Not for nothin', but I think a good comparison would be the Kansas City Royals. After the Bo Jackson/George Brett years, they have been easily in the bottom 5 every year. I recognize that they still haven't won a World Series, but they have built a solid foundation of prospects that could reap benefits for years to come. They have been widely overlooked, but have been in the playoff hunt for a few years now. With the addition of a second wild card slot, their chances will drastically improve. With a smart FA/Trade addition or two, they could be a reasonable threat. Obviously they were eliminated earlier this week, but they are getting closer. The Astros have followed a similar blueprint, whether fan friendly or not. They know that when they are relevant, fans will be back. Historically, Houston fans have been very loyal to good teams and abandon them when they are bad. See the Houston Oilers. I understand fan frustration, but at least the Astros have a plan which makes business sense and they are committed to it. No use spending unnecessary money when fans won't come. If you owned a company, why would you eat a bunch of unnecessary costs for minimum income? That company would just not be profitable or sustainable. The Astros front office has a competent group of folks who are rebuilding this thing in a cost efficient manner. They are headed in the right direction. As the SF Giants and others have recently proved, you don't have to have the highest payroll and biggest names to win the WS. All you need is a chip and a chair, my friend...
That will include Les and the Rockets. If CSN dissolves during the season, they will have to scramble to get games on a network... back to awful reception KNWS!
So basically the rockets/les/Morey were in better tune with the Houston sports fans and did their rebuilding the best way to keep fans interested while in the midst of it. Meanwhile its PT Barnum and Bailey Circus at MMP.
well previous ownership slashed payroll and handed over a very poor farm system. as far as crane goes, hes going to be paying off this debt he took on to finance this team. perhaps a certain tv deal could help expedite this process. crane said hes going to spend when the time is right and the astros should expect to be in the top 10 payrolls every year.. what else can we do but hold him to that. what hes doing now is more out of necessity and since there are no rules prohibiting having such a low payroll they are taking advantage of it. a competent gm has completely turned around the farm and at the very least, has given the fans in the know, hope.
Apples/oranges. Having worst record in NBA doesn't give you automatic first pick. In baseball it does...plus more money in draft for flexibility. Been reading articles by national baseball writers that MLB needs to change that because so many franchises will follow what Astros are doing.
Not that it really matters, but this is false. This would have been true 2 years ago when the team was old, overpaid, untalented, and had zero farm system. Now, the Astros have a top 5 farm system that is only getting better.. Serious baseball analysts love what the Astros organization has done the last few years since Luhnow and Crane have taken over.
The Astros have a lot of nice pieces in their farm system. I mean they have some blue chippers and done depth now. You could really see these guys in the bigs contributing soon, but a lot of them are at least 2 seasons away. George springer should be up on 2014 tho and he could be a perennial all-star. They will be better in the future but it remains to be seen obviously if Crane will spend $$$
So that makes you post about the farm club irrelevant doesn't it? Unless we have a farm club in Houston.
That potential 1st pick in the nba draft could be an immediate franchise changer in the form of a Lebron or in the future Andrew wiggins. So when teams know a player like that is coming, they'll tank anyways. Not like in MLB where you have to wait for your prospect to go through the minor league system ( if your team ever allows that prospect to hit the major cough George cough). The Astros must have a 20 year rebuilding window by the looks of things. I think they are trying to outgrow the current Houston fans and concentrate on their grandchildren.
The TV deal was a big part of the "valuation" of the franchise... he's paying debt because of it. So now, if its no longer going to exist (or supply the $$$ to add to the value of the franchise), he's going to be in an even bigger hole... paying debt on a franchise that's no longer worth what it was when he bought it, and no longer has a once guaranteed revenue stream at an expected level. That is part of where Reid Ryan was coming from when he said without the tv deal, this team would end up being more "fluid" with its players (ie - not keeping your own free agents... Rays/A's/Marlins style).
I would happily watch every Rockets game on knws51 than on my laptop with the opponent's broadcast team like I had to do last season. This ***** is embarrassing
Sure... and how often has the worst team in the NBA gotten the #1 pick since the lottery? Not very often. The Rockets pioneered NBA tanking... and the lottery happened because of it. In baseball, if you want to build not just a winner... but a sustainable winner... you need to acquire a lot of young talent. The Astros strategy is the fastest way to do that... and you will see more teams emulating this every single year until they change the rules.
springer has been in the minors for 3 years, hes 24 years old.. some just wanted to hurry him because he was tearing up aaa-ball and he was drafted out of college.. hes gonna be on the opening day roster. thinking maybe they wanted to put a hold on that arbitration clock.
Sure... and the Rockets will have to find alternate revenue streams to make up for it. Raising ticket prices, PPV playoff games (or PPV regular season games, if there is no set deal in place). The team has the most to lose, $$$-wise, by not having a viable TV deal in place... and they're going to care more about that than what the fans can or cannot see.
So basically you've agreed to Les/Morey's rebuilding vision. I really can't fathom how another MLB team can look at the Astros and want to emulate them.
