Author: Chip Bailey
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FREE BLOG WEEKEND: Trades, rules and questions
Hello friends, it’s a Free Blog Weekend, the tradition that began over a decade ago at the Chronicle. Today, you can take the discussion where you want, but I’ll get it started with a few thoughts. How do you like that trade now? The Astros have made quite a few eye-opening, head-scratching trades in the…
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Luhnow, Astros sharpening after Christmas shopping list
Somehow the Astros’ off season just doesn’t seem to be complete. Something tells me Jeff Luhnow has some after-Christmas shopping left to do, though the bargains may not be as plentious as shopping at Macy’s and J.C. Penneys. He probably sharpened his pencil after Christmas dinner and crossed through some things, underlined other items and…
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Nothing’s changed: Pitching and defense still wins baseball games
In football, if you can’t run the football and play defense, you aren’t going to win many games. In hockey, a strong goalie — or not — often defines your win-loss record. In baseball, it’s pitching and defense. History is replete with examples of great hitting teams that run up against good pitching and fall…
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Untouchables: Ranking the Astros’ core and nucleus
Most valuable? Most difficult to replace? Most sought after? Untouchables? Available? Houston has a long list of players that other teams covet. There are some that could be pried loose and others who aren’t going anywhere. But which players are the most coveted and which ones might be available are probably in the eye of…
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Free Blog Weekend: Backwards thinking, drools and futures
It’s Friday and if you’ve been around these parts for long, you’ve come to expect a Free Blog Weekend from time to time. It’s a tradition that emanates from my radio background when the old DJ used to offer Open Mic Friday and anyone could chime in on any subject they wanted. In other words,…
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Are sabermetrics sucking the life out of America’s past time?
Recently on these pages, a new stat was introduced to followers that apparently is “all that” in ranking pitchers. Over the past decade, sabermetrics and sabermetricians have become as popular as flies on a cow’s tail, and while many of those stats may have merit, those of us old schoolers are often pessimistic, skeptical and…
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Astros’ orbit: Spending moves budget into all-time high…already
This time last year, the Astros were involved in what was a ho-hum off-season. Houston had just non-tendered Chris Carter, traded Hank Conger to the Rays for cash, and Jeff Luhnow was about to make his biggest splash of the winter, trading former #1 Mark Appel, Vince Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer and others for Ken Giles.…
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How does that Astros’ 2017 World Series prediction look now?
Any questions you may have had previously about Jim Crane putting up the money and any questions about whether Jeff Luhnow could spend it wisely should be out the door for the time being. Those soothsayers and prognosticators about the Astros’ World Series chances in 2017 look a lot smarter this morning too. When you…
ALL THINGS ASTROS 