Astros Crawfish Boil: October 17, 2023

Welcome to the Tuesday Boil.

Houston Astros

Rosenthal: Yordan Alvarez’s home runs show Astros’ willingness to fight to the end (The Athletic)

Yordan Alvarez Builds His Legend With Incredible Flu Game, But the Astros Are Threatening to Turn Him Into Jerry West (PaperCity Magazine)

Old but more than old school, Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy shining as MLB’s oldest managers (AP News)

Houston restaurants offer deals for Astros postseason bids (Chron.com)

For Astros, there’s no place like ... the road?

AL West News

2023/24 MLB Free Agency Rankings for the Seattle Mariners (BVM Sports)

Letters to the Editor: Dodger fans, it could be worse. You could love the Angels (LA Times)

Mike Trout trade rumors: Dodgers and Giants favorites to acquire Angels’ superstar (NBC LA)

Mariners Mailbag: What Does Shohei Ohtani Want and What Will He Get? (11Alive.com)

Trevor May retires from A’s with message for ‘dork’ owner John Fisher: ‘Sell the team, dude’ (Yahoo Sports)

Rangers head home with commanding ALCS lead

Ever seen a hit-by-pitch turn into a cartwheel?

Just how good is Texas’ 7-0 start to this postseason?

MLB News

Phillies’ Nick Castellanos Joins ‘Mr. October’ with Fifth Postseason Homer (Sports Illustrated)

Bryce born for (and in!) October. So are these Phillies

Phils (3 HRs) set powerful NLCS tone right from get-go

Travis Kelce & Jason Kelce embrace their NLCS era at Game 1 in Philly

D-backs confident ‘we’re going to show up’ after Game 1 loss

Will Philly crowd control the narrative again? 3 keys for NLCS G2

Schwarber’s 1st-pitch homer sets postseason leadoff mark

Houston Astros Birthdays

CF Myles Straw (29), now in his third year with the Cleveland Guardians nee Indians, played for Houston from 2018 through the 2021 trade deadline. If you remember little else, this is the guy for whom we procured Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. Although Straw won the 2022 AL Gold Glove in CF, I think it’s pretty fair to paint a picture of Houston coming out of that particular transaction on top. In 196 games for the Astros, Straw hit a better-than-you-remember .256, but his .068 ISO would tell you he was not as good for extra-base hits. He did steal 33 bases in 41 attempts while with the team.

RHP Rafael Montero (33) was gained by Houston at the same trade deadline, in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. Kendall Graveman also came over, costing Joe Smith and Abraham Toro in return. Since joining Houston, he’s gone 8-6 with a 3.56 ERA, 157 K’s in 141 ²⁄₃ innings, a 1.256 WHIP, and a 3.50 FIP. He’s taken a little flack in our GT’s and Boils over the past year since signing a three-year, $34.5 million deal.

Middle infielder Edwin Maysonet (42) was Houston’s 19th-round choice in 2003 out of Delta State. In 46 games for the Astros in 2008 and 2009, he slashed .276/.317/.342 with seven RBI.

C Chris Tremie (54) appeared in 10 games for the 1995 White Sox, two games for the 1998 Rangers, and nine games for the 1999 Pirates. The major league portion of his long professional baseball career culminated with one appearance for Houston in 2004. To wit, that was on September 21 of that season. Tremie was a defensive replacement at catcher in the eighth inning of a 9-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. He did not get to make a plate appearance with the team.