*Mark Appel had what seems to be an emergency appendectomy yesterday. Jeff Luhnow said:
He will report to camp on time. Once he arrives in spring training, we'll see where he is at health-wise and take it from there. We anticipate that he will either be ready to work out at the start of camp or very close to ready.
Appel himself tweeted:
Thank you all for your prayers as I recover. I am feeling great and will be back in no time! See you at spring training!
— Mark Appel (@MAppel26) February 2, 2014
*Jim Crane said he will do everything he can to ensure that Nolan Ryan would fit within the Astros' organization. Crane:I don't think at this point it's a situation where he wants the day-to-day responsibilities and making all the decisions, that was pretty clear. He wants to let (Reid Ryan) do his job. He believes in what Jeff (Luhnow) is doing and they had a good conversation.
*Jesse Crain probably won't be ready to start the season, after having biceps surgery this off-season. But he won't be out long:
If it's not the beginning of the season, it will be a week or two after.
