Sunday Morning Hot Links

The Astros...I just don't know anymore. Lance McCullers threw a magnificent outing for seemingly no real reason and the Astros rewarded him with exactly what they had done for the past few starts: 0 runs scored. The Gun Barrel City Rangers win 6-1. Houston is 29-30. If they do not win today, they will be the first team to make the playoffs with a record below .500. Making history is what it's all about. Sub-.500 flags fly forever. Morons. 

*McCullers: 4IP, 2H/0ER, 9K:2BB.

His last three starts: 17.2IP, 7H/0ER, 24K:4BB. 

And the Astros' "offense" scored zero runs in those 17.2IP. McCullers:

[You] can't take away games or innings, but you want to look at the large sample size. Subtract a 30-minute hump in early August, I'm rocking a sub-3.00 [ERA] in my last seven or eight starts, I think [it] indicates the pitcher I am. I'm really proud of myself this season.

The lineup did not feature Springer, Brantley, or Correa. 

*It was a little bit of a head-scratcher as to why Lance McCullers pitched last night, but it does set up Greinke in Game 1, Urquidy in Game 2, and McCullers for a potential Game 3 (or Game 1 of the 2nd Round - I don't know how many rounds of playoffs there are yet - in an ideal situation.) Today will apparently be a bullpen game. Framber will likely be deployed out of the bullpen, since he has experience doing that sort of thing.

*Brandon Bielak: 2IP, 5H/4ER, 3K:1BB.

*Rangers SP Kyle Gibson vs. Houston, 2020: 15IP, 10H/0ER, 13K:4BB. 0.00 ERA / 0.93 WHIP

SP Kyle Gibson vs Everybody Else, 2020: 52.1IP, 63H/40ER, 45K:26BB. 6.88 ERA / 1.70 WHIP

I hate Kyle Gibson.

*Chandler Rome: The lack of power and clutch hits have defined the Houston Astros. Hitting coach Troy Snitker, on the lack of in-game video:

That was one of the biggest strengths I felt we had as an offense. We had a bunch of guys who were willing to make adjustments in the game, they wanted to be coached in the game. They didn't want to go 0-for-4 or 0-for-3 before they changed something.

*Last night in playoff seedings!

The Mariners won both ends of a double-header. The Twins beat the Reds, the White Sox beat the Cubs, the Pirates beat the Cleveland Spiders. 

2. Minnesota: x

3. Oakland: -1

4. Chicago: -1

If all of these results hold, it would appear that the Astros would play Oakland in a three-game series. Nothing bad has ever happened when playing an important series in Oakland. 

*Thoughts and prayers with Gary Pettis, who has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and will miss the rest of the season. Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer that develops in the plasma cell. Pettis is expected to make a full recovery. 

*Carlos Correa is happy with his defensive effort in 2020.

Going into last night's game, Correa was hitting .256/.320/.362 with 13 extra-base hits out of 51 total hits (25.5%) in 2020. For example, Adam Everett hit .248/.299/.357 for the Astros in his career with an XBH% of 28.4%.

Correa, 2015-2017: 1573 PAs, .288/.366/.498, 83 2B / 66 HR, 137 OPS+

Correa, 2018-2020: 1008 PAs, .255/.333/.447, 45 2B / 40 HR, 109 OPS+

*With Ryan Pressly's blown save appearance on Friday night, it gave him the requisite number of appearances for his $10m 2021 contract to vest.

*Former Astros Great Hunter Pence retired from baseball. The former 2nd Round pick by the Astros in 2004 went on to finish 3rd in the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year vote (behind Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki), and had two All-Star appearances for the Astros before getting traded to Philadelphia. This is fun:

Pence was traded for Jarred Cosart. Cosart was traded - in part - for Jake Marisnick (who was traded for Blake Taylor and Kenedy Corona), Frances Martes, Colin Moran (who was traded, in part, for Gerrit Cole), and a 2015 Draft compensation pick that turned out to be Daz Cameron (who was traded, in part, for Justin Verlander).

Pence was traded for Jon Singleton, who did nothing much except hit no fewer than 14 of the most magnificent home runs you've ever seen.

Pence was traded for Josh Zeid, who was released after the 2014 season. 

Pence was traded for Domingo Santana, who in turn was traded to Milwaukee for Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez. Gomez was released in August 2016. Fiers won a World Series with the Astros before getting signing as a free agent with Detroit and then burning down the Astros. 

Good trade all around!

*Jake Kaplan notes that with one additional walk, or one fewer PA, in 2018 or 2019, Kyle Tucker would have qualified for the Rookie of the Year race in 2020. How would he fare in voting?

*Brain-eating amoeba may be in Houston-area tap water, just in case you haven't 2020'd hard enough yet.

*I've been a vegetarian since the middle of May (a mixture of personal health, environmental, and moral concerns). So I love seeing that major restaurants are offering vegetarian options! Oh, wait. 

*Wired: The cheating scandal that ripped the poker world apart. Freakin Luhnow at it again...

*Leeds United plays Sheffield United at 6am today. GET UP.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

 Jeff Blogwell missed yesterday. He has been terminated. Permanently. From his existence. There's a doubleheader today thanks to the impending Gulf Coast Shenanigans, so get ready for 14 innings of pure unadulterated joy.

Updated schedule for the next three days:

Tuesday: 3:05pm 1st pitch, 2nd game begins immediately after.

Wednesday: 12:10pm

Thursday: No game because it got moved to Tuesday.

Last night the Astros beat the predictable piss out of the Angels, 11-4. Houston is 16-13 on the year, 11-4 at Minute Maid Park. 

*Framber Valdez: 7IP, 6H/4ER, 11K:2BB. 75 of his 113 pitches were for strikes - the 11Ks are a career-high. Correa:

Framber was doing a great job, so to be able to give him a comfortable lead that was huge for him to go out and just throw strikes and keep dominating.

Framber has walked two or fewer batters in five of his six starts in 2020 (83%). Compare that to 2019, when he walked 0-2 batters in three of his eight starts (37.5%). And 2018 when he walked two or fewer batters in one of his eight appearances (12.5%). All 11 of his strikeouts were on his curveball. Dusty:

His curveball has always been good. What his curveball does is it kind of peels the banana, which is a baseball term where he's sinking away his fastball and then his curveball he either back doors it or peels the banana on the inside part of the plate. 

I've never heard that term. 

*Add further injury concerns to George Springer, who got hit just above the left elbow by Jacob Barnes. X-rays were negative. He's probably not playing in either game today.

*Kyle Tucker got his 3rd straight game in the clean-up spot, and rewarded Dusty with a 2x3, 2BB, 2RBI game. Up until going to Colorado on August 19, Tucker was hitting .193/.227/.349. Since, he's 10x20 with 3HR, 11RBI, 2K:5BB, or hitting .500/.600/1.300. 

*Brantley/Reddick/Maldonado (in the 6-8 spots) combined for a 6x10, 3RBI, 0K:3BB. It was just the third time in Maldonado's career that he got two hits and two walks in the same game.

*Albert Pujols moved into 2nd or 3rd (there are some Babe Ruth Questions) on the all-time RBI list, with 2,087. 172 of those have come against the Astros - his highest against any one opponent, and it feels low by about 1,000 RBI.

*Jake Kaplan says improving the bullpen should be the Astros' top priority in the next week. Buster Olney heard that the trade market got real active yesterday.

*Justin Verlander allegedly threw 20 pitches on Sunday, and Dusty heard "he felt pretty good."

*ESPN's David Schoenfield: Everything you need to know at the halfway point of the MLB season.

*SI: How MLB should build its postseason bubble.

*Inside the A's first-half dominance, and how they plan to make it last all year.

*Former Astros Great Hunter Pence was DFAd by the Giants. Pence, by team:

Houston: .290/.339/.479, 117 OPS+

Philadelphia: .289/.357/.486, 126 OPS+

San Francisco: .265/.322/.429, 107 OPS+

Ar*ing*on: .297/.358/.522, 126 OPS+

If this is the end of the road for Hunter Pence, he'll retire with 1791 hits, 244 homers, 942 RsBI. Not a Hall of Famer, but a genuine joy to watch. 

*Make sure you have Space City Weather bookmarked.

*For last week's 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, I wrote about a 24-year old dude, which is a total Bro Move. But there's a little bit of baseball in there. 

*Wired: How four brothers allegedly fleeced $19 million from Amazon.

*The New Yorker: The "Narcissism and Ego" that led to Steve Bannon's arrest.

*Hard one yesterday as I learned about the death of Justin Townes Earle by 5:30am. We shared a tattoo artist in Nashville who told me some stories, so his passing, while not a surprise, is still heartbreaking. So here's Pitchfork: Justin Townes Earle could write a helluva song. Here's where to start.

*A Musical Selection. RIP, Justin Townes Earle:

Friday Morning Hot Links

The Astros


*MLB Network released some excerpts from the first interview with A.J. Hinch since his, ahem, headline-grabbing offseason.

For the first time, A.J. Hinch talks about the Astros investigation.

See Tom Verducci’s full sitdown with the former manager, Friday at 6pm ET on MLB Tonight. pic.twitter.com/EBIRDmHGFJ

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 6, 2020

The full interview will air Friday at 5pm on MLB Network.

On whether or not the 2017 World Series title is tainted, Hinch:
I hope over time it's proven that it wasn't. But I understand the question. It's a fair question and people are going to have to draw their own conclusions (Ed. Note: Oh, they have). Unfortunately, we opened that door as a group. That question may never be answered....I can't pinpoint any advantages or what happened or what exactly would have happened otherwise. But we did it to ourselves. 

There are a couple of ways you can interpret this sit-down with Tom Verducci:
a) He's just biding his time until the next managerial opening and is doing the PR round.
b) Hinch is legitimately sorry that he didn't try harder to stop The Coward Alex Cora and any other Astro player (Beltran, maybe, McCann, maybe) and he's getting in front of the camera to confess.

Both can be true at the same time.

*Brian McTaggart writes that all eyes, and ears, will be on the Astros' Spring Training. Stoner hero Mike Clevinger has already said this:
I'm all about policing the game in its own right, keeping everyone safe. But I don't know, I think players will deal with it the way it should be across the league. I don't think it's going to be a comfortable few ABs for a lot of those boys, and it shouldn't be. They shouldn't be comfortable.

If anyone knows anything about being uncomfortable after cheating (on his wife, a month after she gave birth to their daughter), it's Sunshine.

*Chandler Rome has five questions for the Astros as Spring Training starts next week. Those five questions detail SP5, Kyle Tucker vs Josh Reddick, which reliever will get lefty-hitters out, Lance McCullers' innings, and the possibility of a sophomore slump from Yordan.

*Richard Justice writes that the Astros-Dusty partnership can be mutually beneficial. Justice:
Baker cannot make the sign-stealing scandal go away, but his presence - and essential decency - will be a big step in the right direction. He understands that all the Astros can do this spring is own up to the past, apologize for it and then attempt to win a fourth straight American League West title.

*Jake Kaplan says the relationship between Dusty Baker and James Click is more "a marriage." Baker:
You start with trust and you start with honesty. You be as straightforward as you can on all situations. You don't sugarcoat anything. If he asks you a question you answer to the best of your knowledge and ability. There are some things that I can learn from him. There are some things that possibly he can learn from me.

*Missed this from the other day, but the Astros have apparently for some reason made an offer to Former Astros Great Hunter Pence. Makes sense, what with the thinned outfield depth of Springer, Brantley, Tucker, Reddick, Straw...

*Jordan Brewer (3rd Round - 2019) is the organization's fastest prospect. Brewer was limited to 16 games in 2019 for Tri-City after injuring his toe.

*The Astros have apparently come to a $4m agreement for July 2 with 21-year old Cuban outfielder Pedro Leon (Pedro The Lion!). Hey, there's the Astros' 1st Round draft pick in 2020!

*Nice hat that Verlander wore to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am (in which Jim Crane is also playing):

Good luck to Jim Crane and @JustinVerlander in the @attproam this week! pic.twitter.com/t4W9NSQvHo

— Houston Open (@HouOpenGolf) February 6, 2020

*Check out Joe Posnanski's profile in his essential Top 100 on his #50 - Nolan Ryan.

*Hank Aaron thinks everyone involved in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal should be banned from baseball for life.

*Sam Miller: They secretly replaced Yankee Stadium...and other lies that can be proven using real stats.

*Rob Manfred said he wants to complete the Red Sox investigation before Spring Training camps open, with the same offer of immunity for players who talk that the Astros got.

*BBC: How Kirk Douglas helped end the Hollywood blacklist.

*Bloomberg: The time I sabotaged my editor with Ransomware from the dark web.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to one of the finest men to ever play the game of baseball not only as a player, but more importantly as a person. Rest in peace, Frank Robinson.

The boss man wrote an actual, non-Hot Link article here yesterday about Jose Altuve and how he stacks up with baseball's hitters. You can find that here.

It's Tags Time over at Astros dot com as the new mailbag is out and available to read.

The 2019 promotions have no rings, but we got Hugs for Homers and Reggie Fils-Aime Bobbleheads for 2019

Seriously, what's going on here? (shoutout to @1STROS on Twitter for pointing this out to me, and shoutout to me for google searching Reggie Fils-Aime and saving a picture of him onto my laptop computer and placing them side by side next to each other.)

ANYWAYS, more promotions for the 2019 season can be found here.

The PECOTA projections for 2019 have been uploaded yesterday, and the Astros are projected to finish with the best record in the regular season with 99 wins.

Chandler Rome writes a long article about Corbin Martin and Forrest Whitley throwing a ball 110 mph. I know it doesn't sound interesting, but it is. He's good at his job.

You can now watch Astros games without cable.

Luhnow says the Astros still might have another addition left in them before Spring Training.

Taking guesses on how the Astros outfield will look on opening day.

A quality opinion piece on arguing for new Astros uniforms to be spacesuits.

Former Astro and current traitor Hunter Pence signed with the Rangers yesterday.

Folks, another hi-res image of the world's most fascinating creature has hit the Internet.

Crows can think up to three steps ahead to secure food out in the wild and is very likely they could beat me in chess, checkers, stratego, othello, catan, ticket to ride, connect four, and maybe even scrabble but that one is just because I'm pretty bad at scrabble and I wouldn't put it past the bird to at least make it close.

Something I already know you guys aren't going to like but is exciting news for me, the 20 year old kid who watches professional League of Legends for 10 hours every weekend while I wait for baseball to come back, Germany is recognizing eSports as an official sport in Germany today.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

#TeamSeth.

*When the 19 non-roster invitees to Spring Training camp were announced, and Forrest Whitley wasn't one of them, it raised some eyebrows..Now the Astros have provided some rationale for not inviting their top pitching prospect to Major League camp. Luhnow:
He's going to get some exposure in camp, but the reality is there's a good possibility Forrest Whitley will continue to progress and be an option for us late in the summer, and anytime you can conserve some innings in February and March [that] you can deposit into September and October, that's a good thing. 

20-year old Forrest Whitley threw 18.1IP in 2016 and 92.1IP in 2017. So...hell, Luhnow won a World Series, and I didn't. So whatever. For Luhnow's part, he did say he could throw an inning or two with the big-league club. But Whitley is also 20 and might get hype throwing against big-league hitters with Justin Verlander watching from the dugout, trying to throw a 128-mph fastball and blowing out his elbow. These are the things we think about, now.

*Ken Giles' arbitration case is today. He wants $4.6m, the Astros want to give him $4.2m. Going to a panel to argue why Giles is overrated by $400,000 seems totally worthwhile.

*Wanna see Lance McCullers throw a bullpen?

*The Astros have sold 19,000 season tickets for 2018 - the highest in 12 years.

*FanRag says the Astros have somewhere between the sixth-best and 30th-best outfield in baseball.

Astros fans, your old pal @hunterpence is opening a games cafe in Houston. Coral Sword - 1318 Telephone Rd. - opens Friday. Board games, coffee, craft beer, good food, WiFi. Open 7 am to midnight. pic.twitter.com/xbKdoMfsX5

— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) February 1, 2018

*Anaheim's going to a six-man rotation.

*Hardball Times: Who is Jackie Robinson's best on-field comparison?

*RIP Oscar Gamble. The story behind the best baseball card ever.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

And so, without George Springer, Carlos Correa, or Jose Altuve in the lineup, the Astros put up 16 on Toronto. Because of course. The Astros are 70-39. Seattle won again, so the lead is still 15 games. There are 53 games remaining.

*The Astros are 3-2 against the Blue Jays this season, but have outscored them 53-24 in those five games. Houston has scored 12+ runs in a game eleven times this season - three of them have come against the Blue Jays.

*Having scored seven runs in their previous three games, Houston scored nine runs in the 4th inning, the 3rd time this season they've had a 9+ run inning. They've had 21 innings of scoring 5+ runs or more. A season-high 15 batters came to the plate in the 4th. Their 6th 18+ hit game of the season is a franchise record.

*The Astros are the only AL team that has yet to endure at least a four-game losing streak.

*Home runs, last night:
-Yuli Gurriel (14)
-Alex Bregman (13)
-Marwin (20)
-Tyler White
-Tyler White

White was 4x5 with two home runs and 5RBI. White:
Everyone was swinging the bat. We were all seeing good pitches to hit and putting good swings on them. That's all you can do. We caught a few barrels and hit a few holes. 

Bregman:
Everybody is fired up. We've done that a couple times this year. It's just a blast. Everyone is trying to put together quality at-bats and pass the torch to the next guy.

*McTaggart notes that Yulieski Gurriel tied Hunter Pence's franchise record of 30 doubles by a rookie.

*The Astros got ten 2-out RBIs, giving them 252 2-out RBIs on the season. The Astros have scored 265 runs with two outs this season.

2-out runs, American League:

Houston: 265
Arlington: 209
Baltimore: 202
Boston: 197
Tampa Bay: 197
Detroit: 194
Yankees: 193
Cleveland: 193
Minnesota: 183
Toronto: 181
White Sox: 178
Seattle: 178
Kansas City: 170
Anaheim: 166
Oakland: 155

So yeah, the Astros have scored 56 more runs - with two outs - than the next-highest run total in the American League.

*Brad Peacock took it on the chin, allowing 9H/7ER, 6K:2BB. Some numbers:
-Peacock had allowed two home runs all season long, and allowed three last night.
-Peacock had allowed 7ER in 26IP across five appearances in July, and allowed 7ER last night.
-He became the 3rd SP in franchise history to allow 7ER and record a win (Greg Swindell - 1993; J.R. Richard - 1975)

*Joe Musgrove's last five appearances: 9IP, 6H/1ER, 10K:1BB.

*James Hoyt threw a perfect inning in the 9th.

*Former Astros Great Nori Aoki got a standing ovation last night.

*The Astros called up J.D. Davis from Fresno, replacing A.J. Reed (who went 0x6 in his short stint with the Astros). In 16 games with Fresno, Davis hit .295/.370/.623 with 5HR.

*Correa will swing a bat next week, putting him a week ahead of his recovery timeline. Correa:
Everything the doctor told me, he's really impressed with the way I've been progressing and I'm way ahead of schedule. I'm going to swing the bat a week and a half earlier than I was supposed to. I'm very happy about that. 

*Evan Gattis took the back end of Corey Dickerson's Thursday night swing to the back of the head, and says he has a concussion.

*FanGraphs: Jose Altuve's historic July and his MVP momentum.

*Jayson Stark says making a trade is harder than you think and that the Astros will have to "mash and bash" their way through the postseason, which he predicts will feature Washington vs. Houston.

*If the Astros want to make that big pitching acquisition, Justin Verlander reportedly cleared waivers and the Tigers can now trade him to any team.

*Peter Gammons wonders if the 2017 Dodgers are the 1998 Astros. And on the Trade Deadline That Wasn't, he mentions "Orioles people" who said that the Astros' offer for Zach Britton was "insulting." Gammons has a warning for the Astros:
The windows don't stay open as long as your laptops tell you

*1st Round pick J.B. Bukauskas made his pro debut, throwing 4IP, 3H/0ER, 3K:1BB in an 11-1 win over the GCL Nationals.

*Corpus' Franklin Perez retired 12 of the last 15 batters he faced, throwing 5IP, 7H/2R (1ER), 3K:0BB in a 3-2 win over Frisco. Riley Ferrell got his first save at Double-A, striking out three in 1.1IP.

*Here's a solid Hunter Atkins piece on the woman who sleeps across from Minute Maid Park.

I'm slowly coming to the conclusion Tyler White is the GOAT solely on this. pic.twitter.com/FNZPoJ3zc7

— White & Aoki GOATs (@Transniqqa) August 4, 2017

Singleton out, Sunday Links

Good morning, reader. I was at a conference for the last three days with a broken phone and spotty wifi which, as I slowly found out, was the worst possible three days to be without a phone or solid wifi. Thanks to the Masked Marvel from coming out of semi-retirement to write up the McCann/Reddick deals.

*Later today we'll take a look at the pitchers the Astros gave up for Brian McCann.

*The Astros placed Jon Singleton on outright waivers, clearing some room on the 40-Man Roster. If you remember Singleton signed that 5yr/$10m contract before he made it to the Majors in a process that Luhnow was hoping would mean the Astros got a middle-of-the-order slugger at $2m/year. It was low-risk/high-reward. The Astros still owe Singleton $4m over the next two seasons with a $500,000 buyout in 2019.

Singleton's career in Houston obviously did not pan out how either intended. Though he hit a homer in his first MLB game, Singleton finished his rookie season with a .168/.285/.335 slash line. He struck out 134 times in 362 PAs. That was essentially his shot. Singleton only played 19 games in Houston 2015 (.191/.328/.298) and did not see any action in 2016 despite the Astros' notable struggles at 1B, even in September.

And so the Hunter Pence trade era comes to an end. Jarred Cosart was traded to Miami in 2014 in the Marisnick/Moran deal after going 10-8 in parts of two seasons with the Astros. Cosart is now in the Padres' organization. Domingo Santana was traded to Milwaukee in the Gomez/Fiers deal and is coming off a .256/.345/.447 season for the Brewers in 77 games. Josh Zeid was placed on waivers in November 2014 and has spent time in the Angels and Mets organizations. And that's that. Maybe prospects aren't the greatest thing in the world.

*Brian McCann's favorite memory came against the Astros when he hit a homer off Roger Clemens in Game 2 of the 2005 NLDS in his first career postseason AB. John Smoltz says McCann will bring that Leadership intangible to the Astros. Smoltz:
I just think he's going to be relieved to know that he's going to be the guy and it's going to be a team that he can have his fingerprints on a little more. 

*Ken Rosenthal writes that the Astros' acquisitions of Brian McCann and Josh Reddick does not necessarily mean that they're out on the pursuit of Carlos Beltran, or perhaps even Chris Sale (who is seemingly available) or Chris Archer. The likeliest alignment, it seems, is Springer in CF, Reddick in RF, and a Marisnick/Aoki platoon in LF. The addition of Beltran would take ABs away from the platoon situation.

*OR the Astros could simply not offer a contract for 2017 for Nori Aoki.

*Brian McTaggart says the Astros may not want to break up their core by trading Bregman for someone like Archer or Sale.

*Brian T. Smith has a column about the momentous day the Astros decided to go all in. Smith:
Thanks to one of the best young cores in the game...the Astros don't "have" to win the whole thing in 2017. But they must stop finishing in second (or third) place. 

Luhnow:
We need to do the best job possible to give our players and our fans a chance to win a championship, and that's what we've been doing. We've been pursuing that aggressively, and I think our fans are going to see the results of that starting this year on the field. 

*Luhnow told Fanrag's John Perrotto:
We feel like we're going to be in contention every year for the foreseeable future. The reality is that every season is going to turn out differently than you expect.

*The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo says the Astros are possible destinations for Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, or Evan Longoria.

*Baseball America released their Top 10 Astros prospects list. Click the link for the write-up, here's the list:
1. Francis Martes
2. Kyle Tucker
3. David Paulino
4. Franklin Perez
5. A.J. Reed
6. Forrest Whitley
7. Teoscar Hernandez
8. Yulieski Gurriel (remember he still qualifies as a rookie, missing the cut-off by one AB)
9. Derek Fisher
10. Garrett Stubbs

*Check out Aubrey Huff - AUBREY HUFF! - throwing shade at Josh Reddick:

Please explain 2 me how someone can receive a 4 year 52 mill contract who hit 281-10-37! Guess U don't have to be good to get paid anymore

— AUBREY HUFF (@aubrey_huff) November 18, 2016

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#VoteForPedro pic.twitter.com/A132uEPOQ8

— Hunter Pence (@hunterpence) November 1, 2016

Nay, the Phillies totally meant to get fleeced in the Pence deal

It's been a busy week for your Constable, between going to a conference, the first six rounds of the draft, and then driving to Alabama, to watch his brother-in-law graduate from college, and back. But the Most Notable story of the weekend has to be this one:

Jose de Jesus Ortiz reported that the Phillies basically accidentally traded Domingo Santana as the player to be named later to the Astros, in addition to Jarred Cosart, Jon Singleton, and Josh Zeid:

In Spring Training, a Phillies official admitted that Santana wasn't actually supposed to be on the list that was given to the Astros to pick from to satisfy the final piece on August 15, 2011.

Well. CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro says Nay! that's not true. According to Amaro:

We didn't want to put Santana on the list but we had to get the deal done. There were several prospects we didn't want to part with in that deal but we were trying to acquire the best right-handed hitter on the market and that was the price. I understand we're going to get picked apart because we haven't had success for a couple of years, but this is not true...There was no mistake. If someone said that, they are misinformed because it's absolutely, unequivocally wrong. It's false.

Now Ortiz was wise to couch this language in that it came from A Phillies Official. Say what you want about Ortiz, but there's no way he just makes that crap up on his own - 22 months after the deal is made. So it's a Phillies official who is mistaken - which is great. Why? Because either the Phillies:

(a) Totally screwed up and accidentally let a prospect walk
(b) Gave up way too much for Hunter Pence, whom they traded 367 days later for not much of anything at all
(c) Can't trust their Unnamed Officials.

It's pretty great not being an absolute train-wreck of a franchise anymore. But you know what would be the Greatest Twist of All? If Ed Wade was the Phillies Official...

While You Were Drinking: Memorial Day Weekend Edition

Here's the Tuesday Morning Hot Links to help you catch up...

*Conrad Gregor hit a three-run go ahead homer for Quad Cities, his first HR of the season, on Saturday night. His dad caught the ball.

*The Chronicle's Randy Harvey has an answer for the Astros' "Radical Ways."

*Robbie Grossman has a new name, and no, it's not Bob.

*Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said that Dallas Keuchel was just an average pitcher ("I saw average stuff. We didn't swing the bats very good. At some point you've got to stop giving credit to average pitchers."), so Bo Porter called the Mariners' clubhouse (McClendon wasn't there). Maybe he wasn't impressed by Keuchel kicking a ball directly to first base.

*Carlos Rodon just might be looking for Gerrit Cole money ($8m), and Scott Boras predictably is not a fan of capping spending limits on the draft.

*Jon Singleton's Twitter feed from last night might get him in trouble.

*Hunter Pence lost his scooter.

Best Offensive PreStros Seasons

In light of the monster season George Springer is having, I thought I'd go back and see how it stacks up against other great seasons in PreStros history. For this list, I tried to find every season in which a batter had at least 350 at bats and an OPS of at least 1.000.

George Springer

Springer, between AA Corpus and AAA Oklahoma City, is currently hitting .309/.410/.603 in 401 at bats with 57 extra base hits (25, 3, 29) and 36 stolen bases. He also has 63 walks and 137 strikeouts. He came into the season as Baseball America's #37 prospect and MLB.com's #58 prospect.

Jose Altuve

Altuve received 357 at bats between A+ Lancaster and AA Corpus in 2011 before getting the call to Houston. He hit .389/.426/.591 with 42 extra base hits (22, 10, 10) and 24 stolen bases along with 26 walks and 40 strikeouts. He was not on any preseason prospect lists heading into 2011. For his major league career so far, Altuve is hitting .285/.326/.379 in about two full season worth of at bats.

Koby Clemens

A perfect example of the Lancaster Effect, in 2009 Clemens hit .341/.415/.620 in 440 at bats with 54 walks and 111 strikeouts, including a couple weeks at Corpus at the end of the year. He totaled 73 extra base hits (45, 6, 22 ) with 123 RBI. Clemens was not ranked on any prospect lists coming into that season. Clemens never reached the majors and is currently playing for the independent Atlantic League Sugar Land Skeeters, where he is tied for 5th in the league in home runs with former Astro Daryle Ward.

Jason Lane

In 2001, Lane spent the entire season at AA Round Rock. In 526 at bats, he hit .316/.407/.608 with 76 extra base hits (36, 2, 38) with 61 walks and 98 strikeouts. He also added 14 steals, 103 runs, and 124 RBI. He was not ranked heading into the season, but Baseball American named him their #53 prospect going into the next season. Lane went on to hit .241/.314/.457 in parts of six seasons, all with Houston with the exception of 3 games with San Diego in 2007. He's currently attempting to come back as a pitcher with San Diego.

Keith Ginter

Ginter got 462 at bats with AA Round Rock in 2000 and hit .333/.457/.580 with 59 extra base hits (30, 3, 26). He also had 24 stolen bases and 108 runs to go along with 82 walks and 127 strikeouts. Ginter went on to spend parts of six season in the majors, including two full seasons with Milwaukee, and hit .243/.329/.422 for his major league career.

Mitch Melusky

In 1998, Melusky received 397 at bats with AAA New Orleans and hit .353/.465/.584 with 58 extra base hits (41, 0, 17) and 85 walks with 59 strikeouts. He was not ranked heading into the season, but after the season Baseball America had him as the #43 prospect. He showed promise in the majors before injuries derailed his career. In 414 major league at bats, Melusky hit .283/.368/.449 with 15 home runs and finished fifth in rookie of the year voting in 2000.

Ed Whited

In 1987, his first full minor league season, Whited hit .323/.407/.598 in 440 at bats for A Asheville. He had 65 extra base hits (37, 0, 28) with 12 steals and 128 RBI. In a late season call-up with the Braves in 1990, Whited hit .162/.222/.243 in 36 games, then abruptly disappeared from baseball.

Rich Johnson

Splitting the 1986 season between A Asheville and A Osceola, Johnson hit .341/.424/.581 in 504 at bats with 61 extra base hits (30, 2, 29). He had 72 walks, 105 strikeouts, and 112 RBI.  He never made it above AA and was out of baseball following the 1988 season.

Ty Gainey

Gainey received 359 at bats for AAA Tucson in 1986. He hit .351/.437/.616 with 50 extra base hits (22, 11, 17) with 55 walks, 81 strikeouts, and 19 steals. In 111 major league at bats across three seasons, Gainey hit .216/.293/.288.

Gary Rajsich

Rajsich got 445 at bats for AAA Tucson in 1980 and hit .321/.435/.575 with 57 extra base hits (22, 14, 21) with 87 walks and just 41 strikeouts. In 296 major league at bats across four seasons, Rajsich hit .236/.328/.345.

Honorable Mention

Two others met my criteria, but did so over the age of 30, so I didn't include them here. They were Dave Roberts at AAA Oklahoma City in 1965 and Len Tucker at C Modesto in 1962.

Hunter Pence came as close as you can to meeting my criteria when he hit .327/.400/.598 in 453 at bats between A Lexington and A+ Salem in 2005.

Most of these examples were done at lower minor league levels, and none combine Springer's speed and power combination. This was a fun exercise, but I don't think much can be learned from it, except to say that monster minor league seasons don't have any real correlation to major league success, at least for former PreStros.

Revisiting the Pence trade

Dash Treyhorn takes a look back 365 days ago, when the Phillies traded for Hunter Pence. Definitely worth a read.

(Link hopefully fixed)

A whole $100!

Hunter Pence and Chick-Fil-A have "teamed-up" to donate $100 (!!!!!) for the Holiday Food Drive at Cypress Assistance Ministries. If you bid on lunch at Chick-Fil-A with Hunter Pence (starting at $250), you get one combo meal and a dessert (no asking for more). But at least you can bring Phillies stuff for Pence to sign...

Hunter Pence: Dating a playmate

Check out Philly blog Crossing Broad to see a picture of the playmate that Hunter Pence is apparently dating.

Justice confirms Astros tried to change Team MVP

OH NOES! The Astros got their feelings hurt by the local BBWAA naming Hunter Pence Team MVP (something first mentioned in the Crawfish Boxes podcast). And Richard Justice took the BBWAA to task for it (still trying to determine if he's actually being serious):

When the Astros learned Pence had been voted MVP, they were anguished. Not angry, but anguished. Wade typically ordered them “to take the high road” even though voters hadn’t.

I suggested they refuse to participate in the banquet. But they wouldn’t do this because it’s a fundraiser for Minute Maid Charities.

More:
And to the little men who voted for Hunter Pence: You had your laugh. You made your statement. Please enjoy it. Your time is just about up.

Now a word about Carlos Lee. Whatever you think of the guy, he goes out there every single day, plays through pain, through losing, never complains. He has gotten a bad reputation around here because the Astros gave him $100 million. But it’s ridiculous to hold him accountable for someone else’s mistake. He is and has always been a two-tool player. That is, he hits and hits with power. If the Astros decided to give him five-tool money, that’s on them.

I have absolutely no problem with Hunter Pence winning Team MVP. Even in departure, he did what Carlos Lee could not do: provide a return (in Singleton, Cosart, and Zeid). And if the local voting chapter wants to make a statement about the team, that's their prerogative. The purpose of the media is to give feedback on the team, and that's what they did. If their "time is up" for giving said feedback, then what the hell is the point? Aside from tossing softball columns and blog posts about how great a guy Carlos Lee is, of course.

Tal and Ed were anguished that something as virtually meaningless as Team MVP went to a former Astro. I just wish they seemed more anguished about a 56-106 team.

The Astros are currently a stupid, petty organization

Last night I had the opportunity to appear on the Crawfish Boxes season-ending podcast, and had a rip-roaring good time. Over the course of the conversation (and we'll provide the link once it's available), it came out that the Astros engaged in some dubious PR in reference to the Houston-area chapter of the BBWAA. David Coleman wrote a post this morning detailing it:

This year, my friend and other members of the chapter voted for Hunter Pence as Astros MVP, which is why he was announced as the winner last week. Before that announcement, though, shenanigans ensued.

According to my boss and friend through Mr. Hartman, there are Astros officials who called him (and presumably other writers) to get them to change their vote so it would be less embarrassing that a Phillie won Astros MVP. This brilliant plan predictably did not work...

...Until this team can get away from these kinds of bone-headed decisions and get back to being a first-rate organization, things are going to be pretty grim. Grim enough to vote a guy as team MVP even though he hasn't been there for 55 games.

If this is true, and there's no reason to think that it is not, then the Astros are - as previously mentioned in the title of this post - a stupid, and petty organization. Think of all of the things wrong with the Astros. And then think that this is what they are spending their time on. This is the kind of bullcrap that makes me ashamed of my favorite team, and makes me not want to support them anymore. It won't happen, of course, and I suspect Drayton, Tal, and Pam Gardner know that this is the case for whatever fans still care about this train-wreck of a franchise.

I suppose that, for me, this episode sums up everything that's wrong with this team.

Davey Lopes is not impressed with Ed Wade's work

USA Today's Bob Nightengale has a story on Hunter Pence (who, along with Berkman, will likely be the sole source of posts at Astros County for the time being). Dodgers First Base Coach Davey Lopes, who spent the last four years with the Phillies, wasn't impressed with the Astros side of the trade:

"That's why Ruben Amaro is the executive of the year," said Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Davey Lopes, who spent the previous four years in Philadelphia. "You get Cliff Lee to come there and take less money. And then you steal Pence? That wasn't a trade. That was a steal. You kidding me?"

Amaro told Nightengale that he told Wade of his interest in Pence as early as May:
"It was a lot more perfect fit that we thought. The fans are really into him. And he fit right into this clubhouse."

Differences between Phillies and Astros clubhouse

So while the playoff teams' local media search for angles about their respective teams, some attention is being cast towards the Astros, who have supplied approximately 85% of all eight playoff teams' rosters*.

Like the Press of Atlantic City, who talked to some former Astros. Hunter Pence, who apparently played for the Astros in 2011:

"It's been kind of a whirlwind for me. The main difference here, there are a lot of people watching a lot of film. Little things going on. There is a lot to learn. Everyone is just professional veterans. Quiet, going about their business, but willing to help if you have questions."

Or Brad Lidge:
"There was an element of confidence I haven't seen before. There was a swagger here. I played with some great players, too. This is fun to be a part of."

To recap: In Philadelphia, they do things like "watching film," and have something called "swagger." That's different enough from Houston that it's apparently worth mentioning to the media. I'm sure we'll have more on this later, but for now, my heart just can't bear the fact that the Astros don't watch a whole lot of film.

*Approximately

Did you know...

...that Hunter Pence, as a virgin, gave birth to a young son in a manger who will go on to save the world? Buster Olney reports (Insider-only).

Pence: "Getting to the playoffs is hard"

With all congratulations due to the Phillies and Hunter Pence, this is dubious:

“It's exciting,” acknowledged Pence, who'd joined the Phillies at the trade deadline after an early career with the ever-struggling Astros. “It would be my first opportunity to do that in the big leagues. It's something I am not ever going to take for granted because I realize how difficult it is and how fortunate we all are to be a part of this.”

First of all: "Ever-struggling Astros" ? I know in baseball years, the Astros struggles date back to when Moses descended from Mt. Sinai with two tablets (with six commandments on one tablet, and four on the other, causing great consternation among the Car Salesmen in the crowd). But come on. We're talking about three years of "struggling."

Also, yes, Hunter Pence, it is difficult to get to the postseason. Get traded to the best team in baseball midway through the season, from the worst team in baseball to the best, and then do what you've been doing, but for a team with seven other guys just like you. And maybe the best rotation in baseball history.

Nit-picky? Yes. But that's the level of frustration I have right now.