You dont have to be a season subscriber to rant...anyone who honestly attends at least 8-10 games annually please voice your opinion... I want to know if you feel the way I do about this disaster of an offseason that has seemed to unfold. Ticket prices up....product WAY down. Will you keep your tickets? Did you already commit? Will you attend less games?
I'll probably do exactly what I do every year. I'll attend 6-7 games in April/early-May. Then, I'll take a break because the summer months are when I tend to step back from sports a little bit after the rest of the year being consumed with them. Then, once August/September roll around, I'll go to more. I honestly don't think we're going to be bad next year. I still say Clemens comes back and we're gonna add a bat or two before it's all said and done. I'm also excited to see guys like Burke, Lane, Everett, Ensberg, Lamb, Backe, Oswalt, Berkman (come May), and hopefully Tavares show what they got. It'll be interesting to see the youth movement this year if we don't end up adding a Soriano or Burnitz to the mix.
this is an email from my brother to me that I think sums it up pretty well.... Not to keep beating a dead horse, but here are the thoughts of a lifetime Dallas Astros fan on the Beltran deal . 1. Am I disappointed? Certainly, but I'm not disappointed in Drayton or the Astros. I'm disappointed that Beltran took so long to decide that it was all about money and nothing else. When he denies that it was all about the money (and he will), I will be even more disappointed because that means he never had any intention of signing with Houston as long as a team from NY was willing to sign him. Why string Houston along and allow them to miss out on other signings? I know it's a business, but what comes around goes around .... Be careful Boras and Beltran. 2. I'm also disappointed because we came 1 game (and arguably 1 inning) away from the World Series last year, and it now looks like we have to rebuild. Once again, I'm not disappointed in Drayton, just the situation. 3. I WILL GO to as many Astros games as I can this year to show Drayton my appreciation for his efforts in signing this guy. I heard on ESPN last night that the Astros could go from one of the top 4 teams to the worst team in the league next year. What a sad state of affairs, when the greed of one player can turn the fortunes of a franchise that quickly. 4. If Clemens signs, he will be one of my all-time favorite people (not just athletes). He has absolutely no reason to sign. If he does, it will simply be to help out the franchise. I think it would be safe to call that an Anti-Beltran move. 5. I don't blame Carlos for wanting to make more money, but I question what he was thinking. If I had to chance to make $15M w/ Houston or $17M w/ NY, I would certainly entertain the notion of making $2M more per annum. But the following would have to be in the back of my mind as well: a. Taxes - no, it won't eat up all of the $2M but it will eat up about $750K. b. Cost of living aside from taxes. I can assure you that a $2M home in Houston is about $6M in NY. Isn't that a $4M difference? c. While Houston certainly has it's drawbacks as a large metropolitan area, who the f--- wants to live in NY? d. If this move doesn't work out with Pedro, Carlos, etc. He WILL BE ROASTED in the NY media. That would never have happened in Houston. Not because they don't have the ability, it's just because they don't target players. 6. In all fairness, we only new him for 3.5 months and he certainly didn't take this team so far by him self. It took 39 other players and an incredible amount of luck to come back from last seasons struggles. BUT, will these guys be able to rally from the loss in the clubhouse? You have to think that some of them were resentful of all his publicity to begin with - seeing as he really only produced during two playoff series.
I go to about 20 games a year. I will not spend any money if Drayton doesn't! IMO, Drayton is not innocent in all of this.
for sure, i'll be at beltran's first game in houston booing him hopefully along with 40,950 other people. someone needs to come up with something we can chant when beltran comes up to bat.
Every year I go to at least 7-10 games a year. Last year I went to about 12, which was due to the Clemens/Beltran factor, but I will continue to go to more games this year, and future years, as I'll (hopefully) have a job and actually be able to afford more than 3-5 game a year like before.
I will still go to games every time I'm in town during the season, which comes to about 5-10 games per season, down from 30-40 per when I lived in Houston. No matter what, I am still a fan of the Astros more than any one given player. I went to as many games in 2000 as I did in 1998.
Agreed... and just by offensive numbers alone, the 2000 team had the best lineup this city has ever seen (too bad it didn't translate into any wins). Hmm... offense doesn't equal wins... hmm... pitching.... hmm. (believe me, I was all for the Beltran deal... but losing him would not be as costly as losing a guy like Oswalt, Lidge or Pettite for the season).
Taking your little brother/little cousin to a baseball game. (cause, yeah, I don't have kids. ) They love going, I try to buy some cheap tix all the time and move down to the lower levels with them, it's awesome.
Thats the only reason I haven't called the ticket office and threaten to jam my seasons down their throat.
I always try to find a way to offset the price. It may not work in this case. When the price went up on Texans tickets, I switched away from Reliant. I ended up getting more in return. Reliant is a joke, but the power behind the Houston Texans.
My Dad and I split Season Tickets last year and we`ll do it again. Section 110 row 17 I am disapointed I wont be able to see Carlos in an Astros uniform again, but I applaud the effort Drayton made. I am very excited to see what backe can do and it`s time to play some of the younger guys and see if they truely do have the potential to make a difference.
I love the Astros but it does not make fiscal sense for me to renew my ticket plan. If they do something between now and opening day to improve the team I will consider renewing, but as their roster stands right now it makes little sense to buy a lesser product for more money. I figure I will take the "BUSINESS" attitude that player and owners take for my future ticket purchases.
Since i am an Astros sponser...cant i rant to a higher level? Cuase Beltran being here brings more people to the games, brings more people to my place before the games.....i could go on and on lol
agree nearly on every point your brother made. damn disappointment , but it's not the management I'm disappointed in rather than the way it was handled by beltran and boras and also, of course, I'm disappointed that we didn't really have a plan b as nearly all the free agents (ones of any significant value) available are either hurt or ones that will not make the significant impact a player like beltran's caliber would have made. I'll probably attend a few games this year, but not as many as I did last year.
