i hope they finally condemn that death trap of a stadium in arlington and force the rangers to move to green bay.
Maybe eventually I'll come around, and I guess if I still lived in Houston it might be different, but my love for MLB and the Astros is gone. They won't see a dime of my money or one iota of my interest for some time. I can get my baseball fix elsewhere. To me this feels every bit as ****ty as when the Oilers moved.
I honestly don't know if I'll still follow them or not. Right now, I really don't want to. But if I moved, I'd definitely be less inclined to continue to support them the way I would the Rockets and Texans.
every team goal is to win a championship. in this case it's still the same championship, just a different road to get there. want to feel better about the situation, as the late great al davis said, "JUST WIN BABY!!!"
playing against different teams with different rules in an entirely different league. it's not just a different road. that's what people are lamenting here. http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...-bothered-by-talk-of-move-to-american-league/ Larry Dierker understands the forces at work. Intellectually, Dierker has little trouble processing the politics, logistics, geography and plain old luck of the draw that dictates the Astros’ being shown the door out of the National League. Viscerally, Dierker isn’t ready to make peace with severing NL ties that go back to 1962 — and even longer than that, if you count the Houston Buffs’ 1921-1959 run as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. One of the terms of the $680 million sale of the team by Drayton McLane is that owner-in-waiting Jim Crane, who is expected to receive Major League Baseball’s approval on Thursday, receives a $70 million discount for agreeing to move the team to the American League. Effective in 2013, the designated hitter will be a fact of everyday Astros life instead of an interleague novelty. “It bothers me a lot,” said Dierker, who won 137 games for the Astros from 1964-1976, managed the team to four division titles from 1997-2001, and has been affiliated with the franchise for virtually his entire adult life. “We’re just a victim of circumstance.” One of the circumstances at hand is that commissioner Bud Selig and the MLB Players Association have been working on a labor agreement that would realign the 16-team NL and 14-team AL into a 15-15 configuration. Nobody in the National League volunteered, but there just happened to be an NL team up for sale from the majors’ only six-team division (the Central). McLane was eager to sell, Crane was determined to buy, and the Astros’ NL affiliation soon will be history. At least in theory, an AL West rivalry with the Texas Rangers is born. From MLB’s perspective, it was the scenario that provided the least fuss and muss: The Astros move to the AL West, balancing all the divisions at five teams apiece, with no inconvenience to anybody else. But try telling that to old-school Astros loyalists. Why not the Brewers? “The team that should be in the American League is Milwaukee,” said former All-Star outfielder Jim Wynn, who played for the Astros from 1963-1973. “Milwaukee came from the American League. The National League team is the Houston Astros. If they move to the American League, the fan base is going to get really mad.” An informal Chronicle online poll last month showed 76 percent of the respondents opposing a league change, with 35 percent vowing to sever their allegiance if the Astros were to join the AL. [/B]Like Wynn, many fans wonder why NL Central rival Milwaukee, which was in the AL from 1970-1997, isn’t changing leagues. Selig used to own the Brewers and still lives in Milwaukee — two facts that don’t sit well with many Astros loyalists. “I live in Houston,” said former Astros player and general manager Bob Watson, who played in both leagues during a 19-year career. “Would I like to see the American League? No, but it’s not my call.” Watson calls himself “a purist” and insists baseball “was designed to be a National League game.” Yet he points to how the sport has changed since the AL implemented the DH rule in 1973 in hopes of adding offense and improving attendance. The average AL attendance in the final non-DH season was 12,312, or 36 percent behind the NL (16,617). The AL increased its attendance 12 percent in 1973 and drew 28,783 per game — 8 percent less than the NL— this past season. “Who would have thought the DH would be worldwide?” Watson said. “The National League is the only league in the world that doesn’t have a DH. High school, Little League, all the teams have the DH.” Reduction in strategy DH detractors bemoan the creation of a spot in the lineup for a one-dimensional player. “To me, DHing was to keep the older guys around a lot longer than they’re supposed to be,” Wynn said. “The way baseball is supposed to be is nine players, including the pitcher, and let’s see if the manager is a lot smarter than the other manager.” The use of the bench comes into play much more in the National League, with double-switches a staple of the game. The typical NL team pinch-hit 259 times and had 71 sacrifice bunts last season, compared to 76 and 38 in the AL. “In the American League, if you’re lucky enough to have a really good club, you’re like a fan. You’re just sitting back watching,” said former Astros player and manager Art Howe, who has managed in both leagues. “You put up that lineup, and it’s, ‘Go get ’em, boys.’ The moves are strictly with your pitching staff. Does he have anything left? Should I bring this guy in? In the National League, you’re manipulating your players.” Dierker strongly prefers the maneuvers inherent in the NL game. He also has a lifelong love of baseball and a kinship with the Astros that aren’t going anywhere. Will the time come when he can set aside all those deep feelings about the Astros’ heritage and embrace an existence in the AL? “Embrace isn’t quite the right word,” Dierker said. “I think I can enjoy baseball with the DH, but I don’t think I’ll ever embrace the DH.” steve.campbell@chron.com
Just prepare to be annihilated by the Rangers for at least five seasons. Some rivalry that will turn out to be. Sure, it will make Astros fans' blood boil. Rangers fans will be loving that rivalry for quite a while. It will be so lopsided as far as wins-losses...that rivalry won't even be the right word to use. It will be more like master-slave. I can't wait to watch the Astros get destroyed in the AL for several seasons. I'm most interested in when the Astros can actually get back to being competitive. I'm penciling in 2016 season. I can't wait for that and when we try to go from master-slave back to rivalry. lol
The past 3 years the Astros are 12-9 against the Phillies, so the discrepency in talent between the Astros and Rangers doesn't necessarily mean they will get destroyed.
Wilson is a pretty cool dude - over the top and eccentric, but most closers are. Timmy had his ups and downs, but he's been as good as any starting pitcher in baseball the last few years. Matt Cain is a steady #2, Bumgarner is a stud, and Vogelsong put together a great season. Zito is worthless. The problem is the hitting is beyond atrocious. I think the Giants got shutout or held to 1 run like 12 times in July. But at least next year Posey and Freddy Sanchez get back from injury, and we just added Melky Cabrera to take over from Torres in CF. Beltran may or may not return - my guess is he's gone. Hoping that Brandon Belt makes a leap next year.
Vogelsong was really an interesting story, and made me want to cheer for him. I think getting Posey and Sanchez back will help. Also the giants got the better of the Melky deal too. I definitely don't hate the giants, and they have my favorite MLB manager. I just don't know if I would be up for following them as closely as my team to cheer for all season.
you know, i'm kinda starting to feel the same way. time for me to invest in some tx. state season tickets. ping me amadeus.
If it's all about saving the 70 mil, he should say no, because i'm guessing he's going to lose that in Hot Dog and Beer sales while his basement dwellers pull themselves up with their bootstraps and the somewhat fickle (easily distracted) fans of the Astros wrestle with embracing a different kind of game and opponents.
I'm not sure about high school, I'm pretty sure mine didn't have a DH, but little league sure as hell doesn't have a DH. At those ages, the pitchers are often times the best athletes on the team and are really good hitters as well.
They would already love to play us. It's not going to make the Astros a competitor for the pennant if they stick with using the DH.
This was always the case, I said before he had 2 options 1) Own an AL team 2) Never own an MLB team. With his baggage, real or imagined, he was put in a tough negotiating position. He's 4th on my list of hatred, behind Selig/Drayton/Nolan. Groogrux, I feel you. I will be watching and attending many more UT games this year. Hell, AugieBall is as close as you can get to NL baseball while using AL rules.
You just summed up my feelings exactly. This is first class BULLS**T. If a team needed to move I want Selig & Crane to stand up there and explain (in ENGLISH) why it had to be Houston and not Phoenix which actually IS in the West. I am done with the Astros. My interest was on life support anyway as I hadn't forgiven them for running off Nolan Ryan twice but this is the final straw. I predict that Crane will be stunned by the backlash that's coming his way. You want another reason why this reeks? The Ranger and their fans absolutely think this is a "terrific" idea.
