Horns247 Board

Fans react to the 2013 Houston Astros...

Did anyone actually recognize one of the players?? I doubt I would.

Can't blame you one bit.

Don't the Astros have the lowest payroll in the league now?

I believe you are correct about the payroll. How many years will it take for the Astros to compete in the AL West? But that is what you get when you throw 50 years of tradition out the window. Uncle drayton IMHO belongs beside bud adams in class and ethics.

I think the "business plan" was will you get me a discount on the team if I change leagues. There is a big difference when an owner buys a team because he loves it (plus a good investment) vs an owner who buys a team for investment purposes only.

While this period sucks for fans, it is absolutely necessary for the long term benefit of the team. I saw an article recently that looked at what would happen if the Astros added literally every single realistic free agent at each position... and we are at best around a .500 ballclub.

So instead of wasting money signing players who won't make a difference, he's putting money towards international scouting and other long term investments.

It's easy to bash Crane because the team looks so terrible right now. But I agree with the coach he hired, the uniform change he oversaw, and the change he made where you can bring food and drink into the stadium.

He's not some super villain that wants the team to lose. He's just a guy who inherited a team that was so much more broken than anyone could have imagined.

(As for the AL move, it was forced upon Crane by Selig. Whoever bought the team from Drayton was going to have to go to the AL if they wanted the team. People keep saying that Crane negotiated the move in order to get a discount, which is false. The team was going to move regardless, so Crane negotiated the price of the team down because of it. There's a big difference.)

As a longtime Astros fan, the rebuilding process sucks but I'm not in the bash Jim Crane camp. Drayton left a dumpster fire of a team. Between 2006-2007, he mortgaged the minor league players for big ticket players getting past their prime. In 2008, we were in the race but a loss to the Cubs in Milwaukee because of hurricane Ike sent the team into a tail spin. Since then, team hasn't competed at all.

So it was left trading away players like Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, and others for prospects to rebuild the farm system since they're not competing anyways.

The way the Astros are going to compete is through the farm system. It's been decimated for a while and unless you're the Yankees, the big club is only as strong as it's minor leagues.

This year, I know they probably will be out of the pennant race by the 4th of July. But at least I won't have to see Carlos Lee taking forever to get around the bases. The best case scenario is if they lose less than 100 games. It's not fun when you know your team has no chance to compete. But win or lose, I'm still Astros all the way.

So you think they might have a chance against the Cards?