Sunday Morning Hot Links

Some guys became available around MLB. If I'm Dana Brown, I'm looking for pitching help. Let's take a look at that, and more? I guess.

*Hector Neris declined his $8.5m option for 2024. Neris threw 133.2IP for the Astros in 2022-23 with a 2.69 ERA / 1.03 WHIP with 10.5 K/9. If I'm Neris, I'm taking a picture of Rafael Montero with me to any meeting and saying, "Give me more than he got."

*Lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez has opted out of his contract with Detroit, leaving 3yrs/$49m on the table to go to free agency. Rodriguez has posted 3.0+ fWAR in three of the last four seasons. 

*Marcus Stroman opted out of his deal with the Cubs, leaving 1yr/$21m on the table. Stroman has made 50 starts in the last two seasons, totaling 4.7 fWAR with Chicago.

*San Diego and Nick Martinez declined their respective options. Martinez was worth 1.4 fWAR in 2023, his Age 32 season, appearing in 63 games with nine starts.

*Seth Lugo opted out of his deal with San Diego. Lugo posted 2.8 fWAR in 26 starts. 2024 will be his Age 34 season. 

*San Diego also declined the 2yr/$32m option on Michael Wacha. Wacha posted 2.6 fWAR in 24 starts for the Padres.

*Tampa placed reliever Jalen Beeks on waivers. Beeks had an ugly 5.95 ERA in 42.1IP but with a 3.82 FIP.

*Lefty reliever Joely Rodriguez only threw 11IP in 2023, but Boston declined his option for 2024.

*Cody Bellinger declined his option and is a free agent.

Bellinger, 2017-2019: .278/.369/.559, 111 HR/288 RBI

Bellinger, 2020-2022: .203/.272/.376, 41 HR/134 RBI

MAN. If only we knew about what happened between the 2019 and 2020 seasons that changed the way Bellinger, or any member on the Dodgers, really, approached the plate. Crazy to think that after three seasons that included a Rookie of the Year and an MVP award that someone would just forget how to hit. I wonder what might have changed. Nice that he remembered how to hit without getting any signals in 2023 though. 

*Chicago declined their $14m option on shortstop Tim Anderson for 2024, who said in 2020 that he - and presumably the rest of the White Sox - were going to approach the Astros trying to "knock everybody's heads off - from the owner down to the trainer."

*Within his Sunday Links post, FanGraphs' David Laurilia tells us that Former Astros Great Marwin Gonzalez became just the fifth player in MLB history to homer in both the World Series and the Japan Series. The Japan Series was a tale of two fanbases.

*Thank you to the University of Oklahoma, who made sure I get to watch college football the rest of the season with no anxiety whatsoever. 

*Fluminense beat Boca Juniors in dramatic fashion to win the Copa Libertadores.

*Eight things running and the creative process have in common.

*Happy First Day of Daylight Saving to all of us who love the darkness.

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*Just as we all suspected - or at least hoped - they would, more details emerged about the Astros' sign-stealing scandal; Namely, that it originated with Former Mets Great Carlos Beltran, according to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich:
Carlos Beltran, a highly-respected veteran with a Hall-of-Fame resume, had helped create the system, and as the senior member of the [2017 Astros], his voice functionally prevailed over all other. Clubhouse dynamics are a powerful force, conditioning players to keep quiet and respect veterans, and ultimately played a role in the Astros' snowballing scandal.

(A non-paywalled version of the story can be found here)

This new reporting uncovers a few new details:
1) There was a system in place to relay signs to a runner on second base in real-time on the road via the replay room.
2) Brian McCann tried to get Beltran to stop on at least two occasions.
3) It was Beltran who told the Astros that their sign-stealing was "behind the times."
4) Codebreaker - the predictive Excel spreadsheet - was legal (as has been noted) as an advance scouting tool. "Cora and Beltran decided that this video room stuff Koch-Weser was doing was just not working, inefficient, too slow."
5) Depending on who Rosenthal and Drellich talked to, Astros players were either uncomfortable with the trash-can banging, or they loved it.
6) Beltran went from Houston and the parade back to the Yankees as an executive, and disclosed some of what the Astros were doing to New York.

Joe Musgrove:
I was in my first year, man, along with Bregman and a lot of those guys, and in your first year in the big leagues you're around guys like Beltran and McCann, some big names. And I'm not going to be the pitcher to walk up and tell 'em to knock it off.

(Speaking of Musgrove, he also said:
I don't want to say [the 2017 World Series] is tainted, but I think it is....If MLB did an investigation as thorough as they did on the Astros with every team in baseball, they're going to find a lot more than they want to find.

So Beltran arrives in Houston after 2.5 seasons in New York (and part of the 2016 season with the Ramgers, of which I have zero recollection) and tells them their sign-stealing isn't up to par, then he "fixes" it and goes back to New York. Yeah I see no Yankees connections to it at all.

And that's the thing: Manfred wanted this to be quick and easy and everyone hates the Astros anyway thanks to Brandon Taubman and the Osuna trade, he hoped MLB would just move on. Here's hoping they don't.

*This article from the Washington Post's Barry Svrluga and Dave Sheinin says that the Astros' sign-stealing was "a big open secret...throughout baseball" beginning as early as 2016 and "maybe earlier." And then, "the whole industry knows they've been cheating their asses off for three or four years."
Former Astros Great Tony Sipp warned the Nationals about their sign-stealing, as did several members of the Dodgers.

*Marwin Gonzalez, speaking to reporters:
I'm remorseful for everything that happened in 2017, for everything that we did as a group, and for the players that were affected directly by us doing this and some other things. That's why I feel more regret and that's why I'm remorseful.

*Speaking of players that were affected directly, Former Blue Jays Great Mike Bolsinger has filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing the Astros of unfair business practices, negligence, and intentional interference with contractual and economic relations.

Bolsinger is from McKinney [raises eyebrows]. He posted a career 0.5 fWAR in parts of four seasons, and walked 27 batters in 41.1IP in 2017. Bolsinger enjoyed an ERA of 5.50 or higher in three of his four MLB seasons. Bolsinger's last game was August 4, 2017 when he allowed 4H/4ER, 1K:3BB in 0.1IP at Minute Maid Park. The Astros fan behind SignStealingScandal.com noted that the August 4 game was when the trash-can banging peaked. Bolinger:
I don't think [Manfred's] punishment has fit the crime. And let's be honest, all these guys are going to get managing jobs again...Guys like us that were cheated? I don't have a job. I'm not playing.

Man, it would be a real shame for this to go to actual trial where details about what other teams were doing were required under oath. Sports Lawyer Michael McCann fleshes out Bolsinger's case.

*Jim Crane will head to West Palm Beach on Wednesday (today) to talk with the 2020 Astros about how to address the sign-stealing scandal to the media, which the team will apparently do on Thursday.

*Baseball Prospectus' updated PECOTA standings have the Astros winning the 2020 AL West by 12 games.

*Jesse Sanchez notes that the Astros have the AL West's best bullpen.

*The proposal to shake up MLB's postseason.

*Love and Lhotse.

*She was a running prodigy. He was the most powerful man in track. How her promising career unraveled.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Happy Friday! The Astros got waxed and they don't play today as they travel to Mexico. I will be attending Nick Senzel's debut tonight in Cincy to cope.

So here's what happened yesterday afternoon:

Bregman: 1-4, Solo HR
Kemp: 1-3, RBI
Diaz: 2-4
Peacock: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
Marwin Gonzalez: 2-3, 2 R
Jason Castro went yard

Full Box:

Here's Chandler Rome with the series thought about what just happened here.

Time to compare Aprils from the 2018 and 2019 Astros.

Paying for parking is bad, so here are some tips to pay less for parking.

How lucky have our pitchers been so far in 2019?

Kyle Tucker hit a HR, Yordan is hitting over .400 now, and Cionel Perez's ERA is..uh.. still under 6.

Here are notes of other minor leaguers as well:

The River Bandits are actual River Bandits now.

A dog consumed over $200 in cash. He's okay.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1975, Nolan Ryan got pranked on the mound by his former team with a rubber snake.

In 1998, Dan Wilson hit the first inside the park grand slam in MLB history.

In 2011, former Houston Astros great Francisco Liriano threw his first complete game of his career, which also ended up being a no-hitter.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Houston lost last night in the Return of Marwin. The Astros are 13-9, 1.5 games behind Seattle and 0.5 ahead of Arlington. Houston has lost four of its last five games since the ten-game winning streak. They're 6-1 at home.

*The Astros have given up 29 runs in their last three games. A quick check of Baseball-Reference indicates that this is not ideal. From June 3-6, 2018 Houston allowed 21 runs. You have to go back to September 9-10, 2017 to find a three-game stretch (Sept 9 was a doubleheader) in which the Astros allowed more runs, with 31.

*Marwin got a warm ovation in his return to Minute Maid Park.

Thank you Marwin! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/2rT1PFS4d4

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 22, 2019

*Brad Peacock gave up three runs in the first two innings, but settled down for a 5IP, 6H/3ER, 2K:3BB performance. Hinch:
It's a few games in a row for us where we really haven't gotten into the game very easily. I was happy with how (Peacock) responded to it and got through five innings.

Reddick:
I think if we get past the point of the first where we're not down, I think we have a good shot going into it. This thing will pass. 

*Houston has allowed 19 runs, and an MLB-leading 18ER, in the 1st inning in 2019. Opponents are hitting .308, also an MLB-worst, in the 1st inning. They are now 4-5 when beginning the 2nd inning behind.

*It was 3-1 Minnesota in the top of the 6th when Josh James decided to allow 4H/4R (3ER), 3K:1BB.

Josh James, 2019: 12.2IP, 10H/11R (10ER), 17K:8BB, 3HR. 7.11 ERA / 1.42 WHIP.

*It was 7-5 Minnesota when Chris Devenski gave up a 2-run home run, giving him a 2H/2ER, 0K:1BB outing. He does not get to be called "The Dragon" for the time being.

*Eight of the Twins' nine runs came with two outs.

*Jason Castro hit his first home run since March 31, 2018. It's his second home run against the Astros, making Brad Peacock and Tony Sipp the sole members of a very not-special club.

*Brian Arbour asks where the Astros' DH production is.

*Last night was the 11th time this season the Astros have recorded 10+ hits. They're 7-4 in those games.

*Michael Brantley was 2x5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He has an 8-game hitting streak and nine multi-hit games on the year.

*Carlos Correa hit the 85th home run of his career. It was his 9th career 3-run homer. Correa has home runs on consecutive days for the first time since May 31-June 1, 2018.

*Josh Reddick was 3x4. He's hitting .365/.403/.476, and has three 3-hit games in his last five. Reddick has made a point since Spring Training of trying to go the other way with the ball. All three of his hits were to opposite field. Reddick:
It's too cliche, but I'm not trying to do too much. I'm just going up there and using what they're going to give me, and I had a pretty significant hole over there on the left side today. If they keep pitching away, I'm going to try to keep going that way until they come in. It's a matter of just riding that wave as long as I can because eventually it will come crashing down and I've got to get back up on that board and go again.

*The Astros were 2x8 w/RISP. They're now 42x187 (.225) with runners in scoring position.

*Yordan Alvarez was the first minor-league player to 10HR with his 9th inning blast as Round Rock beat Memphis 9-4. Taylor Jones hit two home runs, and Jack Mayfield added another shot. Alvarez is hitting .339/.451/.915 with 11K:11BB. Not bad, I guess. He has 18 home runs in 62 games at Triple-A. He's 21 years old.

*Seth Beer is the Carolina League Player of the Week, after hitting .391 with three home runs. Through 16 games, Beer is hitting .333/.403/.540. Jake Adams, Bryan De La Cruz, Beer, and Colton Shaver are all OPSing over .900.

*Man, the rules changed pretty quickly around here. Rangers manager Chris Woodward - who came to Arlington from the Dodgers - is celebrating how well his team has been stealing signs. Woodward:
You know what you are holding. Now, if you had a chance to know what both cards the dealer has are, wouldn't that increase your chances of success? And if you knew (what) the dealer had with those two cards before you even placed your bet, wouldn't that increase your wager?

I'm old enough to remember when the Astros were blitzed in the media for having a guy near a bullpen.

*Emma Baccillieri: Pirates pitcher Nick Burdi's injury is a cruel reminder of how fleeting success is for baseball players.

*Shoutout to Towson University, who upset Grand Valley State to win the NCAA Dodgeball Championship.

*SI: Has anyone ever Googled Jerrod Mustaf?

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

These are my first Hot Links since baseball is back but it's also at a time where I'm very busy with school stuff. Therefore, I can't go into as much detail as I'd like to today.

Also, once my schedule finally clears, I will be writing up a piece on Marwin, who as many many many of you know has been one of my favorite Astros for a long time. Like, pre-2017. Be on the look out for that one sometime this week.

The Astros beat both the Braves and the Mets yesterday. Altuve is expected to get his first Spring Training action tomorrow against the Mets (again) and Justin Verlander will take the hill to pitch. AT&TSportsNet is carrying tomorrow's game that starts at 1 EST/12 CST.

Here are some of my favorite Astros player names that played in some capacity in Spring Training games yesterday that you probably have never heard of:

Granden Goetzman (LF)

Kristopher Scheetz (P)

Nick Tanielu (3B)

Jonathan Arauz (SS)

Corey Julks (CF)

Osvaldo Duarte (2B)

Carmen Benedetti (RF)

We always have the best named players in baseball.

A.J. Hinch is not looking at just stats this spring.

Corbin Martin got a taste of some major league hitters yesterday afternoon against Atlanta.

Framber Valdez pitched and didn't allow a run, but it wasn't necessarily a pretty thing to see for a guy competing for the 5th rotation spot.

Goodbye Marwin ;-;

Cionel Perez wants to start and we should let him!

Goodness gracious Myles.

I like Abraham Toro, and because I do, I am going to bump this Athletic article about him.

On This Day in Baseball History:

In 2016, the Chase Utley Slide Rule was officially introduced.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros play today. I'm going out of town with the family later this morning until tomorrow (Sunday). The Hot Links will likely be on the 1-Day DL with discomfort for Sunday. There you have it.

*Marwin F. Gonzalez signed a 2yr/$21m deal with Minnesota. I do not have a rational explanation for the reason why the Astros could not re-sign him for a similar deal. A $10.5m deal for Marwin is $2.7m less than what Dallas Keuchel made last year. Clearly the Astros believe that Aledmys Diaz - and his 2019 salary that is approximately $10m cheaper than what Marwin just signed - can at least come close to replicating Marwin. Who am I to disagree? Maybe this is why I am a disaster of an owner after five years of OOTP, because I reward past performance and nostalgia. Maybe don't let a history teacher be the GM of your team. Still. Gonna miss Marwin. Good for him.

You cannot tell the complete story of the Houston Astros without Marwin Gonzalez:


Revisit Jenny Dial Creech's column on Marwin's Game 2 Homer.

*But this is when MFG became a True Astros Hero:



*Here's the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Patrick Reusse with a Houston-based scouting report of Marwin. Basically what's not to like about a guy who can play 6-7 positions with decent-to-good defense at all of them and a good bat.

The only good thing that can come out of this is the Twins keeping Cleveland and the Extremely Problematic Tyler Bauer out of the playoffs. Reminder that Tyler doesn't think climate change is a thing, likes Chief Wahoo, is an Obama Birther, and thinks the Astros cheat.

*Unlike Tyler, Alex Bregman is not an actual corn-filled chunk of crap and did a really cool thing for a 9-year old kid.

*Bleacher Report's Joon Lee writes about Alex Bregman wanting it all. Bregman:
I don't find that much wrong with baseball...Stop saying no. Start saying yes.

*Ken Rosenthal: Alex Bregman means Bidness.

*Here's a 16-minute SportsRadio 610 (or whatever the spacing is) segment about whether Dallas Keuchel could return to the Astros.

*Chandler Rome: Brady Rodgers has come full-circle for the Astros.

*Jake Kaplan: Myles Straw wants to steal all the bases.

*The Houston Press' Jeff Balke asks if Kyle Tucker can take the next step in 2019, comparing Tucker's limited PAs to Bregman's limited PAs to open his MLB career.

*Catcher Scott Manea - acquired in the J.D. Davis trade with the Mets - handled a Verlander spiked curve and caught an "Attaboy" and felt very good about himself. Manea:
For [Verlander] it's a low-stress situation, but for me it's probably the most stressful situation I've been in so far this year.

*The Crawfish Boxes have a "Where Are They Now" edition for the 2012 Astros' Top Prospects.

*Should you be a subscriber, and I am decidedly not, of Baseball America, they have an "If Every AL West Team Was Homegrown" article.

*The New York Times' Tyler Kepner takes a look at the new direction of the Baltimore Orioles, which is similar to the New Direction of the Houston Astros But Seven Years Later.

*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan has accepted a position with the Rays, and we are all worse for it.

*Facts & Figures from SI's Top 100 MLB Players list.

*Christopher Hasson plotted attacks from his desk.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Lunchtime Hot Links

Soooooo sllooooow. Baseball is actually a dream and we'll all wake up and have to pee at 3am, knowing it will never be played again.

*Here's an unpaywalled interview transcript between Chandler Rome and Jim Crane, in which he addresses bringing back Keuchel/Marwin, extending Verlander/Cole, etc.

*Hinch named the starting rotation for the first slate of Spring Training games.
Saturday: Framber Valdez
Sunday: Rogelio Armenteros
Monday: Justin Verlander
Tuesday: Gerrit Cole
Wednesday: Wade Miley/Collin McHugh
Thursday: Brad Peacock

*Catching prospect Jamie Ritchie noted that Forrest Whitley looks "ready to go."

*Jake Kaplan has a great story about Abraham Toro, the Astros' French-Canadian-Venezuelan prospect. Forrest Whitley, on Toro:
He is like the most underrated prospect in our system. There are a few guys who don't get as much attention as they deserve and I feel like he's the main one.

*

You asked and we listened! Here is our 2019 fauxback jersey with a nod to the @astros rainbow pattern and all the orange! 😍 #20STROng

Catch these bad boys in action at every Saturday home game this season and grab yourself one to match here ➡️ https://t.co/DapAZ7qbV6 pic.twitter.com/pCCn8CsHid

— Round Rock Express (@RRExpress) February 21, 2019

*In The Athletic: No baseball departments have been hit harder by analytics than scouting.

*How Tim Donaghy fixed NBA games.

*Urban Organics wants to fix food.

*A Musical Selection. I may be the only dude in America who still listens to the Dandy Warhols regularly:

 

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*Pitchers and Catchers reported yet people out here questioning whether baseball is back. Shut up, virgins.

Astros manager AJ Hinch: "When you set a franchise record for wins and people ask you 'what happened?' at the end of the year, that's a unique question."

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 13, 2019

*Check out McTaggart's Notebook, in which we learn about how the Astros plan to adjust without Marwin, how Brad Peacock learned a changeup from Twitter, and some Meat Wagon updates.

*Gerrit Cole won his arbitration case and will make a laughably-low $13.5m in 2019.

*Jake Kaplan has the biggest questions facing the Astros going into Spring Training.

*Brian T. Smith: Great expectations are normal now.

*Jose Altuve and Robinson Chirinos spoke about the unrest in Venezuela.

*FanGraphs: Top 100 Prospects list feature Forrest Whitley (#4), Kyle Tucker (#10), Corbin Martin (#50), J.B. Bukauskas (#88), Josh James (#98), and Cionel Perez (#100). Yordan Alvarez came in at #125.

*Here's Chandler Rome's story on Forrest Whitley and Corbin Martin throwing 110mph.

*Frankie Tuesday could return from Tommy John surgery in Agosto o Septiembre.

*Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell will be in the booth for some games this year. Berkman was surprised to only get 1.2% of the HOF vote in his first year.

*Former Astros Great Bob Grossman signed a 1yr deal with Oakland.

*And now that Grossman and Former Astros Great Xavier Cedeno have signed, the market is now set for Harper, Machado, Marwin, and Keuchel to sign.

*Czech out this NYT story on the 11-full time employee, church-headquartered Sports-Reference (which I visit daily).

*Ryan Adams dangled success, multiple women say they paid the price.

*A Musical Selection:
Note: 1:03 into this video is one of my favorite musical moments of all time. 

Monday Morning Hot Links

We've been on a good clip lately with these consistent Hot Links. 6 days in a row folks! It's almost as if pitchers and catchers report in two days or something.

First off, we hit the blog milestone of 6,000,000 total views (per James) since this site was set up. I'm glad to have been a part of some of them, even if it is a very small percentage. Here's to 6 million more 🥂

No Astro won a Grammy last night.

Tags predicted the Astros 25-man roster, including the 5th starter and some of those bullpen spots currently up in the air.

At this point, it sounds like Dallas Keuchel isn't going to get anything close to his 6 yr $150 mil deal he wanted as well as Marwin's 4 yr. $60 mil via MLBTradeRumors.

George Springer spoke at Woodlands Church this morning.

J.D. Davis has been spotted in blue and orange.

New Lima Time Time Pod dropped last night and it involves the 2013 Astros, so listen to that if you enjoy pain.

The Daily News published a short interview with Todd Naskedov, the Astros pitching rehabilitation coach, or as some may call him, the Don't Get Hurt Ever Again Coach.

Adam Jones is still available.

There a half male/half female cardinal flying around Pennsylvania somewhere and even after reading this multiple times I'm still not entirely sure how this happens and what this means for the bird.

Somebody made a banana piano for a Kazakhstan tech festival.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*FanFest was yesterday so there's actually something to (maybe) write about. Let's see:

*When are the Astros gonna do something (besides trade for Aledmys Diaz and sign Michael Brantley)? Luhnow says there's a "decent likelihood" of at least one more move. Would that include bringing back Keuchel and/or Marwin? Jim Crane said the door is open.

Given the Diaz trade it seems more likely that Keuchel returns than Marwin, though I don't have a clue as to whether those are "10% chance is better than 5% chance" type of odds.

*Jose Altuve is expected to be ready for Spring Training after suffering a broken kneecap at some point in 2018.

*You knew this if you had listened to the Lima Time Time podcast with Lance McCullers, Jr., but LMJ has hit "every benchmark" required to begin the rehab process from Tommy John surgery.

*Justin Verlander is open to signing an extension with the Astros.

*The Astros and Correa have not yet discussed an extension, or in buying out arbitration years. Correa:
For me, right now is not the time to talk about [an extension]. Obviously coming off the injury last year and the down year. I'm looking forward to bouncing back this year, be the player I am and we go from there. 

*What with Joe Smith out at least for the first part of the season, the Astros are open to adding a reliever. Just get one from the Reliever Tree behind Minute Maid Park, jeez.

*Oh hey the Astros putting six prospects on the MLB.com Top 100 list:

7. Forrest Whitley
8. Kyle Tucker
44. Yordan Alvarez
62. Josh James
81. Corbin Martin
97. J.B. Bukauskas

Whitley is the highest-rated pitching prospect and baha remember when the Nationals could have had Bukauskas and others if they just would have let Bryce Harper play in Houston for the last two and a half months of the season? Cool front office, dudes.

San Diego and Atlanta are the only two teams with more prospects on the Top 100 list. Minnesota is the only other team with two prospects in the Top 10.

Here's how the AL West shakes out in terms of prospects on the Top 100, with the highest ranking prospect number in parentheses)
Houston: 6 (7)
Oakland: 3 (12)
Arlington: 3 (85)
Seattle: 3 (43)
Anaheim: 2 (14)

*Brian T. Smith says FanFest is fun and all, but another free agency move may be needed. Smith is in mid-season form, as the three opening sentences of the piece are one-sentence paragraphs.

*The Astros' Hall of Fame & Museum will open in March, and Alyson Footer has the details.

*Ozzie Guillen's son, Ozney, will be Tri-City's manager in 2019.

*Talks regarding J.T. Realmuto have apparently picked up, but the Marlins won't let teams discuss a contract extension with Realmuto in this, a free country built on capitalism and oppression.

*The Guardian: Inside the Secret World of Hostage Negotiation.

*The guy who founded Bulletproof Coffee has spent $1m in his quest to live to be 180 years old.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Happy Monday! We have the total number of Hilbert's problems days left until spring training begins.

George Springer is going to be the co-marshal of the Houston MLK Day parade today with Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.

The Astros have proved that analytics are good for player contracts.

Meet Tanner Duncan, an undrafted free agent pitcher who is turning heads and will be playing for OUR Fayetteville Woodpeckers (buy the merch) in 2019.

Part 3 of the Astros trades of the Luhnow Era is up on Crawfish Boxes and they ask the question if we should have kept Jed Lowrie over Marwin Gonzalez (no.)

Gerrit Cole should absolutely not lose his 2019 arbitration case. 

Evan Gattis met a young fan and he is looking SHARP.

I have searched the Internet for a very long time and cannot find any rumors with any potential weight behind them or any other Astros-related articles posted within the last 36 hours. Something's gotta happen.

It's MLK Day, so here are some of the best ways to celebrate for people of all ages.

Somebody set up a device to play Toto's "Africa" in a desert in Africa forever.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

We have gone two days without Hot Links because..well..there have been an impressive lack of articles in the last few days. We still don't have a lot to read up on but I will send you the few that I have gathered up for today so you don't go three days without them.

Brian McTaggart was on MLB Network a few days ago. Here is what he had to say about Keuchel, the bullpen, Cruz, and more.

The Elegy of the 2018 Houston Astros.

Jake Kaplan did a mailbag on The Athletic involving the 2018 Astros offseason for any Athletic subscribers out there. ($)

The Astros re-signing Keuchel are not good.

The Marlins are not budging of the Realmuto trade necessities and it sound like the Astros aren't either.

Brent Strom is good at his job and this is how good.

The Round Rock Express revealed their new look for 2019.

alex bregman has a big house.

The first Marwin news in literally months has been officially reported. Who's interested?

Make sure to sign up for the Houston Sports Golden Ticket, which is exactly what it sounds like.

Beaver Bourbon and Runaway Peacocks: 2018 Got Wild in New England

Monday Morning Hot Links

*The Winter Meetings start today. Will the Astros do something? Maybe! Possibly not!

*Jake Kaplan has ten thoughts on the Astros as the Winter Meetings get underway. Among the names bandied about: Arizona's Robbie Ray, St. Louis' Jose Martinez, Nelson Cruz, Daniel Murphy.

*It doesn't look as though Houston is in on Japanese LHP Yusei Kikuchi.

*The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reports that the Astros have checked in with the White Sox on Jose Abreu.

*Jon Heyman said the Astros were dangling J.B. Bukauskas and Cionel Perez to Arizona for Paul Goldschmidt.

*Buster Olney has an Insider-Only piece that tells us:
-The Astros have competition looking for a starting catcher in the Dodgers and Mets.
-The Astros were not seriously involved in chasing down Nate Eovaldi, but it seems as though the Astros are more interested in upgrading the rotation via trade (meaning Kluber or Bauer or Syndergaard or Greinke).

*The price tag for Kluber or Tyler Bauer is said to be "very, very high." And why not? Also, I feel that if the Astros acquire Tyler Bauer it will be solely to troll me, personally.

*If you want Robbie Ray - a 27-year old lefty with 601 strikeouts in 460IP and a 3.89 FIP over the last three years, with two years of team control remaining - the price tag is pretty high.

*The Padres are interested in Marwin. Any team with a brain and/or a pulse should be interested in Marwin.

*Alyson Footer writes about the two-day women's inclusion conference hosted by MLB.

*Todd Kalas stays winning.

Bloodys and a day of football. Not a bad way to kick off Winter Meetings ⁦@MandalayBay⁩ pic.twitter.com/IerFq5souQ

— Todd Kalas (@RealToddKalas) December 9, 2018

*Sunday Night Baseball games will be an hour earlier next season.

👀👀👀👀👀@ABREG_1 | #INDvsHOU pic.twitter.com/9TZzBGMEfG

— TORO 🐃 (@TexansTORO1) December 9, 2018

*Harold Baines' similarity scores on B-Ref are Hall of Famers Tony Perez (1), Al Kaline (2), Billy Williams (4), and Andre Dawson (5). His election to the Hall of Fame significantly helps Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltran, Dale Murphy, and Edgar Martinez.

*If this Irish woman and her husband, a 300-year old Pirate Ghost, can't make it then what hope do the rest of us have?

*A musical selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Yesterday I had the "opportunity" to drive from Galveston back home in Central Texas. There was a wreck on 45 North before the Beltway. Then there was one on 610. And another on 290. It was a Saturday. All the while I was leading a co-worker who wasn't familiar with driving in Houston, so I had to make sure that I couldn't lose him. How in the world did I ever learn to drive there?

*Yesterday Jeff Luhnow made his first Move of the off-season by acquiring Aledmys Diaz from Toronto in exchange for Rule-5 Draft-Eligible pitcher Trent Thornton. Thornton was the Astros' 5th Round pick in the 2015 Draft. The 25-year old Thornton put up a 4.85 ERA in 124.1IP for Fresno in 2018, though he was Fresno's rock in the rotation for most of the year. Regard:

-Thornton made 24 appearances in 2018. He allowed 3ER or less in 18 of them.
-His stats are belied by his July 5 start in which he allowed 8H/10ER in 1.1IP.
-In his last two starts of 2018 Thornton threw 10.2IP, 18H/11ER, 12K:4BB.

Trent Thornton is a good pitcher and maybe he missed his buddy Ken Giles in Fresno and maybe he'll be okay or maybe not.

Cuban-born 28-year old Aledmys Diaz is basically 2019 Astros Marwin. He posted a 1.6 fWAR in 130 games with a 102 wRC+. Marwin posted a 104 wRC+, so the difference is negligible, and Diaz is under team control until 2023 while Someone is about to give Marwin $60m+. Diaz played 38 games at 3B, 95 games at SS, and played three games in LF for St. Louis in 2017. He only struck out in 13.7% of his Plate Appearances last year, which would put him between 2018 Jose Altuve (13.2%) and 2018 Tony Kemp (14.9%) if all things were equal (and they're not. Like, at all.)

I love Marwin, but this is a cost-saving move for the Astros with little-to-no-dropoff in offensive production (as of 2018). The removal of Thornton from the system means Ronnie Dawson cracks the Org Top 30!

Toronto GM Ross Atkins:
Trent is someone that we've targeted for some time, and are confident that his deep repertoire and strike-throwing ability allows him to be a factor for our major-league rotation in the near term.

Ken Rosenthal notes that the Astros still want to keep Marwin.

*Jon-Paul Morosi has a (some?) source(s?) that say the Astros are far more involved in trade negotiations than free agent discussions. On the list? Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto. But Miami, which is basically a criminal organization, want one of Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley. This is understandable, but the Marlins are actually Very Stupid.

*Are the Astros a dark-horse to sign Bryce Harper? One dude from SI seems to think the Astros will sign Harper to an 8yr/$280m deal.

*Oh hey the Mariners did an internal review of Dr. Lorena Martin's accusations and just up and decided that her claims were unfounded. Click the link to read the But Wait! section.

*From The Ringer, American Curmudgeon: On Jeff Tweedy.

*I just finished the first season of Rabbits, a podcast that was Very Weird and Enjoyable.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday "Morning" Hot Links

*Dave Hudgens is the next one out in the Great Astros Departure.

*Jose Altuve won his 5th Silver Slugger award yesterday and is one of two Astros to accomplish this feat.

*I worry that Marwin will not come back................

*The Astros intentionally walked 4 batters all season.

*J.B. Bukauskas moved up 2 levels in the minor league while only pitches 59 innings for the year ($).

*Shooting Stars auditions are next Saturday if anyone's interested.

*Alex Bregman tips well.

*Tags is a...podcast man now?

*JOSE CISNERO IS STILL PITCHING!


Sine 1990, there have been 34 Astros to have their first and last name start with the same letter. Can you name them?

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*It is 145 days until the Astros open the 2019 season at beautiful scenic historic Tropicana Field.

*The Red Sox and Astros are listed as 6/1 favorites to win the 2019 World Series.

*The Astros extended a Qualifying Offer (1yr/$17.9m) to free agent Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel:
I would assume we'll turn it down and look at other offers and figure out what's best.

That's a safe assumption. Dallas Keuchel racked up 3.6 fWAR in 2018, and a total of 14.6 fWAR from 2015-18. That ranks 15th among all MLB SPs, one spot above Chicago's Jose Quintana who signed a very-friendly 6yr/$37m contract for the 2014 season. That's one end of the possible spectrum for a Keuchel contract. Another comparison might be David Price, who has 15.2 fWAR since 2015. Prior to the 2016 season Price signed a 7yr/$217m contract prior to his Age 30 season. While Keuchel doesn't have the track record that Price did, he still is a former Cy Young winner, three-time Gold Glove winner, Top-5 MVP season, lefty pitcher with command.

So I think I'm safe in assuming that Keuchel will get somewhere between $6m and $31m this season. I'm thinking someone ponies up 5yrs/$100m for him. One expert predicted 5yrs/$105m.

More Keuchel:
It's the element of the unknown that's a little concerning, but I have a few vacations lined up. I'm not going to be thinking about it much. I'll be getting updates and doing my due diligence. I'm going to be enjoying the whole process and I'll figure out where me and my family want to be.

If this is the end of the road for Keuchel in Houston, let's just take a second to appreciate his time with the Astros. He was here for the worst, and most magical, seasons in franchise history.
76-63 record. 3.66 ERA / 3.72 FIP / 1.25 WHIP.
Three-time Gold Glove winner
Two-time All-Star
2015 IP leader / SHO leader / WHIP leader
World Series champion

4-2 record in the postseason. 3.31 ERA / 1.14 WHIP.

*MLBTR predicts Keuchel signs a 4yr/$82m deal with Washington. In addition to that pick, MLBTR also predicts:
-Marwin signs with Minnesota for 4yrs/$36m
-Morton to Philly for 2yrs/$32m
-Catcher Wilson Ramos to Houston for 3yrs/$36m
-Zach Britton to Houston for 3yrs/$33m

*The Astros did not make Qualifying Offers to Marwin Gonzalez or Charlie Morton.

*The Astros declined their $5.5m option on Will Harris, but he'll remain with the team as he's arbitration-eligible for one more year.

*The Astros did claim catcher Chris Herrmann off waivers from Seattle. The lefty-hitting/righty-throwing Herrmann will be 31 later this month and hit .237/.322/.421 in 2018.

*But if he's the Opening Day Catcher then something may have gone wrong. Brian McTaggart asks if J.T. Realmuto is a Realpossibility (see what I did there) for the Astros this off-season. McTaggart runs down some other catching options on the market, as well.

*The Astros did decline their option on Brian McCann (not surprising) and outrighted a rehabbing Jandel Gustave off of the 40-Man Roster.

*SI's Tom Verducci writes that sign-stealing is this off-season's most important topic for baseball. Verducci:
Many clubs now have as many as six high-magnification cameras installed in their home ballpark specifically designed to steal signs from opponents.

"Many," huh?

*Collin McHugh and Brent Strom are part of MLB's team heading to Japan for the Japan Series, November 8-15.

*ICYMI: Alex Bregman talked to Friend of Astros County Mike Oz about dressing up like Mark McGwire every year for Halloween.

*The Athletic's Lindsay Adler writes about Joe Girardi's summer coaching youth baseball.

*The Guardian: Meet the Marathon Cheats.

*A musical selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Well friends, it was a good effort. We did what we could, but unfortunate events, bad misplays, and poor health ended our season quicker than what we wanted it to. I'm not going to go over the game in detail. There just wasn't a lot that stood out besides the Marwin home run and I don't really want to relive it, so I will turn it over to Tags' recap here.

Before I get started on any Hot Links, I would like to talk what a fun thing I'm adding during Offseason Hot Links. Since the amount of links has a good chance of decreasing since, you know, the Astros won't be playing anytime soon, I am planning on creating online Astros-related quizzes to attach at the end of the Hot Links. There will be no prize, because you could easily just Google the answers. I highly suggest that you don't do that though, because it kind of takes the fun out of the whole thing and c'mon nobody is really going to remember you "the guy who knows everything about the Astros because of his Astros quiz scores" This might decrease the amount of actual links posted on Fridays since I will have to make them from scratch, but it brings more interactivity to the daily posts. Anyways I have a few ideas lined up, so stay tuned for those starting next Friday.

~Now Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming~

Was the Justin Verlander trade the best deadline deal in baseball history? Michael Baumann has the answer.

Sure we lost in the ALCS, but it gave us this cool stat.

Remember when Erik Kratz tripped in our 2016 intros? That was on purpose.

2018 playoff games are running long. Is that a problem? Can we fix it?

The Astros were cleared from their sign-stealing allegations and other teams are not happy about the ruling.

No matter how good your team is, you still need at least a little luck on your side.

The fans who tried to catch Altuve's Home Run Ball That Wasn't open up about what they experienced.

There is a report that Lance McCullers was pitching through a torn UCL. LMJ would not comment on the report. Potentially no Keuchel, Morton, and LMJ heading into 2019. We'll see.

Let's start looking at some thoughts about upcoming free agents:

Marwin Gonzalez: I Hot Link'd this video a couple weeks ago and it seems as if Marwin is seen as part of the "core" of Astros, so there is a better chance than not of him returning to Houston. (pls)

Dallas Keuchel: Likely gone. He's going to get paid big money by somebody this free agent season (like the Yankees, probably). He has the 2nd highest 2018 WAR for a free agent pitcher going into this offseason.

Charlie Morton: likely the biggest question mark of them all.

Maldonado and Gattis are both free agents. Which one do we bring back? Or is this Realmuto trade still a thing?

Tony Sipp: Believe it or not, Tony posted a decent 0.9 WAR, but it's good enough for the 7th highest available relief pitcher on the market.

We Might Finally Know What Smacked Uranus Sideways (welcome back, funny headlines. I missed you.)

This is like the third drunk bird story I've shared, but dangit it's just so funny every time.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1972, the A's beat the Reds 3-2 in Game 4 of the World Series thanks to four 9th inning singles, three of which were hit by pinch hitters.

In 1981, the Expos were eliminated and were never in the playoffs again after Rick Monday hit a 2-out 9th inning home run to move the Dodgers to the World Series.

In 1999, Andruw Jones won the Braves a pennant by taking ball four with the bases loaded in the 11th inning.

In 2004, Alex Rodriguez was called out for interference after swatting the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove. The Red Sox went on to force a Game 7 after winning this game, the first team to ever do so after going down in the series 0-3.

In 2005, the Houston Astros decided they wanted to go play in their first ever World Series.

In 2008, the Rays went on to play in their first ever World Series after defeating the Red Sox 3-1, the first time in franchise history.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

So #blessed to be able to recap the abomination of this baseball game that happened yesterday evening. True story, I was unable to get yesterday and tomorrow off of work, so I had to listen to the radio call was I was hanging out at work. When Osuna gave up that grand slam, people were worried about me. Somebody literally gave me candy to cheer me up. I was sad. I am still sad. And I'm gonna be honest: I'm terrified for tonight. The way I see it, if we win this game tonight with Morton on the hill, we have Verlander at home for game five and another David Price start for game six (who was bad, even though the Red Sox won that game Sunday). If we lose tonight, sure we still have that going for us, but the problem is there are absolutely no room for error down 3-1 and I can't live with that.

~Dallas Keuchel had another rocky first inning and got his 6.88 first inning ERA inflated once more. He has given up 26 earned runs in the first inning and 24 earned runs in innings 2-4.

~Y'all hated Ken Giles but Roberto Osuna is sitting at a quite unfashionable 67.50 postseason ERA.

~Meanwhile, the Red Sox bullpen that I was told was bad has only given up 3 hits and only one run over 6.1 innings in the last two games.

~One of the positives to come out of this game, however, was Tony Kemp. I love Tony Kemp.

~So, uh, FiveThirtyEight now gives the Astros a 22% chance to win the World Series and a 33% chance to win the ALCS. HOWEVER, we have a 57% chance to win Game 4 tonight.

~FANGRAPHS ON THE OTHER HAND gives us a 54.2% chance to still escape the ALCS and a 35.2% chance to win the World Series. I like this one.

Betting lines are up on OddsShark for Game 4. I have no idea what these numbers mean, but you might.

~Ah yes, and after the game finished, we found out that the Astros might have been trying to steal signs. My unimportant take that nobody cares about: sign stealing is absolutely a part of the game, everyone does it, and it's part of the mental battle of this sport. However, taking pictures of the visitors dugout before the game and snooping around to somehow gain a competitive edge, that's too far in my opinion. I really hope that this story ends up becoming nothing, because I really don't want to try or listen to people try and defend this action. But, we have no other information. For all we know, this is just the media trying to find something to talk about. Anyways, Passan had the original story here if you're interested.

~Anyways, it's Charlie tonight. He hasn't pitched in a game in 18 days and has only thrown one simulated game in that stretch. Hinch says he will be aggressive with his bullpen if need be.

~ESPN writes that players like Marwin Gonzalez give this team a championship edge. 

~ESPN also writes that being down 2-1 brings up an awful lot of questions going into tonight's game.

~In the final ESPN article of the morning, Bregman is getting Bonds'ed.

~The Astros Foundation announced they had donated nearly a quarter of a million dollars towards multiple different women's shelters.

~Ryan Pressly.

~The Astros already know that they are a terrible awful baseball team so they are already making trades with the Marlins to tank the franchise and start all over again. Just unfortunate.

~Now it's the Washington Post's turn to give our bullpen some love.

~Alex Bregman does not like not-strikes.

~Mattress Mack put $150K on our Astros, because he's gotta earn that money back from all those mattresses he'll be giving away somehow :)

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1987, the first indoor World Series game was played. Dan Gladden's grand slam in the dome contributed to making the noise level crack 110 dB, the average human pain threshold in a study done by Purdue University.

In 1989, the World Series Game 3 between the A's and Giants was postponed after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake erupted in the Bay Area, killing 63 people in total. 

In 2004, Carlos Beltran tied Barry Bonds' postseason home run record with his 8th home run and broke another record with his fifth consecutive postseason game with a home run.

In 2005, Albert Pujols hit The Home Run in NLCS Game 5 against Houston. Don't click this.

Monday Morning Hot Links

Boy oh boy that was not the best Astros game I've ever watched. But, even with all of the mistakes, Alex Bregman was still about 2 feet away from tying the game in the 9th. Lucky enough for us, I truly doubt that we play that sloppily again. The upcoming three games being at home probably won't hurt either.

-Despite Gerrit Cole's less-than-ideal outing, he still outpitched Price.
Cole: 6 IP/6 H/4 ER/2 BB/5 K
Price: 4.2 IP/5 H/4 ER/4 BB/4 K

(Between you and me, if we decide to use some common sense, Cole gave up 5 ERs. If the pitcher causes the error, it should count as an earned run. Who wrote this rule?)

-Astros hitters in the first three innings: 5-9, 4 RBIs
-Astros hitters in the last six innings: 2-18, 1 RBI

-Alex Bregman has a borderline ridiculous statline of .000/.700/.000 in the ALCS so far.

-Unfun Fact - This was the first time a team has won a postseason game with David Price starting on the mound.

-Another Unfun Fact: Martin Maldonado allowed two official passed balls tonight. He has had 13 during the entire regular season and only 3 of those with the Astros.

-Yet Again With The Unfun Facts: Marwin wasn't doing great after hitting the straight up metal wall Boston decided to drop into their stadium.

-AJ's full postgame presser can be found here, where he talks the passed balls, Cora, Bregman, and more.

Well, lets check into the predictions:

-FiveThirtyEight:
Game 3 chance to win (Eovaldi vs. Keuchel): 55%

Pre-Game 2 chance to win the series: 70%
Current chance to win the series: 59%

Current chance to win the World Series: 38%

-FanGraphs:
Change to win the series: 52.4%

Chance to win the World Series: 35.2%

-Charlie Morton has been officially announced as the game 4 starter. He has not pitched in a MLB game since September 30th.

-A lot of teams who need a manager want Astros brand new bench coach Joe Espada.

-Verlander is not thinking about retirement. Verlander also immediately got better once joining the Astros, and Ted Berg dives in to tell us how.

-Here's your daily article of just how good Alex Bregman has been.

-Here's your daily article asking if the 2018 Houston Astros are the best team in franchise history.

-How dumping Ken Giles transformed the Astros bullpen.

-Astros and Texans fans tailgated together, and somehow the Texans were the team that delivered.

On This Day in Baseball History
-In 1892, Reds pitcher Bumpus Jones throws a no-hitter against Pittsburgh in his first career start. It was also the latest date a no-hitter was thrown in an MLB season.

-In 1964, Mickey Mantle played his final postseason game, hitting his 18th career postseason home run.

In 1982, Cardinals rookie Willie McGee became the third rookie to hit two home runs in the same postseason game.

In 1986, the Mets defeated the Astros in the longest postseason game ever played (16 innings, 4 hrs. 42 minutes) to advance to the World Series. Reminder, you don't have to click the link.

In 1988, Kirk Gibson hit a home run that you might have seen before.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to The Post ALDS-Pre ALCS Hot Links Part 3 of 4. Not a lot has changed since we've last met, as we are still waiting for baseball to come back. It has been a long week and I am not ready for the offseason to start.

MLB.com posted some "fun facts" about all the potential upcoming postseason matchups, but honestly I'm just going to tell you now, Fun Fact #1 is "iF tHe BrEwErS aNd AsTrOs PlAy EaCh OtHeR, yOu WoN't KnOw WhIcH tEaM iS iN wHiCh LeAgUe!" If you don't want to read it because of this joke, I get it. If you can push through this joke, it isn't too bad.

Good Guy Marwin Gonzalez was up to his old tricks. Here's my Good Guy Marwin Gonzalez story: When I was down in Houston on vacation, he was doing an autograph signing and they had some thing that was like "first X amount of people for sure will get to meet Marwin." I got there late because I don't live in Houston. In fact, I don't live anywhere close to Houston, so I got there late because I didn't know where I was going and I was definitely not in the first X amount of people. He ended up staying and signing things for everyone who showed up to that session. It was supposed to be an hour long autograph session that started at noon, I met him around 1:15, and there was still probably another 20-30 people behind me. We might have some superstars, perhaps even some future Hall of Famers, but Marwin Gonzalez will always be my favorite Astro.

Jim Bowden reports that Hector Rondon is expected to be added onto the ALCS roster, potentially removing Evan Gattis for the upcoming series.

Here is an excellent article about Martin Maldonado and his love of being a catcher.

When somebody asked Tito if Jose Ramirez killed the Indians hopes of winning the series, he was angry.

Jake Marisnick talks about the Green Monster and how Minute Maid prepares them for playing with it.

Pick up your new Alex Bregman-themed T-Shirt.

Here is an inside look at how Maldonado and Osuna have been integrated and accepted into this Astros team.

Everybody loves George Springer.

You still have time to buy a mattress from Mattress Mack and get it free when the Astros win it all again.

Joe West is our crew chief, which is better than Angel Hernandez who is not umpiring anywhere.

Chris Paul talks about how the Astros will beat you.

Carlos Correa has a wedding date set. Letting you know now before you see it on Good Morning America.

Here are 13 celebrities to look out for at Minute Maid Park this year because for some reason I decided right after making that Chris Paul link that I wanted the rest of this blog post to look like the E! News front page.

Justin Verlander on how he stays in shape and what a typical date night looks like with Kate Upton YES I AM STICKING TO THIS BIT I GUESS THIS IS JUST WHAT THIS BLOG HAS BECOME NOW.

You may not realize it, but Charlie Morton hits a lot of batters.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1907, Mordecai Brown, a man who had three fingers on his throwing hand, shut out the Detroit Tigers and won the Cubs the 1907 World Series.

In 1929, the A's were down 8-0 and went on to have a 10 run 7th to win the game with a 10-8 final.

In 1949, Vin Scully did his first ever radio broadcast as Maryland University played Boston University at football at Fenway Park.

In 1982, Paul Molitor became the first player in World Series history to collect five hits in one game.

In 2005, a controversial call decided the White Sox/Angels ALCS Game 2 as A.J. Pierzynski reached first base on a dropped third strike. Pierzynski was pinch run for, scored, and the White Sox won the game 2-1. 

In 2012, the Cardinals score 4 runs in the 9th off of Drew Storen after being down to their final strike to win the NLDS 9-7.

In 2015, the Cubs became the first team to ever hit 6 home runs in a postseason game.