The Astros got rained out yesterday. Now they get to play 14 games in 13 days. First pitch today is at 3:40pm Central, and the second game is...sometime after that. The White Sox get to face Zack Greinke and Gerrit Cole on the same day. Houston has a 10-game lead on Oakland.
Kind of a slow news day, which is perfectly fine since I'm running behind this morning.
*The Astros are 11/4 favorites to win the World Series.
*Speaking of Greinke, today is August 13. The Astros acquired him on July 31. This will be Greinke's second start as an Astro.
*A new poll, voted on by 43 reporters at MLB.com, I guess, now has Yordan Alvarez at the top of the AL Rookie of the Year ballot. He received 40 of the 42 first-place votes. Baltimore pitcher John Means got two first place votes. Cleveland right fielder Oscar Mercado got one first place vote. I am not making any of that up.
*Keep an eye on Verlander's strikeout totals. He needs 77 to get to 3,000 career strikeouts, all with the Astros. Crazy but I looked it up. Gerrit Cole is within reach of setting the all-time K% rate in a single season.
*Start making those vacation plans, the Astros' 2020 schedule is out. I'm not a huge schedule guy, but there are some fun road trips you could make, if you were so inclined. Notable dates:
March 26, 2020: Opening Day. Angels at Minute Maid Park.
April 10-12: Houston's first trip to Mimic Maid Park in Upper Oak Cliff.
May 22-24: At Boston. Nice time of year to get up to Boston.
July 3-5: At Washington.
Inter-League is against the NL East next year. The Astros will play seven home games and ten away games in NL parks. Not a huge fan of that.
The Astros come out of the 2020 All-Star Break with a 7-game road trip (at Oakland and West Longview) and finish the season with a 7-game road trip (at New York and Atlanta).
*I like Michael Baumann, and I find it extremely impressive that he can write an article about how Lance Lynn is the "best pitcher in the American League" and only mention Verlander and Cole in passing.
*Jake Kaplan, on Gerrit Cole's incremental changes this season.
*Fun night for Round Rock. Framber Valdez struck out a career- and franchise-high 13 batters in 6.2IP as Round Rock beat Albuquerque 11-6. Kyle Tucker hit his 31st and 32nd home runs of the season. Express hitting coach Ben Rosenthal:
When he squares it up, it is loud. He's got power to all fields. He always had the power. He's just got to get a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it. When he does that, good things happen.
Tucker:
Apr: .165/.211/.388, 23K:5BB, 5HR
May: .333/.429/.741, 23K:16BB, 11HR
June: .303/.366/.646, 33K:10BB, 8HR
July: .194/.333/.347, 20K:13BB, 3HR
Aug: .366/.417/.805, 4K:4BB, 5HR
*Some Former Astros Greats news:
-Josh Rojas (Greinke trade) got called up to Arizona and went 2x4 with an RBI in his MLB debut. The Astros didn't get any hits last night wtf is LOSEnow doing?
-David Paulino (Osuna trade) cleared waivers and was released.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...
*ESPN: "Oh my God, how can we do this?" An oral history of the 1994 Strike. If you're a subscriber to The Athletic, you can read this oral history of the 1994 Strike.
*Actual Moron Alex Rodriguez had $500,000 worth of stuff [blinks rapidly] in his rental car stolen during Sunday Night's game in San Francisco.
*Simone Biles is superhuman, I think.
*The sexual assault case that shook ancient Rome.
*What Toni Morrison understood about Hate.
*I (not, like, me) tried hiding from Silicon Valley in a pile of privacy gadgets.
*A Musical Selection:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Josh Rojas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh Rojas. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Wait.
The Astros blew up the Trade Deadline after the 3pm Deadline acquiring Cal Stevenson, Joe Biagini, Aaron Sanchez, and - holy crap - Zack Greinke. And that's after re-acquiring Martin Maldonado earlier in the day.
The Return
Martin Maldonado.
You know Machete.
Joe Biagini
Looks like a Strom Special.
Biagini - a 29-year old reliever - won't be a free agent until 2023. In 50IP in 2019, he has allowed 50H/21ER, 50K:17BB, 3.78 ERA / 3.80 xFIP. He has an 81% LOB rate this season, AND his HR/9 rate has declined from 2018 to 2019.
Aaron Sanchez
Sanchez - a 27-year old righty starter - has had some, uh, issues this year, but he looks like another project for the analytics team and Strom. Sanchez is 3-14 with a 6.07 ERA belied by a 5.04 FIP and a 5.09 xFIP. In 112.1IP he has allowed 131H/76ER, with 99K:59BB. The Astros have likely seen something fixable in all of that. He won't be a free agent until 2021.
Sanchez also has three options remaining, so maybe the Astros don't bring him up immediately and instead send him to Triple-A.
Cal Stevenson
Stevenson - a 22-year old lefty-hitting outfielder - is hitting .298/.388/.393 in High-A. He was the Blue Jays' 10th Round pick in 2018, so this is just his second professional season, and his first full pro season, in baseball.
Rainier Rivas
The Astros get 18-year old Rainier Rivas from the Angels for Max Stassi, made expendable by the arrival of Martin Maldonado. Rivas was hitting .400/.512/.543 in the DSL and has come to the States in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .260/.309/.440. He's an 18-year old 6'3" 220lb lefty-hitting outfielder. That's crazy.
Raider Uceta
Uceta is the other piece in the Stassi trade. Also 18, also a lefty, Uceta has spent all of 2019 in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .278/.341/.373
Zack Greinke
Just a future Hall of Famer. Some initial thoughts on this one...
Greinke will be 36 in October, but that hasn't stopped him from putting in a career year in a career full of career years. In 141IP in 2019, Greinke has allowed 115H/45ER, 128K:18BB, 2.84 ERA / 0.94 WHIP (which leads the National League). He has a 7.11 K:BB ratio. And he's about to get deployed by the Astros' coaching staff. He's a thoughtful fella, likes analytics, so pitching under Hinch and Strom and with Verlander and Cole is probably going to work out pretty well.
The Astros are taking on $53m of the $80.5m remaining on Greinke's contract. Doing so probably precluded Arizona insisting on Kyle Tucker and/or Forrest Whitley. It gives the Astros easily the best Top 3 in all of baseball, which will of course carry over to October. This is insane.
This move also adds an immediate placeholder for Gerrit Cole's spot in the rotation after this season, when Cole is eligible for free agency. Remember that Lance McCullers, Jr. comes back in 2020, as well. So the Astros will waltz into 2020 with Verlander-Greinke-McCullers and then some Wade Miley-type guy who we don't even think about and then we look up and see he has a 2.98 ERA and then possibly Forrest Whitley, the #1 pitching prospect in baseball, who will spend September learning from Verlander, Cole, and Greinke, and then Spring Training, as well. There is no reason to be upset about this trade.
The Send-Off
The Astros are losing the following.
To Toronto: Derek Fisher. That's it. Seriously. I looked. I looked for a long time.
To Arizona: J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer, Corbin Martin, and Josh Rojas. If you read this blog, I don't have to give you the breakdown of who the Astros sent to Arizona, but I will try to give you a reason to not be all that broken up.
Bukauskas: He's not Forrest Whitley. The 1st Round pick in the 2017 Draft, Bukauskas has had a rough go of it. He has walked 54 batters in 85.2IP at Corpus and has a 5.25 ERA / 1.58 WHIP. At Double-A, where he is admittedly a couple of years younger than his competition.
Martin: He's not Forrest Whitley. Promising pitcher, had Tommy John surgery, and won't pitch until 2021.
Rojas: He's not Kyle Tucker. Utility guy who was really putting it together at Round Rock. Can play 2B/3B/LF and did so hitting .310/.402/.586 at Triple-A. He's 25, but was also a 26th Round pick in 2017. The Astros have Aledmys Diaz.
Beer: He's not Kyle Tucker. 1st Round pick in 2018. He's also nine months older than Yordan Alvarez.
The Astros County Summary
Are you kidding? The Astros remade the bullpen and added Zack F. Greinke and didn't lose Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley.
The Return
Martin Maldonado.
You know Machete.
Joe Biagini
Astros getting a guy with 88th percentile curveball spin, and elite vertical movement, but who only throws the pitch 7% of the time ... https://t.co/Arwwf5JsWY— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) July 31, 2019
Looks like a Strom Special.
Biagini - a 29-year old reliever - won't be a free agent until 2023. In 50IP in 2019, he has allowed 50H/21ER, 50K:17BB, 3.78 ERA / 3.80 xFIP. He has an 81% LOB rate this season, AND his HR/9 rate has declined from 2018 to 2019.
Aaron Sanchez
Sanchez - a 27-year old righty starter - has had some, uh, issues this year, but he looks like another project for the analytics team and Strom. Sanchez is 3-14 with a 6.07 ERA belied by a 5.04 FIP and a 5.09 xFIP. In 112.1IP he has allowed 131H/76ER, with 99K:59BB. The Astros have likely seen something fixable in all of that. He won't be a free agent until 2021.
Sanchez also has three options remaining, so maybe the Astros don't bring him up immediately and instead send him to Triple-A.
Cal Stevenson
Stevenson - a 22-year old lefty-hitting outfielder - is hitting .298/.388/.393 in High-A. He was the Blue Jays' 10th Round pick in 2018, so this is just his second professional season, and his first full pro season, in baseball.
Rainier Rivas
The Astros get 18-year old Rainier Rivas from the Angels for Max Stassi, made expendable by the arrival of Martin Maldonado. Rivas was hitting .400/.512/.543 in the DSL and has come to the States in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .260/.309/.440. He's an 18-year old 6'3" 220lb lefty-hitting outfielder. That's crazy.
Raider Uceta
Uceta is the other piece in the Stassi trade. Also 18, also a lefty, Uceta has spent all of 2019 in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .278/.341/.373
Zack Greinke
Just a future Hall of Famer. Some initial thoughts on this one...
Greinke will be 36 in October, but that hasn't stopped him from putting in a career year in a career full of career years. In 141IP in 2019, Greinke has allowed 115H/45ER, 128K:18BB, 2.84 ERA / 0.94 WHIP (which leads the National League). He has a 7.11 K:BB ratio. And he's about to get deployed by the Astros' coaching staff. He's a thoughtful fella, likes analytics, so pitching under Hinch and Strom and with Verlander and Cole is probably going to work out pretty well.
The Astros are taking on $53m of the $80.5m remaining on Greinke's contract. Doing so probably precluded Arizona insisting on Kyle Tucker and/or Forrest Whitley. It gives the Astros easily the best Top 3 in all of baseball, which will of course carry over to October. This is insane.
This move also adds an immediate placeholder for Gerrit Cole's spot in the rotation after this season, when Cole is eligible for free agency. Remember that Lance McCullers, Jr. comes back in 2020, as well. So the Astros will waltz into 2020 with Verlander-Greinke-McCullers and then some Wade Miley-type guy who we don't even think about and then we look up and see he has a 2.98 ERA and then possibly Forrest Whitley, the #1 pitching prospect in baseball, who will spend September learning from Verlander, Cole, and Greinke, and then Spring Training, as well. There is no reason to be upset about this trade.
The Send-Off
The Astros are losing the following.
To Toronto: Derek Fisher. That's it. Seriously. I looked. I looked for a long time.
To Arizona: J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer, Corbin Martin, and Josh Rojas. If you read this blog, I don't have to give you the breakdown of who the Astros sent to Arizona, but I will try to give you a reason to not be all that broken up.
Bukauskas: He's not Forrest Whitley. The 1st Round pick in the 2017 Draft, Bukauskas has had a rough go of it. He has walked 54 batters in 85.2IP at Corpus and has a 5.25 ERA / 1.58 WHIP. At Double-A, where he is admittedly a couple of years younger than his competition.
Martin: He's not Forrest Whitley. Promising pitcher, had Tommy John surgery, and won't pitch until 2021.
Rojas: He's not Kyle Tucker. Utility guy who was really putting it together at Round Rock. Can play 2B/3B/LF and did so hitting .310/.402/.586 at Triple-A. He's 25, but was also a 26th Round pick in 2017. The Astros have Aledmys Diaz.
Beer: He's not Kyle Tucker. 1st Round pick in 2018. He's also nine months older than Yordan Alvarez.
The Astros County Summary
Are you kidding? The Astros remade the bullpen and added Zack F. Greinke and didn't lose Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Sunday Morning Hot Links
A quick note before we get into the Hot Links: Starting at 2:45am on Monday, I am chaperoning a trip of 86 high school students to Manhattan. Pray for me. It also means that these West Coast games won't start until 10pm for me. Flick is taking over the Hot Links from Monday-Thursday. I may be back for the Friday Morning Hot Links, but I may just have to sleep until noon.
The Astros had leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 5-4 before getting pushed to extra innings and coming away with a 7-6 win. Errors were absolutely ridiculous. Houston is 58-35. They're 7-6 against East Fort Worth in 2019, with a 6-game lead on Oakland.
*Altuve, on his go-ahead double in the 11th:
We lost the first two games here so we were trying to win a game and get some momentum. I just wanted to put the ball in play. When I hit it, I didn't think George was going to score, but what he did was amazing. I hit the ball good, but probably 50 percent or more of the play was on him. I think we won because of him.
Myles Straw redeemed himself after getting picked off 1st right after replacing Michael Brantley as a pinch-runner in the 9th, getting a single that scored Altuve to provide the 7th Astros run. Straw:
You want to redeem yourself, and to get out there and get that insurance run...Obviously we needed it...It was awesome.
Hinch:
We could easily talk about missed opportunities or mistakes, but we hung in there and I'm proud of our guys for being able to just get through the game and get a win, in a game where we didn't play our best. Perseverance went a long way tonight.
*The Astros are 8-1 in extra-inning games, 17-11 in 1-run games. They were 5-6 in extra innings in 2018, and 24-24 in 1-run games. Since dropping three consecutive one-run games at Cincinnati, Houston is 5-2 in 1-run games.
*Houston has allowed 146 home runs in 2019, 1.57 HR/game. They allowed 152 home runs in 2018, 0.94 HR/game.
*The Rangers got six hits, five of them for extra-bases, and drew three walks. They were 1x8 w/RISP. How this game was so close is beyond me. Errors by Altuve, Bregman, and Springer, I guess. The last time the Astros committed three errors in a single inning was in May 2013.
*Wade Miley threw 6.2IP, 4H/5R (3ER), 5K:1BB, and 3HR allowed. Lower McKinney has hit eight home runs, drawn eight walks, and struck out 29 times in the last two games. It's the 7th time in his career that Miley has allowed three home runs in a game.
*The bullpen threw 4.1IP, 2H/1ER, 7K:2BB. Osuna allowed 2H/1ER, 0K:1BB in the 11th. Osuna:
It was a tough inning. I got up [in the bullpen] three or four times before that inning. The last three hitters, I was running out of gas. I was grinding and thank God I got the job done.
*Jose Altuve was 4x6. It's his 2nd 4-hit game of the season, and his 2nd 4-hit game in July. Since returning from the IL Altuve is hitting .306/.326/.459. He has 30 4-hit games in his career, one more than Babe Ruth. Bregman, on Altuve:
He's battling every single day and he's a great leader for this team.
*Alex Bregman returned to the lineup after taking a 98.5mph grounder off the chin. I hit my little toe on the side of the dishwasher and didn't run for a week. Bregs was 2x5 with a walk and a solo home run, his 24th of the year. It's his 82nd career home run, nine of them have come against the Rangers (tied with Oakland for most against an opponent), six of them at Pizza Oven Park.
*Tyler White got his 10th 3K game of the season, going 0x5.
*Brad Peacock is on track to be activated for Monday's game at Anaheim.
*Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz will begin rehab starts on Monday for Round Rock. Hinch, on Correa:
He's more likely, given the schedule, to stick in Triple-A longer on rehab, and we're excited to get him into games as well. He's got a little longer on rehab projection based on the injury and how long he did virtually nothing in terms of baseball.
*The Chron's Hunter Atkins, on Gerrit Cole regaining his rhythm. Hinch:
He was trying to be too disruptive with timing. He would change his delivery a little bit. He's got a handle on that better now, where he can disrupt the timing of the hitter a little bit without negatively impacting his pitches.
Here's the rotation for 2020 as contracts stand right this minute:
SP1: Justin Verlander
SP2: Lance McCullers, Jr.
SP3: Brad Peacock
That's it. That's the entire rotation that is currently under contract for 2020. Cole, Miley, and McHugh are free agents at the end of this season. Maybe the Astros have a trade or two up their sleeve in the next 17 days to shore that up, but Corbin Martin is out for most of next season. Forrest Whitley's 2019 hasn't gone exactly as expected. Neither has Framber Valdez and Cionel Perez and Jose Urquidy's. J.B. Bukauskas has a 6.81 at Double-A Corpus.
The Astros have a committed payroll of $121.4m for 2020 as of right now. That's a reduction of $37.1m from 2019 payroll. We'll do some payroll shenanigans later, but right now I don't know how the Astros can afford to not keep Gerrit Cole, if they're going to keep this window open. I have zero issue with using my Astros County Official Extremely Limited Megaphone to yell that not re-signing Charlie Morton as a 2-year insurance policy was freaking stupid, especially after what we've seen so far this season. Even if the front office had concerns over his shoulder, it was silly to think that you could lose 500IP from 2018 (Keuchel, Morton, McCullers) and not hit a significant road bump.
While you can reasonably assume the Astros will win the AL West and the ALDS, you can no longer assume that a World Series Championship, let alone an AL Pennant, will happen. That is, of course, if you ever assumed those things would happen. I did.
*Jonathan Lucroy:
The last thing I remember, I was kind of inching my way up the line and reaching for the baseball. The first thing I remember after that is when they put me on the golf cart. He knocked me out.
*Check out this sweet throw from Round Rock's Josh Rojas.
*Now that Myles Straw has graduated off the MLB Pipeline Prospect List, Taylor Jones takes his spot.
*Cristian Javier threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:0BB in a 7-6 extra-innings Corpus loss to Midland. Seth Beer was 0x3 with 3BB. Granden Goetzmann was 3x5 with a walk and 3RBI.
*The Red Sox sent two minor-leaguers to Baltimore for Andrew Cashner. The two minor-leaguers were 17-year old IF Noelberth Romero, who has a .700 OPS in the Dominican Summer League, and OF Elio Prado, a 17-year old with an .818 OPS for the same team. These are notes for making comps for future trades. Cashner has a 1.8 fWAR this season with a 3.83 ERA belied by a 4.25 FIP and a 4.88 xFIP. Orioles starting pitchers have recorded 21 wins, Cashner has nine of them.
*A masseuse tried to kill Kenneth Giles and gave him nerve inflammation. Fire all of the massueses.
*Former Astros Great Juan Minaya was DFA'd by the White Sox.
*Minnesota's Max Kepler's last 6 PAs vs. Tyler Bauer:
Top 4th, July 13: Strikeout
Top 3rd, July 13: Home run
Top 1st, July 13: Home run
Top 7th, June 6: Home run
Top 3rd, June 6: Home run
Top 1st, June 6: Home run
No hitter had ever hit five consecutive home runs against the same pitcher in a single season before.
*Division leads, by games:
-AL East: 6
-AL Central: 7.5
-AL West: 6
-NL East: 6
-NL West: 13.5
-NL Central: Every team is within 5.5 games of 1st.
*Scott Miller: Why young players step into bad contracts.
*HOFer Bob Gibson has been hospitalized with pancreatic cancer.
*If you are in Houston and need legal assistance related to immigration, call 1.800.468.4664.
*A former grandmaster was suspended for using a phone during a chess tournament.
*The impending global water crisis.
*A Musical Selection:
The Astros had leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 5-4 before getting pushed to extra innings and coming away with a 7-6 win. Errors were absolutely ridiculous. Houston is 58-35. They're 7-6 against East Fort Worth in 2019, with a 6-game lead on Oakland.
*Altuve, on his go-ahead double in the 11th:
We lost the first two games here so we were trying to win a game and get some momentum. I just wanted to put the ball in play. When I hit it, I didn't think George was going to score, but what he did was amazing. I hit the ball good, but probably 50 percent or more of the play was on him. I think we won because of him.
Myles Straw redeemed himself after getting picked off 1st right after replacing Michael Brantley as a pinch-runner in the 9th, getting a single that scored Altuve to provide the 7th Astros run. Straw:
You want to redeem yourself, and to get out there and get that insurance run...Obviously we needed it...It was awesome.
Hinch:
We could easily talk about missed opportunities or mistakes, but we hung in there and I'm proud of our guys for being able to just get through the game and get a win, in a game where we didn't play our best. Perseverance went a long way tonight.
*The Astros are 8-1 in extra-inning games, 17-11 in 1-run games. They were 5-6 in extra innings in 2018, and 24-24 in 1-run games. Since dropping three consecutive one-run games at Cincinnati, Houston is 5-2 in 1-run games.
*Houston has allowed 146 home runs in 2019, 1.57 HR/game. They allowed 152 home runs in 2018, 0.94 HR/game.
*The Rangers got six hits, five of them for extra-bases, and drew three walks. They were 1x8 w/RISP. How this game was so close is beyond me. Errors by Altuve, Bregman, and Springer, I guess. The last time the Astros committed three errors in a single inning was in May 2013.
*Wade Miley threw 6.2IP, 4H/5R (3ER), 5K:1BB, and 3HR allowed. Lower McKinney has hit eight home runs, drawn eight walks, and struck out 29 times in the last two games. It's the 7th time in his career that Miley has allowed three home runs in a game.
*The bullpen threw 4.1IP, 2H/1ER, 7K:2BB. Osuna allowed 2H/1ER, 0K:1BB in the 11th. Osuna:
It was a tough inning. I got up [in the bullpen] three or four times before that inning. The last three hitters, I was running out of gas. I was grinding and thank God I got the job done.
*Jose Altuve was 4x6. It's his 2nd 4-hit game of the season, and his 2nd 4-hit game in July. Since returning from the IL Altuve is hitting .306/.326/.459. He has 30 4-hit games in his career, one more than Babe Ruth. Bregman, on Altuve:
He's battling every single day and he's a great leader for this team.
*Alex Bregman returned to the lineup after taking a 98.5mph grounder off the chin. I hit my little toe on the side of the dishwasher and didn't run for a week. Bregs was 2x5 with a walk and a solo home run, his 24th of the year. It's his 82nd career home run, nine of them have come against the Rangers (tied with Oakland for most against an opponent), six of them at Pizza Oven Park.
*Tyler White got his 10th 3K game of the season, going 0x5.
*Brad Peacock is on track to be activated for Monday's game at Anaheim.
*Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz will begin rehab starts on Monday for Round Rock. Hinch, on Correa:
He's more likely, given the schedule, to stick in Triple-A longer on rehab, and we're excited to get him into games as well. He's got a little longer on rehab projection based on the injury and how long he did virtually nothing in terms of baseball.
*The Chron's Hunter Atkins, on Gerrit Cole regaining his rhythm. Hinch:
He was trying to be too disruptive with timing. He would change his delivery a little bit. He's got a handle on that better now, where he can disrupt the timing of the hitter a little bit without negatively impacting his pitches.
Here's the rotation for 2020 as contracts stand right this minute:
SP1: Justin Verlander
SP2: Lance McCullers, Jr.
SP3: Brad Peacock
That's it. That's the entire rotation that is currently under contract for 2020. Cole, Miley, and McHugh are free agents at the end of this season. Maybe the Astros have a trade or two up their sleeve in the next 17 days to shore that up, but Corbin Martin is out for most of next season. Forrest Whitley's 2019 hasn't gone exactly as expected. Neither has Framber Valdez and Cionel Perez and Jose Urquidy's. J.B. Bukauskas has a 6.81 at Double-A Corpus.
The Astros have a committed payroll of $121.4m for 2020 as of right now. That's a reduction of $37.1m from 2019 payroll. We'll do some payroll shenanigans later, but right now I don't know how the Astros can afford to not keep Gerrit Cole, if they're going to keep this window open. I have zero issue with using my Astros County Official Extremely Limited Megaphone to yell that not re-signing Charlie Morton as a 2-year insurance policy was freaking stupid, especially after what we've seen so far this season. Even if the front office had concerns over his shoulder, it was silly to think that you could lose 500IP from 2018 (Keuchel, Morton, McCullers) and not hit a significant road bump.
While you can reasonably assume the Astros will win the AL West and the ALDS, you can no longer assume that a World Series Championship, let alone an AL Pennant, will happen. That is, of course, if you ever assumed those things would happen. I did.
*Jonathan Lucroy:
The last thing I remember, I was kind of inching my way up the line and reaching for the baseball. The first thing I remember after that is when they put me on the golf cart. He knocked me out.
*Check out this sweet throw from Round Rock's Josh Rojas.
*Now that Myles Straw has graduated off the MLB Pipeline Prospect List, Taylor Jones takes his spot.
*Cristian Javier threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:0BB in a 7-6 extra-innings Corpus loss to Midland. Seth Beer was 0x3 with 3BB. Granden Goetzmann was 3x5 with a walk and 3RBI.
*The Red Sox sent two minor-leaguers to Baltimore for Andrew Cashner. The two minor-leaguers were 17-year old IF Noelberth Romero, who has a .700 OPS in the Dominican Summer League, and OF Elio Prado, a 17-year old with an .818 OPS for the same team. These are notes for making comps for future trades. Cashner has a 1.8 fWAR this season with a 3.83 ERA belied by a 4.25 FIP and a 4.88 xFIP. Orioles starting pitchers have recorded 21 wins, Cashner has nine of them.
*A masseuse tried to kill Kenneth Giles and gave him nerve inflammation. Fire all of the massueses.
*Former Astros Great Juan Minaya was DFA'd by the White Sox.
*Minnesota's Max Kepler's last 6 PAs vs. Tyler Bauer:
Top 4th, July 13: Strikeout
Top 3rd, July 13: Home run
Top 1st, July 13: Home run
Top 7th, June 6: Home run
Top 3rd, June 6: Home run
Top 1st, June 6: Home run
No hitter had ever hit five consecutive home runs against the same pitcher in a single season before.
*Division leads, by games:
-AL East: 6
-AL Central: 7.5
-AL West: 6
-NL East: 6
-NL West: 13.5
-NL Central: Every team is within 5.5 games of 1st.
*Scott Miller: Why young players step into bad contracts.
*HOFer Bob Gibson has been hospitalized with pancreatic cancer.
*If you are in Houston and need legal assistance related to immigration, call 1.800.468.4664.
*A former grandmaster was suspended for using a phone during a chess tournament.
*The impending global water crisis.
*A Musical Selection:
Monday, June 24, 2019
Monday Morning Hot Links
Hey guys it's me, Flick Nickem, back from his week long vacation because I was travelling to Cincy and back multiple times to watch the Astros get swept this week on top of working my church's VBS. But don't worry! I am back for one more week before I take another week long vacation because I'll be in Atlanta checking off my 11th ballpark I've watched baseball in joining Houston, Minnesota, Chicago (White Sox), Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincy, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.
Hopefully another week long vacation doesn't involve another week long losing streak. But we snapped that yesterday afternoon as we FINALLY took a game against the Yankees 9-4. Notes:
Alvarez: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI
White: 1-4, Grand Slam
Altuve: 2-5, Solo HR
Verlander: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Full Box:
I hope you arent looking for a lot of Hot Links, because boy are there not many!
Yordan Alvarez made history.
Here are the takeaways from this series with New York.
It looks as if George Springer will be back just in time for the Pittsburgh series
This is where I was planning on posting some minor league notes from around the farm teams, but at the time of writing this, the MiLB site is down. SO, I'll send you the link to the MiLB website and home it's working by morning.
Round Rock beat Iowa 8-3. Josh Rojas homered in his third straight game.
Corpus Christi dropped a game to Springfield 12-5. Springer went 1-3 in the game and hit .400 in three rehab games.
OUR Fayetteville Woodpeckers swept the Pelicans (because I guess every team in this league is a bird) 3-2.
The Quad Cities River Bandits game was postponed due to poor field conditions.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 2003, Brad Wilkerson became the 5th Expo to hit for the cycle.
In 2008, the Chiefs and Dragons minor league baseball teams get in a brawl that involved 17 ejections. The pitcher, Julio Castillo, was arrested with a felony assault charge after throwing a ball into the Dragons dugout but missing and hitting a fan in the stands.
In 2011, Michael Kacer, a wounded warrior who lost an arm in combat, went viral after making a fantastic catching the stands behind home plate at a Yankees game.
Hopefully another week long vacation doesn't involve another week long losing streak. But we snapped that yesterday afternoon as we FINALLY took a game against the Yankees 9-4. Notes:
Alvarez: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI
White: 1-4, Grand Slam
Altuve: 2-5, Solo HR
Verlander: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Full Box:
I hope you arent looking for a lot of Hot Links, because boy are there not many!
Yordan Alvarez made history.
Here are the takeaways from this series with New York.
It looks as if George Springer will be back just in time for the Pittsburgh series
This is where I was planning on posting some minor league notes from around the farm teams, but at the time of writing this, the MiLB site is down. SO, I'll send you the link to the MiLB website and home it's working by morning.
Round Rock beat Iowa 8-3. Josh Rojas homered in his third straight game.
Corpus Christi dropped a game to Springfield 12-5. Springer went 1-3 in the game and hit .400 in three rehab games.
OUR Fayetteville Woodpeckers swept the Pelicans (because I guess every team in this league is a bird) 3-2.
The Quad Cities River Bandits game was postponed due to poor field conditions.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 2003, Brad Wilkerson became the 5th Expo to hit for the cycle.
In 2008, the Chiefs and Dragons minor league baseball teams get in a brawl that involved 17 ejections. The pitcher, Julio Castillo, was arrested with a felony assault charge after throwing a ball into the Dragons dugout but missing and hitting a fan in the stands.
In 2011, Michael Kacer, a wounded warrior who lost an arm in combat, went viral after making a fantastic catching the stands behind home plate at a Yankees game.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Wednesday Morning Hot Links
'Stros got torched. Notes:
Tyler White pitched.
Orbit took the Iron Throne.
Nothing good happened.
A.J. Hinch talks Collin McHugh
Collin McHugh talks Collin McHugh
Carlos Correa changed his gameday routines, and it seems to be working.
Do the Astros have the best outfield in baseball?
How will the Astros keep their creativity a secret to the league in the organization? ($)
Inside the struggles of Jose Altuve:
Jake Marisnick "defended the wall" in the latest bobblehead giveaway last night, and I can only assume that it is a cool, clever reference.
The Hooks are hot, and it's Josh Rojas, Chas McCormick, and Colin McKee's fault.
The asking price for Dallas Keuchel is dropping, and Keuchel isn't settling. Will he sit the whole year?
Cindy Saenz, an Astros employee, will be the honorary batgirl in Sunday's fight against breast cancer day.
The color blue is rare in nature, and scientists found out why.
The insane man won a Tetris 99 game while dropping his pieces to the beat.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 1968, 23 year old Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game against the Twins.
In 1992, the Astros Butch Henry became the only player to ever get an inside-the-park home run for their first MLB hit.
In 1998, Mark McGwire hit his 400th career home run.
In 2001, Randy Johnson became the 3rd player ever to strike out at least 20 men in a game.
In 2011, Mike Sciosia won his 1,000th game for the Angels.
Tyler White pitched.
Orbit took the Iron Throne.
Nothing good happened.
A.J. Hinch talks Collin McHugh
Collin McHugh talks Collin McHugh
Carlos Correa changed his gameday routines, and it seems to be working.
Do the Astros have the best outfield in baseball?
How will the Astros keep their creativity a secret to the league in the organization? ($)
Inside the struggles of Jose Altuve:
Jake Marisnick "defended the wall" in the latest bobblehead giveaway last night, and I can only assume that it is a cool, clever reference.
The Hooks are hot, and it's Josh Rojas, Chas McCormick, and Colin McKee's fault.
The asking price for Dallas Keuchel is dropping, and Keuchel isn't settling. Will he sit the whole year?
Cindy Saenz, an Astros employee, will be the honorary batgirl in Sunday's fight against breast cancer day.
The color blue is rare in nature, and scientists found out why.
The insane man won a Tetris 99 game while dropping his pieces to the beat.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 1968, 23 year old Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game against the Twins.
In 1992, the Astros Butch Henry became the only player to ever get an inside-the-park home run for their first MLB hit.
In 1998, Mark McGwire hit his 400th career home run.
In 2001, Randy Johnson became the 3rd player ever to strike out at least 20 men in a game.
In 2011, Mike Sciosia won his 1,000th game for the Angels.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
Good morning. The 2018 Astros were 21-15 after 36 games, with a combined team 2.68 ERA.
*Josh Reddick said he focused too much on pulling the ball on the inner-half of the plate last year. In that link, McTaggart talks about the adjustments Ronnie Dawson is making, as well.
*SP5 is MLB.com's Spring Training Battle to watch for the Astros.
*There's a pathway for both Marisnick and the out-of-options Tony Kemp to make the Opening Day roster. Jake Kaplan breaks it down. Marisnick does have an option left, but will hit five years of service time 40 days into the season, upon which he can decline the minor-league assignment.
*The Astros are chilling out with the "Ted" stuff on Kyle Tucker.
*Cy Sneed spent his offseason hunting bears and substitute teaching in Alaska.
*2017 26th Round pick Josh Rojas is ready to be the Astros' next super-utility player. While Rojas hit .311/.410/.511 for High-A Buies Creek in 2018 in his Age 24 season, he hit .251/.338/.385 in 451 PAs after getting bumped up to Corpus, playing 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF.
*Check this story in The Athletic from FOAC Levi Weaver in which he embedded with a sports agency as they prepared for arbitration.
*Meet David Rice Atchison, President of the United States for one day in 1849.
*Here's something to which I can attest: Exercise may help to fend off depression.
*A Musical Selection:
*Josh Reddick said he focused too much on pulling the ball on the inner-half of the plate last year. In that link, McTaggart talks about the adjustments Ronnie Dawson is making, as well.
*SP5 is MLB.com's Spring Training Battle to watch for the Astros.
*There's a pathway for both Marisnick and the out-of-options Tony Kemp to make the Opening Day roster. Jake Kaplan breaks it down. Marisnick does have an option left, but will hit five years of service time 40 days into the season, upon which he can decline the minor-league assignment.
*The Astros are chilling out with the "Ted" stuff on Kyle Tucker.
*Cy Sneed spent his offseason hunting bears and substitute teaching in Alaska.
*2017 26th Round pick Josh Rojas is ready to be the Astros' next super-utility player. While Rojas hit .311/.410/.511 for High-A Buies Creek in 2018 in his Age 24 season, he hit .251/.338/.385 in 451 PAs after getting bumped up to Corpus, playing 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF.
*Rob Manfred could have been sympathetic to the MLBPA. Instead he decided to piss them off.Yuli Gurriel talks about his new hair, as well as his buddy, Bregman. pic.twitter.com/v88XtlNRFv— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 18, 2019
*Check this story in The Athletic from FOAC Levi Weaver in which he embedded with a sports agency as they prepared for arbitration.
*Meet David Rice Atchison, President of the United States for one day in 1849.
*Here's something to which I can attest: Exercise may help to fend off depression.
*A Musical Selection:
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