Astros Sale now official Move to AL west also official

What's done is done, it's time to move forward. Claiming the Astros are about to become a a farm team for the Rangers ins't constructive criticism. Let's wait and see what Postolos can do, let's see if we can get Friedman or Hunsicker.

 

Do you think Kansas City Royals fans show the same plucky enthusiasm when the team changes coaches or GM's, or have they learned better by now?

I don't know that I'd describe locker room rah rah cliche self delusion as particularly 'constructive' either.

 

It astounds me how much people are captive of the moment. In 2007 the Rangers were a bad team with a terrible farm system, within two year it had been completely rebuilt and they were in the World Series.

If they fix the broken farm system and get competitive in the majors again, people will start to show back up, and he'll have more money to spend.

If the rangers slip up,and it can happen quickly, the Astros can re-take the state. They aren't the Cowboys, whichever team wins will be most popular.

I'm not saying this is gonna happen, but the Astros are by no means assured of being the Pirates and Royals.

 

I don't see how they can "retake the state" if their games are going to be on the small Comcast TV network that require the cable/satellite consumer to pay extra in order to get their games. Now why would anyone want to do something like that for an inferior baseball product and league? Plus now they have to compete head to head with the Rangers and that is not going to go well for at least 3-5 years. In the meantime, Crane, Selig and all of their Houston media ass kissers are counting on the fans to be good little sheep and bend over which from judging by the posts I've seen in the Chronic, a goodly number of whom have already assumed the position.

All Crane has done is transform the Astros into the Texas version of the KC Royals - a perennial also ran in their home state. And they did it because they knew they'd get away with it because they know that Houston fans will swallow hard and meekly accept whatever garbage BS they choose to stuff down their throats.

 

The Astros were/are going to suck for the next few years regardless of what league they are in. Casual fans around the state weren't going to be watching a 100 loss team anyway - that's totally irrelevant. The way you get back fans across the state is simple. Like any other team, just get good and start winning. That's how every team in the history of sports has picked up bandwagon fans, and it's no different for the Astros. These fans couldn't care less about AL vs NL, and if anything, playing the Rangers will get them on TV around the state when they are still trying to get good.

People are way overreacting to this in terms of the competition issue and how it affects the franchise's prospects.

 

People need to at least give Crane a chance.

We've already begun to replenish the farm, fix that and we could be competitve in 2 or 3 years. Start winning and everything else will fall into place.

Like i said the Rangers turned their entire orgainization around in 2 years, it can happen quickly. Texans aren't passionate fans in this sport, they'll follow whoever is winning.

 

The Comcast Sports Network thing is still pretty dumb. Don't know why they would leave FSN like that.

 

Really? More $$$.

 

It's like boxing and PPV. Pay Per View put the final nail in the coffin of boxing as anything more than a niche sport for die-hards. There is really no such thing as a "casual" boxing fan anymore.

More money in the short term, but it kills the acquisition of new fans in the long term, and your fan base dwindles. Comcast Network as a premium channel that you have to opt into means that only people that really, really want to watch the Astros already will opt in.

 

The teams will likely put pressure on the cable carriers to include it on their standard tier packages. They will ensure that they have AT LEAST the same viewership as they have now with FSN.

This is NOT the longhorn network. This is the same thing that happened when HSE becamse FSN in the first place. Comcast is a regional sports network for several teams out there... Chicago and Philly for example.

 

I did. Then he sold us up the river.

 

http://ksfa860.com/lawyer-finds-loophole-to-keep-houston-astros-in-national-league/

 

Old news. Plus, if you don't think that was something they considered and are working to change, I have some property on the moon to sell you.

 

I just posted an article that I didn't see anywhere. Also, It's not like I posted "OMG everyone, we might stay in the N.L.!!! :grin:"

I posted an article, if it was "old news", that's fine, but you don't have to be a dick about it.

 

Understood. That's the way things would usually work in a normal business environment. But this is anything but normal. But let me ask you this: Just how much pressure do you suppose the Astros will be able to exert on the cable/satellite carriers? This forced move to AL has alienated close to 70% of their fan base. They are a bad team looking to get worse after they move to AL West and you can already predict dismal TV ratings for games starting at 9PM CST. So just how will Crane & Co. be able to demonstrate the ratings (and $$$) exist for these companies to want to make that move?

Right and on Directv/Dish, those Comcast Sports Networks are on higher tier which means I would have to PAY more to get them. Now if I am pissed off at what just went down, just why would I pay to see the AL Astros? If I want to watch AL baseball, I can see a much better team (Rangers) on FSN without paying extra plus all of their games are on local TV. No, I watched the Astros precisely because they were in the NL. That's what I grew up with and that's why I won't devote one cent to watch this bastardization of 50 years of Houston sports history. Somewhere in Arlington Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels are rubbing their hands with glee over this elimination of the Astros as a competitive threat in this state. Game, Set and Match.

 

From previous incidents, where teams made a switch to a new regional network, there is always initial posturing... but in the end, all the cable/dish providers carry it on their standard tiers in the local markets. Granted, your cable/dish rates will go up (like they normally do), but it will get negotiated so that the team at least keeps their current viewership in the local area.

The majority of Houstonians currently have comcast anyways... it will be standard on their packages. Dish/Direct TV will fall in line as well.

When the Astros become respectable again, they will have an audience... in fact, their bandwagon capacity exceeds that of the Rangers/Arlington... who were an afterthought in all Texas markets 5 years ago. Its all cyclical... they will come back down to earth, and the Astros won't be the worst team in baseball. It's just going to take beyond 2013 for that to happen.

 

I'm pretty sure Crane's and his team of investors have done some thinking about that before they plunked down north of $600 million.

 

Did you just make up the 70% number? The vast majority of people aren't going to care. They'll be pissed until April 1st or whenever the season starts, and then will get over it. And the 9pm thing has already been proven to be a minor issue - you're talking about maybe 10 extra late games.

Their ratings will suck because the team sucks. But as soon as they get to be decent, their ratings will rise. And as has been mentioned by others, they'll be carried by just about everyone in time. This is a 20 year decision - not one that's based on the next year.

 

70% has been based on various polling I've seen, and is close to what was polled on this site. Of course 70% of fans aren't going to quit watching based purely on being unhappy with the move. I think a majority of fans care, they just don't care enough to quit caring.

 

Well considering all the rivers in Texas are dry....