Thursday Morning Hot Links

#TeamSeth.

*When the 19 non-roster invitees to Spring Training camp were announced, and Forrest Whitley wasn't one of them, it raised some eyebrows..Now the Astros have provided some rationale for not inviting their top pitching prospect to Major League camp. Luhnow:
He's going to get some exposure in camp, but the reality is there's a good possibility Forrest Whitley will continue to progress and be an option for us late in the summer, and anytime you can conserve some innings in February and March [that] you can deposit into September and October, that's a good thing. 

20-year old Forrest Whitley threw 18.1IP in 2016 and 92.1IP in 2017. So...hell, Luhnow won a World Series, and I didn't. So whatever. For Luhnow's part, he did say he could throw an inning or two with the big-league club. But Whitley is also 20 and might get hype throwing against big-league hitters with Justin Verlander watching from the dugout, trying to throw a 128-mph fastball and blowing out his elbow. These are the things we think about, now.

*Ken Giles' arbitration case is today. He wants $4.6m, the Astros want to give him $4.2m. Going to a panel to argue why Giles is overrated by $400,000 seems totally worthwhile.

*Wanna see Lance McCullers throw a bullpen?

*The Astros have sold 19,000 season tickets for 2018 - the highest in 12 years.

*FanRag says the Astros have somewhere between the sixth-best and 30th-best outfield in baseball.

Astros fans, your old pal @hunterpence is opening a games cafe in Houston. Coral Sword - 1318 Telephone Rd. - opens Friday. Board games, coffee, craft beer, good food, WiFi. Open 7 am to midnight. pic.twitter.com/xbKdoMfsX5

— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) February 1, 2018

*Anaheim's going to a six-man rotation.

*Hardball Times: Who is Jackie Robinson's best on-field comparison?

*RIP Oscar Gamble. The story behind the best baseball card ever.

The Houston Astros Are Guaranteed A Spot In The Post Season. Fans are not.

Sunday, September 17th, 2017, game number 149, The Houston Astros took their place as The AL West Champions via a shallow outfield pop up caught by Carlos Correa. An exuberant on field celebration, that could very well be the first of many to come this post season, led to more celebrations in the clubhouse, in living rooms of those watching on TV, at Academy stores across the city that were swarmed with fans eager to acquire their post season merchandise and of course, on Twitter.

Monday, September 18th, 2017, a well deserved off day for The Astros, Houston fans waited for their designated hour to buy the first round of post season tickets to finally arrive. Hour one, for the season ticket holders, came and went smoothly.

It was hour two that sent fans (including me) into a slight panic. At 11:00am CST, those who were fortunate to be randomly chosen to purchase tickets in a presale, clicked the link sent by email & entered the password given only to be told that the password was invalid. When I first saw this message come up, I referred back to the email to make sure I had read it correctly. I thought, "That's what I thought I entered. Probably just a typo". The same message came on my screen after a second attempt. I then decided to copy & paste. Still not working. Turn Caps Lock on. Nope. Turn Caps Lock off.

OK, WHAT THE DAMN HELL IS GOING ON?!

I, along with many other fans, took to Twitter to see if I was alone in my predicament. I was not.

Trying to buy @astros tickets for the ALDS & my password won't work. Awesome.

— Trey (@treyjyert) September 18, 2017

Has anyone been able to purchase tickets yet?

— Lindsey (@lnzy04) September 18, 2017

@astros trying to buy tickets but the pw I was email is registering as invalid. HELP!!!

— alexandra (@BettinaBaggins) September 18, 2017

Some folks had some interesting theories:

Hey @astros did scalpers figure out the presale passwords and buy all of the tickets? #FirstWorldProblems

— Mat West (@WestMat) September 18, 2017

Y'ALL I BET THE CARDINALS ARE BEHIND THIS

— Jason Zimmermann (@jzimmermann11) September 18, 2017

ACT 1: Make the playoffs
ACT 2: Make it impossible to buy ALDS tickets
ACT 3: Make it right with ALCS and WS victories

Very clever, Luhnow.

— Brain ⚾️ (@AstrosBrain) September 18, 2017

While others...

Dammmnnmmitttt

— Lindleem (@Lindleem) September 18, 2017

@astros @AstrosJClose hey Astros ticket password is invalid pic.twitter.com/fyvE18jiN2

— RGBIII (@RGBIII) September 18, 2017

THE POST SEASON TICKET WEBSITE ISN'T WORKING AND #ASTROSTWITTER BE LIKE pic.twitter.com/Q6xHEE3WA5

— Jexas (@Jexas) September 18, 2017

 Many decided to wait for the public sale at noon, but...

Welp, no passwords needed at 12pm because everything is sold out. Awesome presale @astros, so disappointed.

— Scooter (@scooteronomy) September 18, 2017

In the noon hour on Sports Talk 790, Reid Ryan called in to speak with Matt Thomas. Thomas asked him about the presale debacle. Ryan said the post season ticket process is run out of New York and the website and phone lines were crushed by the demand and that the only way to get a sure thing when it comes to post season tickets is to be a season ticket holder.

As much as the reality of the situation completely stinks, the lottery pool is probably the most fair way to hand out the chance to purchase post season tickets. Unfortunately, technology can be fickle & unpredictable. I am hoping some viewing parties are organized around the city for those who want to experience post season excitement with other fans. I went to two of those viewing parties in '05 downtown and had a great time.

I am also hoping that those New Yorkers up there figure out how to run ticket sales for the next round of the post season so that the fans who were chosen to participate in another presale don't have the headache so many had today

Wednesday Night Prospective Season Ticket Holder Dinner

Wednesday night Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow took time to speak to prospective season ticket holders at a dinner hosted at Minute Maid Park. Reliving the thrill ride of the 2015 season conjured up all the warm memories which made this past season so fun. It worked so well on me that I think I may actually take the season ticket holder plunge. Luhnow not only discussed what has happened but what he is expecting to happen in 2016.

Spring training in Kissimmee is going to be exciting to watch. When you have so many excellent players fighting for spots there’s bound to be some disappointment with who makes it to the opeming day roster. However, shuffling is inevitable. Something that worked in spring training might not work on 10 day west coast road trip. With Evan Gattis out for part of spring training that makes room for some of the other guys to possibly step up and take on first base. Commenting that a lot of what happens at first and third base will depend on how Jon Singleton performs in Kissimmee, Luhnow said they may throw another option in the mix before Spring Training starts (since we don’t have enough). In discussing this Luhnow also said “There’s a chance that Tyler White makes our opening day club.”

Mike Fiers, who was just the extra guy in the Carlos Gomez trade, had never pitched in the ninth inning in the majors, yet delivered Minute Maid Park’s first no hitter August 21, 2016. Luhnow called it the greatest experience of his baseball life. Knowing that most people pay more attention when their team is on offense, Luhnow said that the starting pitching has been and will be exciting to watch, noting that lots of people came out last year specifically to watch Dallas Keuchel pitch. He expects that the starters and relievers will be part of the must see action.

One question presented had to do with arbitration and possible resentment from a player like Keuchel for not signing a long term contract. He answered talking about risk assessment. The flexibility of having a year to year contact and not signing something like an 8 year, 100 million dollar deal helps them avoid the risk of losing production in later years yet stuck paying the same amount regardless of production.  Luhnow also said that when the right circumstances present themselves they want to talk to all of the great players about extending the relationship beyond the control they have.

Quick note about season tickets: I personally have never been a season ticket holder because I tend to be picky about what games I attend based on opponent, any promotions or giveaways that may be going on, etc. However I did learn that they have a game exchange option so that may be worth it if that is anyone else’s hesitation.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*Your presumed 2016 Opening Day 1B Jon Singleton has taken the opportunity this offseason to clear his mind.

Just trying to clear my mind and kind of collect my thoughts and kind of build a plan towards what I need to do and where I need to put myself in Spring Training.

*No, says Evan Drellich, the Astros probably won't go out and get Yoenis Cespedes. Luhnow:

We're still in the same spot we've been in. We're monitoring the players that are available and trying to figure out if there's a fit, and when I say available, I don't mean only via free agency. There's discussions with other teams about trade possibilities as well.

*Carlos Correa is David Schoenfield's Most Intriguing Player in the AL West.

If there's one player who can challenge Mike Trout and Bryce Harper for best-player-in-the-game honors, it's Correa.

(Keuchel is #4, Springer is #7, and Ken Giles is #9).

*The Astros have sold 2000 more season tickets than last year.

*Sig Mejdal, former Director of Decision Sciences, is now Special Assistant to the GM, Process Improvement.

*Mark Appel is looking forward to starting over with the Phillies.

I think the expectation of being a first-overall pick was very high. If I'm being honest, I don't think I've reached that expectation. That's on me. Being here in Philadelphia, it's a new chapter.

*Grant Brisbee writes about the possibility of a universal DH, and relates the Astros' switch to the AL as part of the explanation.

*Here is the Hardball Times with a guide on how to survive until Spring Training.

Saturday Morning Hot Links!

*The Astros are raising ticket prices for season ticket holders for the first time since 2008, though the family deals will remain at the same price

*Mike Foltynewicz's parents reacted to his call-up.

*George Springer shagged flies before last night's win over Toronto.

*Members of the 1980 Astros appeared on a panel at SABR 44 in Houston yesterday.

*The Marlins ended up as "Losers" according to the Washington Post.

*2011 29th Round pick Wallace Gonzalez will be a tight end for the University of Utah this season.

Thursday morning link roundup

*The Astros fell to 3-3 on the Spring after losing to the Tigers yesterday, 3-0.

Delino DeShields hit leadoff after Dexter Fowler was a precautionary scratch with a stiff neck. He went 0x4 with 2Ks. Jose Altuve had one of the Astros' three hits (Bob Grossman and J.D. Martinez had the other hits). Jon Singleton was 0x1 with a walk and a strikeout. George Springer was 0x2 with a strikeout and an error.

Lucas Harrell rebounded from a rough Spring debut to throw 3IP, 3H/1ER, 1K:0BB and an Ian Kinsler HBP (Rangers fans will love that). Chad Qualls threw a perfect 4th. Anthony Bass allowed 3H/2R (1ER), 2K:0BB in the 5th and 6th. Mike "Bad MF" Foltynewicz threw 2IP, allowing 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB; Jose Cisnero struck out two and walked one in the 9th.

*Courtesy of KevinBassStache, if you skip to 4:13 you'll get to hear Seth Meyers make a Jon Singleton joke in last night's monologue.

*Jim Callis took a closer look at George Springer. Money quote:
Scouts laud Springer for the intensity he brings to the ballpark on a daily basis, and for getting the most out of his substantial tools. He may not produce lofty batting averages, but that won't stop him from being a star.

*The Astros will look at Arizona as a possibility for a new Spring Training facility, but are meeting with the Nationals today at a possible shared site in Palm Beach County. 

*BizTech Magazine has a neat little story on the Astros using data analytics in all departments - including ticket sales.

Astros payroll plummeting, ticket prices remain the same

MSNBC's Darren Rovell says that the rumor is the cost of 2012 Astros season ticket packages are not being lowered.

How does that make you feel?