Well alright then. If it's Tuesday morning, it's 66 days until the Astros play the Nationals in Game 8, to be held in West Palm Beach. It's 100 days until the 2020 Season Opener against the Los Angeles Rendons of Anaheim.
*The Astros addressed part of their bullpen issue by signing Joe Smith to a 2yr/$8m deal. Smith:
We're going to be good. We've got, obviously, our lineup, but I think our bullpen is going to be really solid, and we're solid defensively. Starting pitching, we still have Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke and are still going to be a really good team.
The Astros were poised to lose Will Harris, Joe Smith, and Collin McHugh, who threw a total of 159.2IP in 2019. Smith threw 25IP thanks to an Achilles tear about this time last year that held him out until July. Smith will be in his Age 36 and 37 seasons over the duration of his deal.
As Alyson Footer writes in the aforementioned link, staying in Houston goes far beyond baseball for Smith and his wife, Allie LaForce, as they've made relationships with area doctors in their journey towards starting a family before the possibility of Smith inheriting Huntington's Disease.
*Jake Kaplan runs down what the re-addition of Smith means for the bullpen, and how the Astros will address their Catcher and Starting Pitcher issue. Kaplan says that Smith's re-signing "all but eliminates" a reunion with Will Harris, a decision with which I do not agree, as Will Harris is Elite.
*Kaplan also has a post-scandal mailbag.
*There's a new Lima Time Time episode.
*The Angels trade involving the overpaid Zack Cozart and their 2019 1st Round pick to the Giants provided a blueprint for the Astros for trading Reddick.
*Gerrit Cole is in New York and already looks like a damn hostage.
*Speaking of Former Astros Greats, the Reds have apparently signed Wade Miley to a 2yr/$15m deal with an option for a 3rd year that can bring it to $24m. Good for Wade Miley, who was fantastic until precisely September 5.
2020 will be Wade Miley's 10th year in MLB. He will have pitched for seven different teams, an impressive rate.
*The Rangers traded for Corey Kluber and "the gap" between the Astros and everyone else "has shrunk" in the "AL" "West." This may be true and, after three years of utter destruction, I'm kind of looking forward to interesting division games after the All-Star Break.
*Yahoo's Tim Brown: Why some MLB execs think a leaner minor-league system is better for Baseball. Toronto Blue Jays President/CEO Mark Shapiro:
This is my life. I'm living this. I've lived it for 30 years. I'm never going to go toe to toe with him on domestic policy. But I will go toe to toe with Bernie Sanders on professional baseball.
*The bat Babe Ruth used to hit his 500th home run just sold at auction for more than $1m.
*A lot of the humans who keep Google and YouTube free of violent extremism now have PTSD. The Verge with "The Terror Queue."
*Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi's India.
*Freakin' Leeds United blew a 3-0 lead against Cardiff at home in the last 30 minutes on Saturday. They play 6th-Place Fulham on the 21st.
*A Musical Selection:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
