Friday Evening Hot Links

Feel free to skip past this next section, if you so wish:

I mentioned this on Twitter a couple of times in the last few weeks, but I've been struggling. Officially it's Depression and Social Anxiety. Not terribly surprising, actually. I've probably had it longer than I realized, but all the distractions sort of pushed it under the surface. Could explain why I'd get super-pissed if the Astros lost a game that I, a Knower of the Game, felt they shouldn't have lost. I am not on medication as of yet. I've tried a couple of other things just to see how it goes: I've been a vegetarian for almost five weeks, trying to eat one vegan meal a day. I quit drinking. I run a lot more. I set a goal with my dude Tyler to run the Houston Marathon, should it actually take place. If it doesn't, I'll run around for 26 miles on a Sunday morning in January here. Anyhow, I haven't been on Twitter as much lately (not so much, since the Cheatin'-Ass Yankees news broke last Saturday) but I've had to take a step back. Also, 30 billionaires holding the game of baseball hostage aided by the commissioner hasn't been a ton of fun. And honestly, what with everything happening in the USA (and I don't mean that as a catch-all, literally everything is happening) it didn't feel right to devote too much time to this blog. That said, I found that I need this blog. It gives me something on which to focus, even when it's not the original intended subject of the blog. The hiatus is over, for now.



Astros News

*An Astros player working out in West Palm Beach tested positive for COVID-19. Allegedly it was only the one positive test out of the 50-ish people who were there, exhibiting minor symptoms.

*Dusty Baker (as well as other leading African-Americans) spoke to USA Today about the meaning of Juneteenth.

*The Astros have agreed to terms with 2nd Round pick Alex Santos ($1.25m, well over the slot value of $870,700) and 5th Round pick Shay Whitcomb ($56,000, well under the slot value of $324,100). They had already signed their 3rd Round pick Ty Brown and 4th Round pick Zach Daniels.

While Whitcomb was the last official pick of this incredibly stupid draft, he's hardly Mr. Irrelevant. Whitcomb:
My wanting to get with (the Astros) was definitely high on the list. That was one of the teams we were targeting more, and I'm really happy it worked out.

Houston's bonus allotment (another owner ploy to keep costs down) was $2,202,600 and they spent $2,283,000 will pay a 75% tax on the overage of $80,400, or $60,300.

*The Astros also agreed to terms with a few undrafted free agents, notably Carlos Correa's brother JC. 'Litos, on his brother:
I'm very proud of his accomplishments. Now is when the real work starts. I know that with his work ethic and his talent, he will become a big leaguer someday.

Houston also signed: OF Justin Dirden, RHP Cesar Gomez, RHP Kyle Gruller, RHP Zack Matthews, and 1B/LF Peter Zimmermann

*The Athletic took a look at all 30 MLB owners, and the valuations of each team. Notably for the Astros, Jim Crane took his $680m investment and has already almost tripled it, with the team's estimated value at $1.85 billion.

*Alex Cora talked to the Boston Globe and expanded on last week's interview (which I completely missed) with ESPN's Marly Rivera.

Cora, to Rivera:
There has been a narrative out there of what happened. Ever since mid-November until the commissioner announced the results of the Red Sox investigation, I have read many things that are true and others that are not. Out of this whole process, if there is one thing that I completely reject and disagree with is people within the Astros organization singling me out, particularly Jeff Luhnow, as if I were the sole mastermind...If there is one thing I am absolutely sure of, it is that it was not a two-man show. We all did it. And let me be very clear that I am not denying my responsibility, because we were all responsible.

Now, Cora told the Boston Globe:
The reason I talked about the Houston thing the way that I did was because I know too many things about that investigation. For some reason, the information was leaked to the Wall Street Journal. I read that [Beltran] was a bully. The timing is right for me now to talk about that. I think I did a favor to the commissioner, telling him, 'We f***ed up.' I told Rob, 'You held me hostage for seven months. I stayed quiet. Now this is what I'm going to say.' I said what I said about the Houston thing because of what Jeff did. Everything I said, I meant. The whole thing that really bothered me was Jeff just saying 'the bench coach.' He should have just said 'Alex Cora.' That's why I said what I said.

I updated the How We Got Here page...

*ESPN's David Schoenfield: How current players and their MLB Dads of the 90s stack up.



Other Stuff

*Tony Kemp stays a good guy.

*MLB and ownership rejected the MLBPA's offer of a 70-game season and will not make a counter-offer. Apparently there is such a thing as Too Much Baseball, especially if you, you know, own a team. The owners are duplicitous cowards and we need a Guillotine Day.

*SI: Love, Loss, and Baseball: Letters From 1918.

A subtle thing, but nice touch: @MLB has inverted the colors on the black-and-white version of its logo. pic.twitter.com/NtXOCCikK0

— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) June 19, 2020

That head is a bird head.

Non-Sports Things I've Read

*Drew Magary: The Gentlemanly Hater's Guide to Gone With The Wind.

*Men's Journal: The Great Whiskey Heist

*Mental Floss: 15 albums that cost a fortune to make.

*Outside: The business of building utopia.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

In Josh Prager's book (my favorite non-fiction baseball book) The Echoing Green - $4.99 for Kindle currently - he goes back to the Shot Heard 'Round The World in the 1951 NL playoff game, detailing a system the Giants had to deploy a guy in an office in centerfield of the Polo Grounds to use a buzzer to signal to the dugout what signs were coming in. Voila! Bobby Thomson's legendary home run. It's a really good book. You should read it. 

But first, Spring Training updates (these are short):

*Yordan Alvarez talked about his postseason:

I think in general, during the playoffs, I was trying to do exactly what I did during the regular season, but there were times offensively I wasn't where I needed to be. 

Josh James is working on his full wind-up delivery, meaning the Astros are going to give him a chance to make the rotation. James:

Right now, I'm not feeling too comfortable out of the windup because I've been primarily in the stretch, especially being a reliever all year...so just some stuff to work out of the windup to get comfortable.

Dusty Baker is a big fan of rest:

I believe in rest days and I believe in telling guys when they have rest days. There's mental rest days, there's baseball rest days, there's days you say, 'Hey man, go out and have a good meal and a couple of drinks and let your hair down a little bit and you won't be off for another couple of weeks.

Sign-Stealing

*Carlos Correa took the most forceful stand by an Astros player in response to the league's comments in response to the Astros' opening statements at the outset of Spring Training. You can read the full transcript here (not sure if it's paywalled. If it is, click here) Some highlights:

Like I said, I have no problem when people talk about what happened during the regular season in 2017. You know, whatever people have to say, we've got to take that on the chin. Guys, it was wrong. It was wrong and we've got to own that and we've got to take that.

On Cody Bellinger: 

If you don't know the facts then you've got to shut the f*** up.

He's telling me we cheated them out of a championship? Game 7, he throws a ball away in the first inning and we scored two runs.

Cody Bellinger hit .143/.172/.393 with 17K:1BB in 29 PAs in the 2017 World Series while hitting in the clean-up spot (He hit 5th in Game 5). In 28 postseason games since the 2017 NLCS, Bellinger is hitting .141/.206/.263. And the more I think about this rant, I keep coming back to the takedown of Bellinger's reading comprehension skills. That's really funny. 

*Correa said that Altuve would get mad when someone used the trash can when he was at the plate and that Altuve, Reddick, and Tony Kemp did not use the trash can. He admitted that he did. Over at SignStealingScandal, Tony Adams noted the following percentage of bangs:

Reddick: 3.9%

Altuve: 2.8%

Kemp: 0.0%

*On the 2017 Yankees:

The Yankees (in the ALCS). They scored one run in the first game, one run in the second game, they scored one run in Game 6, and they scored no runs in Game 7. If you expect to win with three runs in four games, you're out of your mind.

On Kurt Suzuki: 

Oh, they won the championship. And he's still talking about that? Enjoy your ring. Enjoy your teamates. Enjoy what you guys accomplished. Congratulations to you guys. You guys played better than us. That was it.

Suzuki responded:

Honestly, I'm too old to get in the middle. I really don't associate myself with this kind of stuff. I just kind of go about my business and try to stay out of everything and get ready to play baseball. That's what it's about: playing baseball.

Suzuki walked that back awfully quickly. 

*The Athletic's Jake Kaplan: Why Carlos Correa has come out swinging for the Astros.

*Verlander, on losing respect across baseball

Yeah, it bothers me...Everybody's entitled to their own opinion. I think facts are still coming out. Information is still coming out. I don't think this is something that's done now, even for us...People can speculate all they want. We dug our grave. We're in it. But I think emphatically, everybody made it clear that [wearing buzzers] wasn't true. I think we need to go out and prove that we're going to win. We can win. We have a great ballclub and we can do it the right way.

*Dusty Baker says MLB needs to step in and stop premeditated beanings of the Astros. Why is this coming up? Dodgers (of course it's the Dodgers) pitcher Ross Stripling, who was almost traded to the Angels, was asked about whether he would hit an Astros batter:

I thought about that if I was going to the Angels because they open in Houston, right. And I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' Ah...That's a good question. Would I do it? I would lean towards yes. In the right time and the right place. 

Baker:

I'm depending on the league to try to put a stop to the seemingly-premeditated retaliation that I'm hearing about...I'm just hoping that the league puts a stop to this before somebody gets hurt. It's not good for the game. It's not good for kids to see it. I think both: stop the comments and also stop something before it happens.

I can see both sides here. Obviously the Astros don't want to get hit with the ball. Obviously the rest of the league is frustrated that no player actually got punished for the sign-stealing scheme. It's probably more frustrating for an opposing player to realize that they could get punished more severely in an act that they (rightly or wrongly) believe is an effort to police the games themselves, since MLB's message of punishment did not directly affect anyone actually banging a trash can or receiving a signal about what pitch was coming. It's an impossible situation. On a base, primal level, I get it. 

*Brian T. Smith: The Astros can't move forward until they stop damaging themselves. 

*Jeff Passan: This war of words between the Astros and everyone else isn't going to end soon. Passan:

There's more to come. There's always more with this Astros story that drips out with all the efficiency of a broken faucet. The coming days, weeks, months will teem with more details, explanations, facts. Manfred's report looks more and more like a Polaroid that needs to be shaken. The manifold characters all have their versions of the story to tell. There are reputations to be salvaged, careers to be saved, sides to be taken. This is just the beginning.

*Kenley Jansen says the sign-stealing scandal is worse than steroids and gambling. It's just behind Original Sin and slightly ahead of Murder. Jansen:

At least back then [in the steroid era], everyone had to be on steroids. It was a fair game.

Ooooh history is All The Way Revisioned now. This is fun. 

*Kris Bryant agrees that the Astros' stealing signs was worse than steroids.

Why link to these statements? For when it comes out that perhaps their teams were stealing signs, as well. 

*The New Yorker: Is stealing baseball signs really so bad? Bobby Valentine:

It's the same thought that I have when I'm on a highway, and I'm in the lane where everyone's going 82 mph, and then the guy in front of me gets pulled over. I think, Jeez, is he just unlucky? Everyone else was going 82.

*Rob Manfred defended his punishment of the Astros in an interview with ESPN's Karl Ravech.

Manfred told Ravech that any discipline of the players likely would have resulted in grievances from the MLBPA, citing Luhnow's failure to communicate to the Astros' players the contents of a 2017 memo outlining MLB's policy on the use of technology. Manfred says that although he doesn't absolve the players in Houston, he believes that Luhnow and Hinch were obligated to inform them of the memo and enforce MLB's rules. 

In other words, Manfred didn't want a union fight. 

Other Stuff:

*RIP Tony Fernandez.

*Leeds United 1 Bristol City 0. With Fulham's loss, Leeds are three points clear of automatic promotion to the Premier League. There are 13 games left. FiveThirtyEight gives Leeds an 80% chance of promotion.

*A Musical Selection:

Wrapping up a crazy 2019 Astros MLB Trade Deadline

What looked to be the dullest trade deadline in recent memory...

We just witnessed the dullest trade deadline in ages.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 31, 2019

Turned out to be one of the most exciting in Astros history. I don't believe we've seen a crazier trade deadline for the Astros. You can read up on all the acquisitions and how the rosters look. There's even a post up on payroll outlook. Things are looking pretty good for 2019.

The Astros have quite possibly the most formidable rotations in the league. Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke are future hall of famers. Gerrit Cole is on his way. Wade Miley is a nice Dallas Keuchel replacement. (Charlie Morton, who?) Whoever slides into the fifth spot will be moved to the bullpen for the playoffs. Which begs the question, "Who is the Astros fifth starter?"

Aaron Sanchez is a candidate. So is, Brad Peacock, when he comes back.  Jose Urquidy is likely getting sent back to Triple A after tonight's start (he was just pulled as I was typing this). My bet is Sanchez will slide into the fifth spot for the time being. Depending on how well he does, Peacock will either slide back into the rotation or move to the bullpen. He was, after all, quite dominate in the 2017 World Series coming out of the bullpen. Sanchez will also likely slide into the bullpen for the playoffs. Again, depending on how well he does over the remaining two months of the season.

Martin Maldonado will replace Max Stassi, who was sent to the Los Angeles Angels for two low level prospects. Stassi is one of my favorite players in baseball, because he created a baseball moment I'll never forget and forever appreciate. While at Spring Training in 2015, he took time during one of his catching defensive drill breaks to come over and hand my daughter a ball. Not throw her a ball or ask her to come to dugout. He came over and handed her a ball.

I've rooted for him ever since and will continue to do so even if he's not an Astros. Max Stassi is a saint.

Back to Maldonado. He's the new Jed Lowrie for Jeff Luhnow. After failing to reach an agreement over the winter. The Astros found themselves with an opportunity to re-acquire Maldonado after failing to do so from Kansas City. He provides a small offensive upgrade will keeping the same defensive and receiving skills of Stassi. All this at the cost of a recently DFA Tony Kemp. Which we'll get to in a minute.

How amazing is it that Luhnow in the span of week was able to trade three players either DFA or soon to be DFA. Luhnow found suitors for Tyler White, Tony Kemp, and Max Stassi and got something in return. I have never seen that before and it speaks to the depth of the Astros organization. It's not every day DFA players get traded. Two went to contenders that are very likely to make the playoffs. One went to six games out of a wild card spot. Welcome to the Golden Age of Astros baseball.

Tony Kemp. I'm going to miss him. A lot of people are going to miss him. He's provided us with some great memories both on and off the field. He has set the standard for what a hug should be. I wish him the best and look forward to checking in on Cubs games every once and a while.

Lost in all the acquisitions is Joe Biagini (I had to triple check the spelling of his last name). I love this guy immediately because of this tweet.

We’ll miss you, Joe Biagini. Here’s a few of the lighter moments he brought us. pic.twitter.com/KoM8fAPhgh

— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) July 31, 2019

He looks fun. And more importantly you always have to wonder what Luhnow and Brent Strom are up to when they acquire a pitcher with a 3.86 ERA and a 4.45 FIP and a really good curve that he's only throwing 7% of the time. This on top of Cal Stevenson and the already mentioned Sanchez for Derek Fisher. As Astros County put it, "Derek Fisher. That's it. Seriously. I looked. I looked for a long time."

I had meetings right at the deadline, so I missed the frantic hour after the trade deadline when deals were being reported left and right. I took the next hour to catch up and then drove home with the radio blasting Taylor Swift's new songs ME! and Calm Down (I hope I don't get fired for linking Taylor Swift on this blog. WORTH IT!).

It's been an exciting day. Take it all in, because I don't think this happens again for a long time.

July 31 Rumor Roundup / Running Post

July 31 is always the most distracting day for me at work. That all has to do with the invention of Twitter and the MLB Trade Deadline, which ends at 3 p.m. CT today. I figured I'd help out with a running post. If you don't want to wait for an update on the post (I do have work after all), you can check out this Twitter List for monitoring the latest news and rumors.

You can check out the news and rumors from July 30 here.

Obviously I'm going to write all this up, but I'm going to take a moment and let some of the details come in, then take a shower, then have a drink, before I get started.

3:55pm: The Greinke deal was finalized "a couple of seconds" before the deadline.

3:41pm: The Astros are assuming $53m of Greinke's remaining contract, which works out to be around $22m per year.

3:36pm: Updated World Series odds have the Astros at 2:1.

3:30pm: The Astros final haul from Toronto is Biagini, Sanchez, and Cal Stevenson.

3:24pm: Seth Beer and Josh Rojas are the others.

3:23pm: Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas are two known names. Two other "high draft picks from recent years" involved.

3:16pm: Kyle Tucker is not one of those prospects.

3:15pm: Four prospects are headed to Arizona

3:13pm: The Astros have acquired Zack Greinke.

3:09pm: Toronto has apparently also traded Aaron Sanchez to Houston.

3:05pm: The Dodgers and Yankees did not get better.

3:02pm: Rosenthal's sources say Bumgarner and Wheeler are staying with their respective teams.

3:01pm: Wheeler is staying with the Mets...for now.

2:58pm: Yeah, the Angels traded for Stassi.

2:56pm: The Angels are trying to swing a deal for Max Stassi.

2:54pm: The Astros may have acquired [squints] Joe Biagini from Toronto?

2:44pm: The Mets' asking price for Zack Wheeler is "steep." A deal would be a surprise at this point.

2:42pm: Former Astros Great Mark Melancon is headed to Atlanta.

2:29pm: The Mets want to Sell AND Buy, and want to beef up their bullpen.

2:24pm: Jeff Passan says on ESPN that Wheeler is either going to the Astros or Rays.

2:21pm: The Yankees are out on Zack Wheeler

2:13pm: The Dodgers have traded for St. Louis' Jedd Gyorko.

2:11pm: The Tigers are close to sending closer Shane Greene to Atlanta.

2:08pm: Still the Astros, Rays, and Yankees in on Wheeler, but the Mets will hold on to him if they don't get the deal they want.

2:00pm: One hour until the Trade Deadline.

1:48pm: Madison Bumgarner remains available, and the Giants will be listening until the deadline.

1:45pm: The Rays have made an offer to the Mets for Wheeler, but both sides are "not close."

1:43pm: Astros, Rays, and Yankees are talking to the Mets about Wheeler. No word on romance level.

1:41pm: Buster Olney just said on ESPN that the feeling is Bumgarner will stay in San Francisco.

1:36pm: Astros and Rays are in on Zack Wheeler, activity is described as "hot and heavy."

1:34pm: The Nationals also got Hunter Strickland from Seattle - their 3rd bullpen addition of the day.

1:31pm: Arizona wanted Clint Frazier plus three prospects from New York for Robbie Ray.

1:25pm: Oakland has acquired pitcher Tanner Roark from Cincinnati.

1:25pm: Apparently it's Drew Pomeranz going to the Brewers from San Francisco.

1:23pm: The Giants and Brewers have agreed to a deal, but it does not include Madison Bumgarner.

1:20pm: The Rays are in on Zack Wheeler.

1:09pm: The Nationals have also acquired lefty reliever Roenis Elias from Seattle - their 2nd bullpen addition of the day.

1:01pm: Martin Maldonado seems to confirm the trade back to Houston.

12:56pm: With the Trade Deadline just over two hours away, a sense of urgency "has started to pick up."

12:54pm: Talks between the Yankees and Diamondbacks on Robbie Ray are now "dead."

12:52pm: The Nationals have traded for Toronto reliever Daniel Hudson.

12:51pm: The Yankees are "considering" Former Astros Great Ken Giles.

12:28pm: The belief now is that the Mets will hold on to closer Edwin Diaz.

12:18pm: Based on cost, it looks like Zach Wheeler is the Astros preferred option.

12:04pm: Astros pitchers loved throwing to Maldonado.

11:58am: Tony Kemp is going to the Cubs for Maldonado. Good for him!

11:55am: Astros acquire Martin Maldonado from Cubs! Check the County Mountie's write-up here.

11:51am: Both Yankees and Astros in on Bumgarner and Wheeler. My prediction is Yankees get Bumgarner. Astros get Wheeler. I doubt the Mets really want to deal with the Yankees. They're just using them as leverage against the Astros.

11:34am: Sounds like there's not much going on the Robbie Ray front. 

10:59am: Astros and Yankees are inquiring on Ray from the Diamondbacks.

10:56am: Zack Wheeler market is heating up!

10:46am: Astros focused on Zach Wheeler and Robbie Ray.

10:43am: Astros are in discussions about reliever help. Ryan Pressley was put on the IL yesterday, retroactive to July 27.

10:32am: Justin Verlander is just like us! Hi Justin!

10:21am: "The Mets are fielding calls from 9 teams on Wheeler." I suspect the Astros are one of those teams.

9:16am: Some news on the Yankees, Giants, and Mets. Hoping this is a sign that reporters are heads down getting information on the next trade. Oh and other teams expect Wheeler to be dealt.

7:40am: Astros are on Madison Bumgarner's "special" no-trade list. Rival execs don't think that will be an issue as getting traded won't saddle him with a qualifying offer. Similar to Justin Verlander a few years ago, this might be a trade that goes down to the wire. If it actually happens.

6:18am: Reds are keeping Bauer, not flipping him. That should make a lot of the Astros' faithful happy.

4:03am: GMs expect Zack Wheeler, Robbie Ray, and Mike Minor to be moved today.

Here are the details from the Tyler Bauer to Cincinnati, Yasiel Puig to Cleveland, and Taylor Trammel to San Diego three-team trade.

Astros acquire Martin Maldonado from the Cubs for hug-guru Tony Kemp

We finally found out the fate of recently DFA Tony Kemp. He was acquired by the Chicago Cubs for Martin Maldonado, per Ken Rosenthal. There are so many feels here I don't know where to start.

Kemp, a fan favorite, was recently DFA after Carlos Correa was activated from the IL. The Astros made the decision to keep Myles Straw over the out-of-options Kemp. He'll go to Chicago where I'm sure we'll get to see highlights of him hugging the likes of Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant on a regular basis. Good for him!

On the Astros side, for the second straight year the Astros acquire catcher Maldonado. Astros pitchers loved throwing to Maldonado last year, according to Bob Nightengale.

The #Astros pitchers loved throwing to Maldonado last year.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 31, 2019

Some might wonder why the Astros didn't resign Maldonado last year. There was certainly interest. Ultimately, the Astros went with Robinson Chirinos because of Maldonado's asking price. He eventually signed with the Kansas City Royals who then traded him to the Cubs on July 15th.

This likely means Max Stassi is out as the backup catcher. A good defensive backstop and framer, Stassi has failed to produce offensively. He has a 21 OPS+ in 98 PA. Maldonado is an offensive upgrade with a 67 OPS+ in 249 PA, while also keep similar defensive and framing value.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Good morning! The Astros had their last off-day until [squints] Monday. They open a series against the Cardinals tonight.

*Don't forget to pick up your tickets to tomorrow's Lima Time Time Live Show at The Secret Group! Tickets are $5 and yes, we get a cut. Now is your chance to get all of your friends together and help us make a little scratch.

*Next up: You need this redesigned Air Yordan shirt. And this Michael Brantley: Professional Hitter shirt.

*Alright, on to Bidness.

*Anyone who is a Tony Kemp fan (which is limited to Any Human on Earth) has the Sad as it was announced he will be DFA'd in advance of Carlos Correa's activation from the DL.

We all know the situation:
-Tony Kemp seems like a legitimately great human being.
-Tony Kemp was out of options, so he would have to pass through waivers (he won't) in order to get sent back to Round Rock.
-Myles Straw is a little more versatile, and is definitely faster, providing more late-game options for Hinch. Ultimately the Astros went with Straw.
-Tony Kemp can now be included in any trade package put together between now and the 31st.

Kemp, 2019: .227/.308/.417, 29K:16BB
Straw, 2019: .256/.376/.321, 20K:15BB

You could make a case that the Astros did this to themselves by bringing Kemp up in 2017 for a total of 17 games - two in April, and then again as a September call-up. He made ten starts in those 17 games, burning an option year. Why was Kemp brought up in April 2017? Because Teoscar Hernandez was injured in a collision with Altuve in his first MLB game of the 2017 season (April 25). Teoscar Hernandez was playing because Jake Marisnick was on the 7-Day Concussion List, and came back five days later. That's stupid. Kemp was optioned back to Fresno after two games. It sucks for Tony Kemp, it sucks for us. Kemp will find a landing spot with a team and get an opportunity. And he still has a Ring. Best of luck to Tony Kemp in the future. Him and Evan Gattis hugging is one of the greatest things in franchise history. Better than Jeff Kent's helmet flip.

It also frees up one spot on the 40-Man Roster. Tyler White's DFA combined with Kemp's DFA makes it 38, but adding Correa from the 60-Day IL will bring it to 39. The Trade Deadline is five days away.

Let's look back at the 2013 Draft, and do a Where Are They Now?
1-1: Mark Appel. Retired.
2-40: Andrew Thurman: Traded to Atlanta in the Evan Gattis/James Hoyt deal, January 2015.
3-74: Kent Emanuel. 4.26 ERA in Round Rock in 2019.
4-107: Conrad Gregor. Last played in the Astros Org in 2016. Currently with New Jersey, of the independent Canadian-American Association.
5-137: Tony Kemp. DFA'd, July 2019.
6-167: Jacob Nottingham. Traded to Oakland in the Scott Kazmir deal, July 2015. Currently with the Brewers' organization.
7-197: James Ramsey. Last played in 2016.
8-227: Jason Martin: Traded to Pittsburgh in the Gerrit Cole deal, January 2018.
9-257: Brian Holberton: Last played in 2015.
10-287: Austin Nicely: Last played in the Astros Org in 2015. Currently pitching for Evansville in the independent Frontier League.

Only Kent Emanuel is still with the Astros (from the 1st 10 Rounds). Kemp, Nottingham, and Martin made it to the Majors from the Astros' 2013 Draft. Oh there was one more guy: 33rd Round pick Tyler White and...

*The Astros traded Tyler White to the Dodgers for 24-year old reliever Andre Scrubb. Scrubb throws in the mid-90s with a "funky delivery." A former 8th Round pick by the Dodgers, Scrubb has a 2.37 ERA / 1.21 WHIP in 57IP (66K:28BB) for Double-A Tulsa. He'll report to Corpus.

Tyler White is a sweetheart and had very nice things to say about the Astros on Instagram.

*The Mets "want to move" Noah Syndergaard and a "Rival Exec" said that the price for Noah Syndergaard is "a Top 30 prospect and a couple of other solid pieces."

*An AL scout says the Astros need a starting pitcher, but the farm system isn't as deep as you might think. In order to take care of the first thing, the Astros might have to deal Tucker or Whitley.

*Still other Unnamed Execs think the Deadline will be quiet through the weekend and then pop off on Monday.

*Marcus Stroman news:
-Joel Sherman says he's likely the biggest-named pitcher to get traded.
-Andy Martino says the Blue Jays might actually extend him.
-Jon Morosi says he has sources that say both Kyle Tucker for Stroman wouldn't be enough and that the Astros wouldn't trade Tucker for Stroman straight up."

*Madison Bumgarner news:
-Mark Feinsand says the Giants will hang on to him.
-Hank Schulman says the Giants haven't made a decision either way.

No one knows anything about anything. And anyone claiming otherwise is either lying, or is an idiot.

*Troy Tulowitzki retired, ending a 13-year career hampered by injuries. Tulo spent 10 seasons in Colorado, hitting .299/.371/.513. Then he got traded to Toronto and from mid-2015 through 2019 played in a total of 243 games, hitting .249/.313/.416. He was really good, and a really good Colorado hitter. Now he'll be an assistant coach for the University of Texas.

*Protests in Puerto Rico got their governor to resign.

*How Stan Smith went from a decent tennis player to the most popular trainer on the planet.

*A Musical Selection and damn if it's not a referendum on society right now:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Late night Hot Links suck to make when you have a nighttime oriented sleep schedule. Game wraps up around 1 a.m. EST (my time zone), then you gotta wait for the beat writers to write up their little articles and what not before I get to do my job because haha I'm not waking up at 5 a.m. like James does bless his soul. So if something doesn't sound right or is spelled wrong, it's because this is late for even me. 

For everyone that didn't watch the Astros game due to it being late, you made a good choice. The Angels won their 4th in a row and beat up on Framber Valdez pretty handily as they took the game 9-6.

Notes:
Springer - 3/5, 2 HR, 3 RBI. With these home runs, Springer has moved up to 7th in the Astros all-time home run list.
Kemp - 2/5, RBI
Valdez - 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Albert Pujols tried to run last night.

Full Box:
Recap:

Per Chandler Rome, the Framber Valdez experiment is over.

The Astros will most likely head into tomorrow doing another bullpen day.

Brian Arbour, of The Astros County dot com, wrote a piece addressing the state of the rotation as it stands, and the best moves for it going forward.

A.J. Hinch talked about Josh James' recent success and the improvements that he made to get here.

Kyle Tucker seems to be upping his trade value extending the versatility of his game. ($)

The Crawfish Boxes have taken the time to check out the likelihood and potential of a Roenis Elias deal.

The Astros are for real gauging interest in a possible Robbie Ray deal.

When Diaz and Correa come back, who gets the boot with White?

There are some weird things on TV at 3 a.m. I just went ahead and typed this because I'm living it. It's my life. It's my post.

Alex Bregman and Tony Kemp went out and presented the Houston Fire Department with a brand new truck.

The Athletic's Dallas sportswriter floated the idea that the Astros bent the rules regarding the Yordan Alvarez trade, but then realized what he said and quickly walked it back. Just a typical Monday on Twitter.

Siberian millennials are flooding to this very pretty, very toxic lake so they can take selfies next to it. 

Biologists have discovered a jellyfish bigger than a human, which is just the things I like to know before I go into water.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1990, Steve Lyons dropped his pants on accident during live television.

In 1999, the New York Yankees ownership decided that after seeing the positive response to Trevor Hoffman's "Hell's Bells" warm-up song to select Metallica's "Enter Sandman" for their closer Mariano Rivera.

In 2006, Mariano Rivera became the 4th closer to ever achieve 400 saves.

In 2009, Ryan Howard became the fastest player to ever get to 200 home runs. He played 658 games at this point.

In 2010, Bengie Molina, the notoriously slow catcher, became the 8th player ever to hit for the cycle with the home run being a grand slam.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros, yet again, put an absolute beatdown on the Mariners late last night by a final score of 11-5. They also broke yet another team record. This team is something else. Notes:

Kemp: 2-4, Solo HR
Chirinos: 1-4, Solo HR
Fisher: 2-4, RBI, SB
Miley: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Full Box:

The Astros now have a double-digit lead on the division. Yeah, it's time to start clearing your schedules for October and start saving up money for playoff tickets.

We have TWO (2) articles from Astros County .com that were posted yesterday, so let's get you caught up to speed on those:

The first relates to the Astros Day 2 of the MLB Draft.

The second relates to the Astros and their insane amount of runs given up via the solo home run.

And now for things around the Web...

Framber is in and Martin is out of the Astros rotation.

Derek Fisher's offensive adjustments are very much paying off.

The Astros drafted another Stubbs.

The Yordan Alvarez call may be arriving sooner rather than later.

Speaking of Yordan, he hit another home run last night. Remember the Chandler Rome tweet at the top of this post? Funnily enough, this was also Round Rock's 100th HR of the year.

Some ELITE numbers have been put up by some of our MiLB Players of the Month for May.

The Yankees are the favorites to sign Keuchel, and how badly do the Astros want/need him?

Champion Energy has a new spokesman: it's Alex Bregman.

Scientists have discovered that ancient cats had teeth so strong that they could actually puncture a skull with a single chomp.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1973, the Rangers passed up Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Dave Winfield to draft David Clyde with the #1 pick. Clyde was immediately pulled into a starting role for Texas and got shelled. He lasted six years in the majors with a 18-33 record.

In 1997, Alex Rodriguez became the first Mariner to hit for the cycle.

In 2002, the Coca-Cola Company Branch, Minute Maid, officially acquired the naming rights to the new Astros baseball field previously known as Enron Field.

In 2008, James Shields plunked Coco Crisp, which incited a major benches clearing brawl that led to the suspension of 8 players.

In 2015, the first switch pitcher in the modern era, Pat Venditte, made his major league debut.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Happy Friday! The Astros got waxed and they don't play today as they travel to Mexico. I will be attending Nick Senzel's debut tonight in Cincy to cope.

So here's what happened yesterday afternoon:

Bregman: 1-4, Solo HR
Kemp: 1-3, RBI
Diaz: 2-4
Peacock: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
Marwin Gonzalez: 2-3, 2 R
Jason Castro went yard

Full Box:

Here's Chandler Rome with the series thought about what just happened here.

Time to compare Aprils from the 2018 and 2019 Astros.

Paying for parking is bad, so here are some tips to pay less for parking.

How lucky have our pitchers been so far in 2019?

Kyle Tucker hit a HR, Yordan is hitting over .400 now, and Cionel Perez's ERA is..uh.. still under 6.

Here are notes of other minor leaguers as well:

The River Bandits are actual River Bandits now.

A dog consumed over $200 in cash. He's okay.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1975, Nolan Ryan got pranked on the mound by his former team with a rubber snake.

In 1998, Dan Wilson hit the first inside the park grand slam in MLB history.

In 2011, former Houston Astros great Francisco Liriano threw his first complete game of his career, which also ended up being a no-hitter.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Houston won on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th from Tony M.F. Kemp to beat the Indians 4-3. The Astros are 16-11. That's a .593 winning percentage. Extrapolated to 162 games, that's a 96-66 season. And we're pissed about this! Sorry, Astros. Expectations are higher now.

Four of the Astros' 11 losses (36.4%) have come to the Arlington G.D. Rangers, who are currently projected to win [checks notes] 70 games. There are going to be stupid losses throughout the season. It is important to remember that. Siri, remind me that the Astros are going to lose stupid games at least 40 times this season.

*The Astros won despite getting five hits total. It's their first win of 2019 with five or fewer hits. They had 11 such wins in 2018. It's the 15th time this season Houston has drawn 4+ walks (55.6%). The 2018 Astros drew 4+ walks in 73/162 games (45.1%).

*Tony Kemp's second home run of the season was well-timed. It broke an 0x12 stretch for him, dating back to April 14. Not only was it his first career walk-off home run, it was first go-ahead (or game-tying) home run. Good job, Tony Kemp. Love you. Kemp:
I was looking for a walk there, but I'll take a home run.

As Chandler Rome notes, it's the Astros' first pinch-hit walk-off home run since Noted Media Personality Brian Bogusevic did it on August 16, 2011. His was a grand slam. Your move, Tony Kemp.

Hinch:
He gets frustrated with himself when he doesn't get on base, but who needs a walk when you can hit a homer? What a huge time to do it.

Tony Kemp is the gotdang heart and soul of this team. You say a prayer of thanks for Tony Kemp right now. I'll wait.

This game will have you showering in a full uniform sometimes because it just doesn’t make sense. Struggles happen. Each day is new. Stay grinding everyday and enjoy your teammates. It’s a marathon not a sprint! pic.twitter.com/76AcTGzJBg

— Tony Kemp (@tonykemp) April 28, 2019

Okay.

*Carlos Correa was 2x4 with a 2-run home run. It's his 6th home run of the season in his 24th game. Game in which he hit his 6th home run of the season, career:
2019: 24
2018: 39
2017: 38
2016: 37
2015: 23

*They were 1x5 w/RISP, with Aledmys Diaz getting the lone hit with runners in scoring position. At some point this has to stop, I think.

*Brad Peacock threw 6IP, 4H/1ER, 7K:1BB. In his last two starts: 11IP, 10H/4ER, 9K:4BB.

*Ryan Pressly was charged with zero runs, meaning he is now the franchise leader in consecutive innings, 29.1IP, without allowing an earned run.

*Will Harris threw 0.1IP and allowed 2H/2ER. Yesterday was his 4th outing in the last five days. It's also just the second time in eleven outings that he has allowed two hits.

*Roberto Osuna got six outs for the first time since October 1, 2016.

*Don't miss the latest Spot the Differences!

Alex Bregman responds to @BauerOutage Tweet from last night pic.twitter.com/UpHW8Oh2Hv

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 27, 2019

*After taking a 4-0 lead in the 1st, Round Rock needed to score the last six runs of the game to beat New Orleans, 11-7. Yordan Alvarez went 4x5 with his 11th home run of the season, Kyle Tucker hit a 3-run homer. Taylor Jones had three hits.

*Granden Goetzman hit a go-ahead grand slam in a 10-9 Corpus win over Tulsa that featured four lead changes.

*You hate to see it. Evan P. Grant: The Ramgers' "treacherous 72-hour window just a glimpse into what's become a disastrous week."

*Jenny Dial Creech: When Kelvin Sampson flipped the switch on Eric Gordon.

*Check out this Jon Shapley story on the Santa Fe High School baseball team.

*Mental Floss: What the world's oldest metro lines look like from above.

*From the National Review: Franklin Graham and the High Cost of the Lost Evangelical Witness.

*Deadspin: Conquering the Carolina Reaper requires self-deceit, milk, and a lot of barf.

*A Musical Selection:

Whither the Great White Shark

Opening Day starts with promise.  And that promise surely brought more happiness to Tyler White than any other player on the Astros 25-man roster. After years of working his way up from a 33th round draft pick and three years of going up and down between Fresno and Houston, White had secured a spot in the Opening Day starting lineup as the DH.

White had earned the DH spot with a strong second half of 2018, when he slashed .287/.350/.551 with 10 home runs in 197 PAs. His walk-off homer against the the As on August 29th not only helped the Astros stay ahead of the pesky Athletics, but also led to to the iconic image of the 2018 Astros season.

As the 2019 season began, there was every reason for an Astros fan to be optimistic about White. Various projection systems projected him to have a wRC+ of between 110 and 122. Not an All-Star level, but a contributing level on a team packed with offensive stars. 

The reality of Tyler White's 2019 season, so far, has not met the promise of opening day. White is slashing .212/.333/.242 with a 71 wRC+.  That mean White is batting 71% of league average...and that's not even accounting for the fact that he plays the easiest defensive position--DH.

As White's production has decline, so has his playing time. He has started only 9 of the team's 21 games so far this season, and only 7 at his position on opening day--DH. The other potential DH candidate on the roster has done just as poorly. Tony Kemp has slashed .156/.270/.250.  

As a result, AJ Hinch has tended to rotate the DH spot around the regulars. George Springer has served as DH in 5 (!) games, Michael Brantley for 3, and Jose Altuve once (Kemp has started at DH 4 times). With the team at the beginning of a stretch of 26 games in 27 days, expect Hinch to more liberally use the DH as a way to get his regulars some time off of their feet.

But the big question that White's (and Kemp's) horrid start leaves for the Astros is should they keep these two on the roster, or should they try to find another alternative at DH.  Complicating this question is that both White and Kemp are out of minor league option years. The front office cannot send either one down to the minors without first exposing them to waivers, and both White and Kemp are almost certain to be claimed by at least one of the other 29 MLB teams. And while both White and Kemp are valuable enough to occupy one of the 750 active major league roster spots in MLB, neither is so valuable that they would be likely to bring back anything more than a Grade C prospect in a trade. 

White and Kemp also serve as valuable depth pieces for the Astros. The team has been blessed by good injury luck so far in 2019. Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman have both had to miss a couple of games with minor injuries, but both quickly returned to form. As a result, the Astros have avoided using the disabled list for a position player so far this season. But that will not last. Somebody will get injured, and there will be PAs available. 

I think the best solution to the slow start of Tyler White is to give him time to see if he can turn it around. His track record indicates that he is a much better hitter than he has shown so far, and the season is only about 13% complete.  Players tend to move toward their projections over time. And while that means we are extremely unlikely to get the 144 wRC+ version of White was saw last season, we are likely to get the 112 to 120 wRC+ version that was projected for this year.

It is worth noting that despite the struggles of White (and Kemp) the team is playing and batting well. The team has a .612 winning percentage, which would produce 100 wins over the course of 162 games. The Astros have 10 players with a wRC+ of 100 or greater. The Astros lead the American League in batting average and on base percentage, and are third in slugging and OPS. In short, there is no reason to panic right now (we're not the Red Sox). 

Obviously, patience does not have to last all season. The Astros have two excellent hitting prospects at Round Rock in the persons of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. The promotion of either could lead to an improvement at DH--Alvarez would probably step directly into the DH role while Tucker would push Michael Brantley to DH. The Astros also have the prospect capital to acquire a power hitter to replace White.  There are potential solutions if White (or Kemp) continue to struggle.

But for now, the best course is to see if Tyler White can get back the power stroke he used so effectively in 2018. White has maintained his eye at the plate, and has a walk rate of 15.4%. If he can cut down on the strikeouts (a 33.0% rate this year compared to 20.7% last year, he can hopefully get back to form. That is the best hope for Astros fans...for now.  

Monday Morning Hot Links

The Astros have finally pulled themselves back to .500 after nearly having a home rain delay and defeating Oakland on a walk-off walk yesterday afternoon. Rock on, Astros!

Notes:
Diaz: 2-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Altuve: 3-4, RBI, 2 R
Kemp: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
Peacock: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Wrap:
Full Box:

A.J. Hinch: "we don't really know how to celebrate a walk-off walk."

Chandler Rome has the takeaways from the entire series here.

Yordan Alvarez hit 4 home runs in 24 hours.

Joe Smith is still a couple weeks away from throwing off a mound.

Astros County's own Brian Arbour wrote about the Astros' bench management and the factors that lead to the playing time crunch.

Astros County's own @AstrosCounty dropped a new Lima Time Time with McLellan.

The Crawfish Boxes have your Astros-Yankees series preview ready for consumption.

Jake Kaplan talks bench depth, Peacock, and new plays ($).

A family travelling to the Astros game got stuck in traffic, so they walked the rest of the way. 

How did broadcasts measure ratings for their radio programs in the 1930s? Behold, the Audimeter. 

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1963, Pete Rose played his first career baseball game.

In 1966, the Astros and Dodgers play the first baseball game on synthetic grass.

In 1974, Hank Aaron became baseball's all-time home run leader, hitting his 715th home run on Opening Day in Cincinnati. 

In 1975, Frank Robinson became the first black manager in MLB history to manage a game. He was a player-manager at the time, and he also hit a home run in his first AB as a DH.

In 1994, Kent Mercker threw a no hitter for the Braves against the Dodgers.

In 2013, Joe Nathan was gifted his 300th save.

In 2017, Tommy Hansen became the first high school baseball player ever to hit three consecutive grand slams in one game for Roncalli High School, which is roughly 5 minutes away from my home. So, you know, that's pretty cool.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Good morning everyone we got Shuck'd last night.

The Pirates defeated the Astros yesterday at Minute Maid 5-1 off the back of former Astros great J.B. Shuck's 1/2 with 1 RBI night. Colin Moran was there too. Notes:

Springer 1/2, Solo HR
Tanielu: 1/2
Stassi: 1/2
Those were all our hits.
Bukauskas: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Martin: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO

Carlos Correa may miss the season opener with a sore neck :/

Here is the Opening Day FAQ for tomorrow's game.

The SI preview not only gives some predictions, but also gives out some awards like "Most overrated", "biggest bust potential", and "the one guy you want up in a clutch moment"

Here are the four most burning questions Astros have going into the season besides when Cionel Perez will get called back up.

The Astros unveiled their new Hall of Fame exhibit. Are there too many players that were put there?

Nick Tanielu is #good.

Tony Kemp looks to make the most out of his first Opening Day roster spot opportunity.

Jake Marisnick and Tyler White went undercover at an Academy store to mess with the shoppers there and make us, the target audience, laugh at their quirky one-liners.

The Astros end-of-season Open Forum is available for you to participate in about the Astros Spring Training performances.

Matt Young from the Chron has put together the contract situations that will need to be addressed in the 2019 offseason.

George Springer plans on heckling Charlie Morton tomorrow.

PSA: Backpacks will not be allowed in Minute Maid anymore, but some bags will still be allowed in the building.

The Astros top 30 prospects of 2019 are up on the Crawfish Boxes.

Deep fried Cadbury's Creme Eggs are starting to pop up because of course they are.

A guy armed with a bow and arrow (for real) nearly killed a man if it wasn't for his smartphone.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*Justin Verlander pitched last night, after agreeing to an extension, and dominated it. Opening Day is now four days away. Jim Crane spent $183.5 million last week. What did you do?

*Verlander has agreed to a 2yr/$66m extension through the 2021 season. Everything is coming up Luhnow. There is no deferred money involved, which makes Verlander's deal the largest average annual contract in MLB history (beating Greinke's $32.5m AAV).

Brian T. Smith: The Astros have their ace in place.

*Verlander last night: 4IP, 2H/0ER, 9K:0BB in a 5-0 win over Miami. The rest of the AL is on notice. Also notable:

-Springer: 1x4, 2RBI
-Altuve: 2x4, 2B/HR.
-Toro: 2x4, 2B

Verlander, who watched video from 2011, found that his hips don't lie:
Everything clicked tonight. It was a really, really good feeling. I can't even put it into words. Like searching for myself from a while back. It was something I've been kind of grinding on all spring and I kept finding the symptom and not the cause, and I think I found it. 

Jake Kaplan: With Cole set for free agency after this season, Verlander ensures some rotation stability for the next two years.

*Josh Reddick talked to Chandler Rome about the extensions to Pressly/Bregs/JV, and in a couple of tweets said this:
(It shows) that players are getting taken care of when they deserve it and it shows that this team is still willing to win for a very long time and put out the players that can bring them another championship. The more you keep this core together on this team, the better off you are. We do seem to get along so great. Signing guys like Bregman and Verlander and hopefully a couple other guys to extensions make perfect sense.

*A couple of days ago Ken Rosenthal reported that the Astros had interest in the Most Logical Choice Simply By Name Alone: pitcher Marcus Stroman. He also said that extending Verlander was "a long shot," so take it for what it's worth.

*The Astros are counting on Wade Miley to maintain his 2018 form. Can you compare the woeful 2016-17 Wade Miley to the 2018 Wade Miley? Hinch:
I just don't think you can compare. They're two different pitchers.

*With Reymin Guduan getting optioned to Round Rock, Framber Valdez has made the Opening Day roster.

*Jenny Dial Creech: Michael Brantley lets his bat do the talking.

*This morning, Hinch honored Tony Kemp, Josh James, and Framber Valdez for making their first Opening Day roster.

*SI's six-word preview for the 2019 Astros? "World Series favorite? I say yes."

*

Jim Crane is forever slander proof. pic.twitter.com/3BOKiyC2Gc

— 🏆⚾️💥Cocky [Redacted] Fan💥⚾️🏆 (@astros_dude) March 24, 2019

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

We have now reached the point where nobody I know or follow on Twitter is even mentioning Spring Training so it feels like mid-January again.

Speaking of Spring Training, the Astros defeated the Marlins yesterday 4-1. Notes:
Stassi 2-2, RBI, BB
Kemp 0-1, 2 BB, SB
Verlander 3.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
Martin 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Buster Olney has reported this morning that the Astros offered Maldonado a 2-year contract earlier this offseason.

JV is experimenting with a changeup for 2019.

The Astros giveaway days have been announced.

Ken Rosenthal has reported the Astros have offered Dallas Keuchel both a 1-year and 2-year deal, but Keuchel and Boras don't like the money.

Josh Reddick plays first base now?

Jose Altuve is taking some time off due to "side soreness" and is considered day to day.

Cionel Perez threw his first batting practice of the Spring.

A handicapped man held onto the back of a semi-truck on the highway to get somewhere in a quick and efficient manner.

Wisconsin is having a normal one. 

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1930, Babe Ruth signed a 2 year, $130,000 contract. The Yankees GM at the time, Ed Barrow, said "no one will ever be paid more."

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. The 2018 Astros were 21-15 after 36 games, with a combined team 2.68 ERA.

*Josh Reddick said he focused too much on pulling the ball on the inner-half of the plate last year. In that link, McTaggart talks about the adjustments Ronnie Dawson is making, as well.

*SP5 is MLB.com's Spring Training Battle to watch for the Astros.

*There's a pathway for both Marisnick and the out-of-options Tony Kemp to make the Opening Day roster. Jake Kaplan breaks it down. Marisnick does have an option left, but will hit five years of service time 40 days into the season, upon which he can decline the minor-league assignment.

*The Astros are chilling out with the "Ted" stuff on Kyle Tucker.

*Cy Sneed spent his offseason hunting bears and substitute teaching in Alaska.

*2017 26th Round pick Josh Rojas is ready to be the Astros' next super-utility player. While Rojas hit .311/.410/.511 for High-A Buies Creek in 2018 in his Age 24 season, he hit .251/.338/.385 in 451 PAs after getting bumped up to Corpus, playing 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF.

Yuli Gurriel talks about his new hair, as well as his buddy, Bregman. pic.twitter.com/v88XtlNRFv

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 18, 2019

*Rob Manfred could have been sympathetic to the MLBPA. Instead he decided to piss them off.

*Check this story in The Athletic from FOAC Levi Weaver in which he embedded with a sports agency as they prepared for arbitration.

*Meet David Rice Atchison, President of the United States for one day in 1849.

*Here's something to which I can attest: Exercise may help to fend off depression.

*A Musical Selection:

Why the Astros signed Michael Brantley

After four business days, my acute insomnia has decided to kick in (work is going to suck tomorrow). Luckily(!) the Astros made a move and signed Michael Brantley to some deal (details later, probably in the hot links). I've never been all that impressed with Brantley. A large part of that is that he can't seem to stay on the field. He's never played a full 162 games. He's surpassed 150+ games twice in a 10-year big league career. When he is health, oh boy! Watch out!

 He's a career .295/.351/.468 hitter (that's a .339 wOBA for you nerds). He walks at around average and strikes out way less than Chris Carter (remember him!) at a 10.7% rate. Everyone seems to think that there's now an outfield crunch, what with the Astros still having the rights to veteran outfield Josh Reddick, in his prime George Spring, young Tony Kemp (love that guy) and the up and comer Kyle Tucker (dude gives zero fux, right now). I don't think Brantly will play the outfield though. Have you see his defensive metrics?

 His fielding percentage is solid at .994%, however, advanced metrics HATE the dude. His Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) are well into the negatives for his career. TL;DR he's not good in the outfield. Which is why I think he fits nicely in the designated hitter role for the Astros, with an occasional start in the outfield or first base(?). Last year the DH hit for .243/.308/.480 line. Brantley provides more of a balanced hitter over what the Astros had last year. More actual hitting, better on-base percentage with the substitute for power. Tyler White was really good as the right handed DH for the Astros last year with a .276/.354/.533 line (.377 wOBA for you nerds). Brantley is a left-handed bat that (forgot to mention that) can compliment White nicely.

 What do you think? Brantley plays the field (dumb) or starts most of his games as DH (running theory).

Monday Morning Hot Links

Fellas I'm gonna be honest with you..it's Monday. Are they cool? Of course not! Do I have Hot Links for you to make the day suck less? Sure I guess I can try to do that. There were a lot of links yesterday and not a lot of action since, but I might be able to conjure something up.

\Nelson Cruz is the perfect fit for the Houston Astros and they should be all the way in on this signing.

\Conner Byrne from MLBTradeRumors is reporting the Dodgers want to part with Puig and the Tigers want to part with Castellanos. Astros are interested in both.

\Luhnow wants Framber Valdez and my GUY Cionel Perez has the lefties out of the pen and honestly I am super okay with this.

\Many teams are interested in Houston Astros great Mike Fiers.

\Tony Kemp just never stops being a good dude.

\Sad news as Astros superfan Eugenia Rios lost her 5 year battle with brain cancer.

\Brian McTaggart would like to answer your questions for some reason. Guess you might as well ask him something.

\ASTROS HALL OF FAME BALLOT TRACKER (through 48 ballots):
Roger Clemens - 70.8%
Andy Pettite - 16.7%
Jeff Kent - 10.4%
Billy Wagner - 6.3%
Lance Berkman - 4.2%
Roy Oswalt - 2.1%
Miguel Tejada - 0%
Rick Ankiel - 0%
Detailed spreadsheet with additional info can be found here.

\Somebody actually pitched this idea at a board meeting. Even more surprisingly, it LANDED.

\A podcast might have ended up finding the murderer from a 36 year old case.

Here concludes the end of the post. The Internet has been scoured and all hyperlinks have been corralled. Thank you for spending your time here at astroscounty.com. Toodles!