Spring Break Eve lllllleeettttttssss ggggggooooo. The Astros got a dominant pitching performance and a dominant Kyle Tucker outbreak to beat the Red Sox, who - any day now, I'm sure, will receive their own cheating punishment which will undoubtedy lead to a level of reactionary vitriol inly surpassed by the 2017 Houston Astros, 5-0.
-Josh James threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB. Faced the minimum and hit 98mph.
-Framber Valdez threw 2IP, 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-Bryan Abreu threw 2IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:0BB
-Kyle Tucker was 3x3 with 2RBI on a double and a home run.
Springer, Altuve, Correa, and Bregman did not make the trip to Fort Myers. Was that part of Dusty's plan?
Hell no. That was the furthest thing from my mind.
Myles Straw scored from Second Base on a fielder's choice.
Dusty, on Josh Big Flames James:
I'm telling you, he's focused. He wants to take a job. We're giving him every opportunity. He's looking good, he's looking real good.
In that link, we also find that:
-2019 2nd Round pick Grae Kessinger is ready to go for his first full year.
-Yordan's knees are officially a Dusty Concern
-Brad Peacock threw 15 pitches off a mound
-The Astros are thinking about Coronavirus.
*McTaggart has a Q&A with GM James Click. Click:
The focus has been, obviously, on some stuff off the field, but it's the crack of the bat, it's the pop of the glove. It's spring. It's baseball. I hope that once we get to Opening Day or even before that, [we] start focusing on the field and remember the rebirth that comes every year with baseball and get excited about this team that is going to compete for a championship.
*Former Astros Great Collin McHugh signed a 1yr/$600K deal that could reach $3.625m with incentives with the Red Sox. He's recovering from a flexor strain and hasn't started throwing yet. McHugh is expected to be ready to go around June. That would have been such a low-risk move by the Astros, but I guess you have to keep an eye on what tier over the CBA you'll be. That said, if you can't find $600,000 for a guy that has done literally whatever you asked for the last three seasons
*The Astros opened the Bob Watson Education Center.
*2017 4th Round pick Peter Solomon just missed the Astros' Top 30 Prospects list. Solomon threw 7.2IP in 2019 before blowing out his elbow and needing Tommy John. He's probably done until the end of 2020, but has struck out 128 (and walked 36) batters in 109.1IP.
*Joe Torre doesn't think opposing pitchers will intentionally target Astros hitters. Torre:
I have more trust in baseball than that...Getting angry or trying to get even, to me, it doesn't get you anywhere. You're on the field to try to win ballgames and get to the postseason, and I certainly expect that teams will be more concerned about winning games than trying to get a pound of flesh.
I think that's true. But what if the game is well out of reach (for either team)? Bregman is up to bat with the Astros ahead/behind by nine runs?
*Really odd story out of Anaheim: the Angels fired their visiting clubhouse manager "after he provided illegal substances to visiting pitchers to Angels Stadium." This dude has been the visiting clubhouse manager for the Angels for literally 30 years.
*J.D. Martinez hates the idea of banning in-game video access.
*Christian Yelich has apparently finalized his deal through 2029 worth $228.5m.
For comparison's sake:
Yelich (28 years old): 920 games, .301/.383/.492, 139 HR/500 RBI.
Springer (30 years old): 744 games, .270/.361/.488, 160 HR/426 RBI.
*Check ESPN's over/unders on Astros 2020 All-Stars, total games by Stanton/Judge, Gerrit Cole's strikeouts, etc.
*USA Today's Bob Nightengale thinks Thursday's Dodgers/A's Spring Training game could be a 2020 World Series preview. -.-
*Sam Miller: The days of Tanking might just be over.
*This complete dumbass 23-year old Twitter Toughguy sent "hundreds of threatening messages" on Twitter to various professional and college athletes.
*Freedom is on the decline worldwide.
*She hid from the Mafia for decades, now she helps people fight back.
*A Musical Selection:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith