Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat West Shreveport 6-2 last night behind a 5-run 7th inning, the rally occurring one inning after Lance McCullers threw behind Mike Napoli, which hurt the collective butts of the Rangers team and the angst-ridden corner of Rangers Twitter.

Napoli:
Obviously, I didn't like it. I understand how things work. All he had to do was put one in my hip and I go to first base. But nobody likes 95 behind the back. It caught me off guard.

Cashner:
They threw at Napoli on purpose. I hit two guys on the elbow and they threw behind Napoli's head.

(Ed. note: It wasn't behind his head).

Hacksaw Jeff Banister:
I think anytime somebody throws behind a hitter's head (Ed. note: It wasn't behind his head) it's going to create some tension. They had two guys diving and get hit on pads and he gave up a home run to Napoli and then throw behind his head (Ed. note: It wasn't behind his head). Yeah, I think that deserves a little anxiety and anger. 

So let me see if I have this right: Andrew Cashner had hit Altuve and Gurriel earlier in the game. Neither plunking looked like it was done with intent, though Altuve took it more squarely than Gurriel. Napoli had also hit a home run earlier in the game. So McCullers threw behind Napoli with two outs in the 6th. Napoli is upset. Why? Not because McCullers hit him - Napoli said "all he had to do was put one in my hip and I go to first base." This says to me - a person with reasonably good reading comprehension skills - that if McCullers had actually hit Napoli, nothing would have happened. But since, again (and try to stay with me), McCullers actively did not hit Napoli and missed him entirely with a pitch, it's throw-down time. This makes no sense.

McCullers sent a message. How many times did we rail on Hinch and the team last year for getting hit multiple times in a game and doing nothing about it? McCullers didn't hit Napoli, he ended up striking him out to end the inning, but a message - one where nobody was hit with a ball - was sent.

But still, let's check in on paid Rangers employee Jamey Newberg:

Astros continue to be adorable.

Clowns.

— Jamey Newberg (@NewbergReport) May 2, 2017

They're a very good baseball team, and they're pathetic. Doesn't appear that changes, even with all the veteran infusion.

— Jamey Newberg (@NewbergReport) May 2, 2017

*Jeff Banister, on whether he thought McCullers' pitch to Napoli was intentional:

Ask him. Tell him to grab a bat. 

*Jeff Banister lamented the Rangers' leadoff walks and the hit batters.

*Evan Grant thinks (hopes?) the "brawl" could be "soul-cleansing."

*Alex Bregman apologized for his #BTSOOTR tweet, further proving the WUSSIFICATION OF SPROTS.

*Gurriel sure did have a pretty slide in the 7th to avoid the tag.

*The Astros are skipping Frankie Tuesday's next start due to "mild abdominal soreness."

*Jeff Blogwell wrote about when Billy Wagner gave up an inside-the-park grand slam.

*Boston fans gonna Boston. (Note: this is completely unacceptable).

Black Friday Hot Links

*I spent Thanksgiving Day driving four hours and then getting mad online about Tony Massarotti's Hall of Fame ballot.

*The New York Post's Joel Sherman says the 2017 Astros could be like the 2016 Cubs, and are spending like it.

*The Yankees, Red Sox, Astros and Rangers seem to be the final four for Carlos Beltran. It also seems from that link that the Astros are interested in Mike Napoli as a stop-gap until A.J. Reed is ready.

*Joshua Prager wrote a piece in the New York Times on Ralph Branca, the man who gave up Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Prager is also the author of The Echoing Green, which is simply the best baseball book I have ever read.

*The players who quietly retired in 2016.

Jon Heyman's lunchtime notes

Scroll down Heyman's recently-posted article to find the following bits of tid:

*Mike Napoli (!) may make sense for the Astros.
*Jed Lowrie - the man without a position - is apparently available in a trade.
*Houston people expect Scott Kazmir to sign elsewehere.

Jim Bowden's free agent "Best Fits"

So Jim Bowden posted on ESPN (Insider) a whole bunch of free agents, with contract predictions and "Best Fits." Which free agents are "best fits" for the Astros?

(Short answer: Not many places. Jeff Luhnow is heading to the GM meetings with the goal of "due diligence" and that's about it.)

Catcher Mike Napoli, with a (predicted) 3-year, $27m pricetag. Just as a reminder: This.
OF/DH Delmon Young, 2-year, $12m.
DH Lance Berkman, 1-year, $6m.