*We recorded Episode 11 of Lima Time Time last night. It alternates between rage and despair.
*I took out a lot of frustration and anger on Brian T. Smith's new column.
*Jeff Blogwell wrote up Part 3 of his Jeff Luhnow trade retrospective.
*With Carlos Gomez out for another week, Jake Kaplan tells us to get ready to see if Jake Marisnick can actually perform well enough to hold down the CF job. Marisnick:
The biggest thing is just missing pitches. A lot of times I'm getting myself into a good count and just missing a good pitch to hit. That's kind of how it is. I feel fine. I feel good...I've never really let (offensive struggles) affect me on the defensive side. I know how important what I do out there in the field is and being able to help the team any way possible. I've said it before: Keeping a run off the board is the same as putting a run on.
*Ladies and gentlemen, your 2016 Astros:
*Kaplan says there aren't many good alternatives for the Astros this season. Then a weird line:Out of 48 AL starters, Collin McHugh ranks:— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) May 24, 2016
-ninth in soft contact (21.7%)
-sixth in hard contact (25.5%)
-46th in BABIP (.365)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In the case of hot-hitting shortstop/third-base prospect Alex Bregman, the Astros have less incentive to accelerate his path to the majors the further they fall from contention. ...Generally, whether right or wrong, a team won't rush its top prospects and risk stunting their development in a lost season. Perhaps if the Astros creep back closer to .500 and 2016 is not lost, the front office would expedite Bregman's path to Minute Maid Park.
Does that sound right to you?
*Ken Giles is back, baby! Giles:
It was mechanical 100 percent. Not confidence. I always knew I had the confidence. You've got to be patient because you're going to fail before you succeed. I haven't failed a lot so I had to go through that phase. It's not a great thing to go through but everybody goes through it. But I'm happy that I grinned through it and I figured things out.
*McTaggart has your 5 Keys to Turn Around the 2016 Season. If you guessed: (1) Fix Keuchel, (2) Make the bottom of the lineup not suck, (3) find a centerfielder who can hit, (4) win games against the Rangers, and, (5) hell, win division games - all without looking? You are the real MVP.
*Minor-league update:
-The Fresno Grizzlies were down 7-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th, and then Jon Singleton hit a couple of 2-run homers - including a 3-run homer in the 7th - and Jon Kemmer singled home the walk-off to complete the comeback for an 8-7 victory over OKC. Singleton's line: 3x4, 2B, 2HR, 5RBI, 1K:1BB. This season Singleton is hitting .226/.329/.504 with 35K:21BB and 12HR. Do you dare dream the impossible dream and call him back up to Houston?
-OKC called up former Astros outfielding great Jordan Schafer, who is now a pitcher in the Dodgers organization. At Double-A Schafer threw 19IP, 15H/3ER, 21K:5BB. He threw 1IP last night, allowing a hit and no runs. Typical Luhnow, giving up on pitching prospects too early...
-Corpus was down 6-1 before scoring two in the top of the 7th, four in the top of the 8th, and four in the top of the 10th to beat Midland 11-7. Teoscar Hernandez was 4x4 with three doubles, a walk, and 4RBI. Alex Bregman hit his 11th homer of the season. Francis Martes left the game after 0.2IP and walking the bases loaded, and 34 pitches. Apparently it was a game situation call for pulling him and not an injury issue.
-High Desert scored eight unanswered runs to erase a 3-0 deficit and beat Lancaster 8-3.
-Despite tying the game after getting down 4-0 at Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities allowed the walk-off in a 5-4 loss.
*Clint Barmes retired during the 8th inning of a Triple-A game.
*A Twins player confronted the tv play-by-play guy about saying not-nice things.
*New rules would put stricter pitch counts in place for high school pitchers.
*The science behind why climbing Mount Everest is a horror show.
