Friday Morning Cold Links

Hey whaddayaknow the Astros couldn't score. This is getting familiar. The Astros only managed one run in a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays. Of course the Rangers won, the A's beat the Angels, the Red Sox beat the Mariners in 11 innings.

*The Astros are 6.5 GB of Farmer's Branch, 5.5 GB of WC1 and 3.5 GB of WC2. FanGraphs now gives the Astros an 11.7% chance of winning the division and a 12.4% chance of making the postseason. Losing eight out of ten against pretty good teams in late July/early August will sink your season.

*Since beating the Angels 13-3 on July 25 nine games ago, the Astros are "hitting" .188/.242/.304 with 90K:20BB. Since the beginning of the Tigers series the Astros are 1-6 with a .178/.222/.263 line, with 60K:10BB. They have reached by HBP and errors more times (4) than they have hit home runs (3).

*It's not on the pitchers, who set a MLB record by striking out 58 Blue Jays in a four-game series.

*A.J. Hinch:
We're searching for solutions because we're a better offense than this. Sometimes you go in a few ruts individually. Sometimes you go through it collectively. Right now, the collectively is pretty painful.

*Tyler White is trying not to be the roster casualty when Doug Fister returns from paternitying. His double last night drove in the only Astros run of the season night.

*Colby Rasmus is struggling, and it's eating him up. He started wearing batting gloves and has taken "hundreds" of extra swings before games. Rasmus:
The game is just kind of socking it to me a little bit...I'm not going to make excuses...I was brought in here to do a job and I haven't done it up to my own ability, so my pride is hurt a little in that respect... This year, man, it's just like they know what I'm doing before I even get up to the box. I don't know if I'm giving it away by how I stand or what's going on, but I feel like they just have a better idea of what I'm trying to do.

Rasmus has been God-awful, it's true, but I still like the guy.

*Brady Rodgers won his 11th game last night and has a PCL-leading 1.34 BB/9.

*The sheriffs of baseball were at it again last night.

*Legendary Venezuelan scout Andres Reiner, who revolutionized baseball in the country for the Astros, passed away Wednesday night at the age of 81.

*The Indians' Francisco Mejia ran his hit streak to 46 games last night.