Agreed. I also think within the next 10 years, either MLB will be ready to expand... or contract. And likely, there will be some more realignment involved when that happens. More money will be spent for realingment? Teams possibly switching leagues again? Its just so unlike the history of baseball to force these moves every 10 or so years... but they look to be heading that direction, and expanding the playoffs, making it just like every other league out there.
I can see the benefit to MLB in general, kind of. I mean, I get why they'd want the leagues to be even (hey Bud, maybe you shouldn't have moved the Brewers to the NL if that's what you wanted.) But it also greatly diminishes interleague games which should hurt revenue a bit. What I question is what the individual teams get out of it. Why should the Yankees or the Tigers or the Royals care if another team is added to their league and why should they pony up money to make it happen?
I read a while back, the only way the players association would allow an extra round of playoffs would be if the owners agreed to two 15 team leagues. They owners can't make a team move but with Crane's past as leverage, they basically used it to do just that to the Stros. An extra round of playoffs means more revenue for MLB and probably would cause their TV packages to be reworked into an even better deal. So the move would benefit MLB in a big way.
This right here serves as a small reminder that the NL is the pitchers league and the AL is the hitters league. And for this reason I for one welcome this change. Its like going from 1-0 snooze-fests at the Dome to offensive shootouts at MMP. And to all those who are upset about "50 years of NL History" ...gimmie a friggin break. We're the Astros. Just exactly what kind of history are we talkin about here ...The Ford Motor Credit Years? Trading young Joe Morgan or Kenny Lofton?Letting the state's most notable athelete in Nolan Ryan walk to create a legacy in Dallas?!? And how many friggin logos/team identities have we had? The Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Tigers, Giants, Reds all have their trademarked looks that have survived the temptation to change their heritage just to snag a few more merchandising dollars. Yet from one decade to the next, we look like the latest expansion team. If we had any real "Heritage" we'd still be in our Rainbows with the Star-H cap, the look this franchise is literally best remembered and known for, just like the Yankees have their Pinstripes. But like the actual city of Houston, the Astros FAIL to embrace their own history. So why on Earth should a move to the AL shock & upset so many of you?!? If there was a perfect candidate who would throw away their history for such a move and even an added $50 million dollar discount, it would be the Astros.
http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...es-the-marriage-is-better-than-the-honeymoon/ And you thought Kim Kardashian’s marriage had a short shelf life. Next to the honeymoon Jim Crane gets as Astros owner, Kardashian’s marriage to some schlub the world has already forgotten had the staying power of the Ming dynasty. Crane blinked, agreed to a move to the American League as part of the terms of purchasing a team that has been in the National League since 1962, and there went just about all the good will a new owner normally would have. The Astros have been in a state of decline that brought them to the worst season (so far, at least) in franchise history: 56-106, 15 games worse than anybody else in the NL and seven worse than the AL’s bottom-feeding Minnesota Twins. Given the state of the franchise, fans normally would treat a new owner as a white knight riding to the rescue. These are anything but ordinary circumstances, though, with owner Drayton McLane putting the team up for sale right about the time commissioner Bud Selig and the Major League Baseball Players Association decided it was high time to roll re-alignment into two 15 teams into the next labor agreement. That meant one of the 16 NL teams would have to move, and volunteers were in even shorter supply than Lindsay Lohan moments of clarity. McLane and Crane shook hands on a $680 million deal on May 16. In the impending months, it became abundantly clear that the only way MLB was going to sign off on the sale of the Astros was if one of the terms was to move to the AL. Really, Houston, it was nothing personal. From the global MLB perspective, moving the Astros was the easiest, least-disruptive solution. Plug the Astros into the AL West, and presto, realignment problem solved. No fuss, no muss, for any of the other 29 major league teams or cities. Plus, the move has at least the potential of leading to some spirited back-and-forth between the Astros and Rangers in the years to come. That may be hard to envision at the moment, given that the two franchises haven’t been in the habit of being good at the same time, but the potential is there. The Astros are one dynamic management team away from becoming a force to be reckoned with in whatever league they call home. Why not Milwaukee? Sure, Selig’s former team could have been the team to change league allegiances – again. The Brewers have old AL ties that binded them from 1970-1997. The Brewers could have gone to the AL West, with no fuss or muss for anybody else. Plopped in a division with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners and Rangers, the Brewers would have been in a division in which they had no potential for any sort of geographic rivalry. There’s less of an upside there, big picture, than with the Astros and Rangers in the same division. As inconvenient and bothersome and downright galling as that may be to the Astros fan base. What about Arizona? The Diamondbacks have only been in existence since 1998, so it’s not as if they have some rich NL heritage – though in that relatively short time, the franchise has more World Series titles to its name (2001, at the expense of the high and mighty New York Yankees, no less) than the Astros. Arizona would be an easy geographic fit into the AL West, no doubt, but that wouldn’t be the end of the moving and shaking. The NL West would need to pluck a team from the NL Central to replace the Diamondbacks, and that team would be the Astros. Under that arrangement, the Astros would have more of those lamentable, fan-unfriendly West Coast games than they would as members of the AL West. At least in the AL West, the Astros would have one other team (the Rangers) that resides in the Central time zone. Are those realities fair to the Astros in general or the fans who have embraced more than a half-century of NL heritage, if you count the decades the Buffs were a minor-league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals? Absolutely not. And is it fair that the Astros played in two of the most riveting NL Championship Series in history (1980, 1986), and broke their fans’ hearts both times? Is it fair that when the Astros finally made it to the World Series in 2005, they exited without the taste of even one victory? Is it fair that Phillies won 102 games during the regular season and had their season end hollowly by the whim of a five-game playoff series against a hot Cardinals team? Is it fair that a 200-foot popup can drop for a game-winning hit, while a 430-foot shot to center field at Minute Maid Park is just a loud out? In baseball and life, fair is just a four-letter word. Given the realities at hand, what would angry Astros fans have Crane do? There has been a rush to judge Crane as a sellout, to portray him as somebody who could prevent the Astros from getting ripped away from the NL if he only had the gumption. Sure, Crane could have simply thrown up his hands and walked away from the deal, huffing and puffing about how he bought an NL team and nothing else. He could pandered to the masses about how the Astros weren’t going to leave the NL on his watch, dammit, and made himself a folk-hero of sorts in these parts. And then what? McLane still would have a team he wants to sell. And McLane would have a pretty good idea that the only way to sell that team is to agree to a move, or to find another buyer – probably at a considerably lower price – who will do so. What, then, would people have Crane do? Quit on his dream of owning a major league team, and leave this mess for somebody else? Or make the best deal he can under adverse circumstances, then roll up his sleeves and go about the business of building the Astros into a first-class organization? If Crane falls short of building the Astros into a first-class organization, if he doesn’t embellish considerably the franchise’s accomplishments to date, then he’ll be deserving of the whatever wrath comes his way. As it is, he won’t get the sort of grace period a new owner with long-standing ties to the community normally would. That’s not necessarily fair, but this is the big leagues. When it comes to the Astros and their fans, fair only exists in some alternative universe.
The Astros are my favorite franchise in pro sports, and I've stated time and time again in this thread exactly why this upsets the hell out of me. If it doesn't you, that's great. Good for you.
Moving the Stros to the AL just contributes to that problem. You are right the Stros and the city of Houston have failed to fully embrace their history. The solution to that though isn't just tossing out another part of that history.
Question: What exactly does "50 years in the National League" tangibly mean to you, the fan? It's not like the franchise is being moved to Washington DC, like has almost happened TWICE in our "50 illustrious years of National League Heritage." They'll still be here, playing baseball. And its not like we're breaking up any Oilers-Steelers level rivalries either. With year-round interleague play coming, we'll still be playing a lot of those National League Central teams, just not as often. And I for one won't miss Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. **** whatever league we're playing in, if you wanna be upset, BE UPSET at the sorry-ass state of this franchise. Last year was worse than any of the Ford Motor Credit years. And as of right now, looking at that farm system, there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
Between this thread and the other thread, you can go back and see what it means to a majority of us. A big part of it is that we hate AL "baseball" because we like watching actual baseball. Why can't we be upset with both? I'm not happy my team sucks. I was much happier winning division titles and wild card berths. Now I have to live with my team sucking, and playing in a league I hate.
Well I guess I just view things differently than most baseball "traditionalists." I like watching baseball as a WHOLE, no matter if its the DH league. For example, the wild events of the AL Wild Card race on the last day of the season. Doesn't matter what damn league it is just as long as its a good game. Heh, you would think with all of this sudden "AL hatred" that the All-Star Game would naturally mean something for fans instead of Selig having to force WS home-field advantage just to make the game interesting... but move a team and all of a sudden AL vs. NL is a big deal.
It's funny to me because fans only embrace history when they're team has something to treasure. The Astros have nothing to treasure but getting swept in the World Series. The Cubs for example have lost since forever but the fans have relatives that have told them about Championships for years. The Rockets are a good example of this. For almost two decades Rockets fans have been clinging to memories of past championships. We have a tradition and even if (dear God I hope not) don't win another championship in 15 years people will continue to plant the seeds of past championship success to their kids. What will Astros fans tell their kids? My dad thinks the best Astros team was the one in 86. So much for tradition when the team that gets to the World series isnt even treasured as the best Astros team. Astros have no real "tradition"
This is exactly my point when it comes to the "50 years of NL Heritage" BS. There is no tradition. Even some Astros fans like myself & Reeko see that. I'm in favor of the AL move cause at this point, it doesnt matter what league we are in, this club's entire culture needs to change. Quite b****ing & accept the AL move, build an actual farm system, and bring back the Rainbows ...atleast on the sleeves.
The difference in league rules is what makes it a huge deal. I think we'll adjust to the AL, but not immediately.
Those claiming the Astros have no real history typify this "what have you done for me lately" crowd that predominates Houston sports. The Astros have been in the NL since 1962. They are the cities oldest sports franchise. When they came into the big leagues, Houston literally became a big-time city. Everyone feels slighted because Houston is being taken advantage of due to the change in ownership. The Diamondbacks have won a world series... doesn't mean they have more NL history than Houston. Same goes for the Rockies, Marlins, Padres, Brewers and Nationals. If the Astros weren't going through an ownership change, any of the above teams would be more of a candidate to be forced to switch leagues. The fact that the Astros are bad right now makes it so easy to just ignore their history.... or worse yet, claim its basically non-existant. I'll leave you with this... there is not one single team in the NL that would volunteer to move to the AL. Not one. If there was, they'd be jumping at this opportunity. Why do you guys think that is? Especially for the above teams that aren't as deep-rooted in the NL as the Astros are.
Completely agree. Its unfortunate the Stros haven't won the World Series but that doesn't change that we have been an NL team for our whole history. Just because we are bad right now doesn't mean that history doesn't matter.
This is a really sad day in Houston and for NL baseball. Houston has had NL ties since 1888 with the Buffs and there will be no NL team in this area of the country. Not forgetting to mention that there are 25 million people in Texas, only 12 million live in the greater Houston ans DFW areas, that leaves 13 million in the rest of Texas. Most of them like the fact that the Astros and Rangers play in two different leagues with different rules. Moving the Astros to the AL will disenfranchise these fans and make them have to choose. We already play the Rangers 6 games for the silver boot, that is rivalry enough for most Texans who don't want to choose between them. Milwakee is the team to move back to the AL central (where they belong) and then move KC Royals to AL west. Selig has shown nothing but hatred for the Astros since he has become commissioner. I think it started when the Astros were able to open their new stadium before Selig could open his new one for the Brewers. Whatever his deal is with the Astros it needs to stop. Look at the history of Selig and the Astros, the worst being when he made the Astros play home games in Milwakee after Hurricane Ike against a team with its fan base 45 minutes away. Still by far the worst decision of his tenure. Now he's using the ownership change as leverage to make them switch leagues, it is wrong and Selig in no way would allow this to happen to his Brewers. Selig must go, even if it means removing him forcefully! I'm done with this man and every Astro fan needs to be done too. Stop going to games, buying merchandise etc, until there is a fair commissioner. If not, then just keep supporting and giving your money to a league and commissioner that keeps screwing us over and getting away with it. I for one will not give another dime to this league until things change! BTW, anyone that has said to just accept it is not a true Texan! We don't just accept it when were being wronged, we fight back against it! Money is the weapon of choice these past couple centuries so I hope most Astro fans use that weapon and not give your money to them til things change
again, if you want to know, read the thread. quite a few of us have been posting our feelings on it since the thread's inception, as well as in other threads in the astros forum. you can argue alllllll you want...doesn't change how i feel about it.
