Thursday Morning Hot Links

It's time for the GM Meetings, so of course we're going to hear more from Scott Boras than we will Mariah Carey on the radio for the next few days. Unless everyone poops themselves to death and the GM Meetings end early. UPDATE: Everyone's bowels is definitely loose. GM Meetings have been canceled.

*Boras said there have been positive interactions towards extensions for both Altuve and Bregman, but nothing formally yet.

GM Dana Brown:

I think that we understand they have one more year left. And we want to sign them. I think they're interested in being here. I think it's just going to take time to figure out is there going to be somewhere that we can make it work. And that just takes time sometimes. I wish it was easy...but we do have an interest in both guys, for sure. 

There is apparently interest in extending both Framber and Tucker, but since they're under team control for two more years there isn't as much urgency in getting those done.

*Boras also said that Lance McCullers will "no doubt" be pitching in 2024, though Dana Brown expects that to be in July. 

*I think it's a derivative of the previous Athletic link, but Dana Brown addressed the Astros' piss-poor performances at home:

I think it's a fluke. I think it's an aberration. I think if you look at this club, the success that they've had in Houston has been really good. I don't want to get wrapped up into it and make it this big psychological thing. I think the team's been really good. I think it's a fluke. I think guys started talking about it and they started pressing more.

If this was an AP US History written response, I would cross out all of the "I think" phrases. Make a claim. Own it. Be bold, and if you're wrong, be boldly wrong. But don't forget that two teams in professional sports history have lost all four home games in a seven-game series: the 2019 Astros and the 2023 Astros.

*There's some weirdness with the Joe Espada situation. First of all, I did not realize he was only 48. Second, he interviewed for the Astros' manager gig last week. He's been linked to the now-vacant Milwaukee, and while Dana Brown said the Astros "hold the keys to permission" allowing him to interview with the Brewers...

...but they don't. Espada's contract expired on October 31. Espada doesn't need the Astros' permission to do anything. So either Dana Brown didn't know that Espada's contract was up (which is terrible) or he forgot (which isn't great, either). But click that link to see how highly Dana Brown apparently feels about Espada.

A lot of people in the organization think highly of Espada. I think highly of Espada. I just don't know that Crane will let a first-year manager take the reins of a team looking to make its 8th straight ALCS. Crane has managed to surround himself with Reggie Jackson and Jeff Bagwell. Obviously they know Espada better than we do, but Espada isn't a splashy name, and I think Crane is drawn to the splashy name. 

*Matt Kawahara has five free agent reliever options for the Astros.

*The Astros don't have a ton of financial flexibility with which to operate. 

*All that said, it seems like Dana Brown is enjoying his first-ever GM Meetings. And having fun is all that matters. 

*Mike Petriello notes that the Astros have the 2nd-best roster already, entering the 2024 season. Of course Shohei Ohtani hasn't signed with the Rangers yet...

*ESPN's David Schoenfield graded his pre-2023 bold predictions for each team. Yordan's race for the Triple Crown is still on.

*Let's make fun of Joel Reuter's Top 10 Catchers list (with their wRC+ in parentheses):

1. Adley Rutschman (127 wRC+)

2. Sean Murphy (129)

3. William Contreras (124)

4. Will Smith (119)

5. Cal Raleigh (111)

6. Jonah Heim (103)

7. Gabriel Moreno (103)

8. Willson Contreras (127)

9. J.T. Realmuto (102)

10. Ryan Jeffers (138)

Not Listed: Yainer Diaz and his 127 wRC+.

*You can buy Woody Williams' Newpoint Estates former home for $3.7m. 

*The Angels hired Ron Washington as their manager, and he's bringing Eric Young, Jr. (who was linked to Houston) with him.

*The Brewers are PISSED at Craig Counsell. And I can understand why.

*Texas Monthly: How the oldest Indian restaurant in Houston prepares for its Diwali rush.

*LOLMANUTD.

*Rolling Stone: The shocking loss and unbreakable bond behind Sleater-Kinney's new album.

*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/Politics-Free Hot Links, Vol. 27

*There was a thought experiment floating around today about an expansion draft: What would happen if there was one, and who would the Astros protect? The rules are quirky, and the ones from the last expansion draft - in 1997 - (in which the Astros lost Bobby Abreu to Tampa, who turned around and traded him to Philly) would seemingly still apply. That said, here's my list of 15 protected players, were I the Astros' GM...and I think I should be:

Bryan Abreu, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Zack Greinke, Josh James, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers, Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, George Springer, Kyle Tucker, Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander,

Here's the 40-Man Roster. It's hard!

*Jake Kaplan: The time an Astros GM ripped the umpires on the scoreboard.

*Any version of a 2020 MLB season would feature a universal DH.

*Chandler Rome notes that a shortened draft is still alright with Rice's Trei Cruz.



*ESPN: Meet Dan Kurtz, the stay-at-home dad who has become an international expert on the KBO.

*SI: Before ruling baseball's economics, Scott Boras sucked at baseball.

*Tim Kurkjian: Stan Musial and a called shot to end an All-Star Game.

*I'm not a huge board game guy, but Keith Law's review of The Sherlock Files has me interested. Also, make your plans to buy Godspeed, which my actual cousin designed and wrote.

*Rolling Stone: An oral history of The Dinner Party episode from The Office.



*Vice: This guy got hit by lightning and became a concert pianist.

*Spencer Hall & Jason Kirk: What were sports?

Here's an entire performance by the Thievery Corporation:



Watch this whole documentary soon:



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

Hot Links, Vol. 26

*Scott Boras urged the MLBPA not to accept the owners' proposal for a season restart. This compensation fight is going to get ugly. FanGraphs' Craig Edwards: After years of profits, owners ask players to subsidize losses. I swear to God, if you are on Team Billionaire over Team Millionaire, I will figure out how to block you from reading this website.

The governor of Illinois said the players were holding out. The governor of Illinois is part-owner of Hyatt Hotels and has a personal net worth of $3.4 billion.

*

Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1 l) in the midst of his 24-hour live stream on Twitch, playing video games w/ teammates like George Springer, @LMcCullers23 & @RealJoshReddick & other great athletes like @DeAndreHopkins @JaredGoff16. Alex’s new goal: raise $3milion for the @HoustonFoodBank pic.twitter.com/z6ANZRPNU1

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) May 12, 2020

*Dusty Baker and Brent Strom will not [slams fist on table] back down from COVID-19. Dusty:
It's going to be impossible not to take a risk, but a calculated risk. Safety is number one. Not only for yourself, but I worry about other people as much as I worry about myself.

*Astros' fan sign-stealing lawsuit has expanded to include COVID-19 refunds.

*The Baseball-Reference OOTP Simulation currently has the Astros at 23-20, in 3rd place in the AL West. Again, I do not know why I care about this. I also don't know why George Springer is batting 7th. Zack Greinke threw a complete game three-hitter with 14 strikeouts as the Astros beat Kansas City 7-0.

*Brian McTaggart has the franchise's best RFs, with George Springer leading the way.

*MLB.com: Former Astros Great Johan Santana.

*Ten years later, Former Astros Great Armando Galarraga is still grappling with the loss of his Perfect Game. Counterpoint: Galarraga's Imperfect Game is actually more memorable than any other Perfect Game, otherwise we wouldn't be talking about a 26-34 pitcher with a 4.78 ERA, a 91 ERA+, and a 0.9 career fWAR.



*Former Astros Great Derek Bell talked Operation Shutdown.

*Michael Jordan was actually pretty good at baseball.

*Vice: The moon mysteriously disappeared 900 years ago and these slack-ass scientists are just getting around to figuring out why.

*Wired: The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker who Saved the Internet.



*Vox: A neuroscientist explains why it's so hard to focus and sit down and read a book right now.

*The Guardian: The real Lord of the Flies - what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Join me, as well as the entire Astros organization, on offering the most fervent of distracting congratulations to Justin Verlander on winning his 2nd Cy Young Award. Verlander got 17 first place votes and 13 second place votes. Gerrit Cole got 13 first place votes and 17 second place votes. I have no opinion on this. I would have been fine if Cole had won and Verlander came in second. Anyhow, Verlander is the 4th Astros pitcher (Mike Scott, Roger Clemens, Dallas Keuchel) to win a Cy Young Award. Eight seasons between Cy Young Awards is the longest in MLB history.

Here's how the BBWAA writers voted, by BBWAA chapter (each AL MLB city gets two writers to vote):
Baltimore: Verlander
Boston: Cole
Chicago: Split
Cleveland: Split
Detroit: Cole (shocking)
Houston: Verlander
Kansas City: Split
Los Angeles: Cole
Minnesota: Verlander
New York: Verlander
Oakland: Verlander
Seattle: Cole
Tampa: Verlander
Arlington: Split
Toronto: Split

MLB.com's writers explained their vote. The rationale for Verlander over Cole ranged from the number of innings pitched, body of work, Verlander's no-hitter, consistency. Click the link. Gerrit Cole's reaction:
Justin Verlander is a stud. It was a pleasure to run alongside him this summer. Congratulations!

It's Verlander's 8th Top-5 Cy Young finish, he's finished 5th twice, 3rd once, 2nd three times - most recently losing in 2018 (17-13) to Blake Snell. Verlander:
It was starting to become disappointing every time I came so close and it just didn't happen. I put up some historic numbers in the history of baseball [in 2018], and every time somebody had done something similar, they had won the Cy Young. Is it meant to be for me to win another one? I don't want to call [winning a second] a relief, because it wasn't. It just put things in perspective and made it all the better, all the more exciting for me and my family.

So let's talk about Verlander's previous three 2nd-place finishes:

2012:
David Price: 14 1st Place votes, 20-5, 211IP, 2.56 ERA / 1.10 WHIP,  150 ERA+, 4.3 fWAR
Verlander: 13 1st Place votes, 17-8, 238.1IP, 2.64 ERA / 1.06 WHIP, 161 ERA+, 6.9 fWAR

2016:
Rick Porcello: 8 1st Place votes, 22-4, 223IP, 3.15 ERA / 1.01 WHIP, 142 ERA+, 5.1 fWAR
J. Verlander: 14 1st Place votes, 16-9, 227.2IP, 3.04 ERA / 1.00 WHIP, 140 ERA+, 5.4 fWAR

Two Tampa writers - Fred Goodall and Bill Chastain - did note vote for Verlander at all (1st-5th Place). The 2016 vote led to this legendary tweet. Goodall "talked to guys" and Chastain sent his ballot in a week early.

2018:
Blake Snell: 17 1st Place votes, 21-5, 180.2IP, 1.89 ERA / 0.97 WHIP, 217 ERA+, 4.8 fWAR
Verlander: 13 1st Place votes, 16-9, 214IP, 2.52 ERA / 0.90 WHIP, 164 ERA+, 6.6 fWAR

It's reasonable to think that this should have at least been Verlander's 4th Cy Young Award.

Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are the fourth pair of teammates to finish 1st & 2nd in Cy Young voting, first since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002, and again in 2001. Verlander and NL Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom are the 20th and 21st pitchers in MLB history to win multiple Cy Youngs Cys Young. 15 more facts and figures about the 2019 Cy Young Award winners. Verlander, on Cole:
One of the great things about the way we pushed each other is the conversations we would have after, about what we saw and felt and adjustments we could make one way or another. Just always really trying to help each other but push each other at the same time.

*Meanwhile, this report says Scott Boras (more like Bore Us, amirite) says Gerrit Cole is unlikely to sign before January. You could look at Gerrit Cole's reaction to Verlander winning the Cy Young as coming from a guy who, in his Age 29 season, will start the first of a multi-year contract worth over $250m...somewhere else because he's a SoCal guy. Scott Boras says NAY to all of that:
I don't think geography matters...as much as what matters is the continuance of winning and being able to achieve their goal of getting that rare win.

And on that January thing? Boras:
I heard today that Gerrit Cole wasn't signing until January. I have no idea who said that or why. It's completely inaccurate.

Boras also said that MLB's system is corrupt. Do we believe anything Boras says on November 13? Stay tuned.

Add the Phillies to a list of clubs that should, in total, number 30, as to who could benefit from Gerrit Cole in their rotation.

*A new report from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich says that Hinch, Cora, and Beltran are all connected to the sign-stealing debacle. The most notable thing in this new report, MLB's investigation into the Astros has already begun.

There are two fairly well-defined camps on this:

1. You have blind allegiance to the Houston Astros and literally nothing they can do will change that. That's certainly A Way to live.

2. You have to admit that the Astros have done some shady things in the past. Part of the point of my little recap of the last four seasons of Astros and sign-stealing was to show that other teams, and specifically named were the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, and Rangers, are at least credibly accused of sign-stealing in the same manner. To me, and you can get on Twitter and refer to me as a part of the female anatomy because of this, the Astros currently make me feel gross and I want a break from this team for a while (probably won't happen, but whatever). This is not why I like baseball, but baseball has a funny way of reflecting what's happening in society.

I caught a whole bunch of shade from Ramger Fans I work with who barely know anything about baseball and would rather have Rougned Odor than Jose Altuve yesterday. That's fair. The Athletic's report is literally the best thing that has happened to them since 2011. Yankees fans are going to be salty because the Astros have ended their season in three of the past five years. That douche from Dazed & Confused is gonna get up in Bregman's mentions (and if anyone knows about cheating it's Mike Clevinger). It's open season on the Astros, and we all just have to understand that. Gonna have to wear this one for...a good long while. It's how it is now.

Yahoo!'s Tim Brown: This could be the final nail in the Astros' reputation coffin.

Beyond the Box Score: MLB needs to suspend Jeff Luhnow. Trigger Warning: This article is a hatchet job. But it's worth reading to find out how the Rest of Baseball feels.

The Nationals had a plan to counter the Astros' dUGouT hIJinKs.

*Dr. Meredith Willis has an interesting astrophysicist look at what happened to the baseballs in the postseason.

*The Atlantic: How America Ends.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Flick and I got our signals crossed, leading to the lack of posting over the last few days. We're sorry. But we're not as sorry as the Astros are right now. Houston dropped the 2nd game of the Cleveland series 6-3. They're 3-6 in their last nine games. This afternoon they try to avoid tying a season-high three-game losing streak.

*Hinch:
We couldn't keep them in the yard. They did a good job of getting pitches to hit and doing damage. We put a lot of pressure on them early. They didn't put a lot of pressure on us but they delivered with homers.

*Collin McHugh did fine, except for three pitches which ended up over the fence. 5.2IP, 4H/3ER, 9K:2BB.

Collin McHugh, 2018: 6HR allowed in 72.1IP
Collin McHugh, 2019: 6HR allowed in 32.0IP.

McHugh:
The results speak for themselves. You give up homers, it's hard to win games...It's really frustrating because they were all after innings we put up some runs. Those shutdown innings are really important as a pitcher, especially a starting pitcher, to try to throw up another zero and let our guys bang like they've been doing all season.

*Josh James gave up a 2-run home run that turned a 4-3 Cleveland Spiders lead into a 6-3 lead. So far in 2019 he has thrown 13.2IP, 12H/12ER, 20K:9BB, 4HR, for a 7.90 ERA / 1.54 WHIP. In April he has thrown 10.2IP, 11H/12ER, 15K:8BB for a 10.13 ERA / 1.78 WHIP. Don't really need to see any more of Josh James for a while. Maybe let him explore north Austin.

Here's Chandler Rome on what James' struggles mean for the bullpen.

*The Astros were 2x9 w/RISP and left eleven men on base.

Opportunities last night:
Bottom 1st: Bregman on 3rd, Brantley on 2nd, 2 out. Correa strikeout.
Bottom 2nd: Bases loaded, 2 out. Brantley groundout.
Bottom 4th: Springer on 3rd, Altuve on 1st, 1 out. Bregman strikeout, Brantley flyout.
Bottom 7th: Brantley on 3rd, Correa on 1st, 2 out. Reddick lineout.

Astros with the bases empty, 2019: .301 (1st in MLB, next-best is Atlanta, at .281)
Astros w/RISP, 2019: .240 (21st in MLB)

*Jose Altuve was 0x2 but drew three walks in a game for the 6th time in his career. He did twice in four days, on June 23 and June 26, 2018.

*A.J. Hinch remains committed to aggressive baserunning, despite so-so results. Hinch:
Results have been just OK. We've made a lot of outs on the bases. I think the mindset to be aggressive has been really good. I'm happy with that. We can flip that with a couple of good results that would make everybody feel a little bit better about it.

Houston is tied for 2nd-most in MLB with nine caught stealing.

*Ken Rosenthal asks if free agency has passed Scott Boras by.

*USA Today's Bob Nightengale decided to take up the cause of the afflicted Addison Russell, and whether or not he deserves a second (Ed. Note: Third) chance. Might I remind you of this statement, from Addison Russell's ex-wife:
He slammed me into concrete...like, football tackled me. His friend was there and Carlie was there and they watched it. I was down, he was on top of me, yelling in my ear, saying, 'You like doing this to me. You push my buttons. Do you like it when I get like this? Do you like doing this? You like pushing me to the point where I have to act like this.

Bob Nightengale's puff piece can go to hell.

*Someone once told me to write what you like to read. I have 500 pages of notes for an eventual book about Andrew Jackson's 1833 tour of New England so, as a fan of the Bizarre Non-Fiction genre, I'm looking forward to reading this book.

*Esquire: The Inside Story of JFK Jr's George Magazine.

*You're (I'm) not getting enough sleep, and it's killing you (me).

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat the Cardinals 9-3. Notable:

-Jack Mayfield hit his 1st homer of the Spring.
-Nick Tanielu hit his 3rd homer of the Spring.
-Collin McHugh: 2IP, 3H/3ER, 2K:0BB
-Brandon Bielak: 3IP, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-Reymin Guduan: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB

*Big news of the day was that Altuve was a late scratch with "continued left side soreness" and "won't play for a few days." Altuve:
I don't think it's anything major. This is in a window of three days, not like one time and then a month later the same. I'm feeling good.

Wonder when they'll put the statue up of Altuve to commemorate his greatness.

*A.J. Hinch was complimentary of Reymin Guduan.

...which reminds me of this Twitter Masterpiece from The Batguy:

One big difference between the old, bad Astros teams and this one is that we went from Abad bullpen to a Guduan.

— I'm Batguy (@The_Batguy) May 31, 2017

*Aledmys Diaz is looking to be the Astros' superutility player in 2019.

*Here's a look from FanGraphs at the 2019 Dead Money pile. Amazing to me that the Astros are going to get $8m from Detroit in order to help pay for Justin Verlander.

*Shoutout to Mike F. Fiers, who was named the A's Opening Day starter. Manager Bob Melvin:
Seemed like every game he went out there, we won.

Hahaha dumb ol' Bob Melvin who forgets that the A's went [checks notes] hmmm 8-1 in Fiers' starts.

*Scott Boras backtracked on yesterday's note that the Astros offered Martin Maldonado 2yrs/$12m before he signed with the Royals on a 1yr/$2.5m deal.

*Beyond the Box Score: The 2019 Rangers are the Team of What Could Have Been.

*Former White Sox pitcher Esteban Loaiza got a three-year deal with a prison.


*

Huge shoutout to this fan who claimed Mt. Everest in his #Astros gear and planted a flag at the base camp! Incredible stuff. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/1104KDCPoC

— Houston Astros (@astros) March 9, 2019

*I literally had no idea that Dan Jenkins (RIP) was Sally Jenkins' father.

*Vox: Explaining Jacob Wohl

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

It's Spring Break. Spring Break started today with my daughter being so excited about Spring Break at 7:15am that she couldn't sleep. This life, it's not terribly Fair.

*The Astros lost to the Cardinals 6-3, but Forrest Whitley struck out six batters in 3IP, including two by Paul Goldschmidt. Gerrit Cole threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:0BB. Alex De Goti had two of the Astros' five hits. Altuve and Bregman are expected to be in the lineup for today's game. Collin McHugh will get the start.

*Justin Verlander is your Opening Day Starter - his 11th Opening Day Starter nod and his second consecutive one for the Astros. Gerrit Cole is excited to face Charles F. Morton in Game 2 of the 2019 season. Opening Day is 19 days away.

It will be Jose Altuve's 8th straight Opening Day start at 2B, which ties him with Joe Morgan and Bill Doran for 2nd in franchise history.

*Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Astros have made offers to Dallas Keuchel in the 1-2 year range but, obviously, those offers are not yet acceptable. Buster Olney says the two sides "aren't close."

We know that the market for free agents has shifted. We also know the Phillies would prefer a short-term deal for Keuchel. These are things we know. Regardless of the motive of Management, that's how it is. If Keuchel is holding out for a 4-5 year deal, I'm not sure where it comes from, if the only teams talking to reporters are offering 1-2 years.

Related, Sean Pendergast and Rich Lord discuss if Scott Boras is committing malpractice with Keuchel. ALSO RELATED: Buster Olney says the Astros offered Martin Maldonado 2yr/$12m deal at the beginning of the offseason, but he/Boras rejected it and Maldonado is still a free agent. Maldonado has since switched agents.

*Cool story from Jake Kaplan on how Garrett Stubbs and Johnny Bench became BFFs.

*Astros veterans are taking J.B. Bukauskas under their collective wings.

*There were another round of cuts this morning, showing that, once again, the second cut is as deep as the first: Bryan Abreu, Akeem Bostick, Garrett Stubbs, Chuckie Robinson, Taylor Jones, Josh Rojas, and Ronnie Dawson.

*How soon could robot umps and 62'6" mound distances hit MLB?

*Runners around the world helped this lady run 100 marathons in 100 days for water conservation.

*A Musical Selection:




(You can follow the Hot Links Music playlist on Spotify.)

Friday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat the Braves yesterday 6-4.

-Francis Martes threw 3IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:1BB.
-James Hoyt pulled a James Hoyt and allowed 3H/3R (2ER), 1K:0BB in 1IP.
-Tyler White was 2x3, hit his 1st home run of the Spring, and had a double.
-Derek Fisher went yard off Scott Kazmir.
-A.J. Reed was 2x3.
-Tony Kemp was 2x4.
-Jake Marisnick was 2x4.

*A.J Hinch is in no rush to name an early-April successor to Yuli Gurriel. Hinch:
Obviously, Whitey had a good day today; Davis has had good days; Reed's swinging the bat better. Those three guys, in particular, are fighting for the job.

*Hunter Atkins writes that Jose Altuve is just about in mid-season form. Altuve:
I feel good. I've been working really hard to the point where I want to be. I don't know yet if I'm ready, but I'm really, really close to where I want to be. I've had enough workouts to feel like I'm prepared for the season. 

*The Astros renewed Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman for 2018, with a nice little increase (though still well below what they're worth, but that's how baseball economics go):
Correa: $1m
Bregman: $599,000

Can't wait to hear about how the Astros are destroying baseball now.

*Hall of F. Famer Craig Biggio said the Astros have the talent and chemistry to repeat.

*Dallas Keuchel said there won't be a World Series hangover (for God's sake, there's no such thing as a World Series hangover. Just because the Cubs dryhumped their way into April 2017 doesn't mean that it's a given). The way he said it, though, caused a Bit Of A Stink among Cubs fans. Keuchel:
We're not the Cubs. I firmly believe we have better players. 

I linked to the post yesterday morning where he said this to Dave Sheinin. I didn't give it a second thought - not enough to pull that quote. Keuchel's statement is another post for another time - a tale of the tape between the 2018 Astros and the 2017 Cubs. Nobody write that up. I call dibs. I'm in Houston this weekend, so it's a busy time, so it won't be in the next 72 hours. But let's go back to the aforementioned Hunter Atkins article:

Altuve:
We know we are good - the World Series champions - but I think we are doing a really good job of leaving that behind us. It's nice to win a World Series, but it's really nice to win another one. For us, in order to get another one, we have to forget what we did last year.

Hey let's ask Lance McCullers what he thinks:
The Yankees are a good team. We duked it out until Game 7...to see who was going to go to the World Series, and they're a great team. They went out and got the MVP, but we have Verlander for a full year.

OH NOES STOP THE PRESSES. REVERT TO DRAFT. The defending champions are confident going into the next season? They've learned from any possible mistake their World Series predecessors made? THAT'S DISRESPECTFUL.  (Ed. Note: Feel free to set yourself on fire if you believe this.) The Astros are not responsible for the insecurities of Cubs fans. Give Dallas Keuchel an extension.

*Jake Kaplan writes about how Joe Smith - who picked the Astros over a similar offer from the Rockies - gives the Astros a different look. Smith:
I didn't sign here to pitch the eighth or seventh or anything. I just signed here because I know they're going to have a good chance to win another ring. 

Hinch:
Everybody in the bullpen has to be willing to understand what our goal is. Our goal is to have a really good reliever available and ready to pitch in leverage innings...I'm trying to break down to them and be honest with them that the days of having a regimented role, I don't know if they're over, but it's not the way this team is built. 

*This SI Fantasy Guy says to avoid Justin Verlander:
We shouldn't expect much, if any, dropoff now that he's in his Age-35 season. What this does reflect, however, is that Verlander has been among the most fortunate pitchers in baseball the previous few seasons, especially last year, and that regression could be coming for him in a big way.

WE SHALL SEE.

*Astros players are buying scooters, I guess.

*Jon Heyman actually listed the Astros as one of the winners of the offseason.

*Jeff Sullivan: Why Mike Moustakas' market didn't develop.

It's a really good look at why Moustakas got "screwed." He didn't really get screwed, but in baseball economics...yeah, he did. Last night I mentioned on the cursed website Twitter dot com that maybe he got bad advice from his agent (Scott Boras). Let's not forget that the Royals made him a qualifying offer to renew for 2018 at $17.4m. He turned that down. Most everybody turns that down, unless you're Colby Rasmus and actively take pleasure in not giving a f...

Still baseball economics seem to be changing. I've opined before that, if you're cool with front offices getting smarter by valuing defensive shifts, spin rate, launch angles, then it's only a matter of time that they maximize player value by...maximizing the value of actual dollars they spend. Could be that everyone is saving their money for next year's free agent class. Could be that teams would rather use their money extending their younger guys (cough Bregman Correa Altuve Springer McCullers cough) than spending it on a 29-year old 3B with a career .730 OPS (yes, I know he's been much better over the last two healthy seasons.)

We need to wait a couple more years to determine if this is how front offices do business. But all parties involved don't get to determine when the paradigm shifts. If you hate Scott Boras, you win. If you think players should get paid something related to what they're worth, you lost, and players lost. Manager has spent a long time trying to screw over the labor as much as possible: draft slotting, luxury tax, colluding with the MLBPA to sell out minor-leaguers. That's the focus of a post coming this week. But this financial offseason felt inevitable.

*Follow this guy:

And, now, some personal news: that story was one of my last on the #Alabama beat.

I'm thrilled to announce I've accepted a job as the #Astros beat writer at the Houston Chronicle. I'll start next week.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 8, 2018

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*Houston native and Dodgers Game 2 pitcher Ross Stripling has been haunted by the World Series.
Ross Stripling was like most Dodgers fans on that dreary first night of November. Moments after his team's Game 7 World Series loss, the Dodgers pitcher couldn't get home fast enough. He had to catch a flight to get there, so he rushed from the stadium, confirmed his reservation, and the next morning was sitting in an economy window seat preparing to leave a nightmare. Only, for him...there would be no escape. Stripling lives in Houston, and shortly before takeoff he realized he would be flying home in a plane full of rowdy Astros fans. 

"I was like, 'Oh, hell.'"

*MLB Pipeline released their Top 100 Prospects list and there are three Astros on it:
9. Forrest Whitley
17. Kyle Tucker
76. J.B. Bukauskas

Houston got 201 prospect points, 11th in MLB. Here's the rest of the AL West:
Oakland: 14th
Anaheim: 16th
Arlington: 19th
Seattle: 27th

The Cubs, Royals, and Mets failed to land a single prospect on the list.

So the Prospect Ranking Matrix looks like this:
Forrest Whitley: #9 (MLB), #10 (BA),
Kyle Tucker #17 (MLB), #15 (BA),
J.B. Bukauskas: #76 (MLB), #76 (BA)
Yordan Alvarez: #62 (BA), (NR by MLB)

BP has yet to release their 2018 list.

*Alex Bregman was named the Headliner of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Bregs, on his off-season:
I've changed my diet, eating habits, flexibility and mobility. I'm not satisfied, especially with my power. Altuve's 5'5" (or) 5'6", and he can hit to center field. I'm working on getting a lot stronger. I want to improve on every phase of the game. I want to be one of the best players in the game.

*ESPN's David Schoenfield torches Scott Boras' claim about rampant tanking in baseball and has suggestions for how to "fix" baseball. His suggestion about reworking the draft order is really interesting.

*Kenley Jansen says MLB players should consider going on strike in opposition to perceived collusion/slights/penny-pinching by owners:
That is something we might have to address, so you don't have a lot of Miami Marlins doing this. Maybe it's an adjustment for us, as the player's union. Maybe we have to go on strike, to be honest with you.

*The Braves changed their mascot from Chief Wahoo to...something...(?).

*This Mets fan got 500K retweets and will get to take her prom pictures at Citi Field.

*Vice: The bizarre homicide case involving a billionaire couple from Toronto took another turn.

*LA Times: Suge Knight's murder trial is weird.

*On the "strength" of this NY Times article about fake social media followers, @AstrosCounty is 85% real, baby.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

You can’t limit mound visits, especially from the catcher, when everyone is using adv tech to steal signs. You have to change them too often to try to keep things as “even” as possible. And I’m not talking about signs when a man is on second. https://t.co/VsNhPMlnWX

— Lance McCullers Jr. (@LMcCullers43) January 19, 2018

*In Jon Heyman's latest super-helpful Inside Baseball notes column, the Astros apparently talked about Danny Duffy and Chris Archer, and ended up with Gerrit Cole. Oh but the Yankees were thought to have had a better offer for Cole. So great to have someone Inside Baseball to tell us these wonderful nuggets.

A separate Heyman column has some interesting quotes from logjammer Scott Boras regarding the low market for free agents and what the Astros have done, compared to the implied Other Teams:
Are you really telling your fans you're competing against Goliath? Houston is now officially Goliath. The other teams are going to need to tell their fans, 'Our club is not seriously a World Series contender.' The bar's been raised by Houston. If you are going to seriously say you're competing, you have to get these players...The Astros are special in all corners. They have excellent starting pitching, excellent defense, excellent pitching (Ed. Note: Said that one already, Scottie) The only area where you might say there's a question is the bullpen.

There is not a question in the bullpen. Also I'm old enough to remember when Scott Boras said this in 2013 about the Astros:
The Astros, they're like Disneyland. If the kids come, it's a great attraction.

*Jay Jaffe writes that this free agent class is flawed, and teams are smarter.

*Get a Cole Train shirt!

*Don't miss the Masked Marvel's thoughts on the hidden benefits of the Gerrit Cole trade.

*Brian McCann is obviously pretty excited to work with a rotation of Verlander, Keuchel, McCullers, Cole, and Charlie Morton:
This is obviously right there at the top. With the arms that we have, the quality arms we're going to be running at you on a nightly basis, and then the bullpen, we've got arms, and we've got depth. Those two things are what win championships.

In that link, Jake Kaplan writes that McCann is well aware that 2018 is the last guaranteed year of his contract (the Astros have a $15m option in 2019):
I feel healthy. I feel really good. I'm just going to go out this year and see what happens. But I love playing here. I absolutely love the city. I love the Astros. So hopefully I'm playing here longer than just this year.

*Mickey Storey is the new manager of the Quad Cities River Bandits. Perhaps you remember his legendary stint with the 2012 Astros when he threw 30.1IP, 27H/13, 34K:10BB. His 10.1 K/9 was actually 3rd on the team behind Xavier Cedeno (36K in 31IP) and Hector Ambriz (22K in 19.1IP). Storey was a "development coach" with Buies Creek last season. And in another reminder that you're getting old and that your professional life is simply watching sand slip through the narrow end of an hourglass, Storey will be 32 in March.

Elsewhere, the minor-league managers are:
Fresno: Rodney Linares
Corpus: Omar Lopez
Buies Creek: Morgan Ensberg
Quad Cities: Mickey Storey
Tri-City: Jason Bell
GCL Astros: Wladimir Sutil
DSL Astros: Charlie Romero

And I'm just now remembering that there is no more Greenville Astros...

*Phillies new left fielder Rhys Hoskins spent the winter working out with Former Astros Great Joe Musgrove and Chris Devenski. Hoskins:
It's good to be around those guys. They're just on cloud nine talking about it. It's a feeling we all chase. 

("It" is probably the 2017 World Series championship).

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*Jeff Passan has a powerful column on how baseball's economic system might actually be broken. Passan:
What's clear is the free-agent impasse represents a reckoning long in the making - one that marries shifting power in labor relations, the emergence of analytics and cookie-cutter front offices, and the willingness to treat competitiveness as an option, not a priority. Combined, they pose the greatest threat to a quarter century of labor peace and have people at the highest level of the sport asking whether a game-changing overhaul in how baseball operates isn't just necessary but inevitable.

It's a really good column. I have some thoughts on this, and on tanking. We have written numerous posts taking writers to task (those are four separate links) for implying that losing now to rebuild your organization as you go is a 100% surefire way to win a World Series. That the Cubs and Astros have done it in consecutive years only reinforces the idea that it will work. It doesn't. Mark Appel and Brady Aiken aren't getting a ring in April. When the Astros didn't sign Brady Aiken in 2014 no one was twirling their mustache and thinking "Now Houston can go get Alex Bregman with the #2 overall pick next year and be set up perfectly to win the World Series in 2017!"

The economy works in cycles. There were panics/recessions/depressions in 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, 1907, 1929 (of course), 1979, and 2008. I'm sure I'm missing a few in there. But, for the most part, every 20 years or so you can expect the economy to hit a road block. Maybe baseball teams operate the same way. The window doesn't stay open forever. You hit on some key players, go for it with your guys, and maybe you win. Most of the time you don't. If you don't, and it looks like your team is, ahem, in a recession of wins, you hunker down and get your house straightened out. Got an older guy making some money that could help a team whose window is open a little wider than your own? Trade him for prospects, who are cheaper.

The Nationals have had Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Bryce Harper and have lost in the NLDS in four of the last six years, three of those in a deciding Game 5. The Rangers' window was wide open for a few years and they're feeling the effects of trying to keep it open a little longer. In the 2015 offseason the Padres added James Shields, Craig Kimbrel, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, and Wil Myers in an attempt to force their window open. Three years later they're one of the starring roles in the new episode of Who Is Ruining Baseball This Time? The quickest way to get better is to rebuild your club from the ground up. I mentioned on the latest episode of Lima Time Time that the Pirates could have held on to Gerrit Cole for another couple of years and then received draft picks that wouldn't pay off for a minimum of three years after that. That's five years total, at least. They traded Cole for three players who should be on their Opening Day roster in two and a half months. The Pirates' window is closing and, while they're drawing the shades, they're trying to get to where it opens again sooner than later. Every team has a window and,  no, they don't all line up together. It wasn't long ago that the A's were considered the model organization after whom the Astros should pattern their rebuild.

Scott Boras plays a large role in this saga, as well, as the agent who represents a large number of the clients who are currently log-jammed. Is it collusion if 30 owners pass on giving 30-year old J.D. Martinez a $200m deal? Is it collusion if 30 teams are wary of giving almost-32-year old 1.9 bWAR Jake Arrieta, who has thrown 200IP in a season just once (caveat: he did reach 197.1IP in 2016) a huge contract? Yu Darvish is still a free agent, though we don't know what his price is. It's high enough that the Astros traded four players to get Gerrit Cole for $6.75m this year. Being smart with your money isn't collusion. As for "cookie-cutter front offices," I guess it's a shame that there isn't a team - other than the Pirates - that we can laugh at and yell "What are you doing?" when they give Jake Arrieta 40 years and $600m.

Or maybe teams, you know, plan ahead a little bit. Next year's monster free agent class includes Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, potentially Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel, Elvis Andrus, Jose Iglesias, Charlie Blackmon, and Zach Britton. Should any of those players ring your bell, why are you going to hamstring your payroll by blowing your roll on Jake Arrieta?

But still, please do read Passan's column. As I said, it's very good, and maybe the owners - who have long held all the power, anyway - are forcing baseball's economics to a breaking point, for better or for worse. And maybe the Pirates don't deserve the benefit of the doubt (see previous link). Luhnow and Crane were pretty clear that they were going to strip the organization down and then spend when the time was right. When the "time was right" they added Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole. Each team's fans have a different perspective. If I'm a Padres, Reds, Braves, etc. fan, I'm pretty excited after what the Cubs and Astros have done in the last two baseball seasons. But that success certainly isn't guaranteed.

*Julia Morales was in Hawaii when the Ballistic Missile False Alarm Incident (name of my new band) happened.

*Jeff Sullivan: Colin Moran looks dramatically different.

*FanRag's Jon Bernhardt wonders if the Astros/Yankees is the AL's best rivalry.

*The Seattle Times' Matt Calkins looks at what has to happen for the Mariners to make the playoffs.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The first day of the Winter Meetings is in the books. Let's see what did and didn't happen:

*The Astros are looking to add two arms to the bullpen. Luke Gregerson, Tyler Clippard and Francisco Liriano account for 89.1IP in 2017 - of course the majority of which were Gregerson's IPs. Luhnow:
At this point, it's a lot of feeling each other out and trying to see where the market is going on some of the players we're interested in. I think it will be a productive three days. Even if we don't get a deal done while we're here, we're certainly going to put ourselves in a spot where we'll have an opportunity to potentially (do so) after. I'm optimistic we're going to do something to improve the club while we're here or shortly thereafter.

We find in McTaggart's link that the Astros did offer a contract to Mike Minor, but the Rangers gave him the opportunity to start.

*With Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton's contracts set to expire following the 2018 season, the Astros could look into adding a starter. Here's a non-quote from Luhnow:
I think the reality is if we're going to improve our rotation, it's going to have to be somebody that's better than what we have, and we've got a pretty good rotation penciled out for next year. So we're not going to be looking at fourth and fifth starters. We're probably looking at something north of that. There's not a big population (of available starters who fit that criteria), but we'll probably touch base with maybe not all of them but some of them.

More Luhnow:
Typically the ones that we like require much more significant commitments and we're not sure that's the best path for us to take right now.

*Ken Rosenthal writes in the (subscription-only) Athletic that the Astros have shown interest in Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish, which would be, uh, interesting.

*Jon Heyman used pretty much all 280 of his characters and said that the Astros never came very close but did try on Giancarlo Stanton.

*Jerry Crasnick notes that Marwin Gonzalez - a free agent following 2018 - has also hired Scott Boras as his agent. Stros looking to get PAID.

*An anonymous Astros player told Sports Illustrated how they knew Yu Darvish was going to his slider before he threw it:
The players said it worked like this: Darvish holds the ball at his side when he gets the sign from the catcher. Whether he re-grips or not as he brings the ball into his glove was the tip-off whether he was going to throw a slider/cutter or a fastball.

*Did the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton change the Rays' mindset? Maybe Chris Archer is available (for a steep price).

*The Astros signed catcher Tim Federowicz and reliever Matt Ramsey to minor-league deals with an invitation to Spring Training.

Federowicz, a 30-year old catcher, was the Red Sox' 7th Round pick in the 2008 draft. In 403 games at Triple-A, Federowicz has a .304/.374/.503 slash line. Federowicz was part of the three-team trade at the 2011 deadline that saw him get sent to the Dodgers while the Mariners sent former Astros great Erik Bedard and Astros World Series Hero Josh Fields to the Red Sox. Then in December 2014 he was part of the trade that sent Matt Kemp to the Dodgers and Yasmani Grandal to the Padres.

Matt Ramsey, a 5'11 205lb, 28-year old RHP, posted a 3.65 ERA/1.35 WHIP for Double-A Biloxi in 2017 with 58K in 44.1IP. In his five-year minor-league career Ramsey has 239 strikeouts in 198IP. He did hit Triple-A briefly in Colorado Springs (5.1IP), but that's been it so far.

*Kate Upton had a whole bunch of details I don't really understand for Vogue about The Wedding. Except cornhole, I know that. And the Uplander Games sounds legit.

*Red Sox GM(?) Dave Dombrowski:
If we can get better, we're going to do that. But it's really not based on the Stanton move. We're not changing based upon that. It was already our plan to get better. We not only have to beat the Yankees, we have to beat the Astros, world champs, because our goal is to not only win our division but to be the world champs.

Pretty much never going to get old seeing "Astros, world champs" in a row.

*A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD: Rangers sign Chris Martin.

Mike, I don’t know what the future holds, but I can promise one thing. I have given everything I can to the city each and every start. I ❤️ Houston. https://t.co/4A8W7ta48r

— Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) December 12, 2017

Monday Morning Hot Links

*Random 2017 Astros Fact:

Luke Gregerson saved 47 games for the Astros, which is the 4th-most in the franchise since 2006:

1. Jose Valverde (69 saves)

2. Brad Lidge (51 saves)

3. Ken Giles (49 saves)

4. Luke Gregerson (47 saves). 

*Gregerson signed a 2-year/$11m deal with the Cardinals. There's a vesting option for a 3rd year based on the number of games in which he pitches.

Gregerson's FIP, 2015-17: 2.86, 2.99, 4.62.

His three-year deal was perfect. Gregerson was good over the first two years (which included the Astros' first post-season berth since 2005), and it expired the year he posted a 0.0 fWAR. Gregerson pitched in 188 games for the Astros over the last three seasons.

*Dallas Keuchel switched agents and signed with Scott Boras. Keuchel, who will be in his Age 30 season in 2018, is arbitration-eligibile for the final time this offseason before going into his first shot at free agency for the 2019 season. 

April 2014: Scott Boras:

The Cubs and Houston are major markets not choosing to spend. They might as well go around carrying a sign, 'Please help me finish last.' Where's the integrity in that?

November 2013: Boras goes all in on the Mets, Cubs, and Astros for their rebuilding strategy. For the Astros he says, "They're like Disneyland. If the kids come, it's a great attraction."

June 2013: On the eve of the Astros' 2nd-straight #1 overall pick (which they would use on Boras client Mark Appel) Scott Boras says he thinks the Astros will spend for talent. Brian T. Smith wrote:

Boras thinks highly of the person charged with directing the Astros' rebuilding and believes the organization is open to selecting the best available player based on talent, not just monetary.

You can't run a successful baseball organization by refusing to deal with Scott Boras, who represents the best players in the game. What we see over the selected excerpts from a few years ago is that Boras wants what's best for his clients. He was mad at the Cubs and Astros because they flat-out wouldn't spend money on his clients, thereby reducing the negotiating pool by two clubs. That's not good for Boras or his clients, so you're not going to see him come out at the beginning of free agency and say, "Not paying my guys is pretty smart." That said, this front office hasn't been in a position to lock up one of its players heading into free agency (with the Astros, anyway.)

If the going rate is $8m per 1.0 fWAR then Keuchel, who will be entering his Age 31 season in his first free agent season, could reasonably get in the $20-25m range per year. I just don't see the Astros paying that. 

Jose Altuve (who signed his current deal after dropping Scott Boras before re-hiring him), Dallas Keuchel, and Lance McCullers, Jr are all Boras clients currently on the Astros' 25-Man roster.

Should the Astros and Keuchel - who told Evan Drellich in October that he hopes to stay in Houston -  not come to an agreement on a longer contract, he would be one of the top-liners in next year's free agent class of starting pitchers.

*The Winter Meetings start today in Orlando or whatever faceless Disney suburb in which the hotel is located. Jake Kaplan expects some bullpen movement, but not much else:

The Astros' franchise-altering Aug. 31 blockbuster for Justin Verlander eliminated their need to seek a front-line starting pitcher ahead of 2018. With almost their entire World Series-winning roster returning, they need only tinker.

*At least six teams have shown interest in pitcher Tom Koehler, and I'd be surprised if the Astros weren't one of them. Koehler's dashboard stats are absolutely God-awful, but he fared much better in 14 appearances as a reliever (.711 OPS-against) than in 13 starts (.918 OPS-against) in 2017. And, as MLBTR notes, he almost abandoned his slider as a reliever in favor of more curveballs. 

*Dallas Guy thinks it's time for the Rangers to rebuild.

*The Cubs signed Brandon Morrow (5.1IP, 8H/5ER, 4K:1BB in the 2017 World Series) to a 2-year deal between $10-11m per year with an option for a third year.

*Jon Heyman talked to agents who think there will be a run on relievers this week.

*Jack Morris got into the Hall of Fame because of one good game.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

This is the happiest I've ever been for a winning season to be over. I'm glad it's done, or at least I'm glad today is the last day of the season. I have no idea what the offseason plans are for the Astros. You have to think they address the rotation. First base. Outfield. The crazy thing is there are just as many holes now in this team as there were last offseason, they're just different holes (maybe not so much at 1B). I'm ready to not see the Astros for a little bit. I'll watch the postseason with moderate interest, but it's more likely just to piss me off. Because the Astros should be in there.

Hat-tip to David Laurilia at FanGraphs:
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins. It blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings. And then, as soon as the chill rains come, it stops. It leaves you to face the fall alone. 
-A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind."

On to the links:

The Astros actually beat the Angels last night, giving them their 41st road win of the season - the first time they've actually posted at least a .500 record on the road since 2004. So to recap the Astros/Angels season series: Astros win 11 of first 12, lose four of final six - three of the first four in must-win games - heading into the season finale.

*McHugh pitched well, holding the Angels to three hits in what Hinch essentially said was a go-through-the-motions game:
What a great performance when it's kind of hard to pitch on a night like tonight. Both teams are out of it, a little bit of speed-up rules, guys are swinging early. 

McHugh went 6-0 in his final eight starts of the season. The Anti-Fister.

*Altuve went 2x4, ensuring that he'll win his second batting title in three years, and the Astros held a champagne toast for him after last night's win. Hinch:
I wanted to make sure that he got recognized in front of our team. Very rarely do you get a batting champion in front of you...the team was excited to celebrate him, so we raised a glass to a really remarkable season that continues and can get even better tomorrow. But even if it stops, it's one of the best seasons I've been around.

That's cool....but "even if it stops?" Does Hinch have some card up his sleeve in which math is rendered irrelevant and the Astros make the playoffs? Stay tuned...

Altuve also stole two bases to get to 30 for the 5th consecutive season. We'll have a full look at Altuve's 2016 season in the coming days...

*Brady Rodgers will get the start in the last game of the season, today at 2:05pm Central. Hinch:
He got off to a rough start when he got here, and he's our Minor League Pitcher of the Year and he's earned the right to get a look at the last day for sure. 

*Carlos Correa was not terribly pleased with how this season went. Correa:
It was an OK year. Obviously not what I was hoping for, not the expectations that I had for this year... defensively it was a great year. Offensively, last year I thought it was better. But obviously, next year is going to be a different year and that's what the offseason is for, to get better.

*Joe Musgrove is excited for 2017 Spring Training and is firmly in the mix for one of the final two rotation spots. Hinch:
He's definitely in the conversation. A lot is going to happen between now and the spring as to how our roster shakes out. He's done enough to enhance his position. 

So you have to figure that - barring some monster trade - Keuchel, McHugh, and McCullers are locks for the rotation. In the mix for the final two spots: Chris Archer, Joe Musgrove, David Paulino, Chris Devenski, Mike Fiers, Brady Rodgers.

*What's at stake for the teams still in the playoff hunt on the last day of the season.

*The Braves interviewed Bo Porter for their managerial position this weekend. My affinity for Bo Porter is well-documented, but I think he'd be a great fit for the Braves.

*Here's a remarkable story about Scott Boras and his "in case of death" file on Jose Fernandez.

*The Mariners are optimistic about the future.

*I'm so sad that it's Vin Scully's last game.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Masked Marvel has the glorious recap of last night's dramatic walk-off win over the A's.

*The Rangers beat the Twins, the Angels beat the Orioles, the Mariners beat the Royals.

*The Astros remain 6.5 GB of the Ramgers, 2.0 back of the Blue Jays for WC1 and 1.0 back of the Red Sox for WC2.

*FanGraphs has the Rangers at 65.1% to win the division, with the Astros at 29.8%. They give the Astros a 60.2% chance of making the playoffs.

*Valbuena knew it was out as soon as he hit it. Since May 7 Valbuena is hitting .302.

*Valbuena bailed out Will Harris, who had a bad night. Hinch, on Harris:
It spiraled a little bit out of control for him. He just wasn't making pitches at the right time.

*Springer isn't upset about missing out on the All-Star Game.

*Jose Altuve has re-signed with super agent Scott Boras. Altuve:
I think that's the best decision I can make. I think he's the right guy for me. That's what I feel.

*Baseball America released their midseason Top 100 prospects list! The rundown (click the link for a brief write-up):
#8: Alex Bregman
#29: Francis Martes
#32: Joe Musgrove
#35: Kyle Tucker
#47: David Paulino
#94: Derek Fisher

*Daz Cameron broke his index finger and will miss the rest of the season.

*Today's Knuckleball breaks down the righty pitchers in the Futures Game.

*Jurgen Klinsmann is "in discussions" to be the next manager of England.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*It rained yesterday, so the Astros did things differently (yawn).

*Fresno, in addition to playing as the Tacos, will play in 3 Amigos-inspired jerseys.

*The Chronicle says the Phillies had concerns about Vince Velasquez's medicals and not Derek Fisher's in the Ken Giles trade. Derek Fisher wasn't worried either way.

*David Paulino thought the Tigers gave up on him, and then came the Astros...

*I'm not the showcase camp kind of guy. I didn't have, like, a great arm, couldn't run fast, didn't put on a show in BP or anything. I just always put up good numbers hitting.
-Tyler White, .311/.422/.489 hitter in 1249 PAs.

*Joe Musgrove - who in 2015 struck out 99 batters and walked eight - is likely to open 2016 in Fresno, and wait for an opportunity.

*Here's NPR's Morning Edition on the political crisis in Venezuela causing MLB teams to shut down their academies.

*Hey here comes Scott Boras with some idears about the Amateur Draft.

*Red Sox owner John Henry thinks maybe the Red Sox were overly-reliant on numbers.

*Jason Heyward is buying David Ross a suite on the road all season long.

*In yesterday's links we had one about the agent for a Cuban prospect quitting due to death threats. Today Lazarito speaks...

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Well Corey Kluber went all Kluber Lang on the Astros last night and made the Astros look really bad, and that's the thing about the Astros: they either look really good or they look really bad. Last night was a really bad night. And since the Angels have forgotten that they're supposed to be a train wreck of a team and a front office, the Astros' lead is down to 2.5 games. Still, FanGraphs gives the Astros a 52.8% chance of winning the division and a 75.9% chance of making the postseason.

*One way to look at the Astros' recent skid: last night's loss aside, the Astros have played a tougher schedule more recently than the Angels, playing at Fenway, against Kansas City, New York, and the Angels. The Angels have played at Arlington, and against New York, Seattle, and the Astros. The Astros lost the finale of that three-game series in Anaheim in 13 innings. They win that, and the lead is 3.5 games.

*Shoutout to the 10,000+ fans who made it to Progressive Field last night to watch the reigning AL Cy Young award winner face the team with the best record in the American League.

*Hinch, on Corey Kluber:
We had a hard time getting anything started against Kluber early. A couple opportunities late, but it was a well-pitched game on both sides. They got a couple runs, solo homer, couple back-to-back, two-out hits...I thought we had good at-bats most of the night against a really good pitcher in our league, and nothing to show for it.

*In an effort to keep Velasquez's innings down in preparation for a potential post-season push (alliteration FTW!), the Astros sent Vince Velasquez to Corpus until after the All-Star Break, where he will simply not pitch. Velasquez:
I guess it's that time I need rest. It's not pleasant news, but they're looking out for me and we'll go from there.

*Scott Boras likes how the Astros are handling Velasquez and McCullers' workload, but he would like Velasquez to stay in the Majors:
In between starts, we think it's in the player's best interest to remain in the major leagues to continue to study opposing hitters and learn from veteran pitchers.

And this has nothing to do with Boras wanting to keep Velasquez on the major-league service clock for an extra year of arbitration *eyes roll out of head.*

*Hinch is keeping an eye on the rotation for the second-half of the season.

*The Astros signed 11th Round pick Patrick Sandoval, dipping into their overage money by $800,000. ESPN/FanGraphs' Eric Longenhagen tweeted that Sandoval has 4th-6th Round talent, but wanted 2nd Round money, and that the Astros just had enough money to go get him.

*Chad Qualls is eligible to come off the DL today, and may rejoin the Astros on Thursday. Luis Valbuena may be held out of the lineup until after the Break to let his toe fully recover.

*Fresno's Tyler White isn't trying to hit home runs. But that's what he's doing.