Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros enjoyed a 5-run 1st inning and rode it out to a 6-4 win over the Fightin' Ausmuses. Houston is 101-53, and 59-20 at home. One win today or tomorrow gives the Astros 60 wins at Minute Maid Park in 2019. That's why home field is important. Houston has won six in a row, is 13-4 in September, and 44-20 since the All-Star Break.

*Scoreboard watching:

The Astros could have clinched the division last night with a Flower Mound win over Oakland, but they couldn't even get that right.The next Astros win or Oakland loss clinches the Astros' 3rd straight division title. Altuve:
We can feel it. We're excited. We are all anxious about things right now which is normal because we want to make it happen.

Hinch:
I can't compliment our team enough on the mindset we had. I know a lot of people think certain parts of the season were foregone conclusions and the talent on this team is supposed to produce these wins, but it's not easy. We don't read our own press clippings. We don't really care where people rank us or where people think we are. We show up to win.

The Blue Jays beat the Yankees, the Dodgers beat the Rockies.

Houston (101-53): -
New York (100-55): -1.5
Los Angeles (99-55): -2.0

It's essentially a 2.5-game lead over the Yankees for home-field advantage seeing as how the Astros have the tie-breaker.

*Zack Greinke: 5IP, 7H/4ER, 4K:0BB, one solo home run allowed.

Grienke's top of the 4th: Pujols single, Calhoun single, Simmons double, Walsh single, Smith single, Thaiss GIDP, Hermosillo strikeout. Four runs scored on 16 pitches. It's Greinke's third start as an Astro with at least 4ER. Hinch:
Greinke was not that sharp. He got nickeled and dimed a little bit with some seeing-eye singles. They pieced together some good at-bats, one after another. I haven't seen him give up like four or five or six hits in a row. The execution, doesn't mean it was bad. Just means they put up some pretty good swings. Getting out of it was most impressive because it was a big part of the game where I was going to have to go get him.

Greinke hasn't walked a batter in four starts (23IP), the longest walk-less streak of his career. His 2019 WHIP is 1.008. Provided Gerrit Cole doesn't shoot from 0.908 to 1.00, Jayson Stark notes that the Astros could be the first MLB team since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons with three SPs with a sub-1.00 WHIP.

*The bullpen of James, Pressly (in his triumphant return from knee surgery), Harris, and Osuna: 4IP, 1H/0ER, 7K:1BB. Hinch, on Pressly:
It's huge. To make the All-Star team as a reliever, it's really hard. You're up against a lot of things that usually don't work out for high-end relievers, and he made the All-Star team for a reason. Huge weapon for us. He's going to pitch incredibly important innings for us down the stretch and also into October.

On Peacock, who threw a healthy bullpen Thursday:
He is as happy and as comfortable as he's been in a long time. A lot of these guys will tell you that. I actually see it in his body language and in his demeanor and in his stuff. All of our information is that he's doing quite well.

*Yuli Gurriel was scratched with a stomach illness. Probably bowels was loose.

*Jose Altuve hit his 30th home run of 2019, giving the Astros four players with 30+ home runs. With four more home runs, Yordan could be the 5th. Jose Altuve is the first Astros 2B to hit 30 homers. Altuve:
I always wanted to hit 30 homers. I always said it before. A lot of people didn't think I could play in the big leagues. They kept telling me: 'No, no,' and then all of a sudden I hit 30 homers, so that's pretty good.

*In his 2nd game back, Carlos Correa hit two home runs for the 9th time in his career. Correa is hitting .277/.355/.568 in 2019. Correa:
I feel great. It felt great to get the rhythm, timing and today was a positive day. Obviously it gives you a lot of confidence. I spent like three hours in the mirror yesterday fixing my mechanics. It paid off.

*Josh Reddick on August 20: .260/.302/.377.
Josh Reddick since August 20: .347/.400/.556.

*Aledmys Diaz was 3x4. It's his 2nd 3-hit game of the season, and Diaz has an .818 OPS in 2019.

The @astros are up to something really special this season; they could get away with winning the Rookie of the year, the Cy Young and the MVP award . I don’t think any other team has accomplished this!

— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) September 21, 2019

*Mike Lupica: How the Astros became the model for MLB success.

*The Athletic's Mark Simon notes how Bregman's offensive totals are lower than they should be because he's been the victim of some great defense.

*Joe Posnanski: No team has ever had a pitching pair like Verlander and Cole. Posnanski:
No team has ever had identical twins quite like Cole and Verlander at the top of their rotation. The fascinating question will be: What will this mean come playoff time? On the one hand, the Astros basically go into the postseason with not one but two Tom Seavers and that seems like a pretty good recipe for winning a World Series.

*For the first time, Pat & I are going to make a serious attempt to monetize, and you can help support both Astros County & Lima Time Time with our Patreon! So I'm going to take a minute to talk about the levels, and what you get:

-Kyle Tucker ($5/month): Access to every episode of Lima Time Time 24 hours in advance of it being on iTunes.

-Yordan Alvarez ($10/month): The above, plus a weekly bonus show, plus a postgame show after every playoff game. Plus Hot Links from me on days that Flick takes them here (Monday-Wednesday).

-Alex Bregman ($20/month): All of the above, plus free tickets to Lima Time Time Live Shows!

-Justin Verlander ($75/mongh): All of the above, and we will record a Live Lima Time podcast at your house. For real.

*The Red Sox were eliminated last night and you just hate to see it. Also: Boston paid Rusney Castillo so much money that he can't play for the Red Sox.

*A's reliever Lou Trivino has oblique and ribs soreness after he fell in the shower.

*How to help victims of Tropical Storm Imelda.

*Soccer at the edge of the world.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Good morning! The Astros had their last off-day until [squints] Monday. They open a series against the Cardinals tonight.

*Don't forget to pick up your tickets to tomorrow's Lima Time Time Live Show at The Secret Group! Tickets are $5 and yes, we get a cut. Now is your chance to get all of your friends together and help us make a little scratch.

*Next up: You need this redesigned Air Yordan shirt. And this Michael Brantley: Professional Hitter shirt.

*Alright, on to Bidness.

*Anyone who is a Tony Kemp fan (which is limited to Any Human on Earth) has the Sad as it was announced he will be DFA'd in advance of Carlos Correa's activation from the DL.

We all know the situation:
-Tony Kemp seems like a legitimately great human being.
-Tony Kemp was out of options, so he would have to pass through waivers (he won't) in order to get sent back to Round Rock.
-Myles Straw is a little more versatile, and is definitely faster, providing more late-game options for Hinch. Ultimately the Astros went with Straw.
-Tony Kemp can now be included in any trade package put together between now and the 31st.

Kemp, 2019: .227/.308/.417, 29K:16BB
Straw, 2019: .256/.376/.321, 20K:15BB

You could make a case that the Astros did this to themselves by bringing Kemp up in 2017 for a total of 17 games - two in April, and then again as a September call-up. He made ten starts in those 17 games, burning an option year. Why was Kemp brought up in April 2017? Because Teoscar Hernandez was injured in a collision with Altuve in his first MLB game of the 2017 season (April 25). Teoscar Hernandez was playing because Jake Marisnick was on the 7-Day Concussion List, and came back five days later. That's stupid. Kemp was optioned back to Fresno after two games. It sucks for Tony Kemp, it sucks for us. Kemp will find a landing spot with a team and get an opportunity. And he still has a Ring. Best of luck to Tony Kemp in the future. Him and Evan Gattis hugging is one of the greatest things in franchise history. Better than Jeff Kent's helmet flip.

It also frees up one spot on the 40-Man Roster. Tyler White's DFA combined with Kemp's DFA makes it 38, but adding Correa from the 60-Day IL will bring it to 39. The Trade Deadline is five days away.

Let's look back at the 2013 Draft, and do a Where Are They Now?
1-1: Mark Appel. Retired.
2-40: Andrew Thurman: Traded to Atlanta in the Evan Gattis/James Hoyt deal, January 2015.
3-74: Kent Emanuel. 4.26 ERA in Round Rock in 2019.
4-107: Conrad Gregor. Last played in the Astros Org in 2016. Currently with New Jersey, of the independent Canadian-American Association.
5-137: Tony Kemp. DFA'd, July 2019.
6-167: Jacob Nottingham. Traded to Oakland in the Scott Kazmir deal, July 2015. Currently with the Brewers' organization.
7-197: James Ramsey. Last played in 2016.
8-227: Jason Martin: Traded to Pittsburgh in the Gerrit Cole deal, January 2018.
9-257: Brian Holberton: Last played in 2015.
10-287: Austin Nicely: Last played in the Astros Org in 2015. Currently pitching for Evansville in the independent Frontier League.

Only Kent Emanuel is still with the Astros (from the 1st 10 Rounds). Kemp, Nottingham, and Martin made it to the Majors from the Astros' 2013 Draft. Oh there was one more guy: 33rd Round pick Tyler White and...

*The Astros traded Tyler White to the Dodgers for 24-year old reliever Andre Scrubb. Scrubb throws in the mid-90s with a "funky delivery." A former 8th Round pick by the Dodgers, Scrubb has a 2.37 ERA / 1.21 WHIP in 57IP (66K:28BB) for Double-A Tulsa. He'll report to Corpus.

Tyler White is a sweetheart and had very nice things to say about the Astros on Instagram.

*The Mets "want to move" Noah Syndergaard and a "Rival Exec" said that the price for Noah Syndergaard is "a Top 30 prospect and a couple of other solid pieces."

*An AL scout says the Astros need a starting pitcher, but the farm system isn't as deep as you might think. In order to take care of the first thing, the Astros might have to deal Tucker or Whitley.

*Still other Unnamed Execs think the Deadline will be quiet through the weekend and then pop off on Monday.

*Marcus Stroman news:
-Joel Sherman says he's likely the biggest-named pitcher to get traded.
-Andy Martino says the Blue Jays might actually extend him.
-Jon Morosi says he has sources that say both Kyle Tucker for Stroman wouldn't be enough and that the Astros wouldn't trade Tucker for Stroman straight up."

*Madison Bumgarner news:
-Mark Feinsand says the Giants will hang on to him.
-Hank Schulman says the Giants haven't made a decision either way.

No one knows anything about anything. And anyone claiming otherwise is either lying, or is an idiot.

*Troy Tulowitzki retired, ending a 13-year career hampered by injuries. Tulo spent 10 seasons in Colorado, hitting .299/.371/.513. Then he got traded to Toronto and from mid-2015 through 2019 played in a total of 243 games, hitting .249/.313/.416. He was really good, and a really good Colorado hitter. Now he'll be an assistant coach for the University of Texas.

*Protests in Puerto Rico got their governor to resign.

*How Stan Smith went from a decent tennis player to the most popular trainer on the planet.

*A Musical Selection and damn if it's not a referendum on society right now:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Sorry about yesterday's Hot Links. I was simply Not Having It. The Astros got back up on the horse which literally means "Justin Verlander" and beat the A's 4-2. Houston is 66-38 with a 7.5-game lead on Oakland. They have won nine of their last twelve games.

*Let's start off with the Most Important News of the Day: A Live Lima Time Time!

Come out to The Secret Group (2101 Polk Street) for a live recording of the newest Lima Time Time episode on Saturday. Doors at 4pm, Show at 5pm. Bravado Spice will be doing some giveaways, and we have officially invited Jeff Luhnow, JJ Watt, Chamillionaire, and Guy Fieri. It's $5. You have nothing else to do at the end of July. If you can't make it to that, but are going to be at the Cage The Elephant/Beck/Spoon show at The Woodlands, holler. (Thank you so much, Claire and Pat).

*Hinch:
It was a good homestand, especially against the A's to come back after the tough loss and the tough start to the day early to give them a lead. When you take care of your own division, things start looking a little better. 

Verlander:
Any time you can be dominant in your division, much less the team that's second in your division, it's huge. You need to keep separation. Our job is to play good baseball and keep the separation and keep the gap, if not expand it. We were able to do that. 

Houston, vs the AL West:
Seattle: 9-1
Oakland: 9-2
Anaheim: 6-3
Haltom City: 11-6

35-12. When you're winning 74.4% of your division games, things are going okay. Some Wins could probably be described as Bullcrap, but some losses were definitely Bullcrap. It works out in the end. You don't accidentally win three-quarters of your games

*Hinch, to the Wonderful Susan Slusser, on the A's:
We match up pretty well against them, our best right-handed pitchers are good against their right-handed hitters, but they're good. They have a persistent lineup that's dangerous, they're tough to strike out even though we have high-strikeout pitchers. Their bullpen is always something to pay attention to...They're a well-balanced team. I love the fact the A's always squeeze performance out of their players, so you have to play good baseball to beat them, and this series has proven that. When we've given them a little bit of a window to come back, they've come back and beaten us, and we handled them in the first game with some explosiveness we have. Two good teams that hopefully fight it out to the end and both make the playoffs again.

*Justin Verlander threw 6IP, 2H/1R (0ER), 11K:2BB.

Verlander has allowed two home runs in his last 18IP, and has made two starts in the last three without allowing a single long ball. For the first time this season Verlander has made back-to-back starts with 10+ strikeouts. It's only the 16th start of his Hall of Fame career in which Verlander has had double-digit Ks and no earned runs.

Verlander has made 22 starts this season. 17 of them have been Quality Starts. He has allowed 0-2 earned runs in twelve of those starts. Verlander's three starts since the All-Star Break: 18IP, 14H/4ER, 30K:4BB, 2HR allowed, 2.00 ERA / 1.00 WHIP. Verlander finessed his way through the Oakland lineup:
I mixed them up quite a bit. Most of the time when I'm out there, I try to let the batter dictate the path I'm going to go with my pitch selection and trust my instincts. I threw quite a bit of offspeed today. They showed that they were being aggressive. They seemed aggressive throughout the game.

*Will Harris and Ryan Pressly (pitching for the first time since July 18) each threw a scoreless inning. Roberto Osuna allowed a run in the 9th. Osuna has now allowed a run in three straight appearances for the second time in his career and the first time since April 20-27, 2017.

Osuna, to All-Star Break: 37IP, 23H/8ER, 39K:6BB. 1.91 ERA / 0.78 WHIP.
Osuna, since All-Star Break: 6.2IP, 9H/5ER, 8K:2BB. 6.75 ERA / 1.65 WHIP.

Extract whatever you want from this.

*Jose Altuve and George Springer both homered. It's Springer's first home run at Minute Maid Park since June 26. Jose Altuve went 3x4 and with a double and a home run and is now hitting .287/.342/.511. On June 20 he was hitting .235/.318/.451. He has raised his OPS 84 points in 27 games. He has ten multi-hit games in July alone. Altuve, on his 2-run home run:
It was special because it was two runs and the game was on the line, and we have Justin on the mound and we all know everything we can give him. He's going to take advantage and he proved it...He's the best pitcher in the big leagues and it's really fun to play behind him.

[Gerrit Cole twitches and scratches at his neck]

*Robinson Chirinos was 1x2 with a double and an HBP. He now has at least one hit in his last five starts and has eight hits in his last 15 ABs.

*Alex Bregman is having a rough go of it lately, going 0x4 with two strikeouts. In his last five games he's 1x18 with 5K:2BB and an .067 BABIP. He's hitting .260 for the first time since June 21.

*'Litos should be back on Friday.

*Brian T. Smith: The Astros' outfield is basically a brotherhood.

*Here's a really cool story about the Gurriels and the support they all offer each other on a daily basis. Yuli:
Every day and every night, (Lourdes and I) try to help each other and talk after each game. He tells me what I did wrong. I tell him what he did wrong and what we need to improve upon and all that. Every day we're constantly trying to get better.

Combined Los Gurriels have 38 home runs. The single-season home run record by brothers is 61, with Jason and Jeremy Giambi.

*Jake Kaplan: Neither Hinch nor Luhnow seem to be concerned about not having a lefty in the bullpen. What's the state of the bullpen a week out from the Deadline?

*Ken Rosenthal wonders if the recent setbacks by the Astros' top prospects (Whitley and Bukauskas) will ruin their Trade Deadline.

*Let's do an off-day Playoff Odds Check:

Site	Proj. Rec.	% to win ALW	% to win AL	% to win WS
B-Ref	100-62	92.8%	29.8%	16.6%
FanGraphs	102-60	99.3%	35.9%	22.8%
538	102-60	95.0%	-	18.0%
BPro	101-61	98.1%	-	20.5%

*Jeff Passan: Just about a week before the Trade Deadline, why has it been so quiet?

*Heads-up alert: The Mets may now be willing to trade Noah Syndergaard AND Edwin Diaz.

*The Astros are still on Madison Bumgarner's Strategic No-Trade list.

*Forrest Whitley started for Fayetteville last night and threw 37 of his 61 pitches for strikes, going 3.1IP, 3H/2ER, 2K:1BB, and was sitting 95-96mph.

*The Cheatin-Ass Cardinals are celebrating the 2004 NL Champion Cardinals prior to the Saturday game against the Astros. This is Next-Level Petty, and I'm here for it. I hereby petition the Astros to hold a Welcome Home From Prison Chris Correa ceremony prior to a June 2020 game, preferably against the Cardinals. Feel free to refer back to this 2015 post if you feel like getting all riled up about Missouri.

*The hell happened in yesterday's Red Sox game?

*RIP 2019 Rangers: They've gone 5-15 in their last 20 games and Joey Gallo may have broken his hamate bone.

*Noted Ass Hole Addison Russell got demoted to Triple-A.

*On Sunday, HOF Induction Day, The Daily Beast highlighted the politics of Mariano Rivera. Yesterday he defended himself.

*The Cut: The most gullible man in Cambridge.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*Busy day around Base Ball yesterday as a ton of moves were made. To recap:

-Perennial Silver-Medalists the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired Homer Bailey and some prospects for Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, and Alex Wood.
-Seattle acquired Former Astros Great Domingo Santana from Milwaukee in exchange for Ben Gamel and another guy.
-The Angels signed Matt Harvey.
-Oakland traded for Jurickson Profar.
-Oakland signed Joakim Soria.
-Daniel Murphy signed with Colorado.
-Tampa officially announced the signing of Charlie F. Morton. Houston will pay Michael Brantley $2m more than Tampa will pay CFM. I do not have an opinion on how this should be taken.
-Meanwhile, the Astros did not trade Kyle Tucker.

*Does Charlie Morton even think about us anymore? Regarding Tampa:
The thought of being able to play close to home and with such a talented group, a young group, an exciting group, seemed something too good to be true. I guess I was looking for a really good situation overall more than a dollar amount, more than a year amount. The quality of character in the clubhouse, those things are really important to me. 

But, b-but...

*Shoutout to Buster Olney for finally blowing the whistle:

The Dodgers are experts at baseball money-laundering. They have cleared the slate for Harper, if they can work it out:

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 21, 2018

*In The Athletic, Jake Kaplan took a look at the bullpen in the wake of Joe Smith's injury.

*Jon Heyman thinks the Astros made a mistake in not extending a Qualifying Offer to Morton and Marwin.

*ABC13 is trying to start some beef between Reddick and Bregman. They also highlighted Dallas Keuchel's new Houston-inspired shoe.

*Meanwhile, here's Brian McTaggart on Lance McCullers, Jr and his charitable efforts.

*Jay Jaffe broke down Billy Wagner's HOF case.

*Here's a KERRRRAZY story from ESPN: a new lawsuit accuses the Mariners - and GM Jerry Dipoto specifically - of discrimination. A wild paragraph:
The lawsuit also says several Latino players complained to Dr. Lorena Martin about feeling excluded and that general manager Jerry Dipoto took midseason steps to deliberately undermine the progress and mental state of star pitcher Felix Hernandez.

*The complicated free-agent case of Manny Machado.

*Here's Eduardo Perez on what the U.S.-Cuba deal means to him.

*Here's SI on the statistical trends that will dominate baseball in 2019.

*The New Zealand Herald is super-pumped about Nick Tanielu joining the Auckland Tuatara. Tanielu (2014 14th Round pick) has hit .295/.341/.421 in parts of five minor-league seasons.

*Please make sure you listen to the almost-hour-long interview with Lance McCullers, Jr. on Lima Time Time.

*2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg: Not Here To Dance.

*A Musical Selection:

Lima Time Time Special Event

Our immune systems are probably going to regret this, but Patrick and I hosting a 24-hour Bozoathon benefiting legit charities to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Here are the details: From 7pm Central Friday to 7pm Central we will be live-streaming this decision on Mixlr, have an embedded player right here at Astros County dot com, and the plan is to also record each guest's segment and upload it to SoundCloud.

"Wait, guests?" you ask. And we laugh heartily. Yes, there are special guests. "How special?" you ask again as we impatiently wait for you to end your line of questioning. Okay, so here is everyone who has confirmed with us that they will come on at some point during the 24 hours:

Keith Law, Kevin Goldstein, Jonah Keri, Nikki Glaser, Lana Berry, Will Weldon, the Old 97s' Rhett Miller, Jenn Sterger, Michelle Beadle, Pat Monahan, Mark Agee, Levi Weaver, Roy Wood Jr., Andrew Youngblood, Stephen Brandau, Zahid Dewji, Katie McGee, Mayor of Cooperstown Jeff Katz, Brian McTaggart, Eric Nadel, former MLB player John D'Acquisto, Steven Goldman, Grant Brisbee, Alan Michael, rapper Fat Tony, Space City WX's Matt Lanza, Seth Payne, New York Times' Tyler Kepner, Kam Franklin, Nick Mundy, Robert Flores, Evan Drellich, Owen Benjamin, Billy Wayne Davis, SABR BioProj founder Mark Armour, Mike Drucker, Mike Mulloy, Aristotle Georgeson, Andy Lassner, Josh Kantor, Jose de Jesus Ortiz, and probably a lot more once people realize we're not screwing around. I DM'd Colby Rasmus (for real, I did), but haven't heard back.

Of course this list is subject to change, edit, deletions/additions. You know how it goes.

How can you donate?



Click this link and every single dollar will go to legit charities benefitting Harvey victims - not charities in which 23% goes to their administration costs (cough cough Red Cross).

The goal is $10,000 in the 24 hours. We're already at $550 thanks to two donors who are very sweet. If we can JJ Watt this thing and get up to, like, $Eleventy Billion, that'd be great, too. Let's do this thing.

Talking with Lance McCullers and your Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*Last night we recorded Episode 32 of Lima Time Time with special guest Lance McCullers. We talked Tal's Hill, 7th grade literature, hair products, and Rangers masturbating each other.

*The additions of Morton, McCann, and Reddick prior to the Winter Meetings means that Luhnow & Co. can focus on specifics in Washington next week. Luhnow:
It does make it a little easier in that we've already accomplished a couple of goals. When you go to the Winter Meetings and try to get everything done in three or four days, it can be pretty intense. If we can afford to go to the Winter Meetings focused on one or two complementary moves, that would be the best outcome for us. 

*Jim Callis says that, with a little work on his command and his changeup, Francis Martes is ready for the big leagues.

*The saga, and fallout, of Jon Singleton.

*Minor-league catcher Roberto Pena has signed with the White Sox. The Astros' 7th Round draft pick in 2010 (and son of former Astros catcher Bert Pena) hit .237/.283/.342 in six seasons from the GCL to 15 games in Triple-A. Tyler Heineman and Garrett Stubbs are the highest-ranking catcher prospects in the organization now.

*26-year old RHP Nate Eovaldi has been released by the Yankees. Eovaldi, a Houston native, will be coming off Tommy John surgery as well as flexor tendon surgery. But with velocity increases over the past three seasons (up to 97.1mph in 2016 before needing surgery), a team will surely take a chance on him. Might that team be the Astros?

*Chris Carter and his 41 home runs in 2016 will not be tendered a contract by the Brewers.

Monday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat the Mariners 8-1 on the back of Carlos Gomez's grand slam yesterday. The Rangers beat the Cubs.  The Angels beat the White Sox, and the Blue Jays beat the A's. The Ramgers division lead remains at 4.5, while the Astros are back to four up on the Mariners. The Astros are two behind the Red Sox for WC1 and one behind the Blue Jays for WC2.

FanGraphs has the Astros at 40.3% to win the division (Oak Cliff is at 54.6%) and 63.3% to make the playoffs.

*Lima Time Time: Episode 18 with special guest Nick Mundy is up now.

*Collin McHugh Houdini'd his way through six scoreless innings.

*Jose Altuve recorded his 5th 4-hit game of the season, and he got 36 votes from 74 players asked who could break Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak, which ended 75 years ago yesterday.

*Hinch said he never really felt comfortable during yesterday's 8-1 win.

*Jon Heyman hasn't heard a target date for Alex Bregman's call-up, but it isn't going to be this series at Oakland. Austin is gearing up for four games with Fresno starting in Round Rock tonight.

*Yulieski Gurriel will be a free agent at the end of his essentially 4 1/2-year contract.

*2016 2nd Round pick Ronnie Dawson went 2x2 with 2HR/5RBI and two walks yesterday.

*Six hours and 31 minutes after first pitch the Greeneville Astros walked it off against Bluefield in the bottom of the 20th inning.

*The Cardinals' Chris Correa may be looking at three years in prison. Sentencing is today at 1:30pm.

*Barring an "overwhleming" offer, Chris Archer is not available.

*The new CBA negotiations could include a return to the 154-game season.

Lima Time Time: Episode 8

Patrick and James plod along - much like the Houston Astros this week, getting into topics such as:

*What's up with Dallas Keuchel?
*How does McCullers' return affect the rotation?
*Thoughts on the Brian Smith/Carlos Gomez flap
*Is Luis Valbuena done?
*Importance of this week

Lima Time Time: Episode 6

We sit down (for the first 20 minutes, anyway) with MLB Network/NHL Network's Robert Flores to discuss the Astros, University of Houston, and who is ruining hip-hop.

After he bids you adieu you can be amazed at how quickly we bounce between volatility and cautious optimism regarding:
-The week that was
-Ken Giles
-Mark Appel
-How do you fix the Astros
-Carlos Gomez
-Luis Valbuena/Colin Moran
-The opportunities presented this week.

Lima Time Time is sponsored by Bravado Spice

Lima Time Time: Episode 5 - They don't think it be like it is, but it do

Patrick and James record an impromptu episode in a 6-15 therapy session.

Lima Time Time Episode 4: Game of Throws

Episode 4 of Lima Time Time: Game of Throws, in which Patrick and James discuss the Astros' slow start, getting swept in Arlington, starting pitching struggles, hitting struggles, baserunning struggles, what to do with Chris Devenski, Lance McCullers' nagging injury, and what we should watch instead of the Astros.

Sponsored by the Bravado Spice Company

Timely: Lima Time Time interview with Fenway Park organist Josh Kantor

A timely and topical interview with Fenway Park organist Josh Kantor, in which we talk about a secret fraternity of organ players, Johnny Damon, how he got his job, and we somehow manage to avoid making any juvenile puns about his organ.

Lima Time Time: Episode 3

Your well-traveled and refined hosts Patrick McLellan and James Yasko discuss this week in Astros, including topics such as:
Losing balls in the lights
Tyler White's deal with the devil
Poor situational hitting
The Kansas City Royals
Club Cub

Lima Time Time: Episode 2

For your listening pleasure, enjoy the velvet tones of Episode 2 of Lima Time Time



Also be sure to subscribe to Lima Time Time on iTunes.

Lima Time Time: Episode 1

Good evening and Happy Opening Day Eve! Writer/Comedian/Intellectual Patrick McLellan and I have teamed up to bring you a new weekly podcast series entitled Lima Time Time. It's wonderful.

Topics of conversation include:
*The point of Lima Time Time
*Jon Singleton
*Does it matter who the "Closer" is?
*2016 expectations
*The Albert Pooholes home run
*Jose Lima's bizarre method of taco eating
*2016 record predictions

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

First up: I am pleased to announce that Astros County is starting a new media venture with writer/comedian Pat McLellan and comedian John Wessling. This new podcast - which will also feature special guests to be revealed later - will be called Lima Time Time and will also include us "calling" an Astros game on the reg on Rabble.tv. So get excited, because this is happening. #LimaTimeTime

The Astros beat the Yankees 1-0 yesterday to improve to 5-1 on the Spring. Mike Fiers threw two scoreless innings, as have Scott Feldman and Doug Fister. Today at 12:05pm Central Doug Fister takes the mound for the second time to face the Nationals.

*Top story of the morning - other than that one - is that the Astros and A.J. Hinch agreed to a revised contract this offseason. Details in the Chron are sketchy, but it seems as though there is more guaranteed money through at least 2018. Luhnow:
We're committed to A.J., and he's committed to us. We don't comment on contracts.

*Danny Worth probably won't make the Opening Day roster, but his versatility and demeanor give him value (Astros.com). And he throws a mean knuckleball (Chron).

*Mike F. Fiers has been working on a slider. (Astros.com)

*A.J. Hinch said that whoever ends up as the SP5 won't be influenced by who is more suited for long relief. (Evan Drellich). Mike Fiers isn't worried (Chron).

*Jon Singleton is David Schoenfield's pick for the player who needs to have a breakout season for the Astros to truly contend (ESPN).

*Evan Gattis (hernia) hit 25 overhand pitches this morning and is expected to take BP tomorrow pending a doctor's checkup today (Brian McTaggart).

*Relevant to the Astros and Dallas Keuchel: the Cubs and Jake Arrieta both want an extension, but disagree on the number of years (SB Nation).

*The recent history of teams like the Royals (FanGraphs).

*10-year old Landis Sims was born without hands or lower legs. He took BP with the Yankees yesterday (ESPN).

*How hockey is helping the Czech Republic national baseball team rise up the rankings. (Fox Sports)

*Four French designers are trying to build the ultimate soccer almanac (Vice Sports)

Before you go: this gif of historical home run leaders is mesmerizing.

Historical home run leaders of #MLB. #baseball #datavizhttps://t.co/XESTkTPqtG pic.twitter.com/c7K9Ud5uR0

— Randy Olson (@randal_olson) March 8, 2016