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A Happy New Year to all!. Like I did last year I'll be highlighting the best articles from the staff at TCB from this past year. Later today will be a post highlighting the best FanPosts of 2011.
January
Line Drive Batting Avg.: What Does It Tell Us About Carlos Lee? - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - Line drive batting average gives us some hope for Carlos Lee in 2011.
More Wandy Rodriguez Talk: Pitching Linear Weights - The Crawfish Boxes
By David Coleman - Did Wandy's curve get worse in 2010 or were there other factors affecting its linear weight.
February
TRL at TCB: Bud Norris And The 2010 Season - The Crawfish Boxes
By David Coleman. Taking a request from a reader, are there signs that Bud could become a decent starter?
The Astros and Fangraphs' Clutch Hitting Stat - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - According to the fangraphs clutch statistic, the Astros have been the best clutch team during the Ed Wade tenure.
March
The Astros Breakout Candidate - The Crawfish Boxes
By Timothy De Block - There's a prospect in camp who could wow people this season, and his name isn't Jordan Lyles.
What Does a New Owner Mean for the Houston Astros? - The Crawfish Boxes
By Native_Astro - Looking at the effects of changing owners for the Astros.
More links after the jump.
April
Tough Decisions For The 2011 Houston Astros - The Crawfish Boxes
By Native_Astro - What are some of the toughest questions the Astros will have to ask this season? What will a new owner mean? Will they trade Wandy, Myers and Bourn?
Developments in Evaluating Pitchers...Elementary, Watson - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - Dives deep into the pitches pitchers use.
May
How Can Jim Crane Save the Houston Astros? - The Crawfish Boxes
By Native_Astros - How Can Jim Crane Save the Houston Astros? Should he Fire Ed Wade and Tal Smith? Trade Michael Bourn, Brett Meyers, or Wandy Rodriguez?
The $680 million question.... - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - The $680 million question surrounding the Astros.
June
Jordan Lyles Pitch F/X Scouting: The MLB Debut - The Crawfish Boxes
By David Coleman - Not that Pitch F/X data from one start means anything, but we'll look at Jordan Lyles' debut against the Cubs anyways, finding some interesting stuff to boot.
Today, We Remember the Houston Astros 2011 Season - The Crawfish Boxes
By Native_Astro - Today, We Remember the Houston Astros 2011 Season
July
Pitchers' K/BB Ratios....and I'll get around to the Astros - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - Getting behind the numbers for pitcher strike outs and walks.
A Guide To Writing About A Really Bad Team - The Crawfish Boxes
By David Coleman - When you're covering a really bad team, it's easy to get caught up in snark or negativity. Here's some tips for staying away from that and balancing the present and future.
August
My Take on the Astros' Deadline Deals - The Crawfish Boxes
By OremLK - Examining the Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn trades. Did the Astros get back fair value?
Breaking Down Chris Wallace's Defense: The Scouting Reports - The Crawfish Boxes
By Subber10 - A look into Astros catching prospect Chris Wallace's defense behind the plate using scouting reports
September
Astros' hitters hacking their way to the bottom? - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - Astros and patience don't go together.
BEEEP BEEEP Astros Lose 19-3 BEEEP BEEEP - The Crawfish Boxes
By David Coleman - This is a test of the bad baseball emergency system. It was triggered by a very bad game in Houston this afternoon.
October
The Un-Clutch Astros, Pythagorean Record, and Under Performance - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - The Astros' W/L record is worse than the Pythagorean result...and lack of clutchness may be the reason.
Why Should You Root For The Houston Astros? - The Crawfish Boxes
By David Coleman - Thinking about why you should stay a fan of a team coming off its worst season ever.
November
Defense for Dummies and the 2011 Astros - The Crawfish Boxes
By CRPerry13 - 2011 Astros defense in a nutshell, along with a 30,000 ft. view explanation of fielding metrics for the average fan
Some Initial Thoughts on the New CBA and the Astros' Rebuilding - The Crawfish Boxes
By Clack - My best guess as to how the new CBA will affect the Astros' rebuilding effort.
December
Should The Astros Consider Trading Bud Norris - The Crawfish Boxes
By Conrestro - Does it make sense for the Astros to consider trading Bud Norris given the current market?
Who Art Thou, Jed Lowrie? - The Crawfish Boxes
By CRPerry13 - Who Art Thou, Jed Lowrie? An in-depth look at the Astros new shortstop.
Most Pointless Article
Astros Potential Rule 5 Selections - The Crawfish Boxes
By Tim, Chris, Jess and Clack - The Astros have an opportunity to add some talent through the Rule 5 draft December 8th. This is a look at some of the players available. The Astros selected one player and traded for another not highlighted in this article.