Friday's Three Astros Things

Some things to talk about while the Astros gorge on In-N-Out burgers...

1) Julio Lugo in the news again

Former Astros shortstop got into some trouble on Thursday. He was charged with some pretty serious crimes. From DRaysBay:

Lugo's arrest warrant was issued in the cities of La Romana and Santo Domingo for kidnapping and the posession of fire arms. According to the paper, Lugo and four men held their hostage and his girlfriend at gunpoint, demanding money that had allegedly been invested in a business venture.

A rough translation of the article includes how Lugo had, "always been willing to talk about it, assuring him that the money invested in the company, as well as that of other investors, was sure."

Back when the Astros signed Brett Myers, I called them hypocritical for the way they treated Lugo while waiving away Myers past. It was probably a little much, as multiple sane people pointed out.

If the Astros weren't hypocritical, Drayton McLane damn sure was. He signed off on both deals, making a statement on one and waiving it away with the other. That sort of typifies Drayton's entire ownership. Something is okay one time, then against the rules another, then back on the table again.

Given how domestic violence is handled by the NFL, it's refreshing to see the Astros make the right choice in retrospect.

Lugo went on to play in the majors after he was released. That's why the Rays site is covering this latest incident. What would have happened if Lugo did what he did in the current environment? Would the Rays have so readily signed him? Should they have?

2) Manfred on draft medicals

Evan Drellich picked up this quote from Rob Manfred, when baseball's new commissioner talked to a group of sports editors in New York on Thursday. Manfred mentioned the medical information for draft prospects and how baseball would like it disseminated to all clubs prior to the draft.

"We want medical information to be made available to all clubs before the draft," Manfred said to a group of sports editors in New York. "We have not been able to get the players association to accept that (in the collective bargaining agreement, which expires after the 2016 season).

Right now, the NFL and NBA hold combines in part to collect this data. Both times, the league pays to gather a certain number of draft-eligible players together and let doctors evaluate them. In the NFL, this data is available to every team. In the NBA, it's kept more of a secret, with players sharing it only with teams they like.

Baseball doesn't even have that. Would it have kept the Astros from drafting Brady Aiken? Maybe. They could have seen the problem with his elbow then, since it sounds like it was uncovered during a routine evaluation.

And yet, as Manfred points out, the MLBPA is fighting this, even though the members it's fighting for aren't even in the union yet.

This is a sticky issue and should be one of the more contentious parts of the next CBA negotiation. It's worth watching.

3) Astros No. 1

In the SweetSpot rankings from earlier this week, that is. Many of you have already mentioned this, but for those who haven't seen it, here's David Shoenfeld on the Astros run atop the AL West.

The last time the Astros were in first place after the first two days of the season? April 20, 2007, when they were 9-6 and led the NL Central by half a game. That was the only day they led the division that year. So April of 2006 was the last time the Astros led their division two days in a row.

With every day, their power grows. Wire to wire, baby. Wire to wire.