On Dusty Baker

Astros manager Dusty Baker apparently told Jim Crane this afternoon (Wednesday, October 25) that he is retiring. A press conference will be held on Thursday at noon at Minute Maid Park. Dusty:

I'm very grateful and thankful to Jim Crane and the Houston Astros for giving me this opportunity, and to win a championship. I felt like they've been good for me, and I've been good for them. What I really appreciate is that Jim has been totally honest and transparent with me on all things.

Dusty would like to remain in an advisory role, either with the Astros or with a team closer to his home in Sacramento. 

Some of the many highlights from his resume:

-7th all-time in managerial wins, with 2183. 

-8th all-time in games managed, with 4046.

-4th all-time in postseason wins, with 57 (a Rangers' World Series win next week would bring Bruce Bochy level with him).

-4th all-time in playoff appearances, with 13. 

-His .540 managerial win% is 18th among managers with at least 2000 games in the dugout.

-In his four seasons with the Astros, Dusty posted a 320-226 regular season record. His 546 games with the Astros are the 7th-most by an Astros manager in franchise history. 

-His 320 wins are 6th-most in franchise history. And his .586 win% is 2nd-best among managers who managed more than one game, just behind A.J. Hinch's .594 win%. 

-He was 34-19 as manager of the Astros in the postseason, a .642 win%, by far the best postseason winning percentage in Astros history (A.J. Hinch was 22-12 in the postseason). 

Dusty is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, on track to be the first Black manager to be inducted in Cooperstown in three years. 

And here's the thing: nobody at the end of the 2019 season expected Dusty Baker to manage the Astros at all, let alone for the next four years. The exposure of the Trash Can Scandal threw the lifelong tenure of A.J. Hinch with the Astros out the window, 63 wins shy of tying Bill Virdon for the franchise lead.

But the Trash Can Scandal did happen, much as we would like to forget it (and as much as we would like everyone else to, as well). We won't, and neither will They. So Jim Crane did the right thing and fired Hinch. 

As I wrote when it was announced that Dusty had been hired:

1. They need someone who is well-respected (by the media and General Baseball People, anyway - your complaints were heard loud and clear)...

2. They need someone who has managed in a variety of situations...
3. They need someone who can handle A Circus...

...Columnists across [puts hand across forehead] the land are going to love it because their hand-wringing, and bringing blood out of a turnip, will easily provide that week's Column. But then they have to deal with Dusty Baker, whom pretty much everyone loves except for you, who gets their narrative from FanGraphs. Their hearts will melt. It's an organizational rehab assignment, for a year, and the best-case scenario is that the Astros (and by that I of course mean Us) and Dusty Baker gets their ring in 2020. Winning a World Series like this, in this year, with this much hate, would be delicious, and the scrutiny would cleanse it. Yankee and Dodger Fan would move the goalposts, to be sure. But it would be sweeter than the first (I think).

That second ring came a couple of years after, but the point is still valid. 

Chandler Rome:

The team is sullied by scandal but still set to contend for a title. Its image and reputation remain in ruins. Players will endure eight months of invective from opposing crowds and players. Baker arrives as a slice of serenity amid acrimony, a man who Crane hopes can galvanize an Astros clubhouse still searching for a way forward.

He did all that. Dusty guided this team through those first few years. The vitriol is still there - but the vitriol also is a testament to how much the Astros have won (and who they've beaten) in the last seven years. I understand why other fans hate the Astros, and why the Trash Can Scandal keeps getting brought up. I still make "Change Your Password!" jokes about the Cardinals. It's never going to go away, no matter how many times you can point them to Tony Adams' website. There's absolutely no point in getting upset about it.

Dusty Baker managed 4046 games and played in 2039 more. That's 162 games...37.5 times over. Dusty earned the right to go out on his own terms. He got his ring, and with another loaded roster in 2023 (before we all watched Jose Abreu not hit water if he fell out of a boat for three months), it's understandable why he would want to see if he could run it back for a first-in-a-generation repeat.

You can rightfully question some of the decisions that Dusty made throughout the 2023 season: insisting on Martin Maldonado over Yainer Diaz, and hating Chas McCormick for some reason (banana pudding aside). In my heart of hearts I truly believe that Dusty loved pretty much everyone on that team, and in the end it may have bit him in the ass, particularly in managing Game 7 of the ALCS like there was a Game 8 two days later. Dusty's Magic is designed to work over a 162 game season. Not so much when the season is on the line in the next 10 minutes. 

But now that Dusty is stepping aside - allegedly - it's time that Jim Crane remembers his roots. He let Jeff Luhnow run the show based on analytics and look what happened. Crane gets the credit of the work of analysts who "never played the game." Jeff Bagwell and Jim Crane gave Rafael Montero $39m. 

Allowing Jeff Bagwell to have a hand in choosing the next manager is extremely concerning because it betrays the very principles this Dynasty (and, yes, it's a dynasty) was founded upon. What I fear for this organization is extremely eloquently summed up by My Buddy Mike. My fear is that Jim Crane can be adequately characterized by Barry Switzer (BOOMER) in that he was born on third base and thought he hit a triple. 

Sunday Morning Hot Links

I was unaware the Astros were allowed to win at home. And by God, Cristian Javier was seemingly determined to continue that streak. Anyhow. Astros win. Mariners lose. Rangers and Blue Jays win. Houston is 81-62 and have won one of their last one home games. 

*Updated AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore

2. Houston

3. Minnesota

4. Tampa

5. Seattle

6. Toronto

-

7. Duncanville: +1.5

*AL West Division Odds (Change from yesterday)

FanGraphs:

Houston: 66.1% (+3.4%)

Seattle: 29.1% (-4.9%)

Duncanville: 4.8% (+1.5%)

Baseball-Reference:

Houston: 76.3% (+14.1%)

Seattle: 18.8% (-13.2%)

Duncanville: 4.9% (-0.9%)

NL Wild Card Race:

Philadelphia: +4

Chicago: +1

Arizona: -

Miami: +1

Cincinnati/San Francisco: +2.5

The Game:

*The Astros' seven runs was the most in a home game since beating Boston 7-3 on August 22 - a span of seven games. Games with the following runs scored, Minute Maid Park, 2023 (and their record):

0: 2 (0-2)

1: 13 (0-13)

2: 10 (2-8)

3: 8 (3-5)

4: 5 (4-1) 

5: 7 (4-3)

6: 8 (6-2)

7: 7 (6-1)

8: 3 (3-0)

9: 3 (3-0)

10: 2 (2-0)

11: 2 (2-0)

17: 1 (1-0)

Houston is 5-28 when they score three or fewer runs at Minute Maid Park. Ten of Houston's 11 highest run totals in a game have come on the road in 2023. Also note that they have scored three or fewer runs in 33 of the Astros' 71 home games in 2023. 

*Yordan Alvarez was 2x3 with a walk, 2RBI, and his 26th home run of the season. He has a 17-game on-base streak, and since going 0x4 on August 19 in a 10-3 loss to Seattle, Yordan: .403/.542/.710, 4 doubles / 5 homers, 6K:17BB.

*Kyle Tucker was 1x4 with a 2-run double, his first extra-base hit since September 1. His 101 RBI on the season are six shy of his career-high of 107, set in 2021. Tucker:

It's cool. Obviously, you can't get there unless guys in front of you are getting on base and giving you opportunities. I think it's more of that happening rather than me driving them in. I'm fortunate enough to have a lot of high on-base guys in front of me and they've been doing a good job of that all year.

Tucker needs four home runs and four stolen bases to join Jeff Bagwell as the franchise's only 30HR/30SB/100RBI members.

He has 26 home runs, 32 doubles, and 101 RBI. It's the 25th such season by 13 Astros hitters. Your 25+ HR, 30+ doubles, 100+ RBI Astros:

Jeff Bagwell: 7 (1994, 1996-2001)

Lance Berkman: 4 (2001, 2002, 2004, 2008)

Alex Bregman: 2 (2018-2019)

Moises Alou: 2 (1998, 2001)

Carlos Lee: 2 (2007, 2009)

Kyle Tucker: 1 (2023)

Yordan Alvarez: 1 (2021)

Yuli Gurriel: 1 (2019)

Morgan Ensberg: 1 (2005)

Jeff Kent: 1 (2004)

Richard Hidalgo: 1 (2000)

Carl Everett: 1 (1999)

Glenn Davis: 1 (1986)

*A back-to-back of Brown and Javier continues to hamstring the bullpen, seeing as how neither of them remembers how to get 15+ outs. Urquidy limited the damage last night, but that's 9.2IP thrown by the bullpen this series already. 

*Javier, by outs, 2022:

0 out: .410 OPS-against

1 out: .521 OPS-against

2 outs: .723 OPS-against

Javier, by outs, 2023:

0 out: .728 OPS-against

1 out: .804 OPS-against

2 outs: .731 OPS-against

Javier needed 82 pitches to get 12 outs. He has walked 3+ batters in four straight starts. On June 15 Javier threw six shutout innings against the Nationals - his 14th start of the season.

Javier's 1st 14 starts:80.2IP, 65H/26ER, 76K:19BB, 2.90 ERA / 1.04 WHIP.

Javier's last 13 starts, 60.2IP, 64H/49ER, 56K:35BB, 7.27 ERA / 1.63 WHIP.

Javier has been *this* pitcher for as long as he was *that* pitcher in 2023. 

*Kendall Graveman: 0.2IP, 3H/1ER, 0K:1BB. Graveman has allowed an earned run in back-to-back outings for the first time since Aug 3/5, 2023...his first two games back with the Astros. 

*How susceptible have the Astros been to the run game?

*How Jose Altuve turned back the clock to MVP form.

*How Maldonado and Yainer formed a mentor-mentee relationship.

*You see USMNT 3 - 0 Uzbekistan and think, "Oh good." I see USMNT 3 - 0 Uzbekistan and think "so we scored two goals in stoppage time huh."

What To Watch, September 10:

Texans @ Ravens: 12pm Central

Marlins @ Phillies: 12:05pm 

Mariners @ Rays: 12:10pm 

Royals @ Blue Jays: 12:37pm

Padres @ Astros: 1:10pm

Diamondbacks @ Cubs: 1:20pm

A's @ Rangers: 1:35pm

*A Musical Selection:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

*The icy village where you must remove your appendix.

*Vox: The Haunting of Girlstown.



*35 million people still play Microsoft Solitaire.

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 25

*Good interview from Chandler Rome with James Click, who talks about improving the farm system and extending George Springer.

*Brian McTaggart sat down with Former Astros Great Chris Burke.

*Joe Smith's mom is in a nursing facility, so he won't be able to spend time with her this Mother's Day. [Ed. Note: SUNDAY IS MOTHER'S DAY]

*El Yordo gets the nod as the biggest power hitter on the Astros. Yordan and his wife also provided pizza for over 100 Houston-area police precincts and firehouses.

*Never let a chance to mention the Larry Andersen trade go by...

*Ken Rosenthal says the 2020 draft will be five rounds. Teams can sign any undrafted player beyond that for $20,000. Jake Kaplan notes that the Astros will have the 72nd overall pick, as well as the 101st, 131st, and 160th.

*ESPN's David Schoenfield picked his USA Baseball Dream Team for an unknown Summer Olympics. If you want to know where to scroll to find some Astros, he has this:
Our only rule: No Astros. Hey, chemistry is an important thing in a tournament like this and those sign-stealing wounds haven't healed yet. Can't take the risk of some bad blood if, say, Alex Bregman has to dress next to Cody Bellinger.

EXTREMELY cool.

That said, Jose Altuve's 2017 season DID make ESPN's most iconic seasons of the 21st century list, albeit with a caveat.

*Michael [squints] Brantley got the nod as the Astros' most under-rated player.



*The Athletic's Keith Law: What if the Padres had drafted Justin Verlander 1st overall in 2004

*Shoeless Joe's 1910 card sold for $492,000.

*SI: The best individual pitches in MLB.

*The KBO demoted five umpires to the minor leagues in a shocking turn of a league holding its officiating crews accountable.

*FanGraphs: Former Astros Great Asher Wojciechowski doesn't take anyone for granted.



*The Athletic: What if Chris Paul didn't tear his hamstring in Game 5?

*The Rangers aren't offering refunds for season ticket holders lol.

*A student of mine from two years ago was killed in a car wreck last weekend, and his family needs help with funeral expenses. He was a good kid who saved an elderly neighbor from a burning house. If you have any ability whatsoever (and I completely understand if you don't), please consider helping.

*Vox: The world's scariest facial recognition company, explained.

*Rolling Stone: Dropped from her label, the insanely talented Lauren Jenkins looks for a new way forward. Check her literal brand new song:

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 23

*Our large adopted boys the Kiwoom Heroes dominated the Kia Tigers 11-2 in their season opener.

Today in 1991, Jeff Bagwell hits his first HR for @Astros.

— Houstorian (@Houstorian) May 5, 2020

*At 8am tomorrow on MLB Network, they're starting a running down the best 42 half-innings. Somehow Manfred let the Astros still be a part of the league, so you'll get to see Altuve's 2019 Pennant-winning walk-off, with Jake Marisnick on deck.

*There will apparently be live college baseball in June in Bryan, Texas.



*NY Times: The healing power of baseball.

*ESPN: Mike Piazza turned a favor for his dad into a Hall of Fame career.

*FanGraphs: The wait is over in the KBO.



*FanGraphs' Dan Szymborski: Out large adopted boys the Kiwoom Heroes are projected to come out on top of the KBO.

*SI: Inside the hurdles blocking the way to more college sport video games.



*My dude Joe Firstman is playing his entire debut album "The War of Women" in its entirety, starting at 8pm this evening.

*If you find yourself looking for a non-meat alternative to hamburgers, I highly suggest the Dr. Praeger's "Perfect Burger." I know, I know.

*The Russian family that cut itself off from civilization for 40 years.

*The "aggressive chicken attacking people at Alabama ATMs."

'Rona-Free Hot Links, Vol. 13

*Alex Bregman is over $1.2m for the Houston Food Bank.

*Everyone's buddy, mine included, Ed Tom Bell wrote this, and it's really good.

*Chandler Rome caught up with Former Astros Great/Current Kia Tigers Great Preston Tucker, as his season is about to begin. Related: ESPN was talking to the KBO about broadcasting games, but the KBO understandably balked at ESPN's offer of $0.

*Michael Bourn owns three apartment complexes in Houston. He waived rent in April, and will do it again for May.

*On July 2, 1994 Jeff Bagwell played RF for his first and only time. He went 1x3 with a home run and a walk in a 5-4 win over the Cubs.

*The ten greatest offensive seasons in Astros history, according to fWAR:

1. Craig Biggio - 1998 (9.3)
2. Alex Bregman - 2019 (8.5)
3. Jeff Bagwell - 1997 (8.0)
4. Jeff Bagwell - 1999 (7.8)
5. Cesar Cedeno - 1972 (7.8)
6. Jeff Bagwell - 1994 (7.8)
7. Jeff Bagwell - 1996 (7.7)
8. Lance Berkman - 2008 (7.6)
9. Jose Altuve - 2017 (7.6)
10. Alex Bregman - 2018 (7.6)

*Alex Bregman is the most-hyped Astros SS prospect of the last 20 years.

*McTaggart: How trading Roy Oswalt sparked the Astros' turnaround.

*Richard Justice: 2005 Roy Oswalt is one of the great underappreciated seasons of all time.

*MLB.com has the Astros' prettiest swing of franchise history and it's...Terry Puhl?

oh my god this Lance McCullers Jr. Chipotle story is incredible and Brett Phillips CANNOT HANDLE IT pic.twitter.com/TTWX8soVew

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) April 23, 2020

*GQ: Jason Isbell's Redemption Songs.



*The BBC on Eliud Kipchoge: The humble home life in rural Kenya behind athletic success.

*Vice: The man who deleted his past before he was found dead.



*Pitchfork: How a new age hustler sold the sound of the world.



Each day is better than the next.

'Rona-Free Hot Links, Vol. 2

*Brian McTaggart ranked his Top Five Astros' 1Bs.

*The Ringer: The knuckleball isn't dead yet.

*ESPN: The Grandmaster Diet - how to lose weight while barely moving.

*ESPN: "You're the guy with the ball to the crotch." The inside story of the funniest baseball card ever made.

*The Downton Abbey Economy: How one costume drama reinvented British tv.

*Chicago Magazine: How Roger Ebert discovered John Prine.

*Consider a FanGraphs membership for $3/month.

*The Cut: How many bones would you break to get laid?

*Bicycling: What happens when two strangers trust the rides of their lives to the magic of the universe.

*A Musical Selection:



*A Hilarious Diversion:



*Another Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

I still hate the Washington Nationals and the idiotic 2019 World Series. I do not care to think about The first of what should be at least two Awards came in yesterday, and Our Dude Yordan Alvarez became the third Astro to ever win Rookie of the Year, joining Jeff Bagwell and Carlos Correa. Manager of the Year is announced today. The Astros now have three Rookies of the Year on the team for 2020, with Alvarez (2019), Correa (2015), and Verlander (2006).

*Yordan's win was a unanimous one. He's the 11th unanimous AL Rookie of the Year in baseball history, the first unanimous AL selection since all the way back in [squints] 2017 with Aaron Judge. Hinch:
What an incredible year and recognition for Alvarez. He did everything we could have asked for and more. His dynamic presence on our team is undeniable. I'm proud of how he handled his transition to the big leagues, his immediate success, all the attention, and ultimately his actions as a teammate. A great and well-deserved honor.

How every voter voted, and why.

Click this link to see a visual of every home run Yordan hit.

Yordan's 87 regular season games played are the fewest ever played by a Rookie of the Year.

Do not forget that Yordan hit .412/.524/.588 in the 2019 World Series, with 2K:4BB.

Thanks to this Chandler Rome tweet, I'm reminded that Jeff Bagwell fell one first-place vote shy of being unanimous in 1991. Who got that lone first-place vote? Pittsburgh's Orlando Merced. Let's recap:

Bagwell: 156 games played, 650 PAs, 26 doubles / 15 homers, 82RBI, .294/.387/.437, 139 OPS+, 4.3 fWAR.
Merced: 120 games played, 478 PAs, 17 doubles / 10 homers, 50RBI, .275/.373/.399, 119 OPS+, 2.6 fWAR.

*Congratulations to Carlos Correa and Daniella Rodriguez, who got married in a Harris County courthouse yesterday. There will be an official wedding ceremony on December 7. So Veterans Day, and Pearl Harbor anniversary day. Wow, 'Litos. But shout out to them for making it official and for Saving Themselves for Marriage.

*Chandler Rome: Expect the Astros to take their time this off-season. Notable that Robinson Chirinos signed December 6, Michael Brantley signed December 19, Wade Miley signed February 1. He*k, they didn't even trade for Zack Greinke until July 31. Houston traded for Gerrit Cole on January 13, 2018.

*FanGraphs' Rian Watt: Keeping the Astros' bullpen on track.

*Have some #Rumerz:

-Scott Boras is looking at $300m+ for Gerrit Cole.

-Jon Heyman says Zack Wheeler will decline his qualifying offer, but the Mets are interested in a multi-year extension. The Astros reportedly met with his agents yesterday.The Angels, White Sox, and Padres are interested if Wheeler hits free agency.

-Dustin Pedroia, whom the Red Sox have paid $31m to play in nine games (34 PAs) since the beginning of the 2018 season, intends to play in 2020.

-The A's are looking for lefty bats and bullpen help.

-Farmers Branch wants to be a Big Boy in free agency.

-Former Astros Greats Luke Gregerson and Tony Sipp could find employment!

*Other stuff:

-Alex Bazeley took a look at MLB employee ratings on Glassdoor.

-The Ghosts of War in a Wisconsin Forest.

-They tried to save the lives of immigrants fleeing danger. Now they're facing prosecution.

-Plutonium is leaking into the Pacific Ocean. Never met "plutonium" before but I can't imagine this is a good thing.

-Living full-time in a Toyota Tacoma.

*A Musical Selection, a banger:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The best sports month of the year has finally kicked off. Playoff baseball is live, conference college football has begun, NFL football is in full swing, the NBA and NHL start their seasons, even the Tetris World Championships are in October. This, of course, is not even taking into account the cooler temperatures and my birthday. We don't deserve this month.

If you didn't watch the NL wild card game last night, you missed out on something extremely enjoyable.

The Astros hit the cover of Sports Illustrated this month, and here's the featured article detailing the Astros and the construction of their October-ready roster.

Each postseason team is going to need an X-factor. Who is the Astros X-factor going into this postseason?

The odds of having a historically memorable World Series matchup is actually quite high this year.

Rays or A's: does it really matter who the Astros play in the ALDS?

CBS Sports seems to think so.

Tags has what I assume is his final guess (but who knows at this point) at the Astros ALDS roster.

Will Harris was sneaky great all year this year. An excellent sign heading into the coming weeks.

The Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writer's of America have named their award winners for this 2019 Astros team.

Why is Mattress Mack betting so much money on the Astros this year?

Expectations are high for the Astros this year, so let's take a trip down memory lane and remember the top ten other Houston teams with high expectations with succeeded/failed.

In Astros legal news, Drayton McLane is taking Jim Crane to court because he claimed the Astros tanked purposefully to harm Comcast SportsNet Houston.

Also in Astros legal news, it did not go well for Jeff Bagwell in his case against his landscapers that he stiffed.

Baytown Hat Co. is selling half Cowboys/half Astros hats that are disgusting and I hate.

It turns out red meat may not be bad for you after all...

Domino's is now looking for Australian Garlic Bread Testers. So if your dream job may be that, you best act fast.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

You're not going to believe this, but the Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners again. Here is the recap.

Gerrit Cole set a franchise strikeout record with 316 K's this season and counting.

Carlos Correa sat out once again with back tightness that inflicted him while on the plane to Seattle, but """""plans""""" to be in the lineup tomorrow. Carlos will now be taking a boat for ALDS road games in Tampa.

A.J. doesn't expect us to take it easy now that the division is locked up.

The Astros just in general are having a real good time.

So what's the plan with Miley? If not Miley, who else?

Can Alex Bregman do enough to pass Trout? He's trying.

Jose Urquidy looks like he will be seeing the 2020 rotation.

Joe Espada may be finding a manager job this offseason.

Bagwell v. Landscapers has officially kicked off.

The first article of a guy putting an insane amount of money on the Astros has now been uploaded to the Internet.

This might be my new favorite article headline: "After Woman bites Tiger Truck Stop Camel, Animal Given Precautionary Antibiotics"

Sunday Morning Hot Links

No one will decide to take the family to Minute Maid (or literally any of the other 29 stadiums) simply because Brad Peacock is pitching. Justin Verlander? Sure. Gerrit Cole? Maybe. But Brad Peacock has been a completely different pitcher since throwing out of the stretch. The Astros and Red Sox were scoreless until the bottom of the 6th and went back-and-forth before Carlos Correa walked it off in the bottom of the 9th. Houston is 35-18.

*The Astros have matched their April win total with 17. There are five games remaining in May.

Most wins, calendar month:
22: May 2017, July 2005, August 1998
21: September 2018, August 2008, August 2001
20: September 2017, September 2004, June 1979, July 1976, May 1969,

*Houston has won 17 of their last 21 games. They are 8-5 in 1-run games. Last night was the Astros' first win of the season in a game in which they did not hit a home run.

*The Astros officially won the season series with the Red Sox with last night's win. Three of the five games played were decided by one run, four of them by two runs.

*Brad Peacock threw 6IP, 4H/0ER, 8K:1BB. Since moving to a full wind-up, Peacock: 23IP, 12H/1ER, 32K:6BB. That's an 0.39 ERA / 0.78 WHIP.

*Roberto Osuna's 25-game consecutive game save streak came to an end. Osuna:
This was one of those days. They attacked me early, but I was able to make the adjustments late in the inning and keep the leading run at third...I was able to keep the game close for the guys to win.

*Houston was 4x13 w/RISP and Boston was 3x12. The Astros left 12 men on base.

*Carlos Correa got the walkoff hit in the bottom of the 9th to complete a 3x4 day. Correa, on his approach to the walkoff PA:
I didn't really want to give the at-bat to Yuli. A walk or a sac fly would get the job done. I'm not trying to do too much, I'm just trying to put the ball in play to right-center field and it happened to fall for a hit. Once I hit it, I knew it was going to stay fair. It was on a line over the first baseman. That's why I started celebrating right when I hit it.

"We got guys who can get the job done." @Ken_Rosenthal talks with @TeamCJCorrea after his walk-off hit. pic.twitter.com/OnkWFXr17L

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 26, 2019

*Aledmys Diaz had hit three doubles all season long, then got two last night. It's his first multi-extra-base hit game of the season.

*George Springer, the Astros, and all of us got a mixed bag of news related to Springer's hamstring today: It's a Grade 2 strain. Altuve's is considered a Grade 1 strain. Hinch:
It's not as dramatic as we had feared. He's going to be out a little while and is going to exceed the 10 days. But (the doctors) were encouraged by their findings and their observation. He's really sore. He's not going to do anything for the foreseeable future. But hopefully, if the initial diagnosis is right, then we've avoided the catastrophe that it looked like on the field.

I think the most interesting thing about this quote is the emotion that is clear in Hinch's words. Hinch is not an emotional guy, at least outwardly. He might cry at Verizon commercials at home, I don't know, but he doesn't use "dramatic" and "catastrophe" in his comments to the media. So he's relieved, as we all are.

Yordan Alvarez Kyle Tucker Derek Fisher was called up to take Springer's spot, proving that the Astros - who care not for your tweets to them - are sticking to the "methodical plan" they have outlined for Yordan Alvarez to join the Astros. McTaggart straight up says that they're waiting until after the Super Two deadline passes, in which the Astros get one less year of arbitration with Alvarez before free agency. Jake Kaplan with the fire:
There is no performance-based argument for Fisher to be called up ahead of Alvarez, only ones related to service time and cost-cutting. By delaying the start of Alvarez's service time clock and ensuring he won't qualify for the Super Two designation during the 2021-22 offseason, the Astros stand to save a few million dollars down the road.

Our Own Brian Arbour asks if we fans should even care about the Super Two deadline. It's extremely good.

At any rate, in the Hinch-quote link, Kaplan outlines how the Astros have to replace Springer (team leader on offense, leadoff hitter, etc.) and why 2017 World Series Game 5 Hero Derek Fisher got the call. Hinch has already said he plans to go Bregman-Brantley-Correa in Spots 2-4, so presumably Altuve will take over the leadoff role until Springer gets back, which I'm estimating (with no knowledge of the situation) will be between the end of June and the All-Star Break. Luhnow, on Fisher:
We really felt like Fisher, given his ability to play center field and his speed and the fact he's been hitting well for a while now and can steal a base, it's a good combination for us.

Also, the Springer injury probably accelerated Jose Altuve's return, with which I suspect the Astros were being overly conservative. Altuve will join Round Rock today in Nashville (jealous) play today and tomorrow and possibly rejoin the Astros after Monday's doubleheader with Nashville. Luhnow:
[Round Rock has] a doubleheader [Monday], so he'll be able to get as many at-bats as he needs. We do a checkpoint after the first night and after the second day and then come back here. We're hoping to get him in a game here before [the road trip], but certainly the goal is to have him active and playing every day by the time we get out on the road trip.

*And then Max Freaking Stassi left the game early with an injury. Guess it's time to see what Garrett Stubbs has done with Round Ro- oh he went 1x2 with a walk and a 2-run home run before getting replaced probably about five minutes after Stassi left the game. Kyle Tucker hit his 15th home run of the season, and A.J. Reed went 2x5 with 3RBI. Stubbs is apparently on his way to Houston. It is his birthday. Not a bad present.

*Here's a good piece from Chandler Rome on newly-promoted-to-Round-Rock Brandon Bielak's ninja-like assault on the Astros' top prospect list.

*Corpus tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the 9th, but Frisco re-took the lead in the top of the 10th for a 10-9 win. Abraham Toro was 3x5 with 4RBI, and was a double away from the cycle. Seth Beer was 4x5 with 2RBI, and is hitting .382/.488/.529 in nine games since getting called up to Corpus.

*Ruben Foster and Freudis Nova have joined Quad Cities. Spoiler alert: Freudis Nova plays a huge role in my 4th-straight World Series win in 2023 on OOTP 20.

*Chandler Rome: Jeff Bagwell has a lot to offer this group of Astros hitters.

*The Rays are keeping in touch with Dallas Keuchel AND Craig Kimbrel.

*The San Antonio Express-News' Mike Finger has some excellent satirical shade towards Art Briles and Mount Vernon High School.

*RIP, legendary Dallas Morning-News sportswriter Gerry Fraley. Here's a great tribute from Evan P. Grant.

*Two nights ago Colorado's Trevor Story hit his 100th career home run in his 448th career MLB game. It's the fewest number of games ever by a shortstop hitting 100 home runs. Carlos Correa is at 92 home runs in 520 games.

*Amanda Eller, lost in a Hawaiian forest for 17 days, was found alive. Here's how.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Wheeeeeee this is fun, isn't it? The Astros put up four runs in the first three innings and rode it out to a 5-3 win over Toronto. The Astros are 99-57. Oakland doesn't lose anymore, so the Astros still have a 4.5-game lead with six to play. The Magic Number is Two. The Magic 8-Ball says "All signs point to yes." There's a lesson in there for all of us, no? A win tonight + an Oakland loss clinches the division.

As it stands the race I'm now more interested in is who will be hosting that AL Wild Card Game. Oakland is 1.5 back of New York, who still have three at Tampa and three at Boston. Oakland has two at Seattle and then three at Anaheim. Gotta figure the schedule favors the A's.

Houston is now 17-4 in September, and it would have been 18-3 if the idiot umpires in Boston and their Senior Idiot replay officials in New York knew how to look at a tv.

The Astros are 53-22 on the road this season. One more road win this season breaks the franchise mark, set in 2017. Bregman:
Everybody is really excited about us closing in on 100 wins and closing in on a division title, but there's only one thing on our mind and that's winning the World Series again. 

*Brian McCann hit his first home run since June 14, his 6th of the year. It's probably safe to assume that McCann's 12-year streak of double-digit home runs will come to a close in 2018. Though if he goes off in the next six days, I'm here for it.

*Yuli Gurriel, who won AL Player of the Week yesterday, went 2x4 for his 5th-straight multi-hit game. In September he's hitting .360/.388/.613. He has 11 RBI in his last four games. In The Athletic, Kaitlyn McGrath wrote about Yuli and Lourdes playing against each other for the first time.

*Alex Bregman got a hit but struck out twice in a game for just the 13th time this season. That said, his 52-game road on-base streak broke Jeff Bagwell's 1998-99 franchise record.

*Jake Marisnick hit a pinch-hit double - his first extra-base hit since coming off the DL. He has hits in back-to-back games for the first time since August 9/10 - right before going on the DL.

*Dallas Keuchel picked up his 13th win of the season, throwing 5IP, 7H/3ER, 5K:3BB. He threw 86 pitches. The Astros are 18-15 in Keuchel's starts, but 13-9 in his starts since June. He wriggled out of a bases-loaded/no-out jam in the 5th. Hinch:
Getting out of the fourth and fifth inning was huge. Just being able to control the innings a little bit to have the lead was a success for him. It could have really imploded if he doesn't make pitches and doesn't keep his composure and get out of the inning as lightly unscathed as he could. 

Keuchel hit the 200IP mark for the first time since 2015.

*The bullpen held Toronto to four hits - all singles - with 4K:0BB in the final 4IP. Every single one of Roberto Osuna's 20 pitches got booed.

*Former Phillies Great Ken Giles spoke about his time in Houston and said he was never sure what his role was, etc. etc. Yesterday A.J. Hinch did everything but call him a got dang liar. Hinch:
I wish Ken Giles well, but my advice to him would be to participate in the culture which he's in if he wants the benefits of it...We gave him every opportunity. We communicated with him effectively. We had an incredible culture...To have one person, of all the guys in our clubhouse, to come out and claim otherwise is flat wrong. 

Hinch on Morton: "We want him to stay active, we want him to stay in the rotation, but we don't really want to pile on too many innings. We're happy with where he's at, and if we could just put him on ice right now and put him in the playoffs we'd be happy."

— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) September 24, 2018

*Carlos Correa won't play tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never. Thankfully we all die in the end.

*Other games to watch for playoff purposes:
The Brewers are 1.5-back of the Cubs in the NL Central
The Rockies are 1.5-back of the Dodgers in the NL West
The Rockies are 0.5-back of the Cardinals for the 2nd NL Wild Card

*The entire National League has two teams with 90 wins. The AL East and AL West each have two teams with 90 wins.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Okay everybody I have to be honest: I did not watch a single pitch of the Astros game last night. Between work, college football, and the brand new episode of Impractical Jokers, I just had better things to do (in fact, I have to write these Hot Links WHILE watching college football at 12:53 a.m. instead of fully being focused on the game :| ) It seems this game was one worth missing however, as the Astros fell to the Angels 5-2. Unsurprisingly, Tyler White Did It Again to provide the only source of offense for Houston last night in the 9th, while Justin Verlander went 5.1 innings striking out 11 and giving up 3 ER, raising his ERA yet again to 2.78. JV's ERA has gone up 0.59 points since the start of August, when he was sporting a 2.19. Here he is postgame.

Tony Kemp and Tyler White were on Intentional Talk yesterday.

Everybody wants tickets for the new Astros minor league team in Fayetteville.

A's bloggers are mad that the Astros were allowed to move the Crawford Boxes 30 feet closer to home plate for Tyler White in the 9th.

A.J. Hinch was officially extended until 2022. Here is Crane, Luhnow, and Hinch addressing the media after the announcement. Here is the team being all proud and stuff of their manager <3

Shohei Ohtani was named the started against Houston for Sunday Night Baseball. He will attempt to pitch through a UCL Tear. Ratings are gonna be sweet though!

Somebody needs to confiscate Twitter from C.J Nitkowski.

J.P. Morosi explains why the Astros, not the Red Sox, are "clear favorites" to win the AL. The other guy on the desk said its probably the Red Sox, but he said "Marlin" Gonzalez. So.

Forrest Whitley, J.B. Baukauskas, and Myles Straw headline the Astros Fall League Roster.

The heartbreaking story of how a rainout kept Phillies pitcher Brian Mazone from pitching in the big leagues.

KFC is literally giving a family $11,000 for naming their baby after Colonel Sanders.

You can't go swimming on the beaches of Landevennec because of this sexually charged dolphin.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1915, Jimmy Lavender threw a no-hitter. He currently has the best name of any pitcher in MLB history who threw a no-hitter.

In 1969, Clete Boyer was kissed by Morganna, also known as "the kissing bandit." That night, Boyer snapped his 1-17 slump and went 8-15 over the next few games.

In 1990, Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son duo to play in the same major league lineup.

Also in 1990, the Red Sox decided against trading Scott Cooper for Larry Andersen and decided to give the Astros Jeff Bagwell instead.

In 2010, Aroldis Chapman made his major league debut.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros completed the most frustrating sweep of the season as they somehow won again, this time 2-1 yesterday afternoon against San Francisco. Tyler White hit the go-ahead home run and is now batting .267 with 4 home runs and 7 RBIs in 60 at bats this season. We are now 6-2 this road trip, playing without a lot of key players. Here is an excellent recap of yesterday's game here.

Cody Poage talks Andrew McCutchen to Houston on Climbing Tal's Hill.

Jake Kaplan has the pitching matchups for the weekend series with Seattle. Yes, we have to face James Paxton again.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Buddy Boshers was claimed by Pittsburgh. We will not have Buddy in Houston.

AP Sports Writer Noah Trister assesses all of the bullpens that added new pieces post-deadline.

There is a happy ending for the boy with Down Syndrome who lost his Woody doll at the Astros game I wrote about last week.

ESPN announced the Astros will be playing Sunday Night Baseball 2 straight weeks in a row September 2nd and 9th.

Its time to face facts: most sports organizations just aren't "The Great Moral Crucible" we wish they were. Michael Baumann wrote an excellent piece on lying, winning, and morality in sports.

Derek Fisher's confidence has been renewed after being recalled from Fresno.

Carlos Correa went 0-3 with a walk in a Hooks rehab assignment yesterday. He should join the Astros either Thursday or Friday. There is no new news since the @AstrosCounty Meat Wagon Update from yesterday.

Read Katie Strang writes about how the Osuna ruling could change MLB's domestic violence policy. People such as Jay Jaffe and Ken Rosenthal did and loved it. ($)

Episode 19 of Baseball Stories featured Jeff Bagwell. He is so interesting to listen to and I highly suggest you find 22 minutes of your day to sit down and watch/listen to this (I'm listening to it as I write this).

641 men are getting screwed over by the MLB. They aren't receiving a Major League Baseball pension because they played in the league before 1980.

These baby capybaras look JUST LIKE this big capybara.

THERE IS A WORLD DOG SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP!

These goofballs in New York thought that if they wrapped their cocaine package in Minnie Mouse gift wrap that the police wouldn't eventually find out it was a cocaine package.

On This Day in Baseball History:

In 1976, the White Sox decided to wear shorts.

In 1988, Wrigley Field had the first ever night game. It was not an official game however as it was rained out in the 3rd inning.

In 1998, Paul Molitor becomes the fifth player ever to have both 3,000 hits and 500 steals.

In 2014, B.J. and Justin Upton both hit home runs in the same game for the fifth time, setting a sibling major league record.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

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

*

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

— Houston Astros (@astros) February 28, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

I miss Colby Rasmus.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*So there was an actual parade for the Houston Astros because they won the World Series. It still hasn't sunk in for me, yet. Richard Justice writes how the Astros felt Houston's love. Justice:
This was a release for fans who've waited 56 seasons, for fathers and sons and best friends and co-workers, and thousands and thousands of others who've talked about this day, dreamed about it, wondered if it would ever really happen.

*Brian T. Smith: A parade for the ages.

This lady dropped her hat, and Houston came in clutch to get it back up to her #earnedhistory pic.twitter.com/1thxzO7B6i

— enokez (@AlanEnokian) November 3, 2017

*The Astros picked up Jose Altuve's $6m option and Marwin Gonzalez's $5.125m option for 2018. Altuve has already generated enough WAR for 2018 that he is already severely underpaid.

*The inestimable Roger Angell: Long Wait, Great Win.
For the rest of us not in or around Houston, the reward after two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight regular season games and thirty-eight more in the postseason is a bit more sleep and, for the moment, at least, no more innings.

*Tyler Kepner: How the Astros finally hit on a formula that worked for them. Luhnow:
Not every plan makes sense for every team. But where we started, with the worst team in baseball and one of the worst farm systems in baseball, we really had no choice. We had to focus on developing our own and when the time is right, adding to it.

*Jeff Bagwell:
This is a great team. I don't think the world knew it. Well, they do now. Nobody wanted us to win this whole thing. Everybody else wanted the big teams. But we beat the Red Sox. We beat the Yankees. And now we beat the Dodgers. Pretty cool.

*Justin Verlander and Kate Upton missed the parade because, presumably, they're in Italy getting married. Apparently some people are mad that Verlander didn't postpone it. This is a silly take. It's not like they're getting married at a rec center in Refugio. They're two very high-profile people getting married in a foreign country. I don't know anything about them or their wedding plans, but I'm guessing they're not plans that are easily postponed. And it's not as though they started thinking about getting married in October. Verlander has been an Astro for, what, 60-something days? And before that he was on a Tigers team that very clearly wasn't going to the playoffs. Chill out. Let them get married.

*Uh. Brian McCann's mom is marrying Mark Teixeira's dad this winter.

*Here's a great story on Astros fan Charles Rice.

*Get some gear here.

*Four mock-ups of the Astros' WS ring.

*The five Astros who finally won a ring after a career of near-misses.

*Ken Davidoff wrote about how Luhnow's family helped him deal with the media.

*SF Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins: The Astros' title rises far above analytics.
If anything, the Astros were defiant of an analytics-driven trend that saw players adjust their "launch angle," go for home runs at any cost, work the count to frustrate opposing pitchers and not worry about striking out. They were the most efficient offensive machine in the game, did a lot of first-pitch swinging, emphasized contact hitting and struck out less often than any team in the majors.

*FiveThirtyEight predicts a few more seasons of Astros/Dodgers World Series, or at least a few Astros/Indians ALCS.

*MLB.com listed the 2018 World Series contenders.

*The Cubs' front office sent pizzas to the Astros' front office. Hopefully the Astros will carry the tradition of buying pizza for the next World Series champion by just sending an intern to buy pizza for themselves.

*A.J. Hinch discussed his new bench coach, Joe Espada, and we note that assistant hitting coach Alonzo Powell will leave to become the Giants' hitting coach.

*Check this November 2016 post from the County Mountie, in which he described Charlie Morton as such:
He's a groundball pitcher with some strikeout ability. If you're looking for an under-the-radar sign that could bring a nice payoff, this is it.

*Jon Heyman wonders how long the Astros can keep their core together.

*Buy every Astros-related SI cover since 1981.

*Jim Callis says Riley Ferrell has closer material.

*Springer, Altuve, and Bregman are expected to be on Saturday Night Live.

*Evan Grant takes a look at what the Rangers need to do to close the gap on the Astros.

*Alex Bregman is already a Hall of Famer:

Deleted, but 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2RxX8ATfyV

— Dustin DeBerry (@dkdeberry) November 4, 2017

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Just about everything in last night's game was stupid. Astros missing chances (runners on 2nd/3rd, no out in the 7th? No runs!), Astros missing throws (see: go ahead run, top 10th), Francisco Liriano's incredibly underwhelming tenure to date. Astros lost 4-3. They are 70-40. The game between Seattle and Kansas City was postponed, so the Astros lead is 14.5 games with 52 remaining. The Astros have lost seven of their last ten games and are 2-4 on this homestand.

*Hinch:
We didn't win the big moments in this game. We made some mistakes. We lost some at-bats that we were working to try to get, and they executed when they had the biggest at-bat of their night a couple of times. Tough games to lose. Definitely a winnable game.

*The Chron's Mark Eisenhauer:
...The Astros looked off, like a cast mixed with understudies. Clutch hits eluded them. Fielding miscues cost them a lead. A depleted bullpen lost them the game...

*Charlie Morton threw well, going 7IP, 7H/3ER, 7K:2BB. He held the Blue Jays to 1x10 w/RISP by himself. Morton's five starts since the All-Star Break: 31.2IP, 21H/13ER, 36K:11BB. 3.69 ERA / 1.01 WHIP.

*The bullpen was shaky. Chris Devenski - who looks straight up gassed - walked both batters he faced and threw a wild pitch, which Giles cleaned up. Giles got four outs with a hit mixed in there, but no runs allowed. Francisco Liriano faced four batters, got two out, but walked one and allowed the hit that would score the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate made close by Derek Fisher's off-line throw from left field. Ryan Goins, who was hitting .184 against LHPs this season and subsequently knocked in Refsnyder in the top of the 10th, said of Liriano:
That's one guy when he was here I told him I never wanted to face him...I won this time, but that's one guy - he's nasty. His numbers say what they are, but he's one of the nastiest guys in the league.

*Francisco Liriano has faced seven batters in two games. Four of them have reached base, two of them have scored. Nasty.

*Chris Devenski, post-ASG: 8.2IP, 6H/3ER, 6K:3BB. 3.12 ERA / 1.04 WHIP. Hinch:
He's got to push through some things, but he can handle it. He's a tough kid and will push through some of this.

*The offense got five hits, including Josh Reddick's two-run home run in the 1st inning. Toronto was 2x15 w/RISP.

*Let's just say the Astros finish the regular season 26-26, and end up with a 96-66 record (which would, to be honest, be disappointing). Here's what would have to happen in order for the Astros not to make the postseason:
-Seattle: 41-10
-Anaheim: 42-9
-Arlington: 43-9
-Oakland: 48-5

*Evan Gattis was placed on the 7-Day concussion DL. Juan Centeno was brought up from Fresno. Garrett Stubbs was promoted to Fresno.

*J.D. Davis made his major-league debut and went 1x4 with three strikeouts. He also committed a mental error by throwing to 1st with runners at 1st/3rd with one out, instead of going for the inning-ending double play. Davis:
I wasn't really expecting to be called up in August, or at least early August. It was an awesome feeling. We had a team meeting and they told Juan [Centeno] he was going up and I was joining right behind him. It was pretty exciting, and I'm happy. 

*The Astros are 11-11 when Jose Altuve doesn't get a hit. Has Altuve even peaked at the plate yet?

*J.B. Bukauskas will head to Tri-City for the final three weeks of the season.

*Jeff Bagwell was at Minute Maid Park for the final stop on his Hall of Fame tour.

*Check out this Bagwell/Biggio mural.

*In a blatant attempt to win the heart of Shohei Otani, the Rangers took out an ad in a Japanese newspaper thanking Yu Darvish.

*Felix Hernandez still isn't right.

*TFW you read the headline and think, "Matt Cain is still playing?"

*The Masochist's Marathon. There is a documentary on Netflix about the Barkley Marathons that is absolutely worth your time.

*My favorite soccer team - Leeds United - begins their season today. The following does not feature Leeds United, but it is incredible:

The best goal you'll see on Twitter today. pic.twitter.com/CUkS4y1cQk

— Classic Goals (@ClassicGoaIs) August 6, 2017

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.