If You are Paying Attention, Astros Do Have Something Going for Them
It has been all too common to hear nothing but negatives from the fans who have followed the Houston Astros this off season. While it is true the club had the worst season in Houston history in 2011 and the new ownership is not spending money willy nilly this off season both the criticism of the past and premature complaints about the future are mis guided.
For the vast majority of the Drayton McLane Jr. ownership years the Astros were one of the best teams in baseball. Sure, they never won a World Series and only made it that far once. At the same time they were competitive and that is really all fans can ask for. You will note that the big spenders in New York and Boston did not win the World Series every year. Spending money is not the answer. Being smart about how you spend it is.
Players don’t last forever or at their peak skill level. There will always be some ups and downs especially in this silly money era. Teams don’t develop super star players or even all star players every year. Clubs have to hope they have enough prospects so that someone will come to the front and pay off. Hopefully, it will be more than one.
Since that is the Astros current plan, it is encouraging that three percent of the top 100 prospects work in the farm system. And it is also encouraging that two of those prospects were acquired in trades by Ed Wade last season. Jonathan Singleton may be the most intriguing. A year earlier the Phillies would not trade him when they wanted Roy Oswalt. He was being given a shot to play the outfield on the hope that he could play that spot while Ryan Howard continued to hold down first base. In 2011 after a season of playing mediocre outfield the Phils were willing to part with him to Houston in the Hunter Pence trade.
Singleton is only 20 years old but will likely start the 2012 in Corpus Christi. He combines an ability to hit for power and average. A good season in 2012 could put him in the hunt for a regular job at first base for Houston in 2013. Everything points to the possibility of Singleton developing into a real star. Of course, he has to do it and he has not had that chance yet.
Another player in the same Pence trade with the Phils is also on the top 100 list. That is pitcher Jarred Cosart. Only 21 years old he has electric stuff they say and only needs to be more consistent with where he delivers those pitches to be a star. He will open in Corpus Christi in 2012 but could advance quickly.
The third top 100 prospect according to MLB.com is last year’s top draft pick, George Springer. The centerfielder from Connecticut signed late and only appeared in eight minor league games last season. Still, his five tool package of skills intrigues scouts who felt the Astros really found a gem in the draft. Springer is 22 years old and likely will begin the season in A ball, but if he earns it will be moved quickly.
It is very important to emphasize, however, that while being ranked in the top 100 of MLB is a great honor it guarantees absolutely nothing. J.D. Martinez who appears to be the leading candidate to play left field with the Astros in 2012 was not a highly regarded prospect early on. Only after he continued to show an ability to hit on every level he was assigned did the 20th round draft choice climb on the prospect charts. It is the same with likely second baseman Jose Altuve. Who thought the (listed at 5’7, but really about 5’5 tall) infielder would be a major leaguer? By hitting about .310 for his career on the farm he earned his shot. He may never give it up. But who could have known that was coming?
It is watching the development of players like Singleton, Cosart, Martinez, Altuve-- and don’t forget Jordan Lyles and others-- that will make following the Astros in 2012 more enjoyable than just the win-loss record.
There IS a positive future ahead. Don’t fill the blog comment sections with wisecracks that are supposed to be funny or just to rile true fans. If the Astros are not a contender in 2012 so what? Wait awhile, but don’t give up on them. Don’t wait to be a bandwagon jumper who hardly knows anything about the men in the Astro colors when they start to win. Follow the club and the prospects on the farm this season. That is part of the fun.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Stirring the Pot... Astro Change Talk Gets it Done!
Astros Reach Out to the Fans And Generate Controversy
On Monday Astros owner and chairman Jim Crane did something that got fans talking about his team. He held a news conference to announce many “fan friendly” changes for the 2012 season and opened the door for controversy which got those fans talking.
When asked about other changes that might be forthcoming he floated the idea that the team would be studying the possibility of changing uniform styles and…the name of the team!
The former was received sort of “ho-hum” by fans since the Astros have had no record for stability in the uniform thing ever. What they have worn has hardly ranked with the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers or Tigers as never leaving the basic look albeit with some alternative uniforms added. When the Houston baseball club has changed they have changed. Styles, colors, logos you name it…everything has changed it in the past. Much of the changes were related to ownership changes. Drayton McLane, Jr. made two changes. The second came when he moved the club from the Astrodome to what is now Minute Maid Park in 2000. Now the club has not only an ownership change but a change in leagues starting in 2013. It is expected new uniforms will be part of that switch assuming a new design can be finalized by MLB’s deadline sometime in May or June.
But changing the team name from Astros is not something the vast majority of fans want. While the team will be changing leagues in 2013 they will still be in the major leagues. The franchise did switch from Colt 45s to Astros, but that was dictated by the Colt firearms company wanting to share revenue from merchandising for allowing the ball club to use the name in the first place. Judge Roy Hofheinz then jumped on the existence of NASA in the area and came up with the shortened form of Astronauts…Astros. That was the same thing their fellow expansion partners in New York did with a shortened form of Metropolitans to Mets.
Both were genius decisions and the reason why is very simple. If you ask a random person what is a Cub, Cardinal, Tiger or Giant is there can be many different answers. But ask the same person what is a Met, Dodger or Astro and there is really only one answer. They are all baseball teams…one in New York, another in Los Angeles and the third in Houston. That name identification with the city is priceless.
The current weakened state of the U.S. space program is really insignificant. It is the name of this city’s major league baseball team and should be till the game is no longer played.
The fact that this discussion was a result of the news conference conducted by Jim Crane was well timed. The Astros are rarely even talked or written about in the main stream media these days. That free publicity a baseball team can usually get from newspapers, radio and television is very important in doing what they have to do to survive and thrive—sell tickets. The media has not been talking much baseball for a couple of reasons that have collided. One is the rise and success of the NFL Houston Texans. The other is the fall from success and forced move of the Astros to the American League in 2013. At this moment Astro interest seems to be at an all time low. That can only be changed by getting sports fans talking about the team. If it has to be about the possibility of a uniform and name change so be it.
Unfortunately, it also covers up the “fan friendly” initiatives Jim Crane did outline on Monday. Most notably fans will be allowed to bring some food and water into the park for the first time. They can’t bring in picnic baskets, but if in small see through plastic containers the full restrictions will be off.
Season ticket holders who renew by the end of the month will get five percent rebates in the form of gift cards. And there will also be additional individual discount ticket areas which could lower the costs for a family of four to just $12. Other areas of the building will have discounts as well.
Those moves should be real good news to baseball fans. The $12 plan for a family of four cannot be beaten by any other major team sport.
At some point the Astros will again be a contending team and some prices will go back up. That is the law of supply and demand. Right now while the club is trying to rebuild the Astros are giving more fans a chance to see how the construction is going.
Still, the big news on Tuesday was the talk of new uniforms (nearly a certainty) and maybe a new name (highly unlikely.) If we follow the law of supply and demand we must also remember another old adage. “Any publicity is better than no publicity.”
At least for a day or two in the off season the fans and general sports media were talking about the Astros again. For a long time baseball man that was good to hear.
On Monday Astros owner and chairman Jim Crane did something that got fans talking about his team. He held a news conference to announce many “fan friendly” changes for the 2012 season and opened the door for controversy which got those fans talking.
When asked about other changes that might be forthcoming he floated the idea that the team would be studying the possibility of changing uniform styles and…the name of the team!
The former was received sort of “ho-hum” by fans since the Astros have had no record for stability in the uniform thing ever. What they have worn has hardly ranked with the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers or Tigers as never leaving the basic look albeit with some alternative uniforms added. When the Houston baseball club has changed they have changed. Styles, colors, logos you name it…everything has changed it in the past. Much of the changes were related to ownership changes. Drayton McLane, Jr. made two changes. The second came when he moved the club from the Astrodome to what is now Minute Maid Park in 2000. Now the club has not only an ownership change but a change in leagues starting in 2013. It is expected new uniforms will be part of that switch assuming a new design can be finalized by MLB’s deadline sometime in May or June.
But changing the team name from Astros is not something the vast majority of fans want. While the team will be changing leagues in 2013 they will still be in the major leagues. The franchise did switch from Colt 45s to Astros, but that was dictated by the Colt firearms company wanting to share revenue from merchandising for allowing the ball club to use the name in the first place. Judge Roy Hofheinz then jumped on the existence of NASA in the area and came up with the shortened form of Astronauts…Astros. That was the same thing their fellow expansion partners in New York did with a shortened form of Metropolitans to Mets.
Both were genius decisions and the reason why is very simple. If you ask a random person what is a Cub, Cardinal, Tiger or Giant is there can be many different answers. But ask the same person what is a Met, Dodger or Astro and there is really only one answer. They are all baseball teams…one in New York, another in Los Angeles and the third in Houston. That name identification with the city is priceless.
The current weakened state of the U.S. space program is really insignificant. It is the name of this city’s major league baseball team and should be till the game is no longer played.
The fact that this discussion was a result of the news conference conducted by Jim Crane was well timed. The Astros are rarely even talked or written about in the main stream media these days. That free publicity a baseball team can usually get from newspapers, radio and television is very important in doing what they have to do to survive and thrive—sell tickets. The media has not been talking much baseball for a couple of reasons that have collided. One is the rise and success of the NFL Houston Texans. The other is the fall from success and forced move of the Astros to the American League in 2013. At this moment Astro interest seems to be at an all time low. That can only be changed by getting sports fans talking about the team. If it has to be about the possibility of a uniform and name change so be it.
Unfortunately, it also covers up the “fan friendly” initiatives Jim Crane did outline on Monday. Most notably fans will be allowed to bring some food and water into the park for the first time. They can’t bring in picnic baskets, but if in small see through plastic containers the full restrictions will be off.
Season ticket holders who renew by the end of the month will get five percent rebates in the form of gift cards. And there will also be additional individual discount ticket areas which could lower the costs for a family of four to just $12. Other areas of the building will have discounts as well.
Those moves should be real good news to baseball fans. The $12 plan for a family of four cannot be beaten by any other major team sport.
At some point the Astros will again be a contending team and some prices will go back up. That is the law of supply and demand. Right now while the club is trying to rebuild the Astros are giving more fans a chance to see how the construction is going.
Still, the big news on Tuesday was the talk of new uniforms (nearly a certainty) and maybe a new name (highly unlikely.) If we follow the law of supply and demand we must also remember another old adage. “Any publicity is better than no publicity.”
At least for a day or two in the off season the fans and general sports media were talking about the Astros again. For a long time baseball man that was good to hear.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A Potpourri of Local Sports Notes
EVERYTHING SPORTS… NFL PLAYOFFS, ASTROS, ROCKETS, INSIDE FOX
Texans Loss Last Week Harder To Take…Could Have Gotten to SuperBowl
Any Houston Texan fan who watched the Patriots 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens to punch New England’s Super Bowl ticket has to be ill about now. The Texans were good enough—almost—to not only enter the playoffs for the first time- which they did- but to go to the Super Bowl themselves. A full strength 2011 season Texan team (meaning one that had their first string quarterback healthy) is better than either the Pats or Ravens.
Watching the game Sunday one of the first things that came to mind was what the Texan defense would have done to the Pats. The Ravens have a strong defense, but really didn’t put much pressure at all on Tom Brady. The Patriots don’t have as strong a defense as either the Ravens or Texans and allowed Joe Flacco to look quite good much of the game. Oh well, wait till next year.
Astros Not Making Headlines But Are Making Headway
Jed Lowrie, Fernando Martinez, Jack Cust and now Chris Snyder are four players added to the Astros 40 man roster in the last few weeks. All are intriguing additions to a club that wants to be better than in 2012, but not harm the long term plan to build with youth.
To a man the acquisitions listed above are: 1. Veterans or once highly rated, but still young prospects. 2. Relatively low salaried and 3. Not on long term contracts. They also have done enough on the major league level (except for Martinez, who is the prospect) that should some of the younger players who finished the season with Houston last year not step up in the spring are capable of claiming regular spots on the field.
Competition in spring training will be real and not a façade. The acquisition of Houston native and former UH star catcher Snyder may also allow the club to work out a trade involving Humberto Quintero as part of a package with another club seeking a back up catcher. “Q” has signed for about $1-million and if Snyder has a good spring and Jason Castro is able to be physically fit “Q” could be expendable. With the Astros trying to trim payroll for several reasons they could save a few hundred thousand if Quintero moved on. I know of no possible deals working, but don’t be surprised at some point.
Rockets Surviving Killer Schedule So Far
The Rockets won their sixth straight Saturday night and almost seem to be enjoying the heavily condensed schedule so far. Certainly they have had to give their all every night and have been impressive in so doing. While other clubs like the Spurs are resting some key players here and now the Rockets have been able to send everyone into battle and it has paid off. Samuel Dalembert has been especially impressive with his all out effort battling fellow big men and blocking shots. The team has also shown that when things get rough and fatigue starts to hit the big men the guards have to come through. On Saturday that was the case. The NBA may turn out to be more guard oriented that usual due to the fatigue factor of the killer schedules. If so, the Rockets depth at those positions will continue to pay off.
Honors for a Founder
On Saturday night dozens of current and former co-workers and friends of Jack Stanfield gathered at the mammoth Fox Operations Center in The Woodlands to honor the co-founder of Fox Sports Southwest and Fox Sports Houston’s ancestor, Home Sports Entertainment (HSE.) Jack recently retired from Fox after over 30 years with the company. The former hockey player who was with the old WHA Houston Aeros before getting involved with radio and then television partnered with Dick Barron to put HSE on the air in Houston on January 4th 1983. Then a few months later with Ed Frazier running the show in the Dallas area helped with the launch of that part of the network. His greatest success along with Dick and Ed was to find backers for HSE after the original owners planned to shut the network down. The trio then planned and executed expansion into Florida and Denver with new networks beginning the interlocking regional networks that became the proginators of Fox Sports Net when Newscorp bought the operations.
Jack isn’t really retiring professionally—just from Fox—where in recent years was Senior Vice President of International Programming. He will be free lancing and continuing with other projects he has been working with in the past. Many of us who work for Fox Sports Houston owe a lot to Jack Stanfield.
Texans Programs Producer Now a Mom
Congratulations to Stefani (Kazel) Montoya and Javi for the birth of their son, Xavier Cleveland Montoya. He was born early Saturday morning. Stefani is the producer for all Texans and Rodeo related programming on Fox Sports Houston. By the way, the middle name of Cleveland is an homage to Stefani's hometown. A huge fan of Cleveland sports she won't likely miss any Indian visits when the Astros join the AL in 2013.
Texans Loss Last Week Harder To Take…Could Have Gotten to SuperBowl
Any Houston Texan fan who watched the Patriots 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens to punch New England’s Super Bowl ticket has to be ill about now. The Texans were good enough—almost—to not only enter the playoffs for the first time- which they did- but to go to the Super Bowl themselves. A full strength 2011 season Texan team (meaning one that had their first string quarterback healthy) is better than either the Pats or Ravens.
Watching the game Sunday one of the first things that came to mind was what the Texan defense would have done to the Pats. The Ravens have a strong defense, but really didn’t put much pressure at all on Tom Brady. The Patriots don’t have as strong a defense as either the Ravens or Texans and allowed Joe Flacco to look quite good much of the game. Oh well, wait till next year.
Astros Not Making Headlines But Are Making Headway
Jed Lowrie, Fernando Martinez, Jack Cust and now Chris Snyder are four players added to the Astros 40 man roster in the last few weeks. All are intriguing additions to a club that wants to be better than in 2012, but not harm the long term plan to build with youth.
To a man the acquisitions listed above are: 1. Veterans or once highly rated, but still young prospects. 2. Relatively low salaried and 3. Not on long term contracts. They also have done enough on the major league level (except for Martinez, who is the prospect) that should some of the younger players who finished the season with Houston last year not step up in the spring are capable of claiming regular spots on the field.
Competition in spring training will be real and not a façade. The acquisition of Houston native and former UH star catcher Snyder may also allow the club to work out a trade involving Humberto Quintero as part of a package with another club seeking a back up catcher. “Q” has signed for about $1-million and if Snyder has a good spring and Jason Castro is able to be physically fit “Q” could be expendable. With the Astros trying to trim payroll for several reasons they could save a few hundred thousand if Quintero moved on. I know of no possible deals working, but don’t be surprised at some point.
Rockets Surviving Killer Schedule So Far
The Rockets won their sixth straight Saturday night and almost seem to be enjoying the heavily condensed schedule so far. Certainly they have had to give their all every night and have been impressive in so doing. While other clubs like the Spurs are resting some key players here and now the Rockets have been able to send everyone into battle and it has paid off. Samuel Dalembert has been especially impressive with his all out effort battling fellow big men and blocking shots. The team has also shown that when things get rough and fatigue starts to hit the big men the guards have to come through. On Saturday that was the case. The NBA may turn out to be more guard oriented that usual due to the fatigue factor of the killer schedules. If so, the Rockets depth at those positions will continue to pay off.
Honors for a Founder
On Saturday night dozens of current and former co-workers and friends of Jack Stanfield gathered at the mammoth Fox Operations Center in The Woodlands to honor the co-founder of Fox Sports Southwest and Fox Sports Houston’s ancestor, Home Sports Entertainment (HSE.) Jack recently retired from Fox after over 30 years with the company. The former hockey player who was with the old WHA Houston Aeros before getting involved with radio and then television partnered with Dick Barron to put HSE on the air in Houston on January 4th 1983. Then a few months later with Ed Frazier running the show in the Dallas area helped with the launch of that part of the network. His greatest success along with Dick and Ed was to find backers for HSE after the original owners planned to shut the network down. The trio then planned and executed expansion into Florida and Denver with new networks beginning the interlocking regional networks that became the proginators of Fox Sports Net when Newscorp bought the operations.
Jack isn’t really retiring professionally—just from Fox—where in recent years was Senior Vice President of International Programming. He will be free lancing and continuing with other projects he has been working with in the past. Many of us who work for Fox Sports Houston owe a lot to Jack Stanfield.
Texans Programs Producer Now a Mom
Congratulations to Stefani (Kazel) Montoya and Javi for the birth of their son, Xavier Cleveland Montoya. He was born early Saturday morning. Stefani is the producer for all Texans and Rodeo related programming on Fox Sports Houston. By the way, the middle name of Cleveland is an homage to Stefani's hometown. A huge fan of Cleveland sports she won't likely miss any Indian visits when the Astros join the AL in 2013.
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