Random Notes
The Astros were off yesterday. Their next off-day is next Monday. This week's schedule:
Tue-Thu: at Cleveland
Fri-Sun: vs. Seattle
Houston has 55 games remaining. 26 of them are against teams above .500:
Cleveland (3)
Oakland (8)
Anaheim (10)
Tampa (3)
Milwaukee (2)
18 of the 26 remaining games against teams above .500 (prior to the games of July 29) are with Oakland and Anaheim, against whom the Astros are a combined 15-5.
Since losing seven in a row between Toronto, Cincinnati, and New York, the Astros are 20-9 with a collective .283/.355/.496 slash line and a 3.83 ERA / 1.23 WHIP with a 3.31 K:BB ratio. They good.
Astros News
*Jake Marisnick lost his appeal, because Joe Torre and MLB are spineless. He will sit tonight and tomorrow, and the Astros will just play a man down.
*Forrest Whitley will start for Fayetteville again tonight.
*The Athletic's Jon Greenberg ($) wrote up a profile of Tri-City manager Ozney Guillen and the future of the modern MLB manager. It's a really good read.
Trade Stuff
The Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 3pm Central.
*Jake Kaplan ($): The Astros tend to hold on to prospects like Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley. Is that the right plan this Deadline?
*The Astros and Brewers are in on Arizona's Robbie Ray. The Brewers also acquired Former Astros Great Jordan Lyles.
*The Mets are shopping both Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard. FanGraphs: The Case for Noah Syndergaard.
*As you know, the Mets have acquired Marcos Stroman. Stroman was apparently so upset that he wasn't traded to the Yankees, Red Sox, or Astros that the clubhouse was closed while he vented. Stroman is smart and says he's excited to be a Met.
Between STRO-MAN becoming a Met, and David Price's dog ASTRO going to Boston, I'm starting to think that there's nothing to read into these perfect coincidences. The Mets also traded Jason Vargas to the division rival Phillies, for a 25-year old catcher hitting .195 in his 2nd year at Double-A, but who went to school with Jeff Wilpon's son. Ultimately, the Mets are not smart. On a scale of usefulness, Tampons > Wilpons. The Inestimable David J. Roth: A Working Theory Of What The Mets Are Doing.
*The Red Sox are discussing Mets reliever Edwin Diaz. Mike Petriello: Why Edwin Diaz is still in high demand.
Minor League Stuff
*Round Rock was off yesterday.
*Corpus won in 10 innings, 7-6. Abraham Toro was 3x5 with a double and 2HR/4RBI. J.B. Bukauskas threw 4.2IP, 3H/3ER, 4K:5BB. In his last four starts: 21.2IP, 13H/5ER, 26K:12BB. Erasmo Pinales threw 2IP and allowed 0H/0ER, 6K:2BB.
*Quad Cities lost to Beloit 11-3. Not much of note in this one.
*Fayetteville was off yesterday.
*Tri-City was off yesterday.
Other Stuff
*What happens when a veteran reporter makes a mistake in a post-game interview after just watching her sister die? Plot Twist: People are absolutely terrible.
*15 Days of Fury: How Puerto Rico's Government Collapsed.
*GQ: The Business of Sleep.
*Texas Monthly: It only took a handful of people to wrongly convict Ed Ates of murder. It took an army to free him from prison. Now comes the hard part.
*A College dropout, bed-ridden for 11 years, invented a surgery and cured himself.
*Parents are giving up custody of their kids in order to qualify for need-based scholarships and tuition-assistance. This country is fan...[kisses bunched fingers]...tastic.
*A Musical Selection:
