I don't think there is any doubt he knows that turning down the offer meant his chances of being on the big club to start this year were drastically reduced. Honestly, it would be stupid for the Astros to make that offer, and then when he turns it down go ahead and put him on the big club to start the year. I just wish he had forced their hands with a huge spring. And yea hard to say on whether it was "right" or "wrong" on his part to not sign the contract offer. I have no idea what his financial background is. I know that for me personally, if I were offered that kind of money I would have taken it, that is the kind of money that sets you up for life (in baseball terms it isn't huge money, in life it is though). And in baseball, that is guaranteed money. But as i've said before, I do like the confidence it shows that he has in himself, if he is willing to turn that kind of money down he certainly thinks he is going to be the real deal.
Yes, not having a TV deal is a problem... but I don't expect that to be the case for the life of Crane's ownership. And when its all said and done, the potential of a top 10 media market does make a difference, something that the small-market teams will never be able to change. Regarding the last point, I just don't see "this" market getting behind an organization that consistently lets players go... even if they had comparable success. This market gets behind players/faces/stars... and supports winners. A "good" Astros team from 96-98 gets decent support, but add Randy Johnson and the dome explodes. Sure, fans would have shown up to check out Enron Field when it opened... but it sure as hell was better with the team having re-signed/retained Biggio/Bagwell (and giving them statues outside while they were still playing). And a "good Astros team from 2002-2004 gets decent support, but add Clemens/Pettite... and Beltran... and the place explodes. A faceless organization that serves as a farm system for the big spenders has never had consistent overwhelming support, even despite having some real measurable success.
How would it have "forced" their hands? Fans have already been clamoring for him since last season... and the media has already called them out on it over and over again. Opening day will be a sell-out no matter what (since its the Yankees), and the rest of the series after that will be poorly attended no matter what. I was sort of looking forward to the next "excuse" to sending him down (had he had a good spring)... my money was on "needs more time to get used to RF" (which Luhnow actually did say in a recent interview)
It's just makes it a lot tougher, in my opinion, so send him down if he was hitting bombs all spring. No need to argue this one though, didn't happen so all we have is our own opinions on what "would" have happened. And i'm not saying they necessarily would have kept him up if he had a huge spring, I just wish he would have forced the issue to see, that's all As for Luhnow's comments on him, they really have been few and far between, but when he talks about the K's and getting used to a different position, those are legit baseball concerns (the K's a lot more than the position obviously)
What does this has to do with starting Springer's arbitration/FA clock early? If the Astros start to give their minor leaguers quicker road to the majors to help them get to FA faster, would that make the team a "better" franchise or just a more idiotic one? Edit: Just checked. Astros called up Berkman late April too. Were they a bad organization back then?
I don't expect to not have a TV deal for the life of Crane's ownership, but I do think there is certainly a huge amount of doubt over what that eventual TV deal will look like. It's looking less and less likely all the time we will end up with a deal similar to the Rangers, Angels and Mariners, and that will have an impact to some extent on the makeup of our roster/payroll I agree 100% with the importance of keeping players around and having a "face" of the franchise. The Biggio/Bagwell/Oswalt/Berkman's of the world made this organization one of the most popular baseball teams in their local market. Heck, even towards the end of the good run there was a year that we were losing for the first time in a while, and the Reds were winning the division, and we were drawing more fans...This city will definitely get behind a successful baseball team, put a true world series contender out there, for a couple of yeas in a row, and the Juice Box will be rocking again
I dunno... a near 40/40 minor league year got him a lot more attention than what a big spring would have gotten him. Most houston sports fans (non diehard Astros fans) don't even realize spring training is going on. But he has engineered all the other comments (excuses) about the 40 man roster issues (would have been easy to resolve), rule V draft issues (they weren't "pillaged"... nobody got selected), wanting him to get the 40/40 milestone (bah), wanting him to get minor league playoff experience (double bah). As far as the "baseball" issues, we all agree that he's not the "perfect" player... but that he still deserves to be in the big leagues (especially on "this" team).
Teams that stash players typically have the mindset of wanting to get the most years out of a player during their club-control years since they don't plan (or can't afford) to keep them beyond that. If they can, they typically don't care about starting the clocks. Yes, Berkman could have been promoted sooner... but he happened to be on a playoff team that would not have been able to get him consistent everyday playing time. And even then, he made his debut in 1999 (during his second full season)... while Springer spent the second full season entirely in the minors, with nobody blocking him.
Sounds good, you obviously have some inside information from the organization which is awesome. Look forward to more of that insight into the inner workings of Luhnow and the gang, that stuff is hard to get. Appreciate you taking the time to bring those comments here
But there's still a big difference between spending over-the-top money like the Rangers/Angels, and claiming to be as poor as the Rays/A's. Also, even if the eventual TV deal is less than sub-par, being in a top 10 market does allow for the possibility of more local revenue through various other avenues (local advertising, radio, merchandise sales)... and their stadium deal still is very favorable compared to poor teams.
Agree, I just missed the part where the organization was claiming to be "as poor as the Rays/A's" Again, I appreciate the inside information, although in this case it isn't what I was hoping Luhnow and Crane would be saying.
Reid Ryan said it earlier in response to what could happen if the CSN deal never gets done. Crane reaffirmed the "we're losing money" stance when the Forbes article came out. Now, I don't feel they are entirely truthful when they claim to be "that" poor, but I do see them tending to run the team more in those models (which those teams do as a necessity), than what we saw from Drayton (who spent to keep the stars/faces intact). Also, I'm not sure if the inside information"compliment" is sarcastic or not... I'm a fan, but I will question things I don't like... and so far, I've happened to be right more than not in terms of predicting their "moves/motives".
Not only that, but when playoff teams (like TB) do it, they are actually harming their MLB product. They made the playoffs by 1 game last year - what if they missed it by 1 game? Could Myers have made a difference if they had him 2 months earlier? LA Angels missed the playoffs by 4-5 games in Mike Trout's rookie year where they brought him up midseason. What happens if they bring him up to start the season? Even then, no one questioned those moves. The Astros are doing it with no risk to the MLB team - it's absolutely the right move for them. It has nothing to do with not re-resigning him in 2020 or whatever. It has to do with being a fiscally smart franchise instead of just throwing money away just for the hell of it because they can. It's a move that saves them potentially $10-20MM by delaying his MLB career by all of 3 months (Sept last year to June of this year), which means $10-20MM to spend on some other player in 2020 when the team is hopefully good. It's a complete no-brainer.
Well if they are saying it would be the case if a TV deal never gets done, then yea I don't think there is any doubt that without a local TV deal the money won't be there to compete long term, that one is easy to believe As for how they will run the team when it's competitive, all we can do is guess right now cause Crane has never owned a competitive baseball team. I don't think the current Springer situation has anything to do with what he will do with a contender. The fact that Crane is a "baseball guy" who played the game at the college level, and not just a business man who see's baseball as a way to make money, tends to make me think he will want a winning team...time will tell As for questioning things, yea we all do that heck that is what a board like this is here for. I don't read questioning things from you on this subject though, I read straight comments about what the Astros organization has said and how they feel about this and what they are going to do in the future, and those comments haven't been made in public, so if those things have been said by Luhnow/Crane then you obviously have inside info
this is all about finances. springer has earned his way up. any other explanation is crap. jim crane is an absolute joke, and luhnow is proving to have the balls of a 3 year old kid.
I recall the Marlins breaking camp with Jose Fernandez last season when they knew they had no chance at competing. there is one example showing how you are utterly wrong. want more?
Fernandez was also sent to minor league camp before spring ended, but the Marlins had some late pitching injuries and few options to fill them He was also a Cuban phenom in a town where a Cuban phenom would create a lot of buzz. We can all find examples of players who were handled how we wish Springer was. Can't argue that many more are handled like Springer than Fernandez though
Actually the Marlins promote their top guys pretty quickly. Not just Fernandez, Yelich, Marisnick, Ozuna... even Stanton.
Yeah, forget Tampa Bay. The Marlins are the team we should be emulating...they definitely run a team "the right way."
