Saturday Liftoff Links

While the Astros were opening a series against the Braves, I was pondering the days when this series used to be a good rivalry, then I put together these links together.

Fixing the Astros

Ultimate Astros " Justice: Berkman has plenty of advice for new Astros owner
Richard Justice is at it again, he talks with Lance Berkman about what needs to be done to fix the Astros. It's easy to say in a conversation, but more difficult to execute than it's made out to be.

How not to solve the Astros’ problems | HardballTalk
Craig Calcaterra has an interesting response to Justice's article.

Is Billy Beane tired of the Oakland mess yet? - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN
Ken Rosenthal thinks with some GM jobs opening up next season it may be time he moves on to a team with more room for error.

These are Your Soon to be Astros

Ultimate Astros " How to watch Astros draft picks in NCAA super regionals
Zachary Levine gives details on where you can watch the players drafted by the Astros. I'll also add that Morgan Ensberg is calling games for the Vanderbilt vs Orgeon State series, so be sure to check that out.

Ultimate Astros " Astros sign second-round draft choice Houser
In case you missed the Astros have signed second round selection Adrian Houser and will be sending him to the Gulf Coast League to begin his career. I'm excited that they signed Houser so soon to get his career going.

Statistics

Evaluating catchers: Quantifying the framing pitches skill
Max estimates the impact a catcher can have by framing pitches effectively. If you download the excel sheet with the rankings you'll find something surprising. Jason Castro is well above average and J.R. Towles is well below average, but that's not the surprising part. Brad Ausmus is only slightly above average and Humberto Quintero is slightly below average. Both are close enough to 0 that they could both be considered only average.