Everyone in this thread keeps saying that MLB cannot make the Astros move ... well sounds like the Astros want to move.
MLB can most definitely hold leverage over Cranes approval. If he says "I don't want the Astros to switch leagues," MLB can just as easily say, "Well, we don't approve of you as owner then." I don't think he wants to move them, and Drayton has already said that he would have been opposed to it... but, if that's the only way Crane could become an MLB owner... well, you then see why the Astros are the only "logical" choice. Because they're the biggest pushovers and are in ownership limbo.
The Astros are either moving to the AL West or the NL West. You're going to be getting a ton of west coast start times regardless. You get fewer in the AL because of Texas.
Think again: http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...sed-al-move-would-strongly-oppose-leaving-nl/ The Astros are not and have not been involved in any discussions to move to the American League, owner Drayton McLane said Tuesday night. Commissioner Bud Selig and the head of the players union said in separate sessions with the Baseball Writers Association of America before Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Phoenix that they favor some realignment. Michael Weiner, executive director for the Major League Players Association, said the union has for years supported having 15 teams in both leagues instead of the current configuration of 16 in the National League and 14 in the American League. Fox Sports Arizona reported Tuesday that one of the conditions of the Astros’ pending $680 million sale to Jim Crane is accepting a move to the AL West to create a 15-15 configuration. McLane characterized that scenario as “totally inaccurate,” adding, “None of that has ever, ever been discussed with us.” “That has not been discussed by the commissioner to myself or anyone else with the Astros,” McLane said by phone from Greenville, S.C, where he is on a business trip. “If that were part of the deal, that certainly would have emerged.” The Astros, who play in the six-team NL Central, and the NL West’s Arizona Diamondbacks are widely considered the most logical candidates to move in a 15-15 scenario. If the Diamondbacks were to move to the AL West, that would necessitate one team — presumably from the Central — shifting to the NL West to balance the divisions into five teams apiece. The Astros have a history in the NL West, having been in it from 1969 to 1993. An Astros move to the AL West, meanwhile, would create six five-team divisions without any other shifting. “We’ve been a National League team for 49 years,” McLane said. “I think it would not be good for the franchise to change to the American League West.” Selig said he long has had an interest in realignment but told the BBWAA that “massive realignment” is not on the horizon. The 2012 schedule has been completed, making 2013 the earliest possible time for changes. One significant sticking point to a 15-15 structure, Selig said, is that it would necessitate interleague play the entire season. Selig said he likes interleague play just the way it is.
No way MLB holds up a $680 million sale for that. They have no contractual right to force the Astros to change leagues, and nixing a sale to strong-arm Crane would end up getting them sued by him or McLane. Changing the very league the franchise plays in is a material difference in the bargain Crane struck. McLane's relationship with Selig is too strong for all that.
Right on point! However, I don't know if it matters what Uncle Drayton wants, the issue is what the new boss wants.... We will see... all logic points to it NOT happening, but in my gut I can't get over this burning feeling that MLB wants to move the Astros, and a deal will get struck. Still, my training as a lawyer says it does not make sense.
The fact that Drayton says he hasn't heard it mentioned at all with respect to the sale is huge....assuming he's telling the truth, of course. But making it a condition of sale AFTER they've already agreed to terms for the sale of an NL ballclub that has a charter that can't be amended for a league switch without ownership agreement??? They can ask...they can strongly suggest...but they can't make it a condition of sale. Especially since it's been reported again and again that approval is imminent and just a matter of the owners meeting to sign off on it. I read they were discussing doing it by written vote in the mail, at one point.
If all 29 other team want or are indifferent to the Astros moving, and the only person who doesn't want it is the Astros' lame duck owner, or their propective owner who has a somewhat checkered past....well....
I hear ya politically. Legally, there's not a thing they can do. I think if this were happening, Drayton would know about it. I think if this were happening you wouldn't already have Crane out there in the media saying he doesn't want the 'stros to be in the AL.
Sure they could, they could vote to not approve the sale. They're not bound by the sale agreement between the 2. They could vote against the transaction for pretty much any reason they want.
That still doesn't force the Astros to the AL. That's why I said politically, I agree with you...they could use that as pressure. But like I said, I think if that were happening Drayton would know about it by now.
Either McCrane are lying, or this whole thing is media driven. The only statements made by anyone remotely involved with the MLB hierarchy are McLane and Crane. What does that tell you?
I imagine, though, Crane could, if his hand is forced, reneg on the deal, right? Or worse: sue MLB? I'm guessing the $680M check and potential litigation threat gives him quite a bit more leverage?
Sue MLB for what exactly? They're not a party to the contract, and could approve or disapprove of the deal for pretty much any reason they want, just like when they decided they didn't want Crane to bring Mark Cuban into their little club last year.
