The more I see and hear Luhnow, the more I trust his judgement. He seems to know when to be aggressive, and when to fold the hand. If he feels like we have a truly legitimate chance at making noise in the playoffs this year, I don't doubt that he'll explore every option available that would help us get there. He reminds me of Morey in a lot of ways, and that's a compliment of the highest degree in my mind.
If we are determined to make the playoffs this year, the watch period wont be very long. I would think bubble players will maybe have the rest of the month. Not much more.
Do you know how quotation marks work? Apparently not. I know why "you" think Randy Johnson was the "equivalent" of Johnny Cueto, it's "because" you were 12 years old in 1998.
Not quite... and never said the two were "equivalent"... but who am I to argue with the new "King" of unverifiable speculative nonsense, when his argument is "Chris Sale draws more than Cueto." Cute guess though... not sure why you're thinking about my youth (which was more in the mid 1980's, which basically guarantees myself to have a better memory on the subject). Laterz and quit doing this:
That's weird, I remember it being a big deal. On ESPN they broke live to show Randy's reaction in the dugout of the Mariners when he received word he was traded. A lot of teams were trying to trade for him. Here's a good article: Link (Posted on January 5, 2015) Some excerpts: “Every time he took the mound that year, the energy in the ballpark was the most amazing thing I’ve witnessed,” said Alan Ashby, the former Astros catcher who made his broadcasting debut in 1998. “The Astrodome was the place to be, and when Randy Johnson was on the mound, he was the best thing going" "Attendance for Johnson’s five home starts averaged 45,655. Two of his games rank among the team’s 10 largest crowds at the Dome." "He was quite the television draw, too. After a season during which the Astros averaged a 0.35 Nielsen rating on the now-departed Comcast SportsNet Houston, it’s jarring to recall the degree to which viewers flocked to their TV sets to watch Johnson pitch in 1998. His Aug. 2 debut against the Pirates generated a season-high 10.0 Nielsen rating, totaling about 156,000 households, on KNWS (Channel 51). Games against the Brewers and Braves produced the fourth- and sixth-best ratings ever for an Astros game on Fox Sports Southwest, and a Saturday game at Wrigley Field against the Cubs and Sammy Sosa generated an 11.5 rating on KRIV (Channel 26). All, told, Johnson’s 11 starts generated 84.7 Nielsen ratings points, which is more than were generated by 157 Astros broadcasts in 2014 on CSN Houston. Astros ratings on FS Southwest more than doubled in August and September over their levels before Johnson arrived."
Nobody is arguing that it wasn't the biggest thing to ever happen to Astros fans at that point... But for the lay person to come on board (which is the audience MMP will be trying to attract vs. who already goes to the games), hype was most certainly needed. And despite recent lack of success, Houston has come a long way as a baseball town since. Was at those games in 1998 and the atmosphere (while great compared to what it had been) was nothing like 2004/2005.
I went to those games for the mullet. The flowing beauty of that thing was a sight to be seen. Larry Walker would dream about such a mullet and John Kruk even increased the amount of meth he took to try and catch up. Y'all can keep your Nielsen ratings. I'll take those streaming locks of greatness.
So I quoted something you didn't say? Whoa. I'm thinking about your ignorance because it would take someone with basically no clue to believe Randy Johnson didn't sell a lot of seats after that trade. Considering the hype and coverage of that trade at the time it was such a bizarrely ignorant thing to say. Good for you. I stand by my Nick inspired speculative nonsense that Chris Sale would sell a lot more seats than Johnny Cueto.
We can agree to disagree. He was such an odd player (tall and lanky, crazy hair, dominate with the heat/slider, penchant to stare down opposing players) he brought out the layman fans to see the show as the numbers reflect.
No need to give me "credit" for that... you came up with that drivel all by yourself: Which is funny because I bet even posters here (who represent the small minority of "advanced knowledge sports fans") wouldn't be able to pick out Chris Sale out of a candy-bar lineup.
Indeed, he did... I saw it first hand... but I'd wager the average Houstonian at the time of the trade had to be told who Randy Johnson was and why it was a big deal. That's just the nature of sports fans... we think its far more important than the vast majority of the public does.
He did... but he wasn't just automatically some household name for all Houstonians at the time of the trade... which is what I originally said. What he needed was: to get laymen to get excited.
My only comments on this pointless, circular debate-- 1) Randy Johnson was a household name. 2) Chris Sale would bring more people to MMP than Cueto. Not sure its even close.
Sale has gotten way too much hype/love from ESPN for his performances this year for them to be equivalent, IMO. Sale and it shouldn't be close. People come to the ballpark to see strikeout pitchers. Thats the biggest draw. You cant really get any better than Chris Sale.
"Strikeouts are fascist!" Today is the slowest sports day of all time... and I don't use quotations right.
Just gonna chime in: Sale and Cueto would be almost equal draws, IMHO. The average fan doesn't know how dominant Sale has been vs. the Cueto name which, while not of the household variety, is still a known commodity (not saying Sale isn't). Most Astros fans are going to hear about a "majorish" trade and upgrade at SP and be more inclined to attend a game be it Sale or Cueto. Not to mention, both pitchers will add to the Astros Win column over time, the real reason casual fans attend more. Just my .02.
