I didn’t say that’s why they sell, although there have been instances where cash poor owners put themselves in a personal or business decision where they had to sell. Just that year to year, profits don’t go up as exponentially as franchise values due to media rights inflation. owners of pro sports teams will tend to have a golden parachute at any point, and some could afford to spend more now with that in mind. of course it the media rights valuations change drastically, all things are up in the air.
As a whole, I feel all the leagues will be fine. If MLS and tennis can survive this era and continue to see rights fees go up , the top leagues will figure it out as well.
Only reason he sold was because his kids wanted nothing to do with it. And he had to give @MadMax's Baylor a few hundred million dollars. In hindsight, it's the best thing that ever happened to the Astros.
We'll see what MLB eventually gets done (CBA negotiations will be brutal), but they're not idiots about this one thing at least. https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/att-sportsnet-channel-astros.311719/page-7#post-14536055
And Baylor got a nice new football stadium. I was conflicted on McLane, because he presided over what was EASILY the most sustained run of success the Astros ever had. But at some point he mailed it in, and it fell quickly. Also I hated those black and red colors that were chosen because they were the corporate colors of his distribution company.
McLane era would be looked back on even more fondly… if it wasn’t for this current era being far/away the best era for any Houston sports team ever (and likely will be for all-time). But he does get credit for Minute Maid park… also the best stadium by far in Houston, despite being the oldest, and will likely continue to be in use for the pro teams while the other teams seek out either newer venues or undergo massive renovations.
You have to factor in that the valuation of a team is simply what the owner can sell it for, which is ultimately a speculation market boosted by cheap money for loans. Money is expensive now, investors and prospective owners can’t summon the capital they once could, this combined with the demise of cable TV and media rights deals will see a contraction in team valuation over the next decade.
And yet Tillman would sell his soul to conjure another $5 billion to even have a chance to bid on the Washington football team. Also the next NHL expansion team is expected to cost over a $billion just to get into the league… and this is a niche sport with very little media presence compared to the other teams. I know sports channels/companies are falling left/right… and overall ratings seem to dwindle…. But we need to measure overall interest in sports on some more granular metrics other than what was used in the past. Ratings are based only on TV (wired, non cord cutting) viewership. Channels are going under because their previous scheme of getting bundled into guaranteed subscribers is no longer a given. The constant is that these teams still exist… their games are still well attended with ticket prices continuing to go up for every sport… and consumers are still looking for ways they will consume the product (whether it be going from pay service to pay service, streaming options, VPN/illegal streams, etc. etc, etc.). IOW… the demand to own a sports team will still be there… and I see franchise values continuing to rise as they’re such a fixed commodity (unless there are more leagues that come online and have success… USFL, XFL, etc.).
LMJ - out (what a surprise) Garcia - out Urquidy - been out Javier - struggling Brown - showing why he's still young/unproven
I was critized on here for saying how stupid it was to give LMJ that extension. Looks like everyone agrees now.
If you remove some Bielak/Blanco/France starts and replace them with this seasons Verlander, we're pretty much in the exact same spot. He wouldn't have really improved the team much, if at all. It's hard to deal with 6 out of 7 starting pitchers being hurt or inconsistent compared to previous seasons. And now the one guy who was on point is dealing with a nagging injury.
i disagree. They wouldn't be as desperate as they are now looking for starting pitching and the rotation wouldn't as overworked as it has been. it was always a benefit from both sides of having the rotation being as it was with JV
Looking back at my original offseason plan post, I was pretty close on what Haniger and Fulmer signed for and what the As got for Murphy. Who knows if the A’s would have preferred that deal to what they got but obviously that’s the move that would make things wildly different for Houston. I obviously wouldn’t have been able to sign Abreu for that amount but I still would have paid him what he ended up getting. Fulmer has been meh. Haniger has been hurt most of the year. They would likely have won 2-3 more games and would have Diaz and Julks mashing in the minors possibly positioned as major trade chips. They also wouldn’t be saddled with Montero’s contract. They’d be in a very similar position at the deadline looking for a SP and a RP, but would not have a need on offense (since Haniger is coming back and they’d have Murphy to deepen the lineup).
I'm not ready to say it was stupid yet. 17 million a year is the going rate for like a number 4 pitcher now. McCullers FINALLY got the surgery the Astros wanted him to have after the 2021 injury, and he still has 3 more years on this deal. Plus he had some masterful playoff starts including game 1 against the White Sox in 2021 and that crazy 18 inning game in Seattle last season.
McCullers contract does look like a bad move so far, given by this point next season they will have paid him almost $51M for 47.2 ip. But he still has a chance to make good. If he comes back and pitches well in the playoffs next season followed by 2 full healthy productive (3+ fwar) seasons, it will have been a fair contract.
I agree with this. Lance needs to be healthy. But if he is there is plenty of time for him to make good on this contract. Last year, he got 1.4 bWAR in 8 starts and 47.2 innings. If he can triple that= 24 gs/ 143 inn. each of the next 3 seasons, then he will blow this contract out of the water. As long as he is healthy it will be a very reasonable expectation. 14 bWAR and $85M = $6M per WAR which way less than the Astros would have paid on the open market More importantly, the Astros will have a 4.2 bWAR SP in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
