Carlos Beltran Returns To Astros In Very Different Role

The last time Carlos Beltran shared a team with Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch they were playing together with the Royals in 2002.

Muskoka Region

Astros Name Doug White Pitching Coordinator, Jeff Albert Hitting Coordinator, Dan Radison Fundmentals Coordinator, Rachel Balkovec Latin American Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Ben Rosenthal Single-A Quad Cities Hitting Coach, Cesar Cedeno Short-Season Rookie-Level Greeneville Hitting Coach, & Jose Rada Short-Season Rookie-Level GCL Pitching Coach

The Houston Astros announced today their minor league staff for the 2017 season.

Houston Official Site

Nate Robertson, Jack Wilson, Rick Ankiel, Koyie Hill & Brad Penny To Play For Roger Clemens In 2016 National Baseball Congress World Series

Spend enough time in the company of former major-league baseball players and someone is bound to know Roger Clemens.

Wichita Eagle

Colby Rasmus Scratched From Astros' Lineup With Upset Stomach

Evan Drellich Twitter

Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus was scratched from the lineup prior to Thursday's game against the Nationals after showing up to Astros camp with an upset stomach.
Houston Official Site

Dyar Miller, Jeff Albert, Doug White, Ace Adams, Jeff Murphy, Dan Radison, Tom Lawless, Ramon Vazquez, & Cesar Cedeno Receive Assignment For Astros' Minors

The Houston Astros announced today the minor league coordinators, medical staff and field staffs for the 2015 season.

Houston Official Site

Jeff Luhnow Expresses Confidence In Astros' Coaches

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said no decision has been made whether any members of the coaching staff would return next year, but he did give a vote of confidence to hitting coaches John Mallee and Ralph Dickenson, third-base coach Pat Listach, first-base coach Tarrik Brock and pitching coach Brent Strom.

Houston Official Site

Tom Lawless Named Astros' Interim Manager

The Astros dismissed manager Bo Porter on Monday afternoon, and when general manager Jeff Luhnow met with the media a few hours later he made it clear that he thinks a new direction is needed.

Houston Official Site

Chris Carpenter & Ryan Franklin To Represent Cardinals At 2014 MLB Draft

St. Louis Official Twitter

From heyday to someday.
St. Louis Official Site

Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman Officially Retire As Astros

Even if they hadn't signed one-day contracts in order to officially retire as Houston Astros, was there really ever a doubt which to which team Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt would forever be tied?

Houston Official Site

Rollie Fingers, Ozzie Smith, David Eckstein, Kerry Robinson, Reggie Sanders, & Jack Wilson To Participate In Hall of Fame Classic

Seventy-five years ago, baseball’s biggest stars came to Cooperstown for a late-spring celebration of the National Pastime.

Baseball Hall Of Fame

Jeff Albert Promoted To Hitting Coordinator For Minor Leagues

Jeff Albert was promoted to the Astros hitting coordinator for their minor leagues as part of staff assignments announced today by the Astros.

Ultimate Houston

Take Five On The Cardinals

Take five on the Cardinals:

Bernie Bytes

Indians Release Adam Everett

Indians infielder Adam Everett cleared waivers Thursday and was released, the club has announced.

Indians Official Site

Indians Designate Adam Everett For An Assignment

Jordan Bastian Twitter

Lance Berkman Returns To Houston Amid Criticism

A smiling Lance Berkman was back in familiar surroundings on Tuesday afternoon, even if he was wearing a different shade of red and across the field in a different dugout.

Cardinals Official Site

Future Shock: The Disappearing Defensive Prospects

Adam Dunn is finally a designated hitter this year, an inevitability that would have occurred years ago had he played with American League teams that didn't have to worry about hiding his defensive inefficiencies at first base or a corner outfield slot. Dunn is hardly the first bat-only player to be worth big money, and he'll hardly be the last.

Baseball Prospectus

Five Year Probabilistic Model Of Range: Shortstops

The long term fielding study continues with a look at shortstops. (See yesterday’s post for background.) The following table shows how the teams performed as a whole at the position over the last five years:

Baseball Musings

Dodgers Release Pat Borders

Baseball America

Indians Not Interested In Overpaying For Pedro Feliz

If the alternative is overpaying for a "bridge" guy like Pedro Feliz or Jorge Cantu, the Indians would rather open the season with Jayson Nix or Jason Donald until Chisenhall is ready to make the jump from Triple-A Columbus.

ESPN

Prospectus Perspective: Sorting Short?

One of the most over-worked tropes of the last three seasons has been the newly assigned importance of defense, as if fielding had been suddenly forgotten or overlooked or undervalued. Where there used to be the suggestion that much—perhaps too much—of sabermetrics was the art of documenting the previously observed, to some extent I wonder if these phenomena are more appropriately chalked up to the need to discover, as opposed to making real discoveries. After all, everyone likes being the first to notice something, and if there wasn't really anything there, well, it was news in 2008, so it has to be newsworthy, right?

Baseball Prospectus