the trade was maligned because the wouldn't signed pettitte and gave up the last few prospects to sign a broken down mule opinion, and that's one player please due the research because you're full of opinions, i don't know what to take for fact and now your argument is because they have the most wins in a season in that period they're worse that's an interesting way to hedge your bets but he only talked to houston
as recently as last year, their coach was having to buy and give away season tickets so that tha arena would be full and somewhat excited; there are yearly stories of how houston has zero homecourt advantage due to a largely apathetic, dsitracted - whatever - home crowd; i assume it's improved recently, but it wasn't long ago that their attendance was among the worst in the league. and even games that do generate larger crowds lack the buzz and sizzle of, well, frankly, i attended game 2 of the utah series last season and last weekend's texan/cowboy preseason game and the difference (favoring the texans) was significant. there's been more rancor and discourse over the texans and astros these past two years, despite no postseason, than there was excitement over the rockets' playoff appearence last year. they are solidly in third place among the local teams; it's really not even debatable.
Pettitte said he wasn't sure he wanted to play; the Astros made him a one-year offer any way, the next thing we know he's asking for two years guaranteed and within two days he's a Yankee. But yeah, it's because Drayton was "pinching pennies" (forget the $27million Andy already got, or the $40+ million Roger got, or the $100 million for Carlos, or the $107 million Beltran turned down). I'm at work. And, you're "full of opinions", too. Thank you (seriously) for not taking any opinion of mine for fact. We're here to discuss opinions. An example of one of your opinions is this whole "penny-pinching" thing. That's a real headscratcher for one who gives so much lip service to "facts". No wonder you're confused; you completely misunderstood. Who? Roger or Pettitte? Pettitte did the Yankees in 2004 much like he did the Astros in 2007. His mind appears to have been made up long before any negotiations or discussions began in each case--and that's fine. It's his prerogative. It's just funny to blame McLane for his leaving and then deny him credit for his coming here in the first place, when the facts of both circumstances are so obviously similar. Your entire argument is disingenuous in this same vane. But don't mind me; I'm just "full of opinions."
THat's becausee they played in one of the, if not the, the smallest arena prior to moving - and were mediocre at best while doing it. But it is generally true that apathetic crowds and houston sports go together like heat and traffic most of the time. Unless Vince Young is playing.
you think the average team has performed as well as the astros over the course of the past 10 seasons?
Or the Dallas Cowboys. Or Roger Clemens. Or the '86 Mets. Or Earl Campbell. Or the Dream. Houston crowds, like most places not named "Chicago North Side" or "Boston", are apathetic when it comes to mediocrity. If we're going to rap our own great city for that, let's knock everyone else down several notches for being guilty of the same thing. Because mediocrity ain't exciting. And I don't expect Houston or anyone else to get all excited, make a lot of noise, and spend a ton of money on something mediocre.
The Rockets have ALWAYS been behind football and baseball in terms of fan interest, even when they were winning championships. That's just the way it's always been. The Astrodome was selling out when the Oilers were a lame duck franchise, while the Rockets couldn't even sell out playoff games. Football is pretty much the official state sport, while baseball has been in Houston since pre WWI.
Don't you remember all those Oiler games we couldn't watch because the Dome didn't sell out? Or Mattress Mac buying all those thousands of tickets? True, this *is* a football town, but apathy has reigned in the football arena at times as well.
Uh...no. The Rockets were no where near behind the Astros in fan interest for all of my life before about 1997. The early days of sports radio in this town were absolutely dominated by Rockets and Oilers talk. The Astros were a complete after-thought. The Astros struggled to draw 2 million fans to the Dome. They were begging for 20,000 fans/game to "Step Up to the Plate" in about 1996, before the referendum for the new ballpark. That's completely changed.
the astros sold 125,076 tickets to their 3-game weekend series with the pirates that turned out to be a battle for last place. and vince young was in tennessee teaching his teammates how to make subway sandwiches out of tree bark. the rockets are firmly third on the depth chart and have been since roughly .01 seconds after stockton's game-winner hit the bottom of the net 10 years ago. (or was it hornaceck? i can't even remember any more.)
no actually I understood your point, if they have a high total of wins then its a statistical outlier that offesets some bad seasons, its still a silly point, I don't know where you're going with it just like you don't blame him for any of the free agents who left, including freakin pettitte who you want to give him credit for signing but not credit for him leaving. who's all over the map?
I guarantee you the Twins are regretting the day that they passed over the sure-thing, exhorbitantly-priced bonus baby in favor of the cheaper, easily-signable hometown guy. Every single organization in MLB uses everything at their disposal, including the "hometown" aspect, to recruit players. Houston & the surrounding areas have immense appeal to professional athletes, and the Houston area is one of the 2 or 3 great hotbeds of baseball talent in the country. They'd be idiots not to use that as a bargaining/recruitment chip.
6 playoff appearances in the past 10 seasons. a league pennant 2 seasons ago. i don't think the average team has that track record.
That was true in 1997. we squeaked out a division title over the pirates. But we won over 100 games in 1998. We won 97 games in 1999. We won 93 games in 2001 In 2004 and 2005 we had to beat out teams across the NL for wild card spots. we won 92 games in 2004...89 in 2005 when we went to the World Series. I'm sorry...but that ain't mediocre.
no one's saying he's a bad owner. I really don't have a problem with Drayton, the only issue I have is that he makes more marketing moves than baseball moves. I think it has come back to bite him sorely. he has been successful playoff wise no doubt, he has made big moves. honestly, I wish he would have bowed out of the beltran sweepstakes earlier because it was clear that beltran didn't want to be here and he only set himself up for failure. I actually wasn't a big fan of the pettitte move but it brought clemens so I was happy. actual money spent is not my issue with drayton. and clearly he's the best owner this team has ever had, but he didn't have to do much to get there. but he did threaten to move the team to get his stadium, which everyone conveniently forgets. he's made a ton off the stadium. the money on roger was spent only because he knew he could make that back. it is what it is, he's a business man. and that's fine, but let's not act like he's a great owner, his marketing strategy has coincided with this team being great because it meant holding on to bagwell and biggio. so yes he deserves credit, but those were more than baseball decisions. he's been good enough to recognize the benifit in keeping those two but he's also been lucky it worked out on the field. this isn't one of the great franchises in the history of sports, its not even one of the great runs. its been average in terms of wins, and above average in terms of playoffs. in terms of number of wins, average is right around where a team in this market should be. its just the previous standards were so low, some can't see the forest from the trees.
Then why don't the Cubs? Or the Brewers? Or the Mariners? Or the Angels? Or the White Sox, Indians, Royals, or Tigers? Or the Padres or Dodgers? Because if pull your head out of the 2007 sand and look over the last decade, the Eastern divisions have been consistently strong (except the NL East a couple of times), and the others--all four of them--have been up and down. More down than up, actually. You are, thanks. I've given solid facts behind my opinions. You just keep chirping about "penny pinching" and dropping names with no facts to back it up. Then you're harping about "facts"! It's laughable, really.
