The last three games of the season officially do not matter. With the Orioles win last night over Toronto the Astros have been eliminated from the 2016 postseason.
*Altuve is a lock to win his second batting title in three years. Let's just do the math and see what happens:
If Altuve goes 0x12 this weekend, he'll be 212x641 for a .331 average. Mookie Betts would need to go 11x12 to beat him by percentage points. Altuve, following Wednesday's loss to Seattle:
I don't know if I'm going to win it. We still have three games left, and I've got to hit. It's tough to think about a batting title when we're three games, 3 1/2 games behind.
*Aspiring barista Joe Musgrove has exceeded Hinch's expectations.
*Baseball America's Jim Callis has a great writeup on the Astros prospects in Instructs in Kissimmee. News and takes on Kyle Tucker and a glut of outfielders, as well as Forrest Whitley and a Dominican pitcher who can throw 103.
*The Astros ended the regular season ranked 14th in Jeff Passan's power rankings, which seems right: A very-slightly-above-average baseball team.
*Jeez seriously I hate the Cardinals. What happened in St. Louis last night was idiotic, and it could cost the Giants a spot in the playoffs.
*Some things coming down the pike on Astros County:
-The Astros County Guide to the Playoffs
-Full season postmortem
-40 Man Roster power rankings
-The four dumbest losses that kept the Astros out of the playoffs
-More History Lesson posts
-Season recaps for active players (at least ten of them before I get bored and just stop doing them altogether)
-Minor league season recaps
-Anything else you suggest
