Outside The Confines: We’re in the home stretch

I’ve got nothing.

• The Athletic has an excerpt from Evan Drellich’s upcoming book about the Astros sign-stealing scandal. (The Athletic. sub. req.) In it, Drellich reveals that former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow deleted information from his phone after MLB ordered the organization to preserve all data on their phones.
• If you don’t have an Athletic subscription, you can read another version of the story here from Matthew Kitchen and the Houston Chronicle.
• Buster Olney looks at the complicated legacy of Angels owner Arte Moreno (ESPN+ sub. req.) as Moreno prepares to sell the team.
• Bill Shaikin and Steve Henson have an FAQ on the Angels sale and who might buy the team. Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob and Los Angeles Rams (and a bunch of other teams) owner Stan Kroenke seem to be the favorites at the moment.
• Zach Crizer looks at the Angels future options with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout and how that might tie into any sale.
• R.J. Anderson has three general managers who are on the hot seat.
• David Schoenfield has ten storylines to watch out for for the rest of the season. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Bob Nightengale writes that the Cardinals are leading the NL Central thanks to two heists—the trades for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
• Ben Clemens also notes that Cardinals left-hander Jordan Montgomery has been the best pickup at the trade deadline this year.
• Bradford Doolittle examines how the new 12-team playoff format has impacted the 2023 season, both good and bad. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Doolittle also suggests a new 12-team format that would increase the good and decrease the bad in his mind.
• Gabe Lacques reports on the White Sox and asks if they can still overcome their “demons” and make the playoffs. “Demons” isn’t Lacques’ word. He’s quoting Liam Hendriks.
• Will Leitch has one awards candidate for all 30 teams.
• Jay Jaffe looks at Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor’s MVP-worthy 2023 season.
• The Dodgers got the “worst-case scenario” about their ace Walker Buehler as he indeed underwent his second Tommy John surgery. He’s probably out for all of 2023 at this point.
• The Phillies are getting good news as outfielder Bryce Harper is expected to be activated off the IL today. However, pitcher Zack Wheeler is going on it with right forearm tendonitis.
• Joon Lee looks at what the Yankees did right to sweep a two-game series with the Mets.
• Mark Feinsand has six stories that will dominate the offseason.
• Dan Szymborski looks at the season Giants pitcher Carlos Rodón is having and how he’s setting himself up for a huge free-agent payday this winter.
• Darren Hartwell argues that the Red Sox could try to sign Yankees slugger Aaron Judge this winter.
• Twins shortstop Carlos Correa has praised Minnesota and says he could envision playing for the Twins for “a long time.” But Dan Hays examines how realistic is that? (The Athletic. sub. req.)
• Peter Gammons thinks that baserunning is a lost art that Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts is still a master of. (The Athletic. sub. req.) Gammons thinks more teams should stress baserunning skills like Betts does.
• You probably know this already, but Cardinals Corey Dickerson had ten straight hits.
• Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz hit a single 122.4 miles per hour, which is the hardest velocity off the bat for anyone in the Statcast era.
• Matt Monagan explains what the song “Orioles Magic” is and how it may be coming back this year.
• Katie Woo has the story of the nine-year-old Cardinals fan who got Albert Pujols’ jersey at Wrigley Field this week. (The Athletic. sub. req.)
• And finally, we’ve covered Mets closer Edwin Díaz and his entrance song “Narco” by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet before. Well, on August 30, Timmy Trumpet will throw out the first pitch at Citi Field and if Díaz comes in the game, he’ll play “Narco” live in the stadium. I mean, you’ve got to get Díaz into the game now, don’t you?

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.