Friday Morning Hot Links

The Houston MF Astros were down 3-0 thanks to Ramon Laureano before scoring 11 of the next 14 runs to take the ALDS against the Oakland Athletics. Houston is now 6-8 against Oakland in 2020 and they won't have a chance to even that season series up. Such a shame. Houston is now 34-32 on the season. The Astros averaged 2.5 runs in the regular season against Oakland, and then averaged 8.25 runs against them in the ALDS. The Astros will face the winner of the Yankees/Rays series in the ALCS, which begins on Sunday in San Diego on TBS. It's the only game that day, so the lights might actually need to be on, which would be a change. I might have to stay up past 9:30pm, and I'm not so sure how I feel about that.

Since the League Championship Series was introduced in 1969, five franchises have made it to the LCS at least four years in a row:

2017-2020 Houston Astros

2011-2014 St. Louis Cardinals

1998-2001 New York Yankees

1995-1999 Atlanta Braves 

1971-1975 Oakland Athletics

Professional Mourner Jon Heyman:

The Astros beat the A's and are back in the ALCS. Everybody is happy for Dusty, nobody outside of Houston is happy about anything else about this.

10 out 10 hoes are, in fact, mad.

*A's manager Bob Melvin:

We just couldn't do enough on the pitching end to hold them down. And then you start to press a little bit, even though our guys had a good attitude every inning - even going into the ninth and getting some guys on. We battled to the end, as you would expect, but just not enough.

Since last winning the World Series in 1990, the A's are 2-12 in postseason series. 

*The alphabetical 14-man pitching staff of the Oakland's ALDS roster, with innings pitched/pitches thrown in this particular series:

Chris Bassitt: 4.0IP, 73 pitches

Jake Diekman: 3.0IP, 53 pitches

Mike Fiers: 0.0IP, 0 pitches

Liam Hendriks: 3.0IP, 37 pitches

Jesus Luzardo: 4.1IP, 73 pitches

Sean Manaea: 4.1IP, 65 pitches

T.J. McFarland: 2.0IP, 32 pitches

Mike Minor: 3.2IP, 52 pitches

Frankie Montas: 3.2IP, 71 pitches

Yusmeiro Petit: 2.0IP, 26 pitches

Joakim Soria: 2.0IP, 36 pitches

Lou Trivino: 2.0IP, 31 pitches

Jordan Weems: 0.0IP, 12 pitches

J.B. Wendelken: 1.0IP, 34 pitches

Mike Fiers is the No Pitches All Bitches winner of the ALDS.

*Liam Hendriks, September 25:

For us, it doesn't really matter who we play obviously. As a vindictive kind of thing, we want to take out the Astros, but I don't care who we play as long as we beat them - that's our biggest goal.

I'll say this for the A's: that's a good team with a lot of good, young players, and a good front office. The next few years are really going to draw out this little brewing rivalry with the Astros. 

*2020 ALDS Game 4 was the first game the Astros won as the home team since 2019 ALCS Game 6, a span of 12 games (H/T to my dude Steve for that one).

*ESPN's Alden Gonzalez:

The Astros scored 33 runs in 35 innings and slashed .322/.388/.594 at Dodger Stadium - the site where they secured a World Series championship many now consider tainted. Correa, Altuve, Bregman and Springer - a foursome that went from celebrated to vilified with one investigation - batted a combined .419 with eight home runs.

*Houston home runs in the 4-game ALDS: 12. Oakland's home runs in the 4-game ALDS: 12. It's the most combined home runs in a Division Series ever. 

Houston solo home runs: 6

Houston multi-run home runs: 6

Oakland solo home runs: 9

Oakland multi-run home runs: 3

Given that the run differential was Houston +13, this seems important.

*The top six in the lineup from Game 4 had a batting average of at least .368

*Michael Brantley: 3x5, 2HR, 3RBI. Michael Brantley had hit exactly one postseason home run prior to Game 4, 31 postseason games. He hit two. He had nine career postseason RsBI prior to Game 4 (and eight of those were with Houston), and he had three yesterday. You will have to wind your way through all the statues to get to your gate at Minute Maid Park within ten years. And Cleveland didn't want to pay him! Brantley:

I don't know if we made any certain statement, but I know we played great baseball, and that's the most important thing. We played a great team over there, and we played a competitive, clean series, and we got the win today.

More Brantley:

This is a special team that has been here before. We have young guys that are leaning on the veterans and the veterans are taking care of them right now. No one guy has to carry this team when you have so many special players in the locker room like we do.

*Jose Altuve: 1x3, HR, 2BB, 2RBI. He had never had a line like that in a postseason game before.

*Carlos Correa: 3x4, HR, BB, 5RBI. It was Correa's 3rd 5RBI game of his MLB career. He has hit 4 home runs this postseason, with 12 RsBI. Correa now has 15 career postseason home runs, five behind JEETS for most all-time by a shortstop. Litos has 102 postseason games to hit five home runs to catch the Marlins' slimy owner and the one who sullied Lyla Garrity. 

Correa's Game 4 was the 78th postseason instance of a player driving in five runs. It's the third time in franchise history an Astros player had 5RBI (Bregman 2019 World Series Game 4, Morgan Ensberg 2005 NLDS Game 1) Correa:

We're motivated because we want to win, we want to be able to bring another championship to the city of Houston. We know what it feels like, so we want to be able to have that feeling once again...We're one step closer.

*Kyle Tucker was 3x5: Tucker:

I mean, this is just our normal offense. We didn't show this too much during the season, but this lineup can do this every night. We were doing that this series. This lineup, one through nine, can produce at any moment, and we were doing it this entire series.

Kyle Tucker's 2019 postseason (15 PAs): .167/.333/.167, 0XBH, 7K:2BB

Kyle Tucker's 2020 postseason (26 PAs): .400/.400/.400, 0XBH, 1K:0BB

*On the opposite end of the spectrum, Yuli Gurriel: 2x23, 1K:1BB in the 2020 postseason. Gurriel hasn't had an extra-base hit since he homered against the A's on September 9. That's...that's not sustainable.

*Josh Reddick robbed hisself a homer and it was v good.

*Zack Greinke: 4.2IP, 5H/4ER, 4K:1BB, 2HR. All earned runs and home runs were courtesy of Ramon Laureano. Greinke said his arm felt better in Game 4:

If it feels how it felt today then there will be no issues.

Greinke's first five starts (through August 18): 29.1IP, 22H/6ER, 25K:4BB (1.84 ERA / 0.99 WHIP)

Greinke since (August 23-Game 4): 46IP, 52H/29ER, 47K:9BB (5.67 ERA / 1.33 WHIP)

Did Greinke signal his pitch when Ramon Laureano launched a short-lived 3-run home run? Former Astros Great Ramon Laureano said he didn't pick it up, if he did.

*Dusty Baker is now 6-17 in series-clinching/elimination games as a manager. Dusty:

I'm glad for the city of Houston and (thankful to) Jim Crane for trusting me with the leadership of this team and I'm glad for the whole Astros organization and the players.

More Dusty:

It's been a long, tough road, but we're halfway there. I'm thankful and happy, but I've still got some happiness left to get.

Even More Dusty:

I've been a villain most of my life, you know what I mean? So I might as well join the rest of the group.

*Richard Justice: Five ways the Astros pulled off the near-impossible.

*Ramon Laureano did most of the damage to the Astros in Game 4, hitting two home runs for 4RBI. As a reminder, the Astros traded Laureano to Oakland in November 2017 for Brandon Bailey after deciding to protect Dean Deetz instead. As a reward, Dean Deetz almost got stabbed by Reymin Guduan and tested positive for a PED while Ramon Laureano has hit .270/.343/.475 for the A's in the regular season since he got called up in August 2018. 

*Gerrit Cole will pitch on short rest tonight to try to send his mercenaries to the ALCS, where he would face his old buddies. Less than a year ago Carrot Goal wore a Boras hat after Houston lost Game 7 to show that he was Way More Pissed than anyone else in the clubhouse. Joel Sherman, quoting Former Astros Great Aaron Boone:

To be able to hand the ball to probably the best pitcher in the game, there is some comfort in that. I am excited to see him go compete, like he always does.

*I called a Cleveland/Houston ALCS with Cleveland winning. "Never try to predict anything" is the lesson.

*A German goalkeeper was banned for eight years for attacking a referee. I mean, I'd like to see the video.

*Discover Magazine: The quantum internet will blow your mind - here's what it'll look like.

*Wired: The True Story of the Antifa Invasion of Forks, Washington.

*A Musical Selection:

'Rona/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 28

*Art Howe is in the ICU with COVID-19.

*Chandler Rome has five prospects who could be impacted by the potential expanded roster rule.

*Brian McTaggart caught up with Former Astros Great Bill Doran.

*2004 Roger Clemens gets the MLB.com nod for the best debut season in franchise history. Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA / 1.16 WHIP, 218K:79BB, and won his 7th Cy Young. He got 18 outs in 28 of his 33 starts. There were six other starts in which he threw 7+ IP, allowed 0 or 1 earned runs, and got a No Decision.

*How the A's got Former Astros Great Ramon Laureano.

*If there's an 82-game season in 2020, it's worth remembering that the...

2013 Astros went 21-61 from June 28 through the end of the season.
2019 Astros went 57-25 from June 25 through the end of the season.

*FanGraphs: Snowstorms, Lies, and the Greatest Baseball Game Ever Played.

*Got dang it the Simulated 2020 Astros are 23-21 and in 4th Place.

*Yadier Molina says his "numbers are there" to be a Hall of Famer.

Let's look, because I hate Yadier Molina. In parentheses are his ranks as compared to every other catcher in MLB history.

1983 games (16th), 7655 PAs (17th), .738 OPS, 1963 hits (17th), 379 doubles, 156 HR (39th), 54.0 fWAR (12th), 99 wRC+ (134th), 98 OPS+, 366.7 defensive rating (1st).

Let's do this again, but from when Molina debuted in 2004:

1983 games (1st), 7655 PAs (3rd), .738 OPS, 1963 hits (3rd), 379 doubles, 156 HR (6th), 54.0 fWAR (3rd), 99 wRC+ (27th), 98 OPS+, 366.7 defensive rating (1st).

We're also not counting the four pennants, two World Series rings, nine Gold Gloves, nine All-Star nods. Among catchers already in the HOF, Molina is generally in the Top 10. Dammit yeah he's a Hall of Famer.

*Blake Snell says he won't play this season for reduced pay.

*Scott Boras on MLB owners:

Regarding MLB plan to seek a 50-50 revenue split, Scott Boras, noting franchise value increases and previous profits (he mentioned a $476M gain in ‘19 for Braves, the one team owned by a public company), said on @JoeandEvan “You don’t privatize the gains and socialize the losses”

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 14, 2020

Which brings to mind this headline.

*Jayson Stark: The day Jean Segura stole 1st base.

*Doc Gooden appeared on Old Baseball Cards.

It's going to get worse before it gets better.

'Rona-Free Hot Links, Vol. 3

*I don't really want to lead off with this but Jim Crane says MLB "explicitly exonerated" him in their investigation, for the expressed purpose of leaving him out of any lawsuits that proceed against the team he owns in the event that the Astros, do in fact, continued to get sued.

*Evan Gattis said he had retired from baseball, and you should absolutely listen to the podcast where he announced it.

*So did 2014 2nd Round pick A.J. Reed. Chandler Rome:
The Astros did not summon Reed for a September call-up in 2017 or 2018. His weight and conditioning were often problems. Frustration grew visible. Houston designated him for assignment last July to clear a spot for pitcher Jose Urquidy on the 40-Man roster.

As a junior at Kentucky, Reed hit .462/.588/.962 (read that again) and had a 2.83 ERA in the same season. That's insane. That 2014 Draft was...hoo-boy. Picks through the 1st 10 Rounds:

Brady Aiken, Game 5 Hero and Current Toronto Great Derek Fisher, A.J. Reed, Current Mets Great J.D. Davis, Current Oakland Gret Daniel Mengden, Jacob Nix, Brock Dykxhoorn, Derick Velasquez, Bobby Boyd, Bryan Radziewski, Jay Gause.

It turns out that the prize of the Astros' 2014 draft was either Josh Big Flames James, the 1006th selection of the draft, who has put up a 0.8 fWAR, or Ramon Laureano, who has posted 5.9 fWAR...for Oakland, because the Astros traded him to Oakland for Brandon Bailey, who will likely be in Triple-A this year.

*Click this MLB.com link to see how Ryan Pressly has the nastiest 10" in baseball.

*Baseball-Reference is using OOTP21 to simulate the 2020 season. The Astros are 2-4.



*Minor-Leaguers will get $400/week until at least May 31, plus medical benefits. It's literally the least a $10 Billion industry can do.

*GQ: Inside the poisoning of a Russian double-agent.

*The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal: Victor Martinez's audacious dream is within sight.

*I have attended precisely one Leeds United game in person. It was this one, a Champions League game against Lazio, with my dad. You can see how I'd be hooked. There's a "What Happened To Leeds United" Astros County post coming in the next few days.



*I highly recommend you to watch Icarus, which is available on Netflix. It's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.

*This is one of my favorite books of all-time.

*"Cocaine, Speed, and Gallons of Jack Daniel's." The last Rock n Roll Superstars were...Korn?

*Check out this three-part series from ProPublica called "Blood Will Tell." It will take you all afternoon. Then, when you're done with that, read this follow-up, which broke Tuesday.

*Learn something:



*A Musical Selection:



*Another Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros won their 7th straight Home Opener with a 3-2 win over Oakland. McHugh threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 4K:3BB while Altuve and Bregman had two hits each. Carlos Correa hit his 1st home run of 2019. Houston is 3-5 and have scored 3+ runs in three of their eight games. They're 2-1 in those games. Good news is the Astros went 3x10 w/RISP so now they're a hot 7x52.

*Correa:
Right now I feel dangerous.

Correa is 6x18 with three doubles and a home run this season, he has four straight games with an extra-base hits.

*Khris Davis - who is definitely not Big-Contract Failure Chris Davis - left the bases loaded in the top of the 3rd as Collin McHugh wriggled in an out of trouble. Hinch:
It was huge. Any time Davis comes up to bat, I don't care what the matchup says or how he's swinging the bat, it's a dangerous, dangerous at-bat. For [McHugh] to come through with a big pitch and get the out, it's a huge shift.

Davis is now 1x19 in his lifetime against Collin McHugh. The only pitcher to hold him to one hit in more PAs is Felix Hernandez.

*After starting the season 1x15, Alex Bregman has a four-game hit streak and has six hits in his last twelve at-bats, with four walks.

*Michael Brantley was 0x4 with 2K:0BB. He had four 0x4, 2K games in all of 2018, and is hitless in his last 16 ABs.

*Robinson Chirinos threw out another baserunner, giving him two on the week after throwing out Odor on Monday. Chirinos credits an offseason adjustment in his throwing motion.

*Ramon Laureano went 4x4 with 2RBIs, and the Astros aren't real thrilled with letting Laureano get away. And by "get away" I mean "with trading Ramon Laureano." Luhnow:
I don't think we quite had the defense rated as well as it [has] played in the big leagues. That was an underassessment on our part.

Laureano has 12 outfield assists since he debuted on August 3, 2018. I know it's circumstantial and also situation-based but Josh Reddick has nine outfield assists in 133 outfield games since the beginning of 2018.

*If you went to the game last night, you already know this. If you're going today or to any of the remaining 80 games you should know that there's another ticket entrance on Hamilton Street (no relation to Huston Street) and they've added 30 metal detectors. That's good, right? Well, you also can't use multi-zipper backpacks (diaper bags and drawstring bags are still okay). If you're a new season ticket holder or a single-game ticket holder, you have to use the MLB Ballpark app in order to get in to Minute Maid Park. If you don't want to use that, you can still order tickets online and pick them up at Will Call, which sounds like a terrible thing to want to do. Reid Ryan:
We are moving to mobile because that is where the game is going. It provides more benefits to the fans, and it's easier to use.

*Alex Bregman treated last night like it was Opening Day. Makes sense, since last week didn't actually happen.

*Lance McCullers wore a Keuchel jersey before the home opener as he begins a season-long tradition of wearing an Astros legend's jersey before every homestand.

*Jake Kaplan has a mailbag in which he addresses the slow offensive start (stay for the absolute shade JK throws), Ron Kulpa, roster construction, and possible minor-league call-ups.

Speaking of Ron Kulpa, A.J. Hinch did not disclose details of a 32-minute phone call with Joe Torre regarding Kulpa. Nobody will apparently receive any discipline, so Kulpa can continue being the king of a very small castle.

Related: From Sheryl Ring, can umpires really do whatever they want?

*Jerome Solomon: Championship expectations return to Minute Maid Park.

*The Astros Foundation is doing the Good Thing and sponsoring Little Leagues across the city, covering the costs of field maintenance, equipment, umpires, uniforms, and registration costs. Hopefully they can cultivate the next Ron Kulpa.

*SI's Jon Tayler assesses the "struggling contenders" for reasons to panic. Spoiler alert: Don't. The Score has the same advice. You know, if you don't like taking our advice here at Astros County dot com.

*Shoutout to Former Astros Great free agent SP Dan Straily, who chose the (gulp) Orioles over Arlington.

*Damn it's a shame that the Red Sox are 2-7.

*How Brodie Van Wagenen - the villain in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow - plans to remake the Mets.

*FanGraphs: An update on how to value draft picks.

*The Atlantic: The cult of homework.

*There are two things in this story that are unbelievable to me, a Noted History Dork:
1) A Florida Sheriff's Department named their K9 "Rommel."
2) No one noticed that "Rommel" was after Nazi Germany's "Desert Fox" Erwin Rommel. (To be fair, Rommel had second thoughts about Nazi Germany's aims - in 1944! - and committed suicide after being implicated in a plot to kill Adult Hitler).

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. Pitchers and Catchers report in three days. They play an actual Spring Training game in 13 days.

*The Astros are excited about the addition of lefty Michael Brantley. George Springer:
I'm certainly happy to have him. He's an extremely professional hitter and extremely professional player. Seeing him on the other side for a few years and being a pest and being the guy who's always hurt us, I'm glad he's on our team now.

*Chandler Rome has some Spring Training questions like, "Will everyone be healthy?"

*For $44.99 you can get the base package from Fubo that will carry AT&T SportsNet Houston, with which you can watch Astros and Rockets games without a typical cable subscription.

*MLB.com: Sizing up each MLB team's vision for the future.

*Beyond the Box Score: When the Astros traded Ramon Laureano to Oakland for Brandon Bailey, they might have gotten hosed.

*Former Astros Great Josh Zeid is going to the Cubs' analytics side.

*Jay Jaffe: The sustained excellence of Frank Robinson.

*Want to apply for a job with the Astros for which you are supremely unqualified?

*This Italian soccer team was trapped at their training facility by angry sheep's milk farmers.

*Pitchfork: Why is a random 1994 Dinosaur Jr. song charting in Japan?

*A Musical Selection:
Note: I heard this song two years before I knew who it was. I was in a coffee shop in Ohio where I heard it, but wasn't able to catch it on Siri or Shazam or whatever. I asked the barista. He didn't know. No one knew. It sounded like Gorillaz, to me. I spent the next two years periodically trying to listen to every Gorillaz song. I'm not that big of a Gorillaz fan. Then, I was listening to Spotify Radio in class while students were working and it came on as one of them asked me - excuse me, *tried to* ask me - a question. I said to them, "Shut up and let me see who this is." Here it is:



*Don't forget you can follow the oft-updated Hot Links Music playlist on Spotify.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Homestros Offense showed up again and Hector Rondon made one really bad pitch, and there's your ball-game. 4-1 Seattle. Houston is 94-56. Oakland was off yesterday, so the Astros have a 4-game lead with 12 to play.

You can do the math here. If the Astros go 7-5, Oakland has to go 11-1 to tie, 12-0 to win the division. If the Astros go 5-7, Oakland has to go 9-3 to tie, 10-2 to win the division. Last night's loss, while frustrating because of some ongoing season-long issues, wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back.

*The Astros are 8-9 against Seattle in 2018, 1-6 at Minute Maid Park, including five straight games.

*Astros pitchers (mainly Framber Valdez) walked eight batters. Somehow that's not a season-high. The Astros walked nine Ramgers on June 9 and inexplicably won that game. Houston is 2-10 when walking six or more batters.

*But seriously, Rondon. Astros pitchers (Framber, Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, and Ryan Pressly) had held the Mariners to 3H/0ER through seven innings. Framber walked five, but that's neither here nor there. It took Hector Rondon 21 pitches to allow a walk, four hits, including the game-winning grand slam.

Rondon's last six appearances: 30 batters faced, 15 outs. 15H/7ER, 6K:1BB.

It was the first grand slam the Astros had allowed this season. It's the second grand slam Rondon had allowed in his career, the last coming on June 23, 2014. Rondon has allowed four home runs all season, the last two to the Mariners, and both either tied the game or put Seattle ahead. I'd be okay with Rondon taking some low-leverage situations and giving those other situations to Ryan Pressly.

*Seattle went 1x10 w/RISP. The one hit just managed to be a grand slam.

*Framber Valdez: 5IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:5BB. He has walked nine of the last 40 batters he has faced (9IP). Of his 81 pitches last night, just 41 were for strikes.

*But that offense. The "offense" "managed" to get three "hits."

2018, games with three or fewer hits: 10
2017, games with three or fewer hits: 6

Of those ten games in 2018, six have been at home. It's the *36th time* the Astros have been held to five or fewer hits in a game. They're 10-26 in those games.

*The Astros only had two ABs with runners in scoring position, and went 1x2. Marwin got the hit, Carlos Correa didn't get the other one.
Correa, w/RISP, 2018: .221/.319/.385
Correa, runners on, '18: .209/.298/.368

*Top three in the lineup (Springer-Altuve-Bregman) went 0x10, 2K:2BB.

*Hinch:
We had a rough night offensively. It didn't look like we were picking the ball up very well. Leblanc always does this cat-and-mouse game of moving the ball around. We've had pretty good success against him, but for whatever reason, we weren't taking great swings against him. 

Even after last night's game, Houston is hitting .315/.382/.573 off of Wade Leblanc. The .955 OPS-against is the highest by an AL team against Leblanc, which is little consolation this morning.

More Hinch:
We lived on the edge all night. They left a lot of guys on base. We made nice pitches to get out of a couple of messes, and when Jake makes those two good catches - great catches - you feel pretty good about it...We fall behind Vogelbach and then he gets the fastball to hit. Bad inning. 

*Josh Reddick left the game in the 4th inning with "ankle discomfort."

*Big news of the day otherwise was that the Round Rock Express have dissolved their partnership with the Rangers, a couple of days after Fresno ended their PDC with the Astros. So yeah Round Rock is going back to the Astros. Peep this May 2018 article that floated the idea the Astros and Express would link back up, which includes a legendary quote from Typical Ramger Fan from Round Rock:
I know the Astros are the flavor of the month, but I hope Express management looks beyond the current standings. Before the last few years, the Rangers were good and the Astros were losing 100 games. 

And before you started paying attention to baseball, Ramger Fan, the Astros established the Round Rock Express, named after Former Astros Great Nolan Ryan, in 1998 and were the Astros' Double-A and Triple-A affiliate from 2000-2010. This is about the time Flavor of the Month Ramger Fan started paying attention to baseball. Round Rock was a Rangers affiliate for eight of the nine lowest-attendance seasons in Express history.

*Kyle Tucker, Ryan Hartman, Alex McKenna, and Former Astros Great Gilberto Celestino (traded to Minnesota for Current Astros Great Ryan Pressly) were named to the Baseball America Minor-League All-Star teams.

*From THE ATHLETIC: The story of how Former Astros Great Ramon Laureano even came to be for the A's.

*From THE ATHLETIC: Ken Rosenthal's notes column talks about the possibility of Charlie Morton retiring at the end of the season.

Monday Morning Hot Links

More Like Oakland L's!

What a big day for the Houston Astros yesterday afternoon. These bats were alive and the Astros have thankfully regained sole control of first place in the west. Everybody got a hit (except Reddick) and Maldonado was a single shy of the cycle, which would have been the first cycle since Luke Scott in 2006 (because I strongly believe Brandon Barnes was out at 2nd base in 2013 do not @ me). 

Another big moment in yesterday's game is Justin Verlander collecting his career 200th win, and he got dunked in champagne to celebrate. Verlander, Hinch, and other key players to the game post-game interviews and recapped can be found here (you might read something about Verlander being dunked in champagne, and that's because I stole that bit because I wanted to tell you that first. Don't worry though, sources cited).

Anyways, now its time for the rapid fire Hot Links part of the program. 

Rondon has not had the greatest few outings. Will Osuna become the closer anytime soon?

Josh Reddick apologized after Oakland fans took one of his quotes out of context.

Altuve was hit by a pitch in his Fresno rehab assignment. He is expected to be okay.

This is the last week for 9:10 CST first pitches. The Sun People are very excited for this, and the Night People are also kind of happy about it as well because then the Sun People don't judge us to harshly about our tweeting habits at that hour of night. Pretty much a win-win everywhere.

The Astros are now ever so close to being #onpace for 100 wins. FiveThirtyEight also gives the Astros a 97% chance of making the playoffs and a 74% to win the division.

Hinch is basically as fast as Jake at this point, in case you were wondering how that was progressing.

Julia Morales blew the lead in the mascot race. Unacceptable imo. 

Felix Hernandez is back in the rotation just in time for the Houston Astros to roll into town.

Here is a piece on Ex-Astros prospect Ramon Laureano and how he's been since he went on to pursue other opportunities.

Bryce Harper AND Daniel Murphy were placed on revocable trade waivers.

I listened to the new episode of Lima Time Time while making these and it is good. You should listen to it.

Big Al was quite the hit at the Williamsport Sunday Night Baseball game.

16 nurses are pregnant in the same hospital and it is extremely suspicious.

On This Day In Baseball History

In 1921, Ty Cobb got his 3000th hit.

In 1997, Wade Boggs pitched. He threw one inning and did not allow a hit.

In 2010, the Astros traded Pedro Feliz to the Cardinals for David Carpenter. The trade was made so the Cardinals could replace injured third baseman David Freese.

In 2012, the Mets-Nationals game screeched to a halt after a praying mantis was discovered in the outfield.

  

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*I drove for 10 hours yesterday and hit 75 South in McKinney at 5:05pm. 0/10 would not advise.

*Random Astros fact:

AL West guaranteed contracts for 2019, not including arbitration or options (all numbers via Baseball-Reference):
Angels: 5 ($104.1m)
Mariners: 4 ($69.3m)
Rangers: 3 ($68.7m)
Astros: 3 ($43.9m)
Oakland: 0 ($0)

*The Astros will each receive about $438,000 for winning the World Series - an MLB record.

*SportsTalk 790 will re-broadcast Games 5 and 7 starting at 6am tomorrow.

*Just catching up, because this actually happened on Monday afternoon (and I forgot to take my computer on our quick trip): the Astros traded outfielder Ramon Laureano to the A's for RHP Brandon Bailey. Laureano put up impressive numbers between Lancaster and Corpus in 2016:
-Lancaster (357 PAs): .317/.426/.519
-Corpus (148 PAs): .323/.432/.538

But in his 2017 follow-up in Corpus, Laureano struggled, hitting .227/.298/.369 in his Age-22 season. The Astros had to either trade him, put him on the 40-Man roster, or expose him to the Rule 5 draft, so the Astros went with the option that guaranteed a return.

Brandon Bailey, a 5'10" 175lb RHP, was the A's 6th Round pick in the 2016 draft out of Gonzaga. Between the Midwest League (57IP) and the hitter-friendly California League (34IP) Bailey threw 91IP, 68H/33ER, 120K:31BB.

OaklandClubhouse says of Bailey:
Bailey has swing-and-miss stuff dating back to college and he has a starter's repertoire. He has a four-seam fastball, a four-seam changeup, a spike curveball and a slider. Bailey was also working on a cut-fastball late last season.

The Astros added Cionel Perez and Dean Deetz to the 40-Man roster, which is now full.

*Late last night I wrote up some thoughts on Joe Morgan and the Baseball Hall of Fame

*Y'all know I pimped the mess out of some t-shirts that I had a hand in helping design. Starting tomorrow (Thursday) through Monday, BreakingT is offering a Black Friday sale in which you get:
-25% off the entire store
-Free shipping at $50

So click this link and check out the Houston collection. Get your friends and family some *actually affordable* shirts you can't get at Academy.

*MLB debuted the 2017 Astros documentary last night to a packed house that included Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch.

*ESPN will show the Astros' season opener at Arlington at 2:30pm on Thursday, March 29 as well as the Astros' home opener against Baltimore on Monday, April 2.

*Mark Appel was designated for assignment by the Phillies.

*Jonah Keri wrote up the 2017 Offseason Power Rankings, and here's how it shakes out for the AL West:
Houston: 1
Anaheim: 13
Seattle: 16
Arlington: 17
Oakland: 22

*You can watch the 5-minute SportsCenter piece on George Springer overcoming his stutter. And you can watch the 45-minute Jose Altuve documentary "Big Dreams."

*Rosenthal: Prominent Asian-Americans are troubled by Gurriel's delayed suspension.

*So I guess Kevin Comer was signed by the Tigers.

*The Braves got absolutely hammered.

*SportsNet's Jeff Blair might *only* vote for Bonds and Clemens this year.

*Meet the guy who built a homemade rocket. To launch himself into space. To prove that Earth is flat. The big yellow "RESEARCH" tag below the cockpit lets you know he's for real.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*Random 2017 Astros fact:

Jose Altuve, Games with 2+ hits: 59
Jose Altuve, Games with 0 hits: 35

*Justin Verlander got 5th place in the AL Cy Young voting.

*Richard Justice takes a look the MVP races in both leagues. Brian McTaggart writes that Altuve is a worthy MVP choice. The MVP will be revealed at 5pm on MLB Network today. While I feel good about Altuve's chances I'm still nervous that Aaron Judge is going to win because HOMERZ and NOO YORK. I don't know why this matters to me (*actively tries not to apply that last thought to everything about the Houston Astros*).

(American League MVP candidate Aaron Judge)

*Jeff Luhnow still thinks Derek Fisher is ready for left field, but didn't rule out filling that hole in free agency. But Kyle Tucker is coming, so it would be a stop-gap free agent, if necessary.

*Monday is the deadline to put eligible minor-leaguers on the 40-Man Roster in order to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. It's been about three years since I've gotten jazzed up about the Rule 5 draft, mainly because the Astros aren't in a position to need to find the next Johan Santana in order to not lose 100 games. Still, guys like Ramon Laureano, Jon Kemmer, and Dean Deetz will either be placed on the 40-Man or run the possibility of getting Delino DeShields'd. Jake Kaplan runs down the decision on Laureano.

*Before you get all steamed up about Jon Heyman's report that the Astros are showing interest in Jonathan Lucroy, please remember all those Inside Baseball columns where his only notes on the Astros were obvious stat cherry-picking from Baseball-Reference or "Huh, Alex Bregman seems pretty good" lines.

*Holdt up. Jim Crane on the possibility of Giancarlo Stanton coming to Houston:
Don't think we haven't thought about how easily the ball would go out in our ballpark...No one thought we'd take on Verlander and we got that one done by the skin of our teeth. There are only four or five teams that can take on that kind of contract at this time and we are one of them.

*Texas Monthly: What Carlos Beltran means to Houstonians.

*Here's an interesting article with a whole bunch of, like, science, and stuff: How the Astros used a new shoulder test to monitor fatigue.
A strength assessment for the shoulder rooted in judo, devised by a soccer physic, tested in rugby and administered with a tool associated with the lower body has been adapted for baseball and used this past season by the World Series champion Houston Astros organization.

My favorite part of this story is this line: "Astros Sport Scientist Jose Fernandez declined comment when contacted by SportTechie, citing club policy."

*MLB will premiere an Astros World Series documentary at UH's Cullen Hall on November 21. Tickets are $25.

*The Twins voided a $3m contract with 16-year old Jelfry Marte, one of the top international prospects coming into this signing period. But please keep bringing up Brady Aiken.

*Grampa Pete is at it again:

Record:Curt Schilling has more Cy Young runner-up finishes, 3, than anyone who never got the award. In 2001-2-4, behind Randy Johnson and Johan Santana, Schilling was 656-19, 3.15, 832-107 K-BB

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) November 16, 2017

Monday Morning Hot Links

*They're dead. By God they're all dead. The Astros killed them. I am not emotionally prepared for this. The Astros are 60-29, 16.5 games ahead of the Angels and Rangers. This, if you remember Baseball-Reference replying to Stephen King, is the 2nd largest division lead at the All-Star Break in baseball history. The 2001 Mariners (shudder) had a 19-game lead at the Break. The now-3rd-largest division lead in baseball history was 14.5 games, set by Pittsburgh in 1902. The 1902 Pirates went 103-36 but didn't win the World Series because the World Series wasn't played until the following season. George Springer vs. Ginger Beaumont: WHO YA GOT.

*The 16.5-game lead matches the largest division lead in franchise history. The 2017 Astros have lost one road series all year (at Cleveland, April 25-27).

*Jake Kaplan did the good work (so I didn't have to). Here are the previous franchise best winning percentages at the All-Star Break:
1) 2017: .674 (60-29)
2) 1998: .609 (53-34)
3) 1999: .580 (51-37)
4) 1980: .577 (45-33)

*The Astros have joined the 2017 Dodgers, 2003 Braves, 2001 Mariners, and 1998 Yankees as the only teams in MLB history to have 60 wins at the All-Star Break. Hinch, on 60 wins:
It's special. It's a special distinction because it's rarely done...We've gotten off to such a great start. We've got a great vibe, fun culture. Winning obviously helps that. 

*On this 6-game road trip (4-2), the Astros outscored the 1992 World Series participants 63-25. The Astros have a run differential of +162. That 1998 team had a +143 run differential at the Break. Previous seasons run differentials at the All-Star Break:
2016: +30
2015: +50
2014: -88
2013: -143
2012: -72
2011: -106

*The 19 runs scored by the Astros are the most in a game since October 2, 2015 when the Astros dropped 21 on Arizona, but this is the 6th game this season in which the Astros have 17+ hits. That's ridiculous.

*Hinch:
That was incredible. We never stopped.

*Justin Smoak:
That team over there is really good and to get two wins against them is good. 

*Via Joe Sheehan: The Astros' four games of 16+ runs this season are the most by any team since 1996. And, at the All-Star Break, no team has had six such games since 1936. 

well sometimes when you visit other countries you get the runs https://t.co/bFHvjxLNzn

— Jon Bois (@jon_bois) July 9, 2017

*Check the lede from the Toronto Sun's Steve Buffery:
Sunday's Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre was so bad for the home side, they had to replace the official scorer with a professor of mathematics from the University of Toronto.

*The Astros have never won a game by as large a margin as they did yesterday. It's the 5th time the 2017 Astros have won a game by 10+ runs. The 2015 Astros won seven games by 10+ runs. From 2008 - 2014 the Astros won a total of four games by 10+ runs.

*Correa, who had a career-high 5RBI thanks to two home runs:
I feel like we have a really good team. From 1 through 9, we can do damage, so today we showed what we're capable of. 

*Carlos Correa hit his 19th and 20th home runs yesterday. He had 20 home runs in all of 2016.

*Jose Altuve got his 5th consecutive 3-hit game yesterday, giving him a league-leading .347 batting average. He has raised his OPS 51 points in the last five games. He's the 9th player since 1913 with 5+ 3-hit games, and the first to do it since George Brett in 1976.

*Via Ryan Spaeder: The last time a team had two middle infielders with a .300/.400/.500 slash line was the 1873 Boston Red Stockings.

*Brad Peacock had another Walk Issue. Though he made it through six scoreless, he allowed five walks, man. Peacock, on his command:
Unreal. I can't explain it. Sometimes it just happens. I lost it. 

*While we all would prefer the Astros just go ahead and play the Twins tomorrow night, Hinch is looking forward to the break:
It's nice to say we should keep this going, but we need as many people to rest up here in the next four days. 

*ESPN's David Schoenfield says the Astros and Dodgers are on a World Series collision course, but has a chilling stat: In the Wild Card Era, 22 teams have won 100 games. Of those 22 teams, seven went to the World Series, and only three won it. Only 14 of the 44 teams to lead the league in wins went to the World Series.

*Playoff Odds/Season Projection check:
FanGraphs: (103-59) 99.9% to win division, 18.3% to win World Series
Baseball Prospectus: (102-60) 100% to win division, 18.9% to win World Series
FiveThirtyEight: (105-57) >99% to win division, 23% to win World Series

*Dallas Keuchel threw a bullpen session yesterday. Hinch:
I'm cautiously optimistic, as opposed to, just, dreaming. We need these guys to be on the field. Until they're pitching, I don't factor anything in.

Click the link for notes on who goes to the bullpen and Hinch's thoughts on the mindset of rotation vs. bullpen. As Keuchel and McHugh get ready to come back, Hinch said Frankie Tuesday could remain in the bullpen or go back to starting for Fresno.

*Charlie Morton will pitch Friday, Joe Musgrove on Saturday, and Mike Fiers on Sunday against the Twins.

*FanRag's Tommy Stokke: Marwin is an All-Star for the Astros, at least.

*In the Futures Game (which the USA won, giving them home field advantage in the Futures World Series), Derek Fisher hit a two-run double, Kyle Tucker was 1x3 with an RBI double, and Yordan Alvarez was 1x1 with a walk and an RBI. Fisher:
This is something you don't really realize how big it is until you're here. This is the first time I've played with USA across my chest. Being able to do that was a proud thing for me. 

Tucker, on playing with trade rumors swirling:
I'll see it every now and then. I don't pay too much attention to it, because it's out of my hands. All I can do is go out and play. I don't have any say whether I get traded or who I'm going to.

*Ramon Laureano went 5x5 with two doubles and a triple in Corpus' win yesterday. He's the 5th player in Corpus history to get a 5-hit game. He's hitting .500/.529/1.000 in July.

*Forrest Whitley threw 5IP, 5H/1ER, 5K:0BB in a Buies Creek win yesterday.

*Baseball officials told Joel Sherman that there are concerns about Sonny Gray's long-term health.

*Jose Quintana said he'd prefer to stay in Chicago.

*Mariners bullpen coach and Former Astros Great Mike Hampton has resigned, in order to spend more time with his family.

*Mike Trout will return to the Angels on Friday, and baseball will be better for it.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links + PreStros Report

*The Astros beat the Indians after Cleveland hit for the Keuchel: 9IP, 6H/2ER, 5K:3BB. Once again, both Indians runs were solo homers. Keuchel has allowed five earned runs in 37IP this season, and four of those runs were solo home runs. Astros win 4-2.

*Keuchel:
There were a ton of great defensive plays behind me tonight, and I owe a lot to the defense. I honestly didn't think I was going to do very well just based on how I felt in the bullpen and how it started.

*Also Keuchel:
I think everybody's just kind of sick of talking about last year and how bad we were. So everybody's coming out ready to prove some stuff and then make a playoff run. That's it. Everybody comes to the park ready to go.

*Jose Altuve and Teoscar Hernandez were involved in a scary collision that may land Teoscar on the DL.

*The injury to Hernandez put Springer back into game action for the first time since Saturday.

*Statcast highlights that hitters aren't making nearly the contact on Lance McCullers' changeup in 2017 as they did in 2016.

*Jake Marisnick was placed on the 7-Day DL with a concussion and Teoscar Hernandez has been called up to take his spot.

*Scroll down far enough and you'll read Ken Rosenthal write that Gurriel looks more comfortable at the plate and "is mature enough to understand that he's a good hitter first, not a slugger."

*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon, who has a hard time keeping Jeff Luhnow's name out of his mouth, says the "deliberate losing is finally paying off." Gordon also spelled Dallas Keuchel's name wrong. Twice.

*SI: Hunter Greene is the star baseball needs.

*Bob Grossman figured out how to hit lefties.

PreStros Report: Games of April 25

Pitching has been an issue for the Grizzlies (PCL-worst 5.71 ERA / PCL-worst 1.74 WHIP) and yesterday was no different in a 9-7 loss to Salt Lake. Edison Frias allowed 4H/5ER, 3K:4BB; Reymin Guduan (0.2IP) and Dayan Diaz (1.2IP) each allowed 3H/2ER. Jordan Jankowski was the only effective reliever, retiring all five batters he faced. Derek Fisher was 3x5 with a double and a solo homer. Reid Brignac was 2x4 with a triple and 3RBI, Andrew Aplin was 2x3 with 2RBI and Tony Kemp was 2x5 with a stolen base. Colin Moran and Max Stassi were each 1x3 with a double, RBI and two walks.

Corpus (12-7) got a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th from Ramon Laureano in a 4-3 Hooks win. Dean Deetz killed it again, this time with 5IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:1BB. Kent Emanuel gave up all three runs in 2.2IP. Riley Ferrell allowed 0H/0ER, 3K:3BB in 3IP and Andrew Thome got the win with 1.1IP, 0H/0ER relief. Drew Ferguson was 4x6 with a double, Jon Singleton was 2x3 with a double, two walks, 2RBI; Jack Mayfield was 2x5.

Buies Creek's game at Winston-Salem was postponed due to rain.

Peoria put up four in the top of the 2nd inning and never trailed in a 9-5 win over Quad Cities. All four Quad Cities pitchers allowed at least one earned run, with Dustin Hunt getting the start and lasting just 1.1IP, 3H/4ER, 1K:3BB. Ronnie Dawson was 2x4 with a homer, walk, and 3RBI. Alex De Goti and Marcos Almonte (BB, RBI) each had two hits.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Today is the first full-squad workout of the season!

*Lance McCullers is experimenting with a couple of new grips on his changeup, a pitch he hasn't thrown much in his first two seasons with the Astros.
Everything I throw is hard, hard, hard, and I'm trying to get a little 'stop and go' in my game, a little more 'pitchability,' so to speak.

*Carlos Correa, who will be out for a couple of days after getting his wisdom teeth removed, is ready to improve upon last year.
I want to be a better hitter than I already am, and I feel like I can do that. I can get so much better. 

*Carlos Beltran is looking towards October.
This team is really, really close to winning...I have to have the opportunity to play in October. That's what it's all about...Once you get to October, anything can happen. I feel like this team is going to give me that opportunity.

*Brian T. Smith wrote an erotic column about Beltran.

*Will Harris says the Astros have a chip on their shoulder:
Pitchers and catchers are here and I don't think as a whole we maybe didn't hold up our end of the bargain last year. You give us that little extra chip on our shoulder and give us something to prove, it could be something that could push us.

*Brian McCann is already pleased with Dallas Keuchel's delivery:
It's exactly what I thought it would be. The angles he creates are special. He gets the ball to move late, he gets the ball to stay on the plate until the end and then it falls off, and he can do it to both sides. 

*The Cardinals have paid the $2m to the Astros, apparently.

*Jon Singleton talked about being removed from the 40-Man roster after hitting .202/.337/.390 in 2016.
I was only disappointed at myself because of the year that I had. There was no one to blame but myself. 

*MinorLeagueBall asks if Ramon Laureano is the best Astros OF prospect.

*Five things to know about the Buies Creek Astros.

*Goose Gossage: Still a douche.

*Meet the latest boy genius of baseball.

*Here's a good article on the challenges facing Fitzgerald's.

Friday Morning Hot Links

*McTaggart notes that the Astros are still after top pitching, but the price for a quality starter was too high for Luhnow & Co. The White Sox wanted Bregman for Sale, and the price tag for Jose Quintana is currently too high, as well, with the Astros considering outfielder Kyle Tucker "untouchable." Luhnow:
Perspective changes a little bit, and there might be a few things done maybe in the next 24 hours that will change other teams' appetite to get it over the finish line, including ours...If we can find a match, we're not going to hold on to our prospects at the expense of our success in '17 or '18.

*Luhnow says a lot of teams are evaluating where they are after the Winter Meetings, which may be the right time to pounce on that starting pitcher everyone says they need. Luhnow:
We just have to be patient, we have to be opportunistic and continue to sort through with clubs as they decide whether or not they're going to make players available based off of what they've been able to accomplish this week. A lot of the trade opportunities don't happen until after they've signed their guy or made a different trade. 

*If a gun was held to Brian T. Smith's head, he would give Jeff Luhnow a B. Or maybe an Incomplete. Luhnow:
I really am excited about the next five years. I think this team has a chance to compete every year and potentially win one or more championships, and that's really what it's all about. We put ourselves in a pretty good spot. Now it's a matter of having a good roll of the dice and making good decisions. 

*A.J. Hinch will focus on not making "catastrophic" baserunning mistakes this year.

*A.J. Hinch said on Astroline that catcher Garrett Stubbs and outfielder Ramon Laureano will be in the big league camp for Spring Training.

*The Rule 5 Draft was held yesterday, and the Astros lost Mike Hauschild and picked up three in the minor league phase.

-The Rangers selected 2012 33rd Round pick Mike Hauschild, who had a career 3.50 ERA in 565IP in the Astros' system, including a 9-10 year at Fresno in 2016 where he posted a 3.22 ERA/1.27 WHIP with 119K:40BB in 139.2IP. He'll be 27 next month.

-The Astros picked up 23-year old catcher Eduardo de Oleo from Arizona, who played in 21 games in 2016. Luhnow:
He's got tools, especially behind the plate. He's a good defender, he's got a really plus arm, and he's a guy we've seen some power out of, and hopefully we'll see it manifest itself in games. 

-They selected righty knuckleballer Jared Mortensen from Tampa Bay. The 28-year old Canadian was signed out of independent baseball at 25, and pitched in Double-A last year with a 5.23 ERA and 86 strikeouts (and 56 walks) in 72.1IP. His 38 wild pitches in 2016 highlight just how hard it is for Double-A catchers to pick up his stuff. Kevin Goldstein:
[2016] is the first year...he became a full-time knuckleballer. You can see a lot of walks, but he struck out nearly 11 per nine. The pitches really danced. We're going to give him a shot and see how it works out. 

-The Astros also selected Blaine Sims from the Braves. Sims might sound familiar because he was an Astros minor leaguer in 2014 and 2015.

*Dallas' Tim Cowlishaw thinks a healthy Dallas Keuchel is the key to the Astros winning the AL West.

*Reid Ryan talked about having Little League practice at the Astrodome.

*The Fayetteville, NC City Council accepted two agreements to begin construction on the Astros' minor-league stadium.

*Call it the Brady Aiken Rule: the top 50 draft pitching prospects can now submit to a voluntary MRI

*Congratulations, and best wishes, to Rangers 3B coach Tony Beasley, who received a clean bill of health after an 11-month battle with cancer.

*The Philadelphia Inquirer's Claire Smith became the first woman to win the Hall of Fame's Spink Award.

*Ambassador to Japan Bobby...Valen...tine?

Qualifying Offers and Other Notes

*Patrick and I interviewed Astros Director of Pro Scouting Kevin Goldstein for Lima Time Time.

*Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, and Mike Trout are the three finalists for the AL MVP award. As McTaggart notes, Altuve is the first 2B to get to 100 runs, 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 homers, 95 RBI, and 30 SB in a single season.
If I win it's going to be great, if not, I'm going to feel proud because I feel like I did what I had to do to help my team and I don't want to stop here. Like I said before and will say 100 times, I want to keep getting better. 

*McTaggart also notes that the Astros may have no choice but to overpay for Jason Castro, but could be major players in free agency.

*Predictably, the Astros did not extend the 1yr/$17.2m qualifying offer to any of their impending free agents: Colby Rasmus, Jason Castro, Luis Valbuena, or Doug Fister. It's worth noting that some potential free agent targets Edwin Encarnacion, Yoenis Cespedes, Mark Trumbo received Qualifying Offers from their respective teams. This would mean the Astros would lose their 1st Round pick in the 2017 draft should they sign one of these players. Catchers Wilson Ramos and Matt Wieters did not receive a QO.

*That said, the Blue Jays are reportedly making a push to re-sign Edwin Encarnacion.

*You can filter through MLBTR's free agent tracker.

*Francis Martes is using his time in the Arizona Fall League to work on his changeup, while Garrett Stubbs is trying to add some bulk to his frame, and Aaron Rowand - remember him? - guarantees that Ramon Laureano will be a major-leaguer.

*Carlos Gomez would like a five-year deal, please and thank you. Heyman:
Boras pointed out that Gomez, by virtue of his movement from Houston to Texas in-season, can not get a qualifying offer, which should aid him in free agency. The agent also credited the Rangers with helping him receive information that aided his vision, and led to a stark turnaround in performance. 

*Pitchers & Catchers report on February 14.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Note: Content is incoming, as I'm just now in a mood to try to process the 2016 Astros season. Hope you like content. Content is my brand. 

*Jose Altuve will appear as a cartoon character on Uncle Grandpa. I have a four-year old daughter who loves Uncle Grandpa, the only cartoon whose target demographic is both toddlers and people tripping on LSD. I can't wait. It's on at 11:15am today (Saturday, October 22).

*Astros prospect Ramon Laureano won the Arizona Fall League Player of the Week after hitting .571.

*Astros beat writer Angel Verdejo will no longer cover the Astros as he shifts back over to high school coverage for the Chronicle.

*Check out the incredible video (by the same director who did the fantastic Dock Ellis documentary) about the time the Mets trashed the team plane following their victory over the Astros in the 1986 NLCS.

*The Astros are up to the top half of MLB in ESPN's Ultimate Standings...thing. ESPN, with a dose of reality:
There's nothing about the Astros that screams championship (besides Correa and Altuve), but there isn't anything that makes you wonder what the heck they're doing, either. 

*Brian T. Smith got Twitter to write him a column about the Astros, and Houston in general.

*Forbes: Update on the new CBA, which is expected to be approved before the 2017 season.

*Good news, degenerates! Congress is thinking about re-doing the laws on sports betting.

*Jayson Stark: Why the best teams don't win the World Series.

*NLCS Game 6 comes down to Kershaw vs. Rizzo.

*Jeff Sullivan: Why don't people run all over Jon Lester?

*Jose Fernandez's mother wrote a piece in the Miami Herald.

*Reminder that MLB isn't perfect, but the NFL - as a business - is trash.

PreStros Morning Report: June 30

TL;DR

*Astros affiliates go 3-5 on the day
*Brady Rodgers throws a strong start and Nolan Fontana gets three hits in a 10-5 Fresno win.
*Corpus is at the Texas League All-Star Break
*Lancaster rallied back from 7-0 down only to lose 9-8
*Quad Cities won the completion of Monday's game but dropped the 7-inning Tuesday game
*Tri-City lost 2-1 at Connecticut
*Connor Goedert went 3x4 with 4RBI and three runs scored in a Greeneville win
*The GCL Astros extended their season-opening losing skid to eight games.

Fresno (45-34, 6.0 up)

Fresno stopped a four-game losing streak by going up 8-0 with the help of a 5-run 6th inning and then holding off El Paso for a 10-5 win. Brady Rodgers threw 6.2IP, 5H/3ER, 5K:0BB; Mitch Lambson hit a batter in 1.1 scoreless/hitless IP; and Tyson Perez allowed 3H/2ER, 0K:1BB in 1IP.

Nolan Fontana was 3x4 with a walk and and RBI; Robbie Grossman was 2x3 with three walks and a stolen base; Tony Kemp (2B, RBI),  Matt Duffy (RBI), Jonathan Villar, Tyler Heineman (2RBI), and Andrew Aplin (BB, 2RBI) all had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Robbie Grossman

Corpus (51-25, clinched playoff berth)

Texas League All-Star Game. Conrad Gregor was 0x3, Tyler White was 0x2, and Roberto Pena was 0x1 as the North defeated the South 9-4. Chris Devenski threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB; Travis Ballew allowed 2H/0ER in 0.2IP, Jandel Gustave struck out one and walked three, allowing 3ER; and Aaron West got the final two outs of the game.

Lancaster (40-35 overall, 3-2 in 2nd Half, 1.0 GB)

Down 7-0 by the middle of the 3rd inning, Lancaster started a comeback that would result in a 7-7 tie heading into the 9th, but allowing two runs in the top of the 9th, the rally fell short as the JetHawks fell to Inland Empire 9-8. Troy Scribner allowed 9H/7ER, 5K:5BB in 6IP; Andrew Walter allowed 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB in the 7th, and Reymin Guduan allowed 3H/2ER, 1K:1BB in 2IP.

Chase McDonald was 2x5 with a double and a 9th inning solo homer; James Ramsay also had two hits, a stolen base, and an RBI. Derek Fisher and J.D. Davis drove in two runs each. Mott Hyde and Jack Mayfield had a hit and a walk; A.J. Reed was 0x3 with 2BB.

Man of the Match: Chase McDonald

Quad Cities (49-25, clinched playoff berth)

Game 1: Quad Cities and Beloit finished Game 1 due to Monday's cancellation, but Game 1 went 12 innings with Quad Cities prevailing, 2-1. Brandon McNitt threw 3.1IP, 2H/0ER, 1K:2BB; Michael Freeman threw 2.2IP, 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB; Riley Ferrell made his professional debut, allowing two hits and the tying run with 1K:0BB in the 7th to send it to extras; Angel Heredia threw 4IP, 0H/0ER, 5K:2BB and Jordan Mills got the win with a perfect 12th.

Nick Tanielu was 3x6; Ramon Laureano was 2x5; Ryan Bottger was 1x4 with two walks and your lone RBI; Jamie Ritchie, Alex Bregman, Alex Hernandez, and Bobby Boyd each had a hit and drew a walk.

Man of the Match: Angel Heredia

Game 2: Beloit put up three runs in the 2nd, which was all they'd need in what would be a 4-1 Quad Cities loss. David Paulino allowed 7H/3R (2ER), 4K:1BB in 4IP; Eric Peterson threw 2IP, 3H/1ER, 1K:2BB; Ryan Thompson allowed 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB in 1IP.

Ramon Laureano was 2x3 with the only run scored and two stolen bases; Sean McMullen was 0x0 with two walks and an RBI sac fly scoring Laureano. Other than that it was a big buncha nothin.

Man of the Match: Ramon Laureano

Tri-City (5-7, 5.0 GB)

Tri-City struck first with a run in the 2nd, but Connecticut got it done with a 2-1 win. Trent Thornton threw 4IP, 6H/1ER, 6K:0BB; Scott Weatherby allowed 4H/1ER, 1K:1BB in 2.1IP, and Steve Naemark retired all five batters he faced.

Bobby Wernes was 2x3 with a walk and an RBI; Dexture McCall was 1x3 with a walk; Cesar Carrasco and Antonio Nunez had your other hits.

Man of the Match: Trent Thornton

Greeneville (5-3, tied for 1st)

Princeton took a 2-0 lead in the first, but Greeneville responded with six unanswered runs on their way to a 10-6 win. Yhoan Acosta allowed 4H/5R (3ER), 3K:1BB in 3.1IP; Juan Delis allowed 2H/0ER, 2K:2BB in 1IP; Cristhopher (not a typo) Santamaria faced one batter and got two out; Zac Grotz threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 1K:1BB and Jacob Dorris allowed 0H/1ER, 3K:2BB.

Connor Goedert had a weird day, going 3x4 with a homer, 4RBI, three runs scored, a stolen base, and an error. Randy Cesar was 2x5 with a grand slam in the 3rd. Kevin Martir went 3x4 with a walk and 2RBI; Aaron Mizell was 2x4 with a walk, and Luis Payano was 2x4 with a double.

Man of the Match: Connor Goedert

GCL Astros (0-8)

Game 1: The GCL Astros lost 2-1 to the GCL Phillies. Jose Rosario allowed 5H/2ER, 3K:0BB; Edgardo Sandoval allowed 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB in 4IP; Carlos Hiraldo threw two hitless/scoreless innings, and Adonis Pena allowed a hit in 1IP. Bryan De La Cruz was 2x4; Frankeny Fernandez was 1x3 with a triple and a walk; Reiny Beltre was 1x3 with a walk; Vicente Sanchez was 0x1 with three walks. Kyle Tucker went 0x4 with 3K.

Man of the Match: Edgardo Sandoval

Game 2: The GCL Phillies extended the GCL Astros' losing streak to open the season to eight games with a walk-off 1-0 win. Diogenes Almengo threw 5IP, 3H/0ER, 3K:0BB and Enrique Chavez allowed 3H/1ER, 2K:2BB in 2.1IP. Wander Franco was 2x3, Ruben Castro (SB) and Jared Cruz had your other hits.

Man of the Match: Diogenes Almengo