Carlos Lee

Jeff Luhnow Declares Independence From Carlos Lee

Jeff Luhnow traded Carlos Lee to the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. Lee dilly-dallied and whined about his taxes, so the Dodgers pulled out of the trade. It appeared that the Astros would thus be stuck with Lee for the rest of the season as the Dodgers were really, really, really desperate for anybo ... More >>

The Astros Traded Carlos Lee, They Just Couldn't Get Him to Leave

No matter what else might happen with the Houston Astros this season, the fans should realize one thing: General manager Jeff Luhnow is a genius. What other word can describe a man who not only was able to trade Carlos Lee to a contending team for a good, young pitching prospect, but was also willin ... More >>

The Astros And The Brett Wallace Dilemma

Matt Downs started at first base for the Houston Astros yesterday. Brett Wallace is on the team, and he's healthy, yet Matt Downs started at first base for the Houston Astros yesterday. Maybe it's just me, but Matt Downs should never be starting over Brett Wallace. But in the end, it's probably no ... More >>

Ex-Astro Screams at Former Teammates, Carlos Lee Screams Back But Doesn't Know Why

I'll be the first to admit that I've been less than kind to Astros first baseman Carlos Lee over the last four years or so. On my radio show, privately joking with friends and at times in this space, most notably my open letter to him a couple of seasons ago which succinctly summed up the Carlos Lee ... More >>

Astros Rebuilding: Going Back to the Future Can Be Fun

The 1991 Houston Astros finished the season with a record of 65-97. They were last in the old NL West, and they were one of the worst teams in the majors. But the fans who watched the team that season had reasons to be excited about the future. Jeff Bagwell had been converted from third to first ba ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Do What For The Astros, Mate?

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involving wit ... More >>

Carlos Lee May Retire...

...after his contract is up next year! There, now you know how I felt yesterday when I read that headline. In this day and age where there are so many different places to swallow up news, we see tweets or vague headlines and the human tendency is to fill in the blanks. So when I saw one of the t ... More >>

The Astros' Jim Crane Era Begins: Get Caught Up On The Team With This Quiz

Do you recognize this man?​For the first time in a long time, the Houston Astros will not be led by a hyper, motto-spouting grocery magnate. Drayton McLane has sold the team to Houston businessman Jim Crane. It may be the first piece of Astro news you've bothered with this year. The team was ... More >>

Astro Fan On-Field Escape: A Critical Appraisal

The most excitement at Minute Maid Park this year -- bigger even than Carlos Lee's 2,000th hit -- came this weekend with the wild on-field run and escape by an Astros fan. The man was eventually nabbed, but he gave the crowd their money's worth. A breakdown: 0:19: Heads for Tal's Hill. Is this be ... More >>

Houston Astros' Sobering Salary Story: Grading Ten Players

Carlos Lee: Helping others in the grading curve.​I recently saw some sort of metric that indicated that the top five percent richest Americans combined had amassed more wealth than the other 95 percent combined. Don't quote me on that, but it was one of those "look how woefully disproportiona ... More >>

Dear Astros: Try The Old Rainbow Unis, Then You'd At Least Be Interesting To Look At

Dear Astros, if you're going to be bad, could you at least wear the rainbows?​Hey Astros fans, here's some news for you. The Astros have the same record as the Boston Red Sox. And the Red Sox are supposed to be playing in the World Series at the end of the season, if you believe the experts ... More >>

My Threatening Letter To The Astros

Demands include a Carlos Lee bobblebelly doll​Dear Astros: Last night, you and the Cubs drew the second-smallest crowd in the history of Minute Maid Park. I say that both teams drew that crowd because any time the Cubs come to town, a legitimately vocal portion of the ticket buying audience ... More >>

Play Ball, Baby

A new season for the Astros, and hopefully a new team.

Astros 2011: It Ain't Going to Be Pretty

Bad news: The Astros are actually playing baseball this season.​The Astros are probably opening up the season tomorrow -- they're scheduled to play, but the weather in Philadelphia might not cooperate. And if the stories that have been kicking around are true, this might be the last opening d ... More >>

Astros Spring Training: Is the Season Over Yet?

Is the season over yet?​We're approaching the end of the first week of spring training and the news for the Astros has been rather mixed. The team's not really hitting. The pitching is half-assed. And frankly, there's just not much going on to be optimistic about. So I thought I would take ... More >>

We Are Your Astros: The 25 Rejected Slogans

For Sale! Cheap!​The Astros' slogan for this year is "We Are Your Astros." Seeing this slogan is enough to make one think that Drayton McLane's wasting way too much money on advertising agencies. My second thought was that the guys at the Astros County blog had a much better slogan, "Infect ... More >>

Dear Drayton, Just Say No to Michael Young

Michael Young wants to be on the Astros?​I understand that the Texas Rangers' third baseman, Michael Young, has requested a trade. I also understand that one of the teams for whom Young has approved a trade is the Houston Astros. In years past I would most strongly approve of a trade for M ... More >>

Carlos Lee, Team Leader? Well, the Astros Have Had 25 Worse Ideas

Believe it or not, this guy's not actually running the Houston Astros​Astros Manager Brad Mills traveled to Panama last week to meet with his left fielder/first baseman/slacker Carlos Lee.  The trip was billed as a bonding mission.  And while there's nothing wrong with a manager an ... More >>

Year in Review Appendix -- Five More Stories For The Road

One more for 2010...​I love the last week of December. Between Gary Kubiak and the option to just pick out some category from the past year and recap it, it's ready-made content. Just add snark! So in the spirit of lazy "Year in Review" style posts (one of which I've already submitted today! ... More >>

Thanksgiving 2010: The Post Where We Get All "Thanky"

Thank you. Thank you very much.​As we prepare to gorge ourselves today on turkey (Cajun fried is the choice here), stuffing, pumpkin bread, and perhaps something green (maaaaybe, but probably not), I want to first thank all of you who stop in and read the stuff on the blog here, not just my st ... More >>

Carlos Lee: Worst Everyday Player In The Majors

Carlos Lee: Many reasons to smile. Astro fans, not so much​The Houston Astros haven't really had that much to brag about this season. The team has been bad. They've become a dumping ground for guys who could no longer cut it with the Phillies. But last week, by use of analysis, it was determined t ... More >>

Carlos Lee Goes AWOL: At Least Someone Noticed

Carlos Lee: Bats right, throws right, jogs all the time​So the Astros were upset that Carlos Lee missed a voluntary workout in Pittsburgh on Thursday, and as a result, he was benched on Friday night.The puzzling thing is trying to figure out just why it is the Astros were upset. The workout ... More >>

Can Roy Oswalt Sue The Astros For Non-Support?

The Astros: still playing the old, ineffective guys​It was just last week that the Astros were 8-10, had won six straight and eight of their last ten, and were no longer the worst team in the National League.Since that time, they've been swept by the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves. T ... More >>

Carlos Lee Still, Somehow, Playing Outfield For The Surprisingly Despised Astros

Rare photographic evidence of Carlos Lee running​This is turning out to be a bad week for the Houston Astros.With a chance to get their record to the break-even mark, the Astros were instead swept by the Cincinnati Reds. Wandy Rodriguez is injured and has to miss tonight's start in Atlanta -- th ... More >>

Hey Astros, Here's a Thought: Bench Carlos Lee

​The Astros Twitter feed was rather shocked that Carlos Lee couldn't bend over and make a play on a ground ball in left field last night. It's as if the Astros writers thought there was either a legitimate outfielder in left field, or that Carlos Lee actually gave a damn about anything that ha ... More >>

Game Time: The Caballo Chronicles, Volume 2: A Look at MLB's 20 Biggest Contracts Ever

​This is my second go round living in Houston. Prior to moving back here in the summer of 2007, the last time I was an H-town resident was between 1994 and 2001. As an Astro fan, that means I was here when the Bagwell/Biggio nucleus finally broke through in 1997 and made the playoffs, I was he ... More >>

Game Time: Whose Overpaid Left Fielder Situation is Worse? Astros or Cubs?

​Baseball gods, I have to give you credit. You tried as hard as you could on Saturday to keep me from writing about it on Monday. You gave us Ubaldo Jimenez throwing the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies' history. That was cool. Even cooler than that, you gave us the Mets and the Cardinals i ... More >>

The Astros Will Not Be 0-162. 1-161, We're Not So Sure

​The good news? The Houston Astros won a baseball game yesterday, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 to win get their first victory of the year (they lost 5-2 to St. Louis on Monday, and the Cards won 2-1 on Wednesday night). So those of you who picked the Astros to go 0-162 for the season j ... More >>

Astros Still Searching For That Elusive First Win, Believe It Or Not

​It's easy to be angry at the Houston Astros now. But for a few notable exceptions, like Carlos Lee, the Astros are performing as expected.They were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, just as they were swept by the San Francisco Giants to open the season. They were destroyed by g ... More >>

Game Time: Prediction Monday -- Men's Hoops Finals And The Astros' 2010 Season

​NCAA MEN'S HOOPS FINALS (Butler vs Duke, 8:21 PM tip-off)When I ranked the list of NCAA Finals permutations from "Most Compelling" to "Least Compelling" in this space last week, I had Butler vs Duke ranked as the most compelling. The figurative "Cinderella" (although let's not forget that Cinde ... More >>

Make The Astros Better: Forget Free Agents

Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher​A friend sent me this Richard Justice blog post over the weekend, then he asked, given the premise that Drayton McLane was going to allow unlimited spending for next season's team, just what it was that I would do.  First, unlike one of Justice's suggestions, I woul ... More >>

Oh, The Changes I'd Make To The Astros

Photo by Aaron M. SprecherIf Ed Wade were gone...​The Astros Fan Blogger at Chron.com had an interesting post  late last week.The gist of the post was that Drayton McLane had just fired Ed Wade and that he'd made the reader the general manager, then he wanted to know the first five things one ... More >>

"Hunter Pence, All Star" -- It Has A Nice Ring To It

Photo by Aaron M. SprecherLet's hear it for Hunter Pence. The best all-around player on the moribund Astros is finally getting some love as he was selected by the players and managers to be a member of the NL All Star roster.  I'm surprised that Pence got a roster spot, though. His stats are go ... More >>

Carlos Lee's Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer

I give Richard Justice a lot of grief. But there are times when I think he's right, and yesterday, I think he was right. And he was right about something that's been bugging me for three years and which nearly cost the Astros a baseball game last night.As we're all aware, Carlos Lee has rarely been ... More >>

When You're Old Like The Astros, Even Home Runs Can Hurt

Photo by I'mClaudeHow does somebody get hurt hitting a home run? I'm serious. Carlos Lee hit a home run in the fourth inning on Friday night and strained his right Achilles tendon. And I don't understand how the injury could happen.Sure, I can see him pulling a muscle on a strikeout. And if he were ... More >>

Astros-Giants: Bad Calls from Cecil Cooper and Richard Justice

Astros-Reds: Houston Sweeps, Carlos Lee Injured

Astros-Dodgers: Extra Innings Not Enough

Astros-Dodgers: Speaking of Predictions, Guess Who Got Last Month Right

What’s Wrong with Richard Justice, Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Cecil Cooper and Carlos Lee, to Name a Few

Astros-Brewers: Just What Will It Take for Cecil Cooper to Bench Miguel Tejada and Carlos Lee?

Astros-Cardinals: Back Down to Five Hundred

Astros-Phillies: Brad Lidge Gets the Save

Astros-Cubs: Shawn Chacon Breaks His No-Decision Streak, While Hunter Pence Decides to Date a Very Attractive Woman

Astros-Nationals: One Game Over Five Hundred

Astros-Phillies: Roy Oswalt Gets the Job Done

Astros-Cubs: One Win (and Two Losses) for the ‘Stros, But Still None for a Starting Pitcher

Spring Training: Itching for Pitching

Why Can't Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman Get to Work on Time?

What's Nine Runs Between Friends?