_____ Start major rebuild
_____ Announce move to American League
_____ Suggest a name change
_____ Erect hideously ugly sign that everyone hates
2012 Attendance - 1,607,733 (22% decline)
2012 FSN Houston Viewers, according to Neilsen - 1046 households on 9/9/12
_____ Fire radio team and allude to their fantastic replacements
(Two months later *crickets*)
_____ Start up a fancy new regional sports network that 60% of Houston doesn't get
_____ Don't re-sign Jim Deshaies to a long-term contract, again alluding to great replacement
_____ Continue rebuilding
_____ Move to the American League
_____ 9:00 West Coast games
_____
2013 Estimated Attendance - 1,559,680 or lower (the lowest in 2012 was 1,559,681 - I think we can beat that easily)
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Seriously, I love what Luhnow is doing on the baseball side, but Crane needs to start getting some good PR and he needs to start getting it soon. Other than the uniforms, it's been the drip, drip, drip of Chinese water torture on Astros fans. Get a couple of former players in the radio and TV broadcast booth that people can get excited about and do it soon for the love of Milo and all that's holy!I want to get excited about the Astros again, but frankly I'm just numb at this point. For the first time ever, I can honestly say that I don't care if I miss a bunch of games next year because they won't be available on my provider. I'll have more time to watch the minor leagues on my computer. And if I'm saying that, if I'm feeling that way, you have a serious PR problem.
It's me again....funny how certain things change a persons opinion! Remember, we have to wait until the minor league players are ready....2015, 2016 or 2017! There is really not a need for a broadcaster if nobody can see the game on tv and there is nobody in the stands except Rangers fans!
ReplyDeleteThis is not a rebuild, this is destruction of an organization! It will take a couple years, but when the minor league talent starts promoting and becomes arbitration eligible, all you sports writers and bloggers that have defended this mess will be eating crow. You and the rest should be holding the front office feet to the fire for some answers, but y'all are to afraid they will pull your press pass!
I routinely take the Astros front office to task for the things that I believe they have done wrong. Are you saying that I should also be taking them to task for the things that *you* think they're doing wrong? You'll have to fight those battles yourself.
DeleteI feel Jayne (which I am assuming is her real name) has been pretty fair with her criticisms. She isn't employed by the Astros and doesn't really have an obligation to sugarcoat anything... and I really haven't seen much evidence of sugarcoating anyway.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a problem with the job Luhnow is doing... I have issues with Crane.
Are you just trying to argue to argue? I appreciate the passion, Anonymous, but really...
You can't like the GM and not the owner, or vice versa....either a person is ok with the directions of the Astros organization or they are not. Well, I am a season ticket holder and my family and I have spent thousands of dollars over a lifetime. I understand rebuilding, I have been following MLB for 30 yrs, but this is not rebuilding. Trading everything for low teir prospects and signing possibly the 4 th or 5 th best player in the draft simply to save money so we can add 2 more pieces to a depleted minor league system is not rebuilding a MLB team. It is running a organzation on a shoe string budget.
DeleteThe owner should be responsible to the fanbase and the only two ways for that to happen is through ticket sales and the media. Well, tickets sales have done their part, maybe you guys didn't see the stadium last year. Now it is time for the reporters and bloggers to ask the questions. Simple, why did Luhnow report that the payroll would be 50 mil but now says 30 mil? Why does Luhnow think that free agents will take at bats away from AAAA players that are not planned to be a part of the future youth movement ie Wallace, Martinez x 2, and Maxwell.
Everyone has an opinion, and obviously mine differs from either of yours. Well, I read your blog to get your take, if you don't won't to read my comments, I guess you can disable the comment section. But I read the entire Luhnow interview, and there were no difficult questions and all the chron reporters are simply proud that they have their credentials.
"Trading everything for low tier prospects..." What do you mean by that? And can you provide a few examples?
DeleteSecondly, many experts have said the Astros had one of the better drafts in the league. What would you have done differently?
...and, yes, I can like the GM and dislike the owner. I think the player side of the organization is improving while the business side is declining. Do you disagree?
I agree with your statement, but the fact is that player side can't do anything w/o permission from business side. I think Luhnow would be great if he didn't have to report to his boss, but since he does...they are one in the same.
DeleteFor what they wanted to achieve the draft was good. Problem is, what they wanted was to sign as many players as they could for cheap.
The trades, I think we mostly got hosed....everything we traded, we go B/C prospects just to increase numbers. Most will never see a MLB park. We traded so much, w/o.looking it up I couldn't name who was for who, which is my point, we didn't get anything worth remembering.
We got 5 of the Astros top 20 prospects in Luhnow trades, 4 of those for a 33-year old setup guy with modest success, a 30-year old lefty who has never been able to prove he can be more than a bottom of the rotation starter and a 27 year old reliever who struggled mightily in the majors this year. Three of those four (that were part of that trade) were first round picks in 2010 and 2011 and the oldest at 23 had very good success at AA this season. (And that doesn't even include a 5th prospect who was included in that trade, a 22-year old lefty with a very successful track record.) But I'm sure you'll find another argument about why all of those players suck.
DeleteMy question for you is this -- if you truly believe that the Astros are destined to be bottom feeders forever, that Jim Crane is the Antichrist and that Luhnow is his minion, that everything that the Astros have done and will do in the future is for crap, WHY ARE YOU STILL FOLLOWING THEM? It's OK to walk away. Or do you just get your jollies anonymously trolling my site because my whole reason for writing this blog is to give hope to Astros fans for the future and your whole reason for being appears to be telling us that we're chumps for having any hope at all.
I will be happy to discuss different ideas (based on facts) all day long, but I really don't have time for baseless, disrespectful negativity. I realize that I just lost a reader, but so be it. You'll be happier when you just walk away from the Astros.
The only thing I'm not liking is that the Houston Astros and the Corpus Christi Hooks schedule for 2013 mimics each other. So when the Astros are on the road so are the Hooks. We will only be able to attend an Astros game after the Hooks season is over.
ReplyDeleteI would disagree with your assessment Anonymous in regards to the players that we received in the trades. I've been a season ticket holder for the Corpus Christi Hooks and up until this season there wasn't much to cheer about. If you want an example the Hooks record in 2011 was 50-90, the worst in the minors for full season teams. This season our record was 81-59 and you can lay a part of that success at the feet of the prospects. Oberholtzer and Cosart should make their MLB in the next year or so.
ReplyDelete