Reid Ryan "strong candidate" for Astros President

I agree. None of the Houston teams have much draw outside of the Houston area. Cowboys own the whole state (outside Houston), Rangers have taken over central Texas, and basketball is split up regionally between the 3 teams. Having a minor league affiliate in strategic areas outside of Houston seems like a winning strategy to broaden the fanbase. I think it makes more sense to have a AA or A team in a Houston suburb like Sugar Land or the Woodlands, but AAA would be better served in a larger market outside Houston. If not Austin, then San Antonio seems to make a lot more sense. New Orleans would be OK too. OKC is really just North Dallas, so I'm not sure how much we're benefitting by being there. It's not easy or desirable to drive there to catch a game, either. Feels like Rangers leftovers.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Nolan Ryan now that son Reid is Astros pres/bus.ops. "He grew up an Astros fan.I'm still an Astros fan.I follow them on a day-to-day basis."</p>&mdash; Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/335480664826712065">May 17, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Why would an Astros fan want us to move to the AL?

 

The Astros first choice would be to have RR back. Since SA already has a AA team, they aren't getting a 2nd minor league team.

The Woodlands is a reasonable backup plan.

If they bought NO, they should just stay there (we were there before moving to RR), or somewhere within LA. Most of Louisiana should be Astros country.

 

I think most of these Ranger fans are bandwagoners anyway. The Astros are just bad right now. Once they become competitive, the fans outside of Houston will start coming put of their shells. Too much history with the Astros owning this state for decades. Having that recognizable logo now will help too. I will say that the Astros are lucky as hell the Rangers lost two WS, or else it would be a little different.

 

Don't meteors hit Earth every day?

 

Maybe because not ALL fans hate AL baseball. I understand a large number of Astros fans hate it, I get that. Not everyone feels that way though, if they did we wouldn't have the two different leagues still.

 

Astros and Rangers could play in San Antonio exhibition

New Astros president Reid Ryan said Friday that Ryan-Sanders Baseball hopes to continue its “Big League Weekend” in San Antonio next year and that the 2014 game could feature the Rangers and Astros.

The Rangers and Padres, who have a farm team in San Antonio, played two games at the Alamodome in late March that drew about 80,000 fans. Ryan-Sanders officials will meet with officials in San Antonio in June to discuss the weekend, and Reid Ryan said he and his father, Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan, hope to continue the game.

“We have a lot of notes from MLB and the Padres and Rangers on what went well and what didn’t,” he said. “My dad and I have talked about it, and we would love to do Astros-Rangers. It will depend on the major league season, but it would be cool if we could do it.

“Our goal is to turn it into basically a college bowl game. We’d love to have a charity element, maybe a high school and college game before. We have big plans.”

Ryan said he will continue on the board of Ryan-Sanders, which will continue to own the Round Rock Express after the sale of the Corpus Christi Hooks later this year to the Astros. His younger brother, Reese, will be CEO of the company.

“We’ll keep that (Ryan-Sanders) as long as my brother and I am around,” he said.​

Also:

Also Friday,Crane said plans to build a ballpark in The Woodlands or north of The Woodlands that could become the Astros’ Class AAA affiliate “is still in play, but we have to secure a piece of property and get a stadium built, so there’s some work to be done there.”

He said the team was “well on the way” to reaching an agreement to move its spring training base to West Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in conjunction with the Toronto Blue Jays. State officials have agreed to assist in the development, and Crane said the teams will work with Major League Baseball on additional funding.

“We’re hoping to get that signed off by the end of the summer, and the plan to build it will go into place quickly,” he said.​

 

And so it begins.

 

Nice start.

 

Dude wasted no time. Awesome.

 

Not growing up in Houston, I don't really get the Larry Dierker love fest. He was barely over a .500 pitcher. I know he came up young and struck out Willie Mays. But his career wasn't super impressive. Nationally he was not well known as one of the greatest. JR Richard in my book was a better player for the Astros. He was on his way to great things before disaster happened.

I always thought Dierker was more of a caretaker than a manager when he was the Astros Skipper. Ausmus, Bagwell and Biggio ran the clubhouse. I thought it was pretty telling that Dierker never got legitimate interest as a potential manager after he was canned in Houston.

Some of you may like his writing and speaking mannerisms, I get that. I just don't see the big deal about Dierker being a part of the franchise or not.

 

He was an All-Star pitcher, a talented broadcaster, and a manager during one of our most successful eras. Anyone with that (incredibly rare) resume all for one team will be loved by the fanbase.

 

He's just been a part of the organization for a very long time. That counts for something.

Familiarity is a good thing for a franchise in the midst of a league change, new ownership and an awful rebuilding phase.

 

#1 He was a better than mediocre pitcher, he was on some terrible teams.

#2 He has been involved with the Astros in one way or another for nearly 50 years.

#3 He wasn't really a figure head manager, he was one of the first managers to rely on advanced statistics, and was able to manage the ego's of Bell, Biggio, Bagwell, Alou and others. Don't kid yourself, that was not easy. Biggio was running to the owner all the time complaining.

#4 He knows baseball very well and is a very good commentator.

#5 He is a very solid hire by the Astros, he is an old time player with a very sharp mind that understands the modern game.

#6 He did not really have a desire to manager anywhere else.

 

This.

Granville, you started off by saying you didn't grow up in Houston. Many of us who did have had Dierker as part of the team we love in one fashion or another for our entire lives. He is the Houston Astros. Casting him off as Postolos did was wrong. Maybe Dierk was a bit of an ass when he didn't get back in the booth as he wanted. You still don't treat him the way they did and expect the fan base (one that is already incredibly pissed off about many things) to just go along with it.

 

It ain't brain surgery...

 

He's Rudy T without the championships and with broadcasting experience (which sometimes allows people to connect even more with the fans).

 

I knew there was something not on Nook's list. Dude almost died in an Astros uniform in the dugout...only to return to the team after brain surgery. If there was nothing else on that list, this would be enough for me.

 

As I said and you referenced, I didn't grow up here but I have lived here since 77. I think Postolos should have left out the sour grapes public comment but it appeared Dirk left on his own sulking over a job he wanted but did not get. It seemed a little harsh when Postolos said it but I don't have the same warm feeling over Dirker that some of you have for it to have pissed me off.

As I said before....Dierker wasn't considered a Top Tier Talent by those outside Houston for majority of his career like a Seaver, Gibson, Koufax, Carlton...etc...