The Astros' "Ground Control" database is essential for the club's day-to-day operations, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Featuring contract information, scouting reports, stats and tools such as a trade analzyer, the system is used by baseball operations staff for all decisions. Mike Elias, the Astros' amateur scouting director, is partial to Ground Control's scheduling interface. "I can see all the cross-checkers and scouts, and we can see where everyone's going to be," he says. "We've got every college and high school game in the country loaded in there, and we can mix and match." Here are more late-night Major League links:
- The public's perception of Carlos Beltran as a Met — injury-prone, bad in the clutch — doesn't reflect reality, writes the New York Post's Joel Sherman.
- In a separate column, Sherman offers his choices for MLB's top storylines in 2014. The return of Ryan Braun headlines a list that also includes Bud Selig's final season as commissioner and the debut of Tony Clark as head of the Player's Association.
- Bud Norris "would seem like a logical choice" among players that could be dealt if the Orioles add another starter, such as Ervin Santana, speculates Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun. Norris currently projects as the club's fifth starter. Schmuck writes that there appears to be no major obstacles to signing Santana, outside of convincing him to choose the O's over the Blue Jays.
CitizenSnips
I’ve never understood the shortsightedness of some of my fellow Met fans regarding Beltran. He was a great player with some very good seasons including one fantastic one.
Mil8Ball
Ryan Braun is going to be a story line for a month tops. Then after everyone realizes he is still “Ryan Braun” it won’t be much of a story line.
Though whether or not he goes to the All Star Game might be an interesting one. While he will be forever snubbed on the fan vote we have yet to see how managers will react when making their reserve picks.
BananaMonster
Over/Under Ryan Braun fantasy draft cost in auction leaues: $25.5 I’ll take the over but I’m hoping to get him under $30 which could be a steal
Jeffy25
Beltran is really judged incredibly unfairly by mets fans.
Because of one strike out, and because his second to last season there he was hurt.
He is one of the best mets of all time.
Tom 22
Any real Mets fan knows that, but it’s sad that that’s our last post season moment, all that promise, all that talent, all that money, the last of it amounted to just that one strikeout. That’s all that era brought us, there was just too much hope and promise for it. If we win again I’m sure more people will realize how good a Met Beltran was, but our current downward spiral has just been far too long, it’ll likely have taken a decade for the Mets to be relevant again.
There’s only one knock a Mets fan can have against Beltran, and it was how badly he wanted to be a Yankee. Anything else is unfair, he gave us his knees.
Spencer Smith
Astros fans know his value!
Dock_Elvis
Astros are heading toward being the AL version of the Cardinals. Seeing good times ahead.
Spencer Smith
2017 will be the real arrival. We’ll see glimpses by next year, but the ‘stros take the division in 2017.
Dock_Elvis
I saw both Appel and Correia play last season and they are both extremely legit. Appel was untouchable and put up an mlb start worthy performance the night I saw him. He’s legit #1 starter. Correia looks like a young A-Rod… not sure he has that power… but it’ll be there
Dock_Elvis
Astros are heading toward being the AL version of the Cardinals. Seeing good times ahead.
rct 2
Nice of Sherman to to try to correct the public perception of Beltran when for years he was one of the ones creating that public perception.
Spencer Smith
Is Bud really that bad? I know we weren’t sad to see him go from the Astros, but he can’t even crack a rotation for a team that just gave up prospects for him?