Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu

Let's kick off the day with links…

• Yahoo's David Brown caught up with Pedro Martinez as part of his Answer Man series.
• Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes about the Astros' mistake of ignoring pitching.
• Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle notes that the Michael Bourn–Brad Lidge swap no longer looks lopsided.  The Astros sent Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to Philly for Bourn, Geoff Geary, and Mike Costanzo in November of 2007.
• Rany Jazayerli has an open letter to Royals owner David Glass regarding the Dayton Moore extension.
• Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times writes about Bobby Abreu's influence on the Angels' other hitters.  In the article, Abreu says, "I definitely want to come back."
• Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the legend of Garrett Jones.  The 28 year-old Rookie of the Year contender has crushed 18 home runs in 237 plate appearances.  What kind of numbers do you see him putting up next year?
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that Johnny Damon makes more sense for the Yankees next year than Hideki Matsui.