roy Oswalt got dropped last year after getting only 5 (0.9%) votes from the BBWAA.

The NY Times' Tyler Kepner pays tribute to each first-time nominee on the ballot.

Jay Jaffe: The big questions on the 2020 HOF Ballot.

*Terrible news out of New Zealand as 23-year old Minnesota minor-leaguer Ryan Costello was found dead. Natural causes are suspected at this time. Thoughts and prayers with Costello's family and the Twins organization.

*Wired: How does a country just shut off the internet?

*Looking for non-fiction reading material that doesn't involve trash cans? Check Slate's 50 Best Non-Fiction Books of the last 25 years. Cross-Reference it with LitHub's 20 best works of non-fiction this decade.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. It is 20 days until Pitchers & Catchers Report.

*The BatGuy wrote about Hall of Fame voting.

*The Astros feat. Max Stassi, Myles Straw, and Corbin Martin took ten kids on a shopping spree at Academy in Corpus.

*Stassi talked about the Astros' adding Robinson Chirinos and the mindset going into 2019:
The offseason was obviously 10 days longer, but the guys are hungry as ever and ready to roll for this upcoming season. It drives you a lot and you are obviously disappointed when you didn't win the whole thing, but ultimately guys are going to have the same mindset as they did last year.

*Josh Reddick got married and stayed extremely On Brand by wearing customized wrestling belts.

*Trent Thornton, traded to Toronto for Aledmys Diaz in November, didn't know he was talking to the Blue Jays' GM when he got the call. Also:
In the back of your mind when you're with an organization like [Houston] you kind of wish you'll get traded because it's so log-jammed.

*J.D. Davis, on going to Spring Training with the Mets:
[I'll be] trying to outwork everybody, and trying to take those extra swings in the cage, those extra reps on the field, doing work in the gym. I feel like if I get the opportunity...I will start turning some heads. I have absolutely all the confidence in the world in myself.

*Former Astros Great Chris Johnson, now somehow only 34, signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox.

*Tim Brown: Rather than declaring war on baseball, here's how to fix it.

*

An MLB Network oral history: Roy Halladay's 2010 NLDS no-hitter for the @Phillies. #HOF2019 pic.twitter.com/daXtXdffJh

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 22, 2019

*To save the sound of a Stradivarius, a whole city must keep quiet.

*A Musical Selection:

On Hall of Fame Voting

Last night we found out the latest group of players to be elevated to Hall of Fame status, as voted by the BaseBall Writers Association of America. Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and Mariano Rivera will be inducted in Cooperstown this July, joining Lee Smith and Harold Baines, who were elected in December by the Today’s Game Era Committee. Rivera goes in as the first ever unanimous selection.

In more Astros-related news, both Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman dropped off the ballot after just one year, receiving 4 and 5 votes, respectively. Former Astros Legend Rick Ankiel received 0 votes.

I’ve noticed a few trends in voting recently that I think may be worth discussing, and I think Rivera, Oswalt, and Berkman are great examples of these trends. In particular, increased voter transparency and the internet “hive mind” have changed the way the voters have approached their ballots.

As mentioned earlier, Mariano Rivera is the first ever inductee to be elected unanimously. I’ve seen many negative reactions to this news, not because anyone thinks Mo’s not worthy of induction, but because they think there should have been others before him, whether it be Griffey or Maddux or Ripken or whoever else. The BBWAA didn’t start releasing public ballots until 2012, though some people online have been tracking votes at least as far back as 2009, most famously Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs). As these votes became public, voters started receiving massive amounts of… let’s call it negative feedback… if their ballots didn’t include whichever candidates The Internet decided were most worthy of votes that year. Prior to Rivera, Griffey was the closest to unanimous in 2016, with just 3 voters leaving him off their ballots. However, all 308 ballots (out of 440 total ballots cast) that were made public according to Thibodaux’s tracker included Griffey. As a matter of fact, every single inductee since 2014 has received a higher percentage of votes on public ballots than on ballots that are kept private, with the exception of Trevor Hoffman.

While this transparency and public discourse has helped push some candidates over the line (Bagwell, Raines, and Edgar Martinez, especially) I believe it has also led to some candidates dropping off the ballot much earlier than they would have in the past. While this is harder to quantify and prove, because less attention is paid to the down-ballot candidates, Berkman and Oswalt are examples of the type of players who used to get a few honorary votes in the past. Voters would often do this to acknowledge that, while not Hall-worthy, players like this were good enough, long enough, to be worthy of some further recognition. Often these votes would be cast by writers who had covered the team(s) these players had been on or who had played against them often, as division rivals or playoff foes. For example, one of the two public votes for Berkman was Rene Cardenas, a Spanish language broadcaster who has been connected to the Astros off and on since 1961. Both public voters for Oswalt are similar, with one coming from Cardenas and the other from former Astros beat writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz. It used to be far more common for players like Berkman and Oswalt to make it to at least their second ballot. For example, Bernie Williams, Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela and Willie McGee all made it to a second ballot because they were good but not great and had been fan favorites. However, voters are now reluctant to give players these throw-away votes, especially if they make their votes public. The ridicule from the armchair voters online is too much. In fact, every single player who has dropped off the ballot since 2013 had a higher vote percentage among private votes as opposed to those made public, with the exception of Jim Edmonds in 2016 (I’m excluding Garret Anderson, whose only vote was on a public ballot.)

I don’t know if these trends are good or bad. Honestly, I don’t think they need to be either. At the end of the day, those players who are obvious Hall of Famers are getting in. And, other than some head scratchers from the various after-ballot committees in Cooperstown, those who are obviously not Hall of Famers are not getting in.  

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. Pitchers and Catchers report in 24 days. It has been eight days since the Astros even appeared in MLBTR.

*David Nuno talked to George Springer, Carlos Correa, and Lance McCullers, Jr about 2019.

*Brian McTaggart's inbox has a number of questions about free agency, arbitration, and the state of the rotation.

*Chandler Rome discusses the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot and the prospects of Former Astros Greats Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman. It's not, uh, it's not looking good. According to the Tracker set up by the inestimable (FOAC) Ryan Thibodeaux, with about 47% of ballots known:

-Roger Clemens: 71.9%
-Billy Wagner: 16.8%
-Jeff Kent: 16.3%
-Andy Pettitte: 6.1%
-Roy Oswalt: 1.0%
-Lance Berkman: 1.0%

*Evan Gattis played in the UT-Permian Basin Alumni Game.

*Former Astros Great Jason Bourgeois will be the head coach of the Dodgers' Midwest League team.

*Karbach is introducing the Crawford Bock at FanFest on January 26, and will be available across Texas by March.

*Yadier Molina is already mad at the Cubs.

*One possible Mystery Team for J.T. Realmuto is the A's...which would not be Ideal.

*Take this for what it is (I've never heard of this guy, and his journalistic background is a little problematic):

Hearing rumblings that Major League Baseball has found that the Los Angeles Dodgers are in violation of rules involving the international free agency market. There is word they will get penalized similar to what the Atlanta Braves received a year ago

— Dan Federico (@DanJFederico) January 19, 2019

*The Ringer: The Untold Story of the Man Who Sang "I Got 5 On It."

*A Runner/Hit Man's GPS watch led to his downfall.

*A Musical Selection, from the band formerly known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Mayhaps you saw that Flick and I straight up double-teamed you with Hot Links on Wednesday though, somehow, absolutely nothing happened. Probably won't happen again. I'm glad he's back.

*The Astros hired Former Astros Great Mickey Storey to be their new manager at Fresno Round Rock. Storey, one of the storied members of the 2012 Astros, was Quad Cities' manager in 2018.

*It appears as though CFM has moved on from the Astros to take a 2-year $30m deal from Tampa. I have Sad. More on Morton later, when I can process this. Luhnow:
We wanted him back, and he will always be part of Astros history. He had two of his best years here, and if he gets a deal he's happy with, I'm happy for him. 

Remember the Astros reportedly offered CFM a 1-year deal with an option for a 2nd year back in November. Makes me wonder if the shoulder that gave Morton trouble also scared off the Astros.

Later Luhnow talked about Morton as a selling point to future targets:
It has become a selling point and players recognize it, and they feel they will get the best information if they sign with the Astros. What they do with it is up to them, but they'll have a chance to figure out ways to make themselves even better.

Charlie Morton's fWAR by season, highest-to-lowest:
2017: 3.2
2018: 3.1
2011: 1.8
2014: 1.6
2013: 1.5
2009: 1.3
2015: 1.0
2016: 0.4
2012: 0.3
2008: 0.2
2010: -0.3

Or you can look at it like this:
Career fWAR, 2008-2016: 7.8
Career fWAR, 2017-2018: 6.3

Or, 2008-2016: 4.54 ERA / 1.44 WHIP, 84 ERA+
2017-2018: 3.36 ERA / 1.18 WHIP, 121 ERA+

Fare thee well, CFM.

So the Astros have erased the following salaries off the books from 2018 (note: it's possible, nay probable, that this changes)

Dallas Keuchel: $13.2m
Brian McCann: $11.5m (the Yankees, get this, paid the Astros haha $5.5m per year to take McCann and win a World Series)
Evan Gattis: $6.7m
Marwin Gonzalez: $5.125m

Total: $36,525,000

Now, Gerrit Cole will get a hefty raise from his $6.75m arbitration salary. Robinson Chirinos will get $5.75m in 2019. But there's some wiggle room from last year, if the Astros' want it.

Using that previous link, Luhnow said the Astros will not be the ones who are aggressive in their bidding:
We're not going to be the ones setting the market. We'll be reacting to it and making sure we get players we want for the value we want....Fans need to have that perspective that it does feel like things are happening later and later in the offseason, and that's okay. It doesn't mean your team's not going to do anything. It might, but it doesn't necessarily mean that. 

The Astros aren't not going to do anything. Maybe they won't, but not necessarily. Got it.

Jeff Luhnow: "We definitely moved the ball forward on a couple deals today, then saw a couple go away. We’re closer on some and that’s about where it stands. This seems like the lowest transaction volume that I’ve ever witnessed at a Winter Meetings in my history."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) December 13, 2018

*Jake Kaplan writes about why the Astros aren't terribly worried about Forrest Whitley's 2019 workload.

*A.J. Hinch talked about Aledmys Diaz's versatility.

*Meanwhile the Yankees signed J.A. Happ to a 2yr/$34(-ish)m deal with a vesting option for a 3rd year.

*The Rangers have reportedly signed Lance Lynn to a 3yr/$30m deal.

*Here's Joe Posnanski with a wonderfully-long read on the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee.

*The Globe and Mail's Jana Pruden: The day I met a serial killer.

*This Dallas kid straight up assaulted another kid during a Dallas-area hockey game.

*A musical selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*Have you read The Blinds yet? No? What the hell is wrong with you?

*In The Athletic, Jake Kaplan discusses what new Orioles GM Mike Elias' departure means for the Astros' front office. Kaplan:
Whether in amateur scouting or international scouting or both, special assistants Kevin Goldstein and Oz Ocampo are among those who could see an increase in responsibilities moving forward. Both are former department directors with experience in one or both of the amateur and international arenas. 

Chandler Rome spoke with Luhnow about how the Astros plan to replace new Orioles GM Mike Elias. Luhnow:
I don't think there's any magic formula, having one or two or three assistant GMs like some clubs have. I think it's a matter of making sure you have the right people in the right spots overseeing the critical functions. We were preparing for this eventuality, we've got really good bench strength across the entire organization and feel pretty good that we're not going to skip a beat in this year's draft, the international market or really anywhere else.

*The Mariners traded James Paxton to the Yankees for three prospects, including pitcher and #1 prospect Justus Sheffield. The Yankees are really taking this whole "losing-in-the-playoffs-to-the-eventual-World-Series-champs" thing seriously. The Astros were in on Paxton but refused to include Forrest Whitley in a trade package.

Thank you @jluhnow https://t.co/6FnpZqGK2e

— Forrest Whitley (@ForrestWhitley) November 20, 2018

*Speaking of the rotation, the Astros have apparently made a one-year offer to Charlie Morton with an additional option year. Unsure if it's a team- or player-option.

*Per Ken Rosenthal: Houston and St. Louis have had "the most meaningful discussions" with Arizona regarding a trade for Paul Goldschmidt. I assume this means they've discussed having kids and their worst fears. Goldschmidt is from The Woodlands and went to Texas State. Thus I have completed the Southeast Texas task of noting when a player linked to the Astros is from the Houston area.

It's worth mentioning this Bleacher Report...report that the Diamondbacks have discussed a Goldschmidt/Greinke package.

I would like you, for one moment, to imagine a lineup that looks like this:

Springer
Altuve
Bregman
Correa
Goldschmidt
Gurriel
Reddick
Aledmys
Stassi

Combined with a rotation that looks like:
Verlander
Cole
Greinke
Morton
McHugh/James

Trading Goldschmidt and Greinke together would save Arizona $119m over the next three years.

*The Astros will host the Yankees on ESPN on April 8 and April 9.

*Houston has until Tuesday afternoon to add Rule 5-eligible players to the 40-Man Roster, protecting them from next month's draft. The Astros have 35 Men on the 40-Man Roster. They have four players in their Top 30 prospects list who are Rule 5-eligible:

#12 - RHP Rogelio Armenteros, an AC Favorite.
#15 - C Garrett Stubbs
#17 - RHP Riley Ferrell
#23 - SS Jonathan Arauz

Armenteros, 24, is 16-2 with a 3.32 ERA / 1.22 WHIP, 206K:67BB in 176.1IP at Triple-A Fresno. I would very much like to see him get a spot on the 40-Man. This, of course, has the weight of the world behind it.

Stubbs, 25, is a catcher. The Astros have like three catchers total. He hit .310/.382/.455 in 84 games for Fresno last season. The only catchers in front of him on the depth chart are Max Stassi and Chris Herrmann (Park).

Ferrell, 25, was the Astros' 3rd Round pick in 2015. He struggled like hell in 2018 at Triple-A, throwing 28IP, 34H/21ER, 34K:16BB - a 6.75 ERA / 1.79 WHIP. He also went to A&M Consolidated High School and, for reasons not associated with Ferrell...or baseball, I'm not a fan of A&M Consolidated High School. Still, that was his first taste of Triple-A. It wouldn't be unheard of for one of the 22 non-contending MLB teams to take a flyer on Ferrell.

Arauz, who is somehow only 20 years old, came over to the Astros in the fabled Ken Giles/Mark Appel trade, which totally worked out for both sides. He's the least likely to get selected next month because he has only played 71 games at High-A, and had a .511 OPS at that. Hard to see too many teams lining up to give him a 25-Man Roster spot.

*Randy Cesar signed with the Twins, so 2017 4th Round pick Peter Solomon entered the Astros' Top 30 prospects list, at #26. Click that link. That system is thicc. Solomon has 114 strikeouts in 100.1IP with 26K:4BB in 23IP at High-A in 2018.

*Josh Big Flames James had a baby Lil' Flames boy.

*For the first time in franchise history, the Astros have four ex-players on the Hall of Fame ballot.

*The Astros lost their assistant athletic trainer to the Brewers.

*The Atlantic: A Deadly Tsunami of Fire.

*The Guardian: The multi-billionaire philanthropist Sackler family (think art museum at Harvard, Victoria & Albert Museum in London) are getting sued mainly because they're behind Purdue Pharma, who makes and distributes OxyContin.

*Say what you want about the integrity of baseball (of course the Astros ruined it), but at least they weren't creating controversy by farting.

*I'm sure I'm not the first to post it. I haven't yet seen Bohemian Rhapsody, but I have watched their full Live-Aid concert about six times in the last four days:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Kate Upton > Justin Upton. Justin Verlander dealt, the Astros offense didn't do much - so it was a pretty typical night for the Astros. Houston is 28-17, 16-7 away from Minute Maid Park. Check the Angels series recap from Jexas.

*Verlander threw his 8th career complete game shutout, and his first since August 26, 2015...against the Angels. Verlander: 9IP, 5H/0ER, 7K:1BB. The five hits he allowed are the 2nd-most he's allowed this season, and the highest since he gave up six hits against Baltimore on April 3. Last night was the 5th start out of ten in which Verlander didn't give up an earned run.

*He wriggled out of trouble in the 8th after Ian Kinsler broke a string of eleven straight Angels retired with a single and got dang Kole Calhoun hit a ground-rule double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Luis Valbuena struck out looking and Mike Trout grounded out to Verlander to escape. Verlander, on the Trout AB:
Here's the game right here. Can you get out the best player in the world? Yeah, I was pretty excited about it.

Trout vs. Verlander, career: 2x27, 7K:4BB (.074/.242/.296).

Hinch:
Pretty much a clinic on how to pitch. I mean, it's just an epic performance by a really good pitcher. It's fun to win a series, especially against a team like this. Even more sweet when one of your best carries you on his back.

*Verlander's last four starts: 29IP, 14H/2ER, 36K:6BB. The Astros scored a total of three runs in those four starts, and are 6-4 when Verlander - now with a 1.05 ERA - starts the game. The offense has scored two runs total in those four losses.

*Shohei Ohtani: 0x4, 3K. It was his second career MLB 0x4, 3K night and first since Boston did it to him on April 19. Ohtani's 3rd and final strikeout in the 9th gave Verlander 2,500 for his career. Verlander is the 33rd pitcher in MLB history to record 2,500 strikeouts. Only CC Sabathia (2,874) has more for active pitchers.

Up next on the all-time strikeout leaderboard (names in bold = Hall of Famers):

32. Christy Mathewson (2507)
31. A.J. Burnett (2513)
30. Javier Vasquez (2536)
29. Jerry Koosman (2556)
28. Tim Keefe (2564)
27. Bob Feller (2581)
26. Warren Spahn (2583)
25. Tom Glavine (2607)
24. Chuck Finley (2610)

21 of the 31 inactive pitchers with 2500+ Ks are in the Hall of Fame. Those not in the HOF:
Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Mickey Lolich, Mike Mussina, Frank Tanana, David Cone, Chuck Finley, Jerry Koosman, Javier Vasquez, and A.J. Burnett.

Jake Kaplan notes that Verlander joins a list of Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers to strike out 2500 batters within their first 400 starts.

*Evan Gattis provided all the offense after Josh Reddick reached on a Zack Cozart error and Evan Gattis knocked a pitch 389 feet to left field. In the last week Evan Gattis is 6x19 with 3HR, hitting .316/.350/.842.

*The Astros only managed five hits, had three PAs with runners in scoring position, and went 0x3. It's the 10th time the Astros have been held to five or fewer hits, in 45 games. The 2017 Astros which, again, IS BASICALLY THE SAME TEAM, were held to five or fewer hits 16 times over the course of the whole season.

It's the 16th time they've scored two or fewer runs, also in 45 games. That said:

*Runs, through 45 games, 2018: 210 (4.67)
Runs, through, 45 games, 2017: 221 (4.91)

*Tony Kemp went from Fresno to Phoenix to El Paso on Tuesday, only to find out that he got called up, so he made the Wednesday 6:15am flight from El Paso to Anaheim, and immediately got the LF start. Believe it or not, Marisnick still has two options remaining. He reached on an infield single in his 2nd PA of the night but was stranded after Alex Bregman grounded into a double play.

*A.J. Hinch is not going to let the word "Hangover" into his dictionary (unless it's Reddick, of course, then it's used literally). Hinch:
One thing I wasn't going to allow was us to limp into the season, and I mean that mentally and physically. I certainly didn't abuse them (code for: "I abused them") and I didn't play them an extended amount of times early in the spring. But any sort of hangover question or debate on what last season brings into this season we jut dealt with directly and shrugged out shoulders about it and play our whole schedule like we're told to.

*Tyler Bauer pitched for Cleveland yesterday, ensuring that he will not pitch in Houston this weekend. Probably a smart move by Francona. The Astros have today off and then face the AL Central-leading Indians who, at 21-21, are the only AL Central team at .500.

*The Yankees (+525) have overtaken the Astros (+550) as the favorites to win the 2018 World Series.

*In Game 1 of a double-header against Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities pitcher Cristian Javier threw 5IP, 3H/2ER, 10K:2BB. In seven appearances this season, Javier has thrown 29IP, 20H/8ER, 47K:18BB.

*Buies Creek has moved their remaining home game start times up an hour.

*LA Times' Dylan Hernandez: The Dodgers don't have the same blueprint as the Astros.

*Former Astros Great Jason Castro tore his meniscus and is now out for the season. He was hitting .143/.257/.238 and is in the 2nd year of a 3yr/$24.5m deal.

*Gerald Green is a damn national treasure. Or at least a Houston Treasure.

*FanGraphs: Jordan Lyles found something he never had.

*Man. Good for Chad Bettis.

*The World Cup guide given to Argentina's players, coaches, and journalists has a section on how to bang Russian women.

Monday Morning Hot Links

*Kind of slow as players wrap up vacations (or honeymoons) and get ready to report for Spring Training.

How the 40-Man Roster was assembled:

International Signing

Jose Altuve (May 2007)
Reymin Guduan (Sept. 2009)
Yuli Gurriel (July 2016)
Jandel Gustave (May 2010)
Cionel Perez (Sept. 2016)

Draft

Alex Bregman (1st Round, 2015)
Carlos Correa (1st Round, 2012)
J.D. Davis (3rd Round, 2014)
Dean Deetz (11th Round, 2014)
Derek Fisher (1st Round, 2014)
Tony Kemp (5th Round, 2013)
Dallas Keuchel (7th Round, 2009)
Lance McCullers (1st Round, 2012)
A.J. Reed (2nd Round, 2014)
Brady Rodgers (3rd Round, 2012)
George Springer (1st Round, 2011)
Tyler White (33rd Round, 2013)

Trade

Gerrit Cole (Jan. 2018)
Chris Devenski (Aug. 2013)
Evan Gattis (Jan. 2015)
Ken Giles (Dec. 2015)
James Hoyt (Jan. 2015)
Jake Marisnick (July 2014)
Francis Martes (July 2014)
Brian McCann (Nov. 2016)
David Paulino (Sept. 2013)
Brad Peacock (Feb. 2013)
Max Stassi (Feb. 2013)
Justin Verlander (Aug. 2017)

Free Agent

Charlie Morton (Nov. 2016)
Josh Reddick (Nov. 2016)
Hector Rondon (Dec. 2017)
Joe Smith (Dec. 2017)
Tony Sipp (May 2014; Dec. 2015)

Waivers

Will Harris (Nov. 2014)
Collin McHugh (Dec. 2013

Rule 5 Pick

Marwin Gonzalez (Dec. 2011)
Anthony Gose (Dec. 2017)

*FanGraphs' David Laurilia talked to Alex Cora about Jose Altuve's strike zone:
When Jose is really, really, really good - because he's good, always - his strike zone shrinks. He doesn't chase his hits.

*NJ.com beat writers had a little roundtable in which the following line is used:
...And the Astros' lineup, although having no Giancarlo Stantons or Aaron Judges...

*As of right this minute (5:33am) it looks like Jim Thome, Edgar Martinez, Chipper Jones, and Vladimir Guerrero will be your 2018 Hall of Fame induction class. Mike Mussina is at 72.4%.

Monday Morning Hot Links

I hope everyone's done being all Thankful and crap, and has caught a full-blown case of materialism. That's what makes this country work.

Random 2017 Astros fact

Via MLBTR, here are the projected arbitration numbers for the Astros:

-Keuchel: $12.6m
-Springer: $8.9m
-Gattis: $6.6m
-Fiers: $5.7m
-Giles: $5.0m
-McHugh: $4.8m
-Peacock: $2.9m
-McCullers: $2.6m

Fiers looks, to me, like a non-tender candidate. The deadline to offer a contract to arbitration-eligible players is Friday.

*Anthony Castrovince proposes a Joe Musgrove-for-Zach Britton trade with Baltimore. I propose never doing anything with Baltimore other than beating the piss out of them.

*Want some bullpen help? The Rays look like they're going to trade arbitration-eligible closer Alex Colome. Colome broke out in 2016 with a 1.91 ERA (2.92 FIP) and striking out 11.28 batters per nine innings. He came back to earth in 2017 (3.24 ERA / 3.37 FIP, 7.83 K/9) but is projected to make about $6m in arbitration this year.

*Whoa hey the Rangers signed Doug Fister.

*Today is the last day for 25% off the entire store and free shipping at $50 from BreakingT.

*Buster Olney writes that players like Scott Rolen have become collateral damage in the Hall of Fame's election process.

*The University of Tennessee remains a dumpster fire.

*From about a month ago (but I just read it yesterday): How one man's bad math helped ruin decades of English soccer.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*Random 2017 Astros fact:

The 2017 Astros went 50-26 against the AL West, tied with Cleveland for the best record against their own division. The 2013 Astros went 25-51 against the AL West.

*David Schoenfield writes that the 2018 Astros (and Dodgers and Indians) could be better than the 2017 Astros (and Dodgers and Indians).

*Everything about this picture - shirt included - is incredible

Thanks to @lambohouston for the hookup! So in love with her! #Red&Black #WorldSeriesGift #Lambo

A post shared by Josh Reddick (@realjoshreddick) on Nov 24, 2017 at 12:36pm PST

*Don't forget that you can buy good Houston shirts from BreakingT here and, through Monday, it's 25% off and free shipping after $50.

*Former Astros Great J.B. Shuck signed a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training with the Marlins. Look for Shuck to step up in the event the Marlins trade Giancarlo Stanton.

Only real Astros fans remember when the Astros had J.A. Happ, J.B. Shuck, J.C. Chasez, and J.D. Martinez on the field at the same time.

*Since there is almost literally nothing going on with the Astros (THAT WE KNOW ABOUT), here's my Hall of Fame ballot which is totally legit and will absolutely have an impact on some poor soul.

-Barry Bonds
-Roger Clemens
-Vladimir Guerrero
-Trevor Hoffman
-Chipper Jones
-Edgar Martinez
-Mike Mussina
-Jim Thome
-Billy Wagner
-Larry Walker

I kept myself to the terrible 10-player limit, but could easily make a case for Curt Schilling (even though I think he's a reprehensible human being), Manny Ramirez, Jeff Kent, Scott Rolen.

Some thoughts on the Hall of Fame

The Baseball Hall of Fame sent out their ballots this week for the election by the BBWAA. It's a bittersweet time for me, as I was the Manager of Visitor Education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum from May 2006-February 2009. The pay was terrible, rent was expensive, heating oil was ridiculous. We had to keep our thermostat set at 57 to make the oil last as long as possible.  The first winter my wife (who is from Baytown) and I spent in Cooperstown was cute. The second winter was terrible, and by October 2008 we looked at each other and thought, "We gotta get the hell out of here." Wilco's "Hate it Here" was a household anthem in those final months. We made friends that are like family - still are - but I know what it's like to have your windows open when the wind chill is -35 because your furnace blew up. But I loved every minute that I spent at work. The current president of the Hall of Fame - who is a legitimately Good Dude - was my boss('s boss) before he became President. We texted each other after the Astros won the World Series (Name-Drop Alert). So I have some thoughts about the Baseball Hall of Fame. They are, in no related order of importance, as follows:

*The Steroid Era should 100% be acknowledged, simply by inclusion, and absolutely does not need an asterisk. Why? The five highest single-season batting averages in baseball history are as follows:

1. Hugh Duffy - .440 (1894)
2. Tip O'Neill - .435 (1887)
3. Ross Barnes - .429 (1876)
4. Nap Lajoie - .428 (1901)
5. Willie Keeler - .424 (1897)

Twenty-five of the first 26-highest batting averages in a single-season occurred prior to 1920. Those 26 instances were compiled by 20 different players. Fifteen of them are in the Hall of Fame. The highest single-season batting average in baseball history post-Integration is George Brett's 1980 season, when he hit .390. It ranks 48th.

Now, the five highest single-season slugging percentages in baseball history are as follows:

1. Barry Bonds - .836 (2001)
2. Babe Ruth - .847 (1920)
3. Babe Ruth - .846 (1921)
4. Barry Bonds - .812 (2004)
5. Barry Bonds - .799 (2002)

That said, using the George Brett Comparison (which is problematic, admittedly), only 18 of the first 48 highest single-season SLGs came after 1990. There have been 45 separate 50+ home run seasons. Twenty-eight of them were in 1990 or after. Sixteen of the 26 highest single-season home run totals have come since 1990, a ratio that is underwhelming compared to the batting average gambit.

Nine players who have hit 50+ home runs in a season, out of 29, are in the Hall of Fame: Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Hack Wilson, Ralph Kiner, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Johnny Mize, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

Maybe it's worth mentioning that Barry Bonds only hit 50+ home runs in a season once: his 2001 season with 73. Of course he got walked a lot because of his power, but Barry Bonds did not destroy Baseball's Home Run books. McGwire and Sosa hold positions 2-6. Giancarlo Stanton hit 59 home runs this season while David Ortiz's best is 54.

Point being: Whereas the early days of organized major-league baseball highlighted batting average for a period of maybe 40 years, the last 40 years of Major League Baseball have highlighted power. Hitter exploits weaknesses in the opposition and the rules. That much remains the same. So you look at Hugh Duffy's .440 average in 1894 and you're all, "Yeah, but that was 1894. Game was different." Then look at Barry Bonds' 73-HR season in 2001 and you're all, "Yeah, but that was 2001. Game was different." Baseball fans don't need an asterisk.

*Joe Morgan, a Hall of Famer himself, a member of the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors, and the Hall of Fame's Vice-Chairman, sent a Very Earnest Letter to...everyone, I guess, but specifically the voting members of the BBWAA pleading:
We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don't belong here.

People with more scientific knowledge than I can argue that the rampant use of amphetamines in the latter half of 20th century baseball, or the hypocrisy of Joe Morgan decrying this most recent era in baseball history.

*"Here" is a very small, idyllic, pastoral town that is the home of James Fenimore Cooper in upstate New York. While short-lived, our (The Wife and I) time in Cooperstown is a massive part of my life. It is the home of the best artifacts in baseball's history, and has plaques with biographies of the players that 75% of baseball writers could agree were the best in the game's history. That said, aside from trade shows and what I would assume can only be described as drinking sessions between buddies who were also really good at a game, the only time Hall of Famers get together is during Induction Weekend. So Joe Morgan really only has to be associated with other Hall of Famers on three nights out of the year. My wife and I lived about a block and a half from the Otesaga, the hotel in which the Hall of Famers are comped their rooms and whatever they consume during the last weekend in July. It is a massive hotel. Don't want a drink with Barry Bonds? Go to your suite, and invite your old buddies. Do some greenies and reminisce.

Joe Morgan, acting as an influential member of the HOF's Board of Directors, over-stepped his bounds. But think about it like this: How many extremely successful people do you know who actively give you an in, or a tip, or a secret, that can put you on their level? Rich dudes don't want more rich dudes. Joe Morgan, and most members of Baseball's Most-Elite Club aren't interested in swelling the ranks of their Elite Club. Morgan apparently doesn't see a correlation between being able to perform at a high level day-after-day in the 1950s-1980s and being able to perform at a high level day-after-day in the 1990s-2000s (2010s?). It's grandstanding on Morgan's part.

*I do not understand why, if the BBWAA voted to make all ballots public after the election announcement, the HOF (including the Board of Directors) said no. Writers can release their own ballots as they wish, but the HOF will not make all ballots public. 90% of the voting members voted to make their ballots public. My guess is that it was a very loud 10% who objected. The Hall of Fame has said "We don't elect, we induct." The voting members are looking for guidance, and the Hall is perfectly willing to not provide it. Is that deflection? The HOF has been very clear that any controversy regarding results in the voting is a voter issue, not a Museum Issue. That's disappointing. Bloggers don't monitor the accession/deaccession records of MFA Houston and question the logic.

*The Hall of Fame, as an institution, has a tremendous opportunity - perhaps a mandate - to take control of the narrative and set some guidelines for voting. Provide clarification for which the members are asking. But rather than be the Principal and gain control of the 500+ member schoolyard fight, they're just willing to let whomever wins reign as the champ. And that's disappointing.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*Josh Reddick did a good thing to overcome a sluggish return from two months off from Dallas Keuchel, Brad Peacock pitched well in what was essentially a 4th-inning start, and the Astros beat the Tigers 6-5. The Astros are 68-34. Seattle lost so the Astros are 18 games up. There are 60 games remaining.

*The Astros have come from behind to win 29 times this season.

*Reddick hit a three-run homer in the 8th inning to put the Astros up 6-5. It was his 10th home run of the season, making him the 11th Astro with 10+ home runs, tying the 2015 team. Reddick had 5RBI on the night, a season-high, and his first 5RBI game since September 24, 2016. Hinch:
He had the two sac flies and I told him, 'Go get another RBI,' and he said, 'How about three?'

Reddick also said that the Astros weren't real impressed with Nick Castellanos' reaction to his own 3-run home run off Keuchel earlier:
You're pumped up, your teammates are pumped up. The way [Castellanos'] three-run homer was kind of pimped...wasn't really sitting with us too well. I felt like we had all the right to do it right back.

Here's the video of Castellanos' homer. See for yourself if he pimped it.

*Reddick thinks maybe his concussion on June 12 "knocked something right."

*Dallas Keuchel threw 79 pitches in 3IP, allowing 6H/3ER, 3K:3BB. Keuchel:
I felt really good, so that's a positive. But just gotta commend them for laying off some pitches early. That was probably their game plan all along. 

*Brad Peacock threw 4IP, 3H/2ER, 4K:1BB. He gave up just his 2nd home run of the season in 75.2IP. 129 pitchers in MLB have thrown at least 70IP and Brad Peacock's 0.24 HR/9 rate is the best among those pitchers.

*Jose Altuve hit a 1st inning triple and ended up with yet another 3-hit game to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. He now has more 3+ hit games (19) than he does games without a hit (18).

*1-3 in the lineup (Fisher, Altuve, Reddick): 6x10. 7-9 in the lineup (McCann, Bregman, Aoki): 0x11.

*The Astros only struck out three times in the game, the 8th time this season they've had three or fewer strikeouts. They're 8-0 in those games.

*George Springer was placed on the 10-Day DL with Quad Discomfort after catching it in the ground in Philadelphia. Springer:
If I can't play at 100 percent, I'm only going to hurt the team...At this point in the year, it's a lot smarter to miss six games, instead of six weeks.

*Michael Feliz was sent to Corpus, not Fresno, mainly because of the distance from Houston. Hinch:
We're going to send him to AA and let him exhale. It's an easy transaction for to try to get him a little bit of work. He's very much a part of what we're doing and we expect him back.

*The Dodgers consider Yu Darvish but won't trade any of their "top prospects" for him, and consider Sonny Gray their backup plan.

*For whatever reason the Orioles traded for the Phillies' Jeremy Hellickson, but are still open to trading Zach Britton for rotation help.

*Jon Heyman thinks the Astros will bolster their pitching staff in some way. Maybe Brad Hand?

*The new CBA is trying to limit teams from spending too much with new draft pick penalties.

*Bagwell's army arrived in Cooperstown.

*So many Astros fans flew into Albany, NY that it made the paper.

*Bagwell, Yastrzemski, and a HOF connection.

*Do you remember reading "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark?" I do. It scared the hell out of me as a kid. Now they've re-released it with the original drawings restored.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Don't fret. There are only five more off-days left in the regular season.

*Today is the official start of Hall of Fame Weekend *stops to weep* and it's also Dallas Keuchel Day, so let's have a good set of links brought to you by Waking Up Randomly at 3:45 In Order To Have a Panic Attack!

*The Angels and A's were the only AL West teams playing last night. They both lost. Updated standings:

Houston: -

Seattle: -17

West Tyler: -18

Anaheim: -19

Oakland: -23.5

*Off-Day Playoff Odds Check:

FanGraphs (102-60): 100% to win division, 17.5% to win the World Series

FiveThirtyEight (105-57): >99% to win division, 24% to win the World Series

Baseball Prospectus (102-60): 100% to win division, 18% to win the World Series

*Sportswriters in markets where the local team is struggling must love it when the Astros come to town, because it gives them the ready-made "The Astros show (Team) how to rebuild" columns. Good Writer Matt Gelb discusses the lessons the Astros have provided for the Phillies.

*Keuchel, McHugh, McCullers is the rotation for this weekend's series against the Tigers, but beyond that...it's a little unclear. We do know that Brad Peacock will be available out of the bullpen this weekend. Two moves will have to be made today as Keuchel and Will Harris will be activated. Probably Derek Fisher (with Springer expected to return) and Michael Feliz will enjoy that Fresno life. UPDATE: Maybe Michael Feliz will head to Corpus?

*Jerry Crasnick reports that - as of right now, 80-ish hours before the Trade Deadline - Luhnow isn't real keen on trading any top prospects.

*The Astros, Brewers, and Red Sox are the front-runners for lefty reliever Justin Wilson...whose Tigers play the Astros starting tonight. The Detroit Free Press' Anthony Fenech says the Tigers' asking price is, ahem, high:

According to multiple persons with knowledge of the Tigers' talks, they are asking for a high return for Wilson, more in line with the return Aroldis Chapman got for the Yankees last summer (four prospects, including high-rated shortstop Gleyber Torres...

So what's the deal with Justin Wilson? He's versatile (something the Astros obviously like) and has as much success against righties as he does lefties:

Wilson, vs RHB, 2017: .125/.229/.302, 36K:13BB in 109 PAs (.143 BABIP)

Wilson, vs LHP, 2017: .220/.267/.366, 19K:3BB in 45 PAs (.364 BABIP)

And he's under team control through 2018. Wilson isn't the multi-inning weapon the Astros have in Devenski (and now Peacock), having been called on to get 4+ outs three times this season. But he has made 41 appearances in 2017 and has thrown a clean outing in 19 of them. He's only inherited 12 runners all season, but only one of them has scored.

*Jake Kaplan makes the case for Wilson.

*Facebook's Ken Rosenthal writes that the Astros are "lined up to do a lot of things" over the next few days and the addition of a starter and a top reliever like Wilson or Britton isn't out of the question.

*Twins beat writer Mike Berardino says the Astros are interested in Ervin Santana, but are concerned with his recent dip in velocity.

*The Rangers are ramping up their bidding war for Yu Darvish. If the Dodgers are willing to give up top prospect Alex Verdugo, Yu Darvish will likely be a Dodger.

*The A's want either Clint Frazier or Gleyber Torres in a deal for Sonny Gray while the Astros are seen as "potentially serious players" for Gray.

*Hall of Famer Joe Morgan says Jose Altuve is the "best all-around player in the game:"

You know what they used to say about me? 'He's a good little player.' But then they look at Trout and say, 'That's what a great player is supposed to look like.' And trust me, this is nothing against Mike Trout. I love watching him play baseball, too. But right now, I honestly believe [Altuve] is the best all-around player. I don't know what box you don't check with him.

A big difference from 2016 to 2017 is how Altuve has hit LHPs. In 2016 he had a very respectable .885 OPS against LHPs (.306/.391/.494) with 26K:19BB in 186 PAs. This season he's hitting .363/.431/.593 with 11K:11BB in 103 PAs against lefties, and has already equalled his HR total (5) from last season. 

*Tommy Stokke: Tony Kemp's swing adjustments are paying off.

*Here's a great story from Jake Kaplan on the scout that saw Jeff Bagwell.

*Larry Andersen is very happy for Jeff Bagwell:

I would love to tell him congratulations and thanks for keeping me relevant.

*Brian T. Smith writes that it will be a while before the Astros get their next HOFer. He's probably right. Clemens doesn't really count as an Astro, though those seasons were a lot of fun. Lance Berkman has a lifetime .943 OPS with 1905 hits and 366 HR, but those aren't exactly HOF-worthy. None of the top ten on his Similarity Score are HOFers (closest batter: The Bastard Jim Edmonds). Jay Jaffe's JAWS rating has him short of the average Hall of Fame LF (51.7 WAR for Berkman, 65.2 WAR for Average HOF LF), though that 51.7 is higher than HOFers Joe Kelley, Jim Rice, Lou Brock, Heinie Manush, and Chick Hafey.

*The legacy of Tim Raines, Old-School Nintendo, and RBI Baseball.

*FiveThirtyEight's Neil Paine: The best one-and-done HOF candidates.

Friday Morning Hot Links

*Cockroach wrote about Bob Aspromonte.

*MLB.com's Mike Petriello projects the Astros to have the deepest lineup in baseball:
'How does one define deepest?' you might ask, and you'd be correct to do so. 'Deepest' doesn't necessarily mean 'best,' and deepest doesn't guarantee the Astros will score the most runs this year. But what 'deepest' does mean is that there's real reason to believe that Houston will have the most above-average hitters of any lineup, and there's real value to that. 

*David Nuno sat down with Jeff Luhnow and did not talk about how their last names rhymed.

*A.J. Hinch got a tour of the Astros new Spring Training site and is ready to run through a brick wall.

*That Spring Training site could end up costing $153 million.

*Three games into his Winter Ball season, Max Stassi got a concussion.

*The AL West is the most unpredictable division in baseball.

*Carlos Correa's little brother Jean Carlos will play at Alvin Community College this year.

*Check out this 1989 scouting report of Jeff Bagwell.

*Ken Rosenthal: Why this year's trade deadline will be insane.

*The HOF is okay with current election rules and isn't planning on changing the rules based on Steroid Era players.

*The new BP Annual will be released February 10, with Old Friend Zachary Levine writing the Astros' essay.

Thursday Morning Hot Links: Hall of Fame Edition

He made it! July 30, 2017 will see the indications of Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Pudge Rodriguez into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

*ESPN: What made Bagwell a Hall of Famer?

*Bagwell and Biggio made a conscious decision to play their entire careers in Houston.

*"It's just kind of surreal right now." - Bagwell.

Fun note from the above link: Bagwell and Biggio are the 4th pair of teammates in Cooperstown to each play together for at least 15 years, joining Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski (Pittsburgh), Carl Hubbell and Mel Ott (Giants), Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle (Yankees).

*Alyson Footer, on Bagwell with reactions from Berkman, Moises Alou, Ausmus, and Adam Everett.

*Richard Justice: Bagwell's humility matched his competitive fire, with a fun story from Berkman about Bagwell/Biggio's Good Cop/Bad Cop mentality.

*Jerry Crasnick: With election, deep wounds are closing for Bagwell

*Jeff Bagwell: Slugger/Style Icon

*The Ringer: Where were you when Bagwell, Pudge, and Raines made their MLB debuts?

*Hardball Times: HOF plaques reflect that day's style

*McTaggart: Clemens needs a bigger push

*Jeff Passan: How the internet helped get Tim Raines elected

*Rosenthal: The PED wall is crumbling

*Jesse Spector: HOF voting will only get more contentious

*Curt Schilling got in a Twitter fight with a fake Sydney Ponson.

Jeff Bagwell will have to get used to signing balls as a Hall of Famer now. Photo courtesy of his reps at @TRISTAR1. pic.twitter.com/5RO6TAlaxP

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) January 19, 2017

Hall of Fame Day Hot Links

IT'S HALL OF FAME DAY. Today at 5pm Central, Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson will announce the results on MLB Network.

*With almost 55% of the BBWAA's ballots known, Bagwell is sitting at 88.7%.

*Nathaniel Rakich's projections have Bagwell finishing at 84.6%, joining Tim Raines and Trevor Hoffman in the Class of 2017.

*Jeff Bagwell has waited seven long years for this day (and hopefully no more).

*Bagwell says he won't relax until he gets that heads-up phone call:
I'm not a slam dunk like [Griffey] was. You never know what can happen. Unfortunately, I had to watch Craig not get in for a couple of years, and I was shocked by that. You just never know in that situation what people are going to vote for. 

*Bob Nightengale reports that the Astros have maintained interest in Jose Quintana, Chris Archer AND Sonny Gray. Peter Gammons immediately took a New England Dump on the Gray-to-Houston rumor.

*Jose Altuve, Yulieski Gurriel, and A.J. Reed played games with kids at the Shriners Hospital in Galveston yesterday.

*Jose Altuve wrote a letter to himself yesterday. I ran through a brick wall.

*Former Astros prospect Danry Vasquez did not appear in court yesterday stemming from his domestic violence episode this summer because his visa expired.

*The Crawfish Boxes jumped on this, and we're a few days late, but Tri-City pitcher Makay Nelson (20th Round pick, 2015) was suspended 50 games for an amphetamine.

*The Fresno Grizzlies have claimed the taco emoji.

*Michael Kopech, acquired by the White Sox in the Chris Sale trade, apparently hit 110mph on the radar gun.

*Edinson Volquez, whose father passed away hours before he pitched in Game 1 of the World Series, is mourning the death of his brother, who was stabbed in the Dominican Republic.