Saturday Morning Hot Links

Hope y'all are safe this morning, and in the mornings to come. Keep Space City Weather bookmarked for non-hysterical analysis of Harvey. If you're on Twitter, I put together a list of some necessary follows for the next week. The Houston Chronicle took down its paywall during the hurricane.

*The Astros beat the Angels 2-1 in Anaheim last night, in a game of which I did not watch a minute. I instead elected to watch the Weather Channel and see if Jim Cantore would do a live shot with a mouth full of teeth he had filed down into jagged, bloody points, thirsty for blood and satiating his desire for human flesh. McHugh, Devenski, Musgrove and Giles shut the Angels down and the offense did just enough to squeak out a win. The Astros are 78-50 and the Red Sox lost, as well. The lead is now 12.5 games over Seattle and five games over Boston. There are 34 games remaining.

*Last night's win was Houston's 41st road win, guaranteeing a winning road record in a season for the  second season in a row. Related: I had no idea the Astros had a winning road record last year. The Astros have consecutive winning records on the road for the first time since 1998-1999. Their next road win will be the most in an Astros season since 2004 (44-37). So the Astros are 82-61 in their last 143 road games just a few years removed from winning 72 road games from 2011-2013.

The franchise record for road wins in a season is 49, set by the 2001 Astros who most definitely did not share the NL Central title with the Cheatin-Ass Cardinals.

*The Astros are 18-21 since the All-Star Break, outscoring their opponents 187-184. It's the 27th time the Astros have been held to two or fewer runs - they're now 6-21 in those games.

*Key moment in the game was Devenski loading the bases with two outs for Mike Trout, and then getting him to pop up to end the inning. Hinch:
That's what people pay to see is that type of matchup. One of our best relievers, an All-Star, against one of the best players in the game. A 3-2 count and nowhere to put him. To be able to beat Trout when everybody in the ballpark knew he had to throw a strike - [what] a big moment, a great moment for everybody.

*Collin McHugh threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 8K:2BB, lowering his ERA to 3.63. In three starts since getting lit up at Chicago, McHugh has thrown 17.2IP, 15H/3ER, 17K:4BB. McHugh:
Any time you can beat a division opponent, it's big. We have a really good division [Ed. note: awaiting confirmation on whether McHugh gave the hand-wank motion while he said this] We've got five quality teams, and four of us are in the playoff hunt. So, you know, every game down the stretch, especially against a division opponent, is going to be a playoff game essentially. 

Talking to Jake Kaplan, McHugh:
I don't have the luxury of having a full season behind me to kind of find my groove and get into the swing of things. Every start down the stretch for me is a practice in intensity to be ready to pitch in the playoffs, to be able to pitch in October. 

*The Astros have been held to three runs or less in six of their last eight games. Parker Bridwell, who was acquired by the Angels from Baltimore for a PTBNL in April, took his first loss since June 30.

*The Astros got eight hits on the night, six of them coming out of the top third of the lineup.
Springer, Bregman, Reddick: 6x12
Bottom two-thirds of the lineup: 2x23

But one of them was J.D. Davis' 2nd career home run, tying the game in the 3rd.

*In 141 ABs since the All-Star Break, Bregman is hitting .348/.413/.645 with 17K:15BB.

*Jose Altuve was out of the lineup with a sore neck. Hinch:
He's fine. He's still having a little bit of symptoms with his neck. He's not going to play until we feel like he is not going to irritate it anymore. Given the travel we had yesterday, I didn't really expect him to play coming into the ballpark. 

Evan Gattis was activated as the Astros played some transaction games, putting Max Stassi on the 10-Day DL with "hand inflammation" after apparently tearing a blister on his palm on Wednesday.

*Bench coach Alex Cora was ejected after ten pitches because umpire Laz Diaz apparently refused to check the ball for a scuff mark.

*Lance McCullers took the L last night in his 1st rehab start for Fresno. He threw 3IP, 3H/3ER, 1K:5BB (one IBB), WP, HBP. He threw 33 of his 59 pitches for strikes. Tony Sipp threw a perfect inning while Will Harris allowed 2H/2ER, 1K:1BB in 1IP. Carlos Correa got the night off. A.J. Reed hit his 29th and 30th home runs of the season. He has 10 games to hit four more home runs in order to break Fresno's single-season home run record.

*The restructuring of the front office/scouting department continued yesterday, as Quinton McCracken will not return to the Astros in 2019, while Mike Elias and Kevin Goldstein were promoted. No word on Jon Heyman's hand-wringing.

*Jose Quintana, for the Cubs since his NL debut: 39IP, 38H/23ER, 41K:17BB. 5.31 ERA/1.41 WHIP.

*Don't miss Richard Justice's story on Joe Musgrove.

*The Astros are keeping an eye on Hurricane Harvey. Their current plans are to fly to Houston from Anaheim on Sunday and have an off-day in Houston before starting a three-game series with Lower Carrollton. Hinch:
Honestly, our travel is the least of our concern. It's more dangerous for the people that are there.

Stay safe.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Dallas Keuchel needed 78 pitches to get through seven scoreless innings against the Phillies, striking out six and walking none, leaving the game with a 4-0 lead. Then the Phillies got eight runs thanks to a suicide squeeze and a grand slam off James Hoyt. Astros lose, 8-4. But Keuchel finished up his Spring Training with 17IP and no earned runs allowed. 

*Sports Illustrated asked rival scouts to break down each American League team. And the Astros section is basically a gaggle of unicorns pooping rainbows and sprinkles onto a field of leprechauns making clover angels.

*A 2014 bullpen session helped remake Dallas Keuchel. (Note: I was very nervous about Keuchel's Spring Training in 2014. But you already know that, while you can't handle my Hot Takes, you also should probably reconsider my opinions.)

*Hinch, on closer:
We have a really good bullpen that can mix and match in a lot of different ways. I understand the intrigue. I don't play fantasy baseball, so I don't have to worry about the save.

*Quinton McCracken has overseen the resurgence of the Astros.

*Despite getting sent to Triple-A camp, Michael Feliz is still in the mix for the final bullpen spot.

*Chris Devenski is working his way out of his past and up the ladder of the Astros' system.

*Richard Justice talked to the Dallas Morning News about the Astros and Rangers.

*Downtown Houston is closer to becoming Craneville, what with Jim Crane opening two new Italian restaurants near Minute Maid Park later this summer.

*ESPN's MLB survey has some Astros on the list, though not very high.

*Triple-A baseball may be coming to San Antonio

*The forgotten Oklahoma team that nearly broke college basketball.

*This Saudi Arabian dude brought his four gold vinyl-wrapped cars to London.

*How an A&M-Corpus grad student organized one of the unlikeliest human smuggling rings in Texas history.

*Before you go, watch Jose Altuve launch a home run.

Jose Altuve launches one pic.twitter.com/nZ4K0TXVOj

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 30, 2016

Monday Morning Hot Links

*Be sure to give a warm Astros County welcome to Jexas, our newest writer, who went to FanFest and wrote about it.

*Dallas Keuchel:
...Whether I spend only three more years with Houston or I'm an Astro for life, you got to take advantage of those opportunities you have. If I don't stay with Houston after my free agent years, we should win a championship because of what we had.

*Also in that previous link, Rob Manfred is waiting on the Attorney General to finish the investigation and hopes they share information with him about the cheatin'-ass Cardinals.

*Keuchel and Correa accepted their BBWAA awards on Saturday night.

*The Astros are considering signing Doug Fister.

*Evan Gattis has lost 18 pounds this offseason, which should help him get to 20 triples in 2016.

*Scott Feldman is healthy and ready to be a part of the rotation in this, the final year of his three-year deal.

*Here's a great profile on Corpus Pitcher of the Year Chris Devenski.

*Jayne talked to Quinton McCracken about some specific minor-leaguers, and what it's like to trade a guy you drafted and developed.

*The Astros signed "Dominican changeup artist" and minor-league free agent LHP Edwar Cabrera. Cabrera is 28 and posted a 3.68 ERA/1.21 WHIP for Double-A Frisco in 2015.

*The Astros unveiled new Sunday alternate jerseys.

*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon has a Hawt Take: tanking sucks, but it works.

*LOL David Eckstein.

*Well that was quick! MLB has determined Yu Darvish had no part in his gamblin'-ass brother's illegal gambling ring.

*Meet Alex Vega, the custom car king of MLB.

Astros Fan Fest 2016

Minute Maid Park was rife with a very different buzz than years past at the Houston Astros annual Fan Fest. It was estimated that 11,000 people were in attendance which I can tell you is many more than the last several years. The fans, the players and the front office were in high spirits that permeated the atmosphere and made it for possibly the most energized Fan Fest I have been to. I guess that is what a winning season will do.

I had a chance to attend a blogger round table with Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Elias, Director of Player Personnel Quinton McCracken and President of Baseball Operations Reid Ryan, some fan forums and check out a couple of the activities around the park. Here are a few of my takeaways from the festivities.

Scouts were just in town for January meetings and are now out doing what they do.  The scouting department has transitioned its strategy for the draft from the normalcy of picking very early to picking much later. Mike Elias commented that it’s “harder to know exactly who is going to be available for your pick so you can’t spend as much time seeing them multiple times.” To adapt to this transition the scouting department has added 2 more cross checkers and will be focusing more on rounds 5-10 than previous years.

With the Astros being towards the tail end of this rebuild the concern of maintaining a strong farm system coupled with a winning season were voiced not only by fans walking around or standing in line for activities but also in the fan forums. During the blogger round table Quinton McCracken had brought up that there is still a strong focus on securing depth at every position in the organization. He specifically brought up signing of Wandy Rodriguez to a minor league contract and that he will be competing at spring training for the fifth spot in pitching rotation. According to McCracken a few guys in the system to keep an eye on are Tom Shirley, Jordan Jankowsky, Chris Devenski and Jonathan Arauz.

In hopes to increase interaction with fans through social media and smartphone technology during games, top of the line, high speed internet is currently being installed on every level of MMP to be ready on opening day. Reid Ryan spoke of eventually offering reward points, real time couponing and surprise meet and greets through mobile apps like At The Ballpark and the mobile ticketing app. As far as promotions go for the 2016 season, Ryan said that he found promotions that “mean something” tend to resonate with fans so plan to see a lot of promos celebrating the 2015 season. I personally plan on being in line early for the Colby Rasmus Celebration bobblehead.

Ryan said that the question marks for the organization “are the guys on the corners.” In discussing these question marks Ryan listed off Luis Valbuena, Marwin Gonzalez, Matt Duffy, Colin Moran and wondered as we all have “Is Jonathan Singleton going to win this job that we’ve all been kind of waiting to see him win?”
 
There was a new uniform unveiled Saturday afternoon by Mike Acosta, Manager of Authentication that will be worn on Sundays and also used as an alternate. Before the reveal, Acosta spoke of a tradition of fathers giving their sons their teams Sunday uniform and the importance of honoring traditions like that. In nice throwback to honor the hallowed rainbow uniforms, the Astros Sunday best will incorporate the rainbow pattern along the sides of the dark blue top. You can see the new uniforms here.

Seeing all the interaction and camaraderie between the players and staff was unlike what I have seen in years past. There's always been a sense of hope at these forums, but this year there was a true, well deserved, confidence. Confidence in each other and the organization as a whole was laced in every answer given. There were quite a few good quotes from players and others in the organization. I'll finish this post up and just leave those here.

“It’s been a tough journey at times… we saw the vision really come together this past year…  We knew we were going to be good but I think we surprised a lot of people how good we were. It’s an exciting time to be an Astro.” -Jason Castro

"Last year was a little taste of what we can do. I think we have to keep pushing ourselves and keep working hard and give what the fans what they want and what we want to. That is the World Series."  –Altuve

 

When McHugh was asked about being one of the best pitchers on the team he focused on talking about team dynamics, support staff, great catchers, etc.  But Castro interjected “Don’t let him fool you though... He was really impressive (at spring training). I remember walking away from that bullpen thinking that… He could be a pretty special pitcher. He got called up in Seattle and proved that pretty much immediately and he hasn’t looked back.”

"I would have to say it was nobody. As teammates we try to pick each other up, wash that aside. We gotta get back and ready for... whoever it is the next day so we don't really have time to bash our own teammates." -Colby Rasmus on who was the team enforcer after someone messed up last year

"AJ Hinch was the “Secret Sauce" for us; that this young team really needed.” -Reid Ryan reminiscing about the 2015 season

"You gotta go no shirt." - Colby Rasmus on proper playoff celebration procedure