Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros were off last night. Last night was a Friday night. You have to go all the way back to September 1, 2017 to find a Friday night during the regular season that the Astros didn't play. There was a storm, or something. The Astros traded for Justin Verlander the night before so maybe that's what it was. Friday nights in May with no baseball should not happen. The next scheduled off-day is Thursday, May 16.

*I am lost. Let's do an off-day playoff odds check.

-FanGraphs (98-64): 95.8% to win AL West, 97.8% to make the playoffs, 21.4% to win the World Series.
-FiveThirtyEight (98-64): 84% to win AL West, 91% to make the playoffs, 18% to win the World Series.
-Baseball Prospectus (96-66): 93.4% to win AL West, 96.7% to make the playoffs, 20.8% to win the World Series. (note this site had not updated since Friday morning as of 6:57am on Saturday).

*Brian McTaggart has your Mexico Series FAQ. There is rain in the Monterrey forecast for both Saturday and Sunday.

*From Chandler Rome: Roberto Osuna remains a polarizing figure for the Astros. Stay for the part where Luhnow addresses for the "communication strategy" of the team's Zero Tolerance Policy and read about the organization's efforts to support victims of domestic violence.

*Derek Fisher will be the 26th Man on the roster for the Astros' series against the Angels in Monterrey.

*Two nights ago Kyle Tucker was *wink* a triple shy of the cycle in a 6RBI performance, and has hit five home runs in his last eight games. Click the link to make the shocking discovery that there's more to talent than Batting Average. Round Rock hitting coach Ben Rosenthal:
It's what we all know he is capable of on a regular basis...It's definitely impressive, especially when he keeps it simple and squares up a plus fastball.

🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/01OaUijVtz

— Forrest Whitley (@ForrestWhitley) May 2, 2019

*Fayetteville's Jake Adams reflected on his last month, and the new Woodpeckers stadium.

*Make sure you take a look at Jeff Blogwell's new series: Commercial Critiques.

*Corey Kluber is going to be out for a while.

*Chicago's Kyle Hendricks threw an 81-pitch CGSHO. Fewest pitches in a CGSHO since 2012.

*Buster Olney: Madison Bumgarner is back, imagine what he could do in a pennant race. [casts eyes towards Minute Maid Park]

*With all the hand-wringing about attendance in baseball (check this picture from the last play of the Arlington game last night), the Astros are 4th in the AL in home attendance, at 422,112 fans per game. Since the Astros have only played two games at home this season, that's 211,056 fans per game. Wait, it's 32,470 fans per home game, down from the 36,796 the 2018 Astros averaged. Probably because of all the giveaways.

*The ties between the Kentucky Derby and the Bourbon Boom. Like anyone needed a horse to find out that Bourbon is actually magic.

*Five years after the passing of Tony Gwynn, his legacy lives on. I worked at the Baseball Hall of Fame from 2006-2009. Tony Gwynn is legitimately the nicest player I met. I hope I can find the cigar box with our picture at some point.

*Shoutout to our friends at Bravado Spice, sponsors of the wildly popular podcast that all the cool kids who wear denim jackets and smoke cigarettes listen to - Lima Time Time, who will have their amazing sauces in Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

*I am 100% pro-Tim Anderson.

*NY Times: "Someone is always trying to kill you."

*There aren't many writers whose every word I will absolutely consume, especially sports writers. Wright Thompson is the exception. Here are his words on Liverpool.

*The Outline: You can't beat an unwinnable game, but you can break it.

*A Musical Selection: