Monday Morning Hot Links

Trade Deadline is at 3pm Central today, four hours before the Astros take on the Rays. We'll update as we can throughout the day, but will definitely have something up by 5pm, regardless of what happens. And there's a new Lima Time Time tonight.

*Absolute beat-down yesterday at the hands of the Tigers as the Astros lose 13-1, their worst loss of the season, and lose their first road series since April 25-27 against Cleveland. The Astros are 68-36, 16 games up on the Mariners, with 58 games remaining.

*Astros versus:
NL: 9-1 (.900)
AL West: 31-14 (.689)
AL East: 15-8 (.652)
AL Central: 13-13 (.500)

The Astros are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 11-9 in their last 20 games.

*Lance McCullers yesterday: 5IP, 8H/5ER, 4K:4BB. In the month of July, McCullers has made four starts, throwing 18.2IP, 32H/20ER, 15K:11BB. This is not good. Hey guess what: McCullers couldn't locate his fastball again! Here's McCullers:
I don't care about my numbers, personally. I think I've gone out there the past couple times and put the team in a bad spot with the way I've thrown, so that's more frustrating. 

*Astros starters have thrown 122.2IP in July, second-fewest in the Majors over that span.

*The bullpen has allowed 37 runs in their last 33IP. In July, Astros relievers posted an AL-worst 5.79 ERA (4.81 FIP/4.05 xFIP) for a -0.2 fWAR, 4th-worst in the Majors. They've collectively given up 1.93 HR/9 - worst in the Majors over this month.

*Tony Sipp:
The box score doesn't show it, but I feel really good. 

No, the box score doesn't show that he feels good. What the box score does show is that Sipp threw 0.1IP, 3H/5ER, 0K:2BB yesterday. The box score shows that Sipp has a 6.39 ERA. A quick look at FanGraphs tells you that his 6.39 ERA is inflated, but it's not as though a 5.05 FIP is good, especially when he's your only lefty reliever option.

*Will Harris, activated from the DL on Friday, was put back on the DL yesterday morning. Harris:
It just was still painful to throw. We didn't think that was going to be the case when I got activated...But it didn't quite get better like we thought.

*Tyler White pitched the bottom of the 8th, if you want to know how things are going. Hinch:
We're not in a good spot right now. We're beat up. And we're having to wear it a little bit. 

*Joe Musgrove is pouting a little bit, being in the bullpen:
It's fun being down there, knowing you have a chance to throw every day, but I wish I could throw more. Maybe down the line I'll get a chance in a more high-leverage situation, but right now, I'm just trying to do my job.

Musgrove allowed back-to-back RBI doubles yesterday.

*

#Astros didn't make major move before last deadline and it was noticed in clubhouse. Will be even more of letdown this year if nothing done.

— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) July 30, 2017

*The Astros were the favorites to land Justin Wilson, who shut them down on Saturday, but ultimately the fu Cubs won the bidding war. Chicago traded their #4 prospect and their #17 prospect (according to FanGraphs) for Wilson AND catcher Alex Avila. FanGraphs called them "interesting but superfluous" prospects. Dave Cameron:
Part of why you develop prospects is to exchange them for big leaguers when you need the help, and the Cubs needed to get better this year to take advantage of their current window to win.

Hm. That sounds familiar. Anyway, 3B Jeimer Candelario is a 23-year old 3B completely blocked by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Think "Tony Kemp." Now he's one of two players traded for a really good lefty reliever. Cool.

*Joel Sherman says the Astros are the strongest pursuer of Zach Britton and are willing to take the chance on his forearm holding up "because his upside would give them the best chance to win series in October. Baltimore wants an Aroldis Chapman-like return.

*The price for Brad Hand is still "insanely high," though maybe toned down a little, given what the Tigers took for Justin Wilson.

*Ken Rosenthal's latest post on Facebook tells us the following:
-The Dodgers and Yankees are the hottest on Darvish
-The Yankees and A's are at a stalemate on Sonny Gray
-The Dodgers are more focused on Zach Britton and could make a push for Gray if the Yankees back out.

The Dodgers are 74-31.

*David Schoenfield:
There's enough talent for the Astros to make a trade and keep the talent pipeline flowing. What deal will Luhnow make?

*Let's keep in mind that the Rangers just traded Jonathan Lucroy to Colorado for a PTBNL 363 days after trading Lewis Brinson (a Top 20 prospect) and Luis Ortiz (a Top 100 prospect) to get him.

*Did you know that Jeffrey Robert got inducted into the Hall of Fame yesterday?

*Former Astro Lee May passed away at 74. May was the key piece in the Cincinnati trade that gave the Reds Joe Morgan, and he was later traded to Baltimore for Enos Cabell.

*HISD is the 2nd-largest employer of people receiving housing help.

Friday Morning Hot Links

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

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

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

Houston: -

Seattle: -17

West Tyler: -18

Anaheim: -19

Oakland: -23.5

*Off-Day Playoff Odds Check:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Jake Kaplan makes the case for Wilson.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Larry Andersen is very happy for Jeff Bagwell:

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

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

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

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

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*James Paxton is a very good pitcher who has, this season, owned the Astros. That doesn't mean the Astros are deficient or poorly built or anything negative. Sometimes you just run into a really good pitcher, he handles you, and you go about your off-day before embarking on a nine-game road trip. It was the Astros' first series loss since June 16-18 (Boston). The Astros are 63-32, with a 15.5-game lead with 67 games remaining. After today there are just seven off-days left in the regular season.

*James Paxton vs Houston, 2017: 20IP, 12H/1ER, 20K:4BB. 0.45 ERA/0.80 WHIP. Hinch:
We swung the bats fairly well early and hit a couple of balls hard and didn't really push anything across, but he's really good. His arm strength is at the top end of left-handed starters in the league. 

Catcher Mike Zunino, on Paxton:
He's obviously got swing-and-miss stuff and they're a free-swinging team. He's got enough stuff to miss bats and that's a good combination against those guys.

Do you want to tell Zunino that the Astros have the fewest strikeouts in all of baseball? Or that they rank 23rd in overall swing%? Or should I?

*There are twenty pitchers who have thrown at least 10IP against the Astros this season. Five of them have an ERA under 3.00:
James Paxton - 0.45
Ervin Santana - 2.08
Jason Vargas - 2.45
Sean Manaea - 2.70
Ricky Nolasco - 2.77

But nine of those twenty have an ERA over 5.00. So.

*Guillermo Heredia made the defensive play of the game, getting George Springer at third.

*AL West, last 30 games:
Houston: 19-11
Seattle: 16-14
Oakland: 16-14
Anaheim: 14-16
Arlington: 13-17

*Off-Day Playoff Odds check:
FanGraphs (102-60): 100% to win division, 15.8% to win the World Series
FiveThirtyEight (104-58): >99% to win division, 22% to win the World Series
Baseball Prospectus (102-60): 100% to win division, 19.1% to win the World Series.

*Carlos Correa's surgery was successful, and Alex Bregman will be playing Shortstop this weekend at Baltimore. Here's Correa's Instagram post from the hospital room, post-op.

*Dallas Keuchel described the last seven weeks as "a mini-offseason." He will make one more rehab start on Saturday before - ideally - rejoining the rotation the following week, probably against Detroit. Keuchel:
I fully expect this to be the last one if everything checks off and it goes as planned.

*Will Harris can be activated from the DL tomorrow, but he'll play catch for the first time since going on the DL instead. Harris:
I don't feel it at all. It's only been throwing the ball, and trying to throw the ball with some effort, that's causing my problems. 

Hmm. Given that he's a pitcher on a Major League Baseball team, he should probably wait until it doesn't hurt to throw with effort to come back.

*The Astros are still among the teams interested in Detroit's Justin Wilson.

*Jerry Crasnick writes about what the Dodgers and Astros might do at the Trade Deadline (now 11 days away). An AL Talent Evaluator:
Knowing what I know about Jeff, there are some serious aggressive machinations to find that starter or bullpen guy.

A scout:
Do you give up Kyle Tucker or Francis Martes for a small, marginal difference in that Game 3? I don't know. Do you give it up to get Britton? Maybe you do.

There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth on The Twitters yesterday as everyone caught up to the idea of the Diamondbacks trading for J.D. Martinez and the Yankees trading for a new 1B and two good relievers, all after the Cubs went out and got Jose Quintana. But please do keep in mind that none of those teams are leading their division and are trying to get into the playoffs via the Wild Card. That's obviously not a position they share with the Astros (see: Off-Day Playoff Odds check, above). Those teams need the two-ish weeks before the deadline to give themselves a leg up on their opponents to get into the playoffs, because those days could be the difference in playing in the Wild Card game and making golf plans on October 2. The Astros are looking for the right guy(s) to get them to the World Series. There's a vastly different philosophy between the two situations.

You run the possibility of another team being more aggressive and dealing for the guy(s) the Astros want, but it's not as though any of these trades happen in a vacuum. Let's say the Astros have been engaging the A's on Sonny Gray for weeks, months even. If the Brewers come in and offer something slightly better, Billy Beane is going to call Luhnow and say "Think you can offer something better than this deal?" Everyone knows the strength of the Astros' farm system. Oakland will play the teams against each other to get the best possible deal. There is never an actual Mystery Team.

*What is Sonny Gray really worth?

*Kyle Tucker is David Schoenfield's pick for Houston's untouchable player.

*Corpus' Alex Winkelman came within an out of no-hitting Frisco last night. Some Rangers' Double-A jacknut Marwin'd a pitch right up the middle. Winkelman went 8.2IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:2BB for his first Double-A win.

*Ryne Birk was promoted from Buies Creek to Corpus, and J.D. Davis was promoted to Fresno as Colin Moran figures to spend the rest of the season in Houston.
Birk (13th Round - 2016) was hitting .274/.340/.430 for BCA while Davis was hitting .279/.340/.510 with a Texas League-leading 21 home runs. 


*Ronnie Dawson, Josh Rojas, and Daz Cameron beat the dog piss out of Lansing, 20-3. After getting off to a slow start this season, Cameron is hitting .379/.433/.672 in July.

*Here's a cool profile from Philly.com on Todd Kalas.

*Kris Bryant is the latest superstar to hurt his finger on a head-first slide.

*In his 2nd PA for his new team, J.D. Martinez was hit on the hand by a pitch.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*Seattle. Wow what a dumb game! Lance McCullers was conspicuously inefficient and the bullpen gave up four hits - all four left the yard - in a 9-7 loss. The Astros dropped to 32-2 when scoring at least seven runs in a game. The Astros are 4-1 in extra-inning games. They are 62-31 with a 15.5-game lead over the Mariners. There are 69 games left.

*The Astros were down 1-0, tied 1-1, up 2-1, down 5-2, up 6-5, down 7-6, tied 7-7...and finally down 9-7. They went 2x10 w/RISP and left ten on base. (To be fair, the Mariners also went 2x10 w/RISP).

*Hinch:
They did more at the end to win. We have to give credit where credit is due...It is tough to lose that game. 

And on McCullers:
He didn't really have it tonight to make pitches...The more he tried and the more effort he gave, the worse that his location came...It just wasn't a night where he was making pitches to put guys away. He struggled with that. He looked uncomfortable in the sense with his timing, his delivery and his execution. 

*McCullers went 4.2IP, 6H/5R (4ER), 5K:3BB, HBP, and only threw a first-pitch strike to 13 of the 24 batters he faced. That's somewhat notable for McCullers: after he gets that first-pitch strike (182 plate appearances) he allows a .189/.247/.284 slash line with eight walks. But if he gets behind 1-0 (176 PAs) batters hit .250/.343/.349 with 22 walks.

*McCullers' last two starts: 9IP, 15H/9ER, 8K:5BB.

*Tony Sipp gave up two home runs in the 10th inning, one to lefty Kyle Seager and the other to righty Danny Valencia. Lefties are hitting .211/.286/.439 against Sipp this season. Sipp:
I felt like I threw two good pitches to get ahead, just didn't finish them off. On the slider [Seager] did what he was supposed to do with it. Same with Valencia, he hit it out also. Just got to make better pitches, especially in those situations. 

Yes. Let's start with making better pitches, especially in those situations. But, as Jake Kaplan notes, Seager was a career 1x14 against Sipp...before that go-ahead homer.

*Jose Altuve struck out with the bases loaded to end the 6th, and tipped his cap to reliever Tony Zach. While the Astros have been very good with the bases loaded on the season as a whole:

The #Astros have had 11 PAs with the bases loaded on this homestand and...they haven't gone very well pic.twitter.com/RzrkIOt5k1

— #1 Astros Fan (@AaronHlavaty) July 18, 2017

*Of course the big scare of the night came in the 4th inning when Carlos Correa reinjured his thumb during a swing and a miss. He was still dealing with pain from sliding head-first into a base at Atlanta on July 4:
I was wishing with the [All-Star] break it was just going to go away, but today I felt it really bad...The bat just released itself. I felt a lot of pain and felt like I couldn't go back in there. That's why I started walking to the trainer. 

So 'Litos is going on the DL for a couple of weeks, I would imagine. He'll be re-evaluated today.

*The Astros held a funeral for Carlos Beltran's outfield glove.

*Collin McHugh will throw a bullpen session today and then the Astros will make a determination as to where he'll rejoin the rotation. Hinch:
We want him to re-enter our rotation at some point this weekend, if all goes well with the bullpen. But we'll determine when the day and what's next for him after that session.

*Dallas Keuchel threw 29 of his 45 pitches for strikes in a Corpus win over Frisco last night, throwing 3IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:1BB. Keuchel:
The velocity was actually better than I thought it was going to be. I really believe that I could go in a big league game. It's just a matter of how I bounce back. Tomorrow is going to be the biggest key for sure. 

*According to MLB.com's Jon Morosi the Astros tried "for months" to get Jose Quintana, then says that - if Verlander is traded - Houston or Los Angeles are the likeliest destinations. Maybe the Tigers aren't completely full of crap, as they're now apparently willing to include "some" of the $68m Verlander is owed in order to make a potential trade happen (that can, notably, be canceled by Verlander himself).

*Bob Nightengale says the Astros need Sonny Gray (or a frontline pitcher) the most - given how dominant they've been this season, anything less than a World Series appearance "will be a disappointment." Gray may be more aggressively pursued by the Brewers, who want to counter the Cubs' acquisition of Jose Quintana. Detroit will likely hold on to Michael Fulmer until the offseason, when the bidding is open to the other 29 teams and not limited to playoff contenders. Nightengale predicts two trades:
1) Joe Musgrove, Forrest Whitley, and Teoscar Hernandez to Oakland for Sonny Gray
2) Derek Fisher to Detroit for Justin Wilson.

Would you be disappointed if the Astros didn't win the World Series? Would you be disappointed if the Astros didn't make it to the World Series? My answer would be a couched "it depends on how they played." If the Astros make it to a Game 7 in either the ALCS or World Series and just get handled, that's baseball. (Of course, it's easy to say such things now, in July.) If they get swept, that's a different story altogether. But this is the best team the Astros have ever had. There's no guarantee that 2018 will be better, so you play for the window you have. Right now the window is wide freaking open, and I want the Astros to take advantage of it. I refer you back to this July 27, 2015 post where I advocated for the acquisition of The Bastard Cole Hamels. Trading for a legit starting pitcher is going to hurt, but losing in the playoffs will hurt more.

*Related: Jeff Sullivan says Sonny Gray is back, and he isn't.

*The Marlins have ten teams on reliever David Phelps

*Some asshole scammed a bunch of families from the Sarah's House homeless shelter in Pasadena, saying he'd give them tickets to an Astros game if they gave him their Correa bobbleheads. The Astros hooked them up with tickets and parking to a different game.

*The GCL Astros' 21-year old 1B Jose Benjamin only needed six innings to hit for the cycle. He is hitting .361/.406/.689 in 17 games for the GCL Astros.

*The Blue Jays DFA'd Former Astros Great Lucas Harrell.

*There were 9,736 in attendance last night in Oakland. 

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*Anyone who was concerned that four days off would lead to a slowdown on offense was quickly reassured as the Astros scored eight runs in the 2nd. Astros beat Brian Dozier 10-4, and the rest of the Twins 10-1. The Astros are 4-0 against Minnesota this year, outscoring them 50-21.

*Hinch, 

That inning just continued to go, and it's one of the things I love the most about our team. We just keep coming at you...When we put at-bats like that together in a row, we're pretty dangerous.

The 2nd inning:

McCann struck out

Beltran walked

Gurriel grounded into fielder's choice, Beltran safe on error

Gonzalez single

Bregman double

Springer infield single

Altuve walked

Reddick sac fly

Correa single

McCann three-run homer

Beltran double

Gurriel grounded to short

*Charlie Morton threw 5IP, 3H/5R (4ER), 10K:5BB. The five walks tie a career-high for Morton. 68 of his 108 pitches were for strikes. Morton, on his outing:

It was kind of a weird outing because I felt like my stuff was good. I made a bunch of good pitches, but at the same time, there were some pitches right there that weren't executed.

*Michael Feliz came in to pitch the 6th and it took him 25 pitches to get two outs and load the bases. Chris Devenski got out of the jam and threw another inning in relief. Gregerson walked two batters in the 8th, giving the Astros pitchers a season-high nine walks on the night. The Twins were 1x13 w/RISP. Why did Hinch go to Devenski?

[The game] was slowly starting to deteriorate, and they had a lot of baserunners. It just wasn't worth not going to our [best] guys. 

*Astros pitchers have walked 5+ batters 20 times this season. They're 12-8 in those games. 

*Jose Altuve was 2x4 with a walk, breaking his streak of 3+ hit games at five, one shy of tying the MLB record. Altuve:

We won the game. I got two hits, I helped my team, and this is what it's all about. It's good to have personal records, but it's better to have records as a team. 

*Marwin Gonzalez was 3x5 with a home run and two RBI. He's hitting .314/.395/.590.

*The Astros are 61-29 and are 32 games over .500 for the first time since the last day of the 1999 season. Everyone in the AL West won except the Angels, so the Astros have a 16.5-game lead over the Rangers. There are 72 games left. If the Astros go 36-36, the Rangers would have to go 54-19 to win the division. 

*Marwin didn't watch the All-Star Game. 

*Will Harris was placed on the 10-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation, dated back to Tuesday. MRIs came back clean, and Harris isn't worried:

I've been treating it pretty aggressively the past week or so. It just didn't get to where we were comfortable with it. We'll take a few days and see how I respond to some rest and keep getting the treatment I've been getting. It shouldn't be a lengthy period of time. 

*Hinch is expecting Dallas Keuchel to make multiple rehab starts:

It's impossible to know what competition will feel like for him. As a baseball person I would expect it to be multiple (rehab starts), but you never count anything out when it comes to the players. 

*The plan for Collin McHugh is to throw his final rehab start in Corpus tomorrow (Sunday) and then rejoin the team next weekend. 

*The Astros and Tigers talked this past off-season about Justin Wilson, obviously couldn't work it out, but Houston may be re-engaging on him, says Ken Rosenthal. 

*Alex Bregman responded to Flees-gate: 

I maybe said some stuff I shouldn't have, but you live and you learn and I'm ready to play baseball in the second half. I'm excited.

Hinch indicated that he was dealt with by the Astros veterans. 

*Root Sports SW is now AT&T Sportsbet Southwest. Such a soothing, roll-off-the-tongue branding. (UPDATE: I know there's a typo here. I'm not changing it.)

*2nd Round pick Corbin Martin made his professional debut for the GCL Astros yesterday and threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 5K:0BB.

*22nd-Round pick Patrick Mathis hit a grand slam for his first professional home run in an 11-0 win over Bluefield. Starting pitcher Leovanny Rodriguez threw 4IP, 2H/0ER, 8K:1BB.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*We got Inefficient Fiers yesterday and a rare Devo-saster which, combined with a fantastic start from Future Astro Marcus Stroman, resulted in a 7-2 Astros loss. The Astros are 59-29 and have a 15.5-game lead in the AL West.

*Creepy Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, on Future Astro Marcus Stroman:
Stroman was dynamite today, against a good hitting club, too. His finger was great, but he just stayed on the attack.

Stay tuned for whatever the hell "his finger" means.

*The Astros managed to GIDP four times in the first five innings. Those four GIDPs in a single game is the highest for the Astros since August 7, 2014, a 6-5 loss to the Phillies (the 2014 Astros GIDP'd four times in a game three times). So are four GIDPs going to happen often? No. Was it frustrating? Yes. Am I glad I was at my daughter's birthday party instead of watching this game? Also, yes. But weird things happen. Let's go get Marcus Stroman before someone else does.

*But Mike Fiers didn't have a great start. Thirty of his first 60 pitches were balls. Or balls, if you're a negative person. That's okay, because Mike Fiers has been fantastic over the last six weeks, so he can turn back into Mike Fiers once in a while. His final line: 6IP, 5H/3ER, 6K:4BB. The last time he allowed nine baserunners in a start was on May 25, a 7-6 win against the Twins (10 hits, 1 walk). The walks are a little troubling. He's walked four batters in consecutive starts after having walked four batters just once this season previously.

After five rough innings, Fiers went back out for the 6th and did a pretty good job, for that inning. Fiers:
I thought I was coming out. I had to talk A.J. into letting me stay out there. I just wanted to save the bullpen a little bit more, save it another inning and help out. 

*Noted Ramger-killer Josh Donaldson got a pitch up and in from Fiers, which apparently pissed him off, right before he hit a three-run home run:
I don't think the guy was trying to do it intentionally. But at the same token, it's up around the head area, and nobody appreciates that. At the end of the day, I was happy to help our team win. 

*Chris Devenski had a bad day, allowing four earned runs on three hits and a walk in one inning of work. Way to go All-Star (/sarcasm). Those 4ER broke a nine-appearance run-less streak. You'd have to cumulatively go back to May 24 (19 appearances, 24.2IP) to get his last four earned runs. Ridiculously, his ERA is still at 2.73.

*Carlos Correa's 0x3, BB day broke his 15-game hitting streak but kept his on-base streak alive at 24 games.

*Marwin got his 16th home run of the season ranks 40th among MLBers, and tying him with Mike Trout, which means Marwin = Trout. However, his 218 ABs (note: not PAs, because I'm trying to get a jump on these by doing as much as I can on Saturday night while my wife is in the shower) are the fewest among those players with 16HR.

*Via the very valuable Christian Boutwell, the last time the Astros played a game without hitting a double was May 20. That's 45 games, homey. Offense is fine.

*SportsNet's extremely good reporter Shi Davidi talked to Jeff Luhnow about the Astros' plans for the trade deadline. Luhnow:
We want to win now, for sure, and we're going to do whatever it takes to win now. But at the same time, we've been building up currency, all these players in the pipeline so that we could be good for a long time. The Braves showed that they can do it for a decade plus. I don't know if we're going to be able to do that, but I certainly want it to be more than a three- or four-year run.

Imagine two to three more years of winning like this. (Mixed in with some dumb losses to the Blue Jays). If you don't click on any other article, read this one. It talks about the Astros planning moves to combat teams like Cleveland and Boston in October. And take notes. And change your pants when you're done.

*Jake Kaplan wrote about how Lance McCullers developed his curve.

*A.J. Hinch says everyone in the clubhouse wants more (and references the 2015 ALDS Game 4, a game of which we shall not speak):
I don't worry about contentment for our team. When you go to a man in our clubhouse, they want to be elite. They want to be really good. We want to lead the league in wins. Our aspirations are as high as they could possibly be. But everybody's are who feel like they have a chance. 

*The Astros are 10-6 in 1-run games; the Rangers are 6-14.

*The Astros "came the closest" to a trade this past off-season for the Tigers' lefty reliever Justin Wilson, but balked at the Tigers' offer of Wilson for Derek Fisher. This season Wilson has thrown 32.2IP, 18H/9ER, 48K:12BB. The Detroit Free-Press' Anthony Fenech writes that the Astros (as well as the Cubs and Nationals) have had "high-level scouts" at Tigers games recently. And the Dodgers, who are probably going to land J.D. Martinez, are interested in Wilson, as well. Fenech also writes that, while the Astros will likely check on the availability of Justin Verlander, a deal for him would be out of character for Luhnow.

*Tyler White and Forrest Whitley were named organizational players of the month for June, presumably, unless they're just projecting (which, yanno, Ground Control, yanevaknow). Tyler White hit .381/.455/.783 in June with 9HR/28RBI, 21K:13BB. Whitley threw 20.2IP, 18H/4ER, 31K:12BB in June for a 1.74 ERA/1.45 WHIP. Check out the unfortunately named "Houston, We Have Prospects" podcast with Corpus' Sam Levitt, whose latest guest is Forrest Whitley.

*Corpus outfielder Ramon Laureano - going into last night's game - was hitting .214/.294/.321. But he's heating up. In seven July games he's hitting .407/.448/.852 with seven extra-base hits. Laureano had eight extra base hits in 47 games in May-June.

*All six of the Astros' All-Stars came up through the farm system, and Hooks manager Rodney Linares is stoked:
It tells you that we did a lot of hard work, and I think Jeff Luhnow and his crew what they did up there drafting those guys and kind of allowing us to put our hands on those guys. Also, all the credit goes to the players because they are the ones that play.

*Today is the Futures Game - 3pm Central on MLB Network or MLB.com. You can watch Derek Fisher and Kyle Tucker on Team USA and Yordan Alvarez on Team World. 64% of the rosters from last year's Futures Game have been in the majors this year. Joe Musgrove and Alex Bregman were on the team last year.

*The Dodgers beat the Royals on a walk-off home run, and now have the best record in baseball by a half-game.

*Former Astros 2015 Wild Card Great Carlos Gomez says playing baseball in the United States is both a challenge and a dream.

*Do you want Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb this month? It's probably not going to happen.

*Arian Foster and Glover Quin invested in a 12-year old's lemonade stand.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

We're getting into Slow Time. Slow Time is when MLB teams look like they're going to take a couple of weeks off, what with the holidays, and so I let my guard down, sleep a little bit later. My alarm goes off at 4:40am for the following reasons:

1. It's my time to be alone. I'm married, and we have a 4-year old. I need alone time. My wife has insomnia, so that alone time doesn't come at night. I wake up early so I can sit and drink coffee, alone and in the dark like a serial killer. 

2. What with my current work schedule, early mornings are about the only time I have to post anything on Astros County. 

3. I might work out. Lol. 

So Slow Time is a little infuriating because the one morning I'll sleep in - you know, getting up in the middle of the day at 5:30am - that's when the Astros will have done something crazy. Astros County: Always Vigilant. 

*Jon Morosi is reporting the Astros have inquired about Tigers' lefty reliever Justin Wilson. Wilson hasn't been able to repeat his breakout 2013 season for Pittsburgh, in which he threw 73.2IP, 50H/17ER, 59K:28BB (2.08 ERA/1.06 WHIP), but he has been a serviceable option. He has played for the Pirates, Yankees, and Tigers in the last three seasons with a combined 3.81 ERA/1.26 WHIP and 192 strikeouts in 179.2IP. Last season he posted a 4.14 ERA, but set career bests in K/9, BB/9, and Groundball%. 

*The Astros and the city of Fayetteville, NC signed a 30-year agreement to build a downtown stadium, assisting with a revitalization project. Reid Ryan:

Whatever your expectation level is of this club, I promise you, we are going to exceed it. The transformation of downtown is going to be something to behold. 

Work will begin on the stadium, which will be ready for play in time for the 2019 season. For the next two seasons, however, the Astros will play at Campbell University in Buies Creek, between Raleigh and Fayetteville. 

*Tibbs updated his HOF Ballot Tracker with new Likely BBWAA Voter info and it seems as though Bagwell will only need to gain 13-14 new votes in order to secure election. Bagwell has appeared on 35 of 39 known ballots - 90% - (expect a glut of ballots to come between Christmas and New Year's, when writers are looking for a story to write, but he has already picked up two votes. 

SportsOnEarth's Mark Newman posted his ballot, in which he voted for Bagwell for the first time having apparently lost sleep over not voting for him last year. Newman:

It is less clear to me that we in the media are the best electorate for this process, but I continue to do my part and this year promise to do a better job with the allotted 10 boxes.

*Jose Altuve handed out toys and books to kids at Brookline Elementary in Houston yesterday. 

*Former Astros radio guy Brett Dolan writes that the Astros won the off-season. 

*Dallas Guy isn't impressed with the Astros' roster additions:

Weren't the Astros primed to ["dethrone the Rangers] last season? And the season before?...The Rangers added a major piece with Lucroy. That pretty much neutralizes the McCann signing. Are we going to act like Reddick is one huge deal? He wasn't that great for the Dodgers. I remember him throwing his helmet a lot when he was with the A's. 

Mmmmm. Yes. Thrown Helmets+ metrics...

*Brian McTaggart and Alyson Footer talked about the rotation on McTaggart's podcast.