First in a series on the Astros 2014. Brian Todd explores first base. • •• ••• •• • What if I told you last season the Astros put up a batting line of .224/.316/.423 at first base? That’s an OPS of .739, which ranked 20th in the Major Leagues at the position. Bad? Yes. Horrible?…

Now that the Super Bowl teams have been determined and the Texans won’t be in the big game, Dan, Brian and Chip will begin a more in-depth look at the Astros starting this week. Position-by-position, player-by-player, we’ll start to sort out what the season may look like. Many of you will liken this exercise to…

The Astros locked up Jose Altuve last year with a long-term deal. Earlier this week, Houston avoided arbitration with Jason Castro on a one-year, $2.45 million contract. That shouldn’t come as a surprise as the ingredients and particulars are different with these two players. While most everyone would agree that a two or three year…

The new baseball replay rules could radically alter the game. Or not. Will it slow the game? It shouldn’t. Will it change the outcome of a game? It could. Will it get the call right? Sure, just like the NFL and other sports who use any type of replay. Is it a perfect system? No.…

Now that the new year is fully behind us, the Texans have a new coach and Astros’ pitchers and catchers report in about month (February 15), there are still a few matters on the immediate horizon. Here’s a quick update on approaching dates: January 17. Dates for teams to exchange arbitration numbers. It isn’t likely…

One of our most loyal bloggers, Becky, requested a free blog weekend and we are nothing if not responsive to our loyal friends. This is a Chip Bailey tradition started as a blog version of open line Friday on the radio.  The normal post has a theme – not this time. Do you think Bo…