Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the Cardinals 4-2 last night.

-J.D. Davis and Derek Fisher were each 1x3.
-Kyle Tucker hit a 3-run triple and is 11x27 with a 1.392 OPS.
-Justin Verlander threw 5IP, 2H/1ER, 8K:0BB with 44 of his 61 pitches going for strikes. In 10IP this Spring, he has allowed 4H/1ER, 17K:0BB.
-Ken Giles retired all three batters he faced.

*Brian McTaggart notes that Hector Rondon threw a bullpen today in the hopes of getting him back on track, but Hinch isn't worried about him being ready for Opening Day.

Dallas Keuchel will make his 2nd start of the Spring today at 12:05pm CT against Washington.

*Despite getting knocked for 4H/4ER, the lefty bullpen spot is still Tony Sipp's to lose. Hinch:
It begins with Tony Sipp and where he fits in the biggest pictures, and we'll move from there. 

*George Springer hit a golf ball over the net at a driving range.

*David Paulino is working to regain the Astros' trust. Hinch:
I would think he learned a lot from last season. That's a pretty significant thing to go through as a person, and you're doing it on the national stage on one of the best teams in baseball. And there's a lesson to be learned in all of that...I think he's trying to earn the respect and credibility back in our clubhouse by keeping his mouth shut and just working and competing and trying to find his place in our clubhouse again.

*DO NOT MISS Craig Hlavaty's walk through history on the Astros' facial hair.

*The Rangers took back Anthony Gose and will send him to Triple-A. Cut to a scene of Rangers GM Jon Daniels taking bloody aluminum foil off of his hands, a semi-conscious Anthony Gose sits slumped in a metal chair.

DANIELS: He doesn't know anything. Do you, Anthony?
GOSE: [mumbles]
DANIELS: You didn't remember your objective, did you, Anthony?
GOSE: [mumbles more intensely]
DANIELS: WHAT DID YOU SEE IN THEIR CLUBHOUSE, ANTHONY!?
GOSE: [whimpers]

[Daniels grabs a pair of red-hot tongs with yellow gloves and moves towards Gose as he starts to shriek]

/The lights flicker on

JOE TORRE: The hell is going on here, Jon?
DANIELS: [drops the tongs and wipes his greasy, sweaty hair out of his face] Ha ha. Just having a chat with my pal Anthony. He fell down some stairs.
TORRE: Is that true, Gose?
GOSE: [Eyes go wide as he crumples to Torre's feet and latches on to his ankles]
DANIELS: Welp. Time to set up a bobblehead night. See ya, Anthony. [he tips a fedora - for some reason - at Torre and walks out whistling "More Human Than Human."]

*There is little to no valuable information for Astros fans in Jon Heyman's new Inside Baseball column.

*Jeff Passan talked to a bunch of scouts who said Shohei Ohtani's bat isn't MLB-ready.

*Cool story in The Athletic by Rob Biertempfel about Former Astros Great Jason Martin (traded for Current Astros Great Gerrit Cole) and the Astros' emphasis on launch angles throughout the minors. Martin:
When I first got drafted (8th Round: 2013), power wasn't part of my game. I wasn't thinking about launch angle. Over the last couple of years, the Astros have enforced that with all of their hitters, making little modifications to their swings to get the ball in the air.

*Rob Longley writes in the Toronto Sun about Lourdes Gurriel - Yulieski's brother - and getting his inspiration from Yuli and the Astros. Lourdes Gurriel:
It's something I'm really proud of and amazing - last game to spend the time with him and celebrated and do all that with him and my family. It was something I will never forget. 

Shoutout to his Arizona Fall League team for letting him miss a couple of games to go to the World Series.

*Jerry Crasnick writes that the A's aren't nearly as boring as you think.

*SI True Crime: The Mariners' attempt to fix a pitcher resulted in his becoming a sneaker crime lord.