If you missed Justin Verlander’s tweets last night, stay tuned - we’ll break it all down as best we can coming up at 9 AM CST as a special feature segment kicking off a six part series called “Reading Between The Seams.” Suffice to say it is...revelatory.
Moving on...let’s get right to the action, starting off by continuing our shiny new “Tag’s Tweets” mini segment, shall we? Go follow Brian McTaggart on Twitter, if you don’t already, by clicking this blue button:
Tag’s Tweets
Tony Kemp on his diving catch being SportsCenter Top 10's No. 1 play yesterday, ahead of James Harden pic.twitter.com/208eaLAFod
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Former Astros bench coach Alex Cora on his first game against his former team as Red Sox manager. pic.twitter.com/SBWki2Kj3B
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Hinch on Armenteros, who's got a great chanegup and a ton of confidence: "I've been impressed with is overall maturity and his presence. ... I think he'll pitch in the big leagues this year."
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Hinch and Cora exchange lineups, handshakes and pleasantries pic.twitter.com/jWbp61imDC
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Morton threw two scoreless innings in his first start of the spring, allowing two hits. He threw 24 pitches (17 strikes).
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Collin McHugh gave up three runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Charlie Morton, y'all pic.twitter.com/tWWNvqEWqp
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Tyler White hit a two-run double to left field. He got caught in a rundown between second and third, but made it back to second.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
That's three homers for Kyle Tucker.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Astros manager A.J. Hinch discusses Morton, Sipp, Tucker and more post game. pic.twitter.com/ZZxAuwZkKm
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Kyle Tucker talks about plate discipline. pic.twitter.com/FxdInMiMBh
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 1, 2018
Chris Devenski and Robert Ford at Astroline pic.twitter.com/5LJat5Gaa2
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 2, 2018
And a bonus from Alyson Footer (though Tags retweeted it) that discusses briefly the absolute best part of the Astros broadcast yesterday:
Alex Bregman, on the Astros telecast, says he’s going to clean up his road suits this season. New year, new look: less used-car salesman; more solid-color professional.
— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) March 1, 2018
Astros News
The stud prospect slugged his third home run and made the “Top Prospect Performers” post on mlb.com. Here, go on and watch it again, if you missed it:
Astros single-game tickets on sale Friday
Bring all the money.
Thirst for first: Competition heating up for Astros
Davis, Reed, White vying to fill in for Gurriel early in regular season
With few spots left with Astros, players going all out to catch attention
The Astros roster is pretty much set. Few spots are available. So for those looking to break through, every day is an opportunity.
Morton rides adrenaline in strong spring debut
Game 7 hero goes 2 scoreless; Sipp tosses 1-2-3 inning vs. Red Sox
Former star Jeff Bagwell among guest instructors at Astros camp
Inducted into the Hall in 2017, Bagwell is among a list of Houston guest instructors, along with Biggio and pitcher Nolan Ryan, scheduled to appear in camp during the coming weeks.
Around The League
We X-Rayed Some MLB Baseballs. Here’s What We Found.
Some seminal reading on the “juiced balls” theory that’s moving ever closer to verified fact. This piece seemed to prompt the tweets from Justin Verlander last night that will be the subject of a separate piece at 9 AM CST this morning here on TCB.
Eno Sarris: Would signing Jake Arrieta give the Nationals the best rotation in baseball?
(Subscription to the Athletic required and highly recommended) Eno Sarris takes a look at whether a Jake Arrieta signing would give the Washington Nationals the best rotation in the sport.
For anyone who needs a good laugh at the expense of the Texas Rangers.
Hope for MLBPA: Tony Clark’s state of (the players’) union visit engages Pirates’ newbies
(Subscription to the Athletic required and highly recommended) Keeping abreast of the ongoing drama with the MLBPA.
Latest Rumors And Rumblings On Jake Arrieta, Other Top MLB Free Agents
Forbes takes a look at the remaining free agents and rumors.
(Subscription to the Athletic required and highly recommended) A truly, truly wonderful profile of a young Phillies player named Roman Quinn and his family. Cool piece.
Who’s left? Odd trend for AL hitters examined
A really interesting piece from mlb.com that looks at the strange dearth of elite left-handed hitting in the American League. Astros fans might interpret this to support the notion that the team carrying a dedicated, dominant LOOGY (lefty one out guy, for the uninitiated) in the pen is not, strictly speaking, necessary.
A Side Effect of the Super-Team Era
Fans of super teams - like Astros fans - will likely find this piece just as interesting as fans of the other teams.
Taylor: Let’s root for a Tim Lincecum comeback, but be prepared to realize he may have nothing left
(Subscription to the Athletic required and highly recommended) Another look at the Lince-comeback.
Slow Market Likely Means Record March Spending
Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors takes a look at the potential for record-breaking March spending in the weirdest MLB offseason in history.
Ohtani may DH more than originally expected
Scioscia won’t rule out phenom hitting on days before and after pitching
The Next Big Thing in Defense?
A really interesting look at an aggressive and somewhat radical (though not unprecedented) defensive strategy that the Phillies are employing that seems like it might catch on writ large.
Eno Sarris: Did the Diamondbacks get lucky last year?
(Subscription to the Athletic required and highly recommended) No team outperformed their projections, as a group, as much as the Diamondbacks last year.
Predicting every team’s likeliest award winner
This is a fun piece by Anthony Castrovince at mlb.com.
A conversation with the Angels’ Justin Upton: On hitting, stats, and the end of free-agent courting
(Subscription to the Athletic required and highly recommended) After the 2015 season, Justin Upton was one of the last players to sign a free-agent contract. After the 2017 season, he was the first.
Even the Rays Can Get a Billion Dollar TV Deal
TV deals are still a hot mess, hit-or-miss crapshoot.