If the stadium is hosting a cricket match in November, then I don't see why the Astros' playoff run would have impacted the timetable at all.
I think there was more to it than that. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=9834799&postcount=67
Yeah.... I'm not even sure how that would work, dimensions-wise. The best place to have a cricket match would be a circular stadium like the Astrodome.... if it wasn't condemned.
This cracks me up. Why don't they just keep it simple until next offseason, and start with removing the hill and making the wall adjustments?? Worry about adding a silly bar and new draftkings sign in 2016 offseason.
$$$$$ Obviously its cheaper to do it all at once by the same company... I'm surprised they're still taking bids. Usually that stuff gets settled pretty early, regardless of how far a team is playing into the post-season. As I said before, there's probably more to this story. I never was behind it... so if they're going to alter the dimensions, they better damn well be doing something extra with this vital space. On the flip side... the Cubs had the bleachers completely CLOSED to start this season... and they survived.
I'm glad the hill and pole will remain. It's the stuff of legend. While a cookie cutter outfields will long be forgotten. All that said, they ought to be able to build a wall and continue construction into the season. Moving in a space shuttle with a smoke engine should not be that difficult.
You Weren't behind altering the dimensions? Or the new fun additions whose novelties will wear off after a few months? Aside from the silliness of the pole and hill, an underrated piece of stupidity is that there's a portion of the wall that's basically impossible to homer over. There shouldn't be such thing in an MLB ballpark.
Its been around for 15 years... with nary an incident or a "diminished" home-field advantage... it does help neutralize the park factor due to the short dimensions down the line. I never thought those dimensions were "stupid"... in fact, once pitchers learned how to pitch there (around mid-season 2001), its become a very neutral park. While moving the center field fence in by 27 feet won't ruin everything... it will skew the park factor back towards hitting. If they had to move it in, I would have still wanted to be around 415-420... but 409, combined with the short LF and RF lines, means pitchers will have very little margin for error... there will still be cheap HR's, but you now take away the long-out. (but I guess they couldn't fit all the new novelties/bars/restaraunts/money-makers in just 20 extra feet of space). I also hate it when they start tinkering with dimensions... same thing happened at the dome, and they never stopped. And as far as portions of ballparks that are "impossible" to hit HR's over... I'm guessing you're unfamiliar with the old polo grounds, old Yankee Stadium, the current triangle in Fenway, petco when it first opened... there have been such "things in an MLB ballpark" before. And with the way the Astros are building their team (based around speed and plus defense), it does play to their advantage that their CF can get a ball that other CF's may not be able to get to.
U just named 3 that don't exist anymore. Not sure how that proves your point. I never said spots that you couldn't hit balls over never existed in the history of the game. Does anybody know the rule on field construction that even allowed the Astros to put an obstacle course in CF to begin with?
"There shouldn't be such thing in an MLB ballpark."... if anything, the precedence was set a long time ago as far as what is or is not allowed in an "MLB ballpark". The parks I mentioned were just the few off the top of my head... I'm sure there's plenty more examples. Its part of what makes baseball, and specific ballparks, so fascinating. In this case, MMP's dimensions are what I'm most concerned about... they can take away the hill/pole if they really have to. I just don't like CF being brought in to 409 ft. They weren't breaking any rules... and judging by 15 years worth of games with over 81 games/year played there, its not an obstacle course (and even less impactful than guys banging into metal scoreboard walls, or brick walls covered by "luscious soft ivy") Now, monument park in Yankee stadium? That was an obstacle course. Spoiler
I'm not sure what is fascinating about unreachable spots in the outfield, but to each his own. And obviously they weren't breaking any rules. I'm just curious what the limits on outfield gimmickry are.
Chicks do dig the longball. Personally I don't care all that much about the hill and pole, but I like the dimensions just the way they are. Park is plenty HR friendly in LF & RF, kinda nice to have an area that pitchers can have a little leeway.
The ballpark plays fair as is. Moving the CF fence to 409 can only make it more hitter friendly. 27 feet is a significant change. I'd be more ok with half of that.
Exactly how I feel. I can take or leave the hill and pole. Doesn't matter to me. But I prefer the dimensions stay pretty close to where they are to help the ballpark play fair.
I'm pro hill. I thought the planned renovations looked a little gaudy. Made the outfield look real busy....
And they said the playoffs (+ cricket match) cut into construction time. I'm sure they expect to be back in the postseason next year, if not years to come. [rQUOTEr]"We knew we were going to have to start work probably while the baseball season was still going on," Ryan said. "Getting into the bidding process and fully vetting everything, taking something from a piece of paper … it was just more detail than we thought we could get done." Should the Astros continue as playoff contenders next year, Ryan said the ballclub will be better prepared to cope with schedule changes. One suggestion, he said, is to work during the 2016 season on projects that are not "field facing" while games continue. One possibility, he said, is that renovations could be completed in two offseasons rather than one. "Our plans are to put in what we designed and rolled out, but the first thing we have to do is to be able to have a scope and a plan that we can deliver," Ryan said. "If we can't deliver it, then it doesn't matter what our model looks like." While the big project has been put on hold, Ryan said the Astros will work during the fall and winter on renovations to suites and to upper-deck levels. Also on the drawing board are more points of sale, additional restrooms and a team hall of fame. Parking also remains an issue surrounding the ballpark as development continues on the east side of downtown Houston. A new parking garage around the George R. Brown Convention Center will help, but a future freeway rerouting project will complicate matters further. "We're going to figure out how people access this facility and what is happening around the ballpark," Ryan said. "Just about the time we think our patterns will change traffic-wise with this gate and that gate, something else pops up."[/rQUOTEr]
