Astros to the AL?

[El Duderino]

I can understand wanting to move a team into the AL, but why did they choose Houston? Not that I care, I'm just curious. Other states could have that AL/NL rivalry it seems like they're going for, Cubs/White Sox, Yankees/Mets, Marlins/Rays, etc. Does their overall record have anything to do with the requested move?

 

Because Selig has the new potential owner by the balls. Agree to move or we don't approve you.

[jersey cubs fan]

Houston really has no choice, but I'd hate to be charged with convincing that market to get excited about the Angels, Athletics and Mariners. Rivalries will develop, but it will be a long, hard slog.

 

Does that market really care all that much about Chicago, St. Louis or Pittsburgh?

 

In addition to the nearby Rangers, which should turn into a big rivalry very quickly, they will get the Yankees and Red Sox visiting each year. I really don't think it should be hard at all to market that team in the AL in comparison to the NL.

[J.R.]

The Cubs and Cardinals are nationally significant teams with reviled followings who showed up in Houston in big numbers when all three teams were good. There is no comparison in the AL West.

 

The Dallas connection is a positive for them, I'll give you that.

[erik316wttn]

I can understand wanting to move a team into the AL, but why did they choose Houston? Not that I care, I'm just curious. Other states could have that AL/NL rivalry it seems like they're going for, Cubs/White Sox, Yankees/Mets, Marlins/Rays, etc. Does their overall record have anything to do with the requested move?

 

Because Selig has the new potential owner by the balls. Agree to move or we don't approve you.

 

And there's been chatter about wanting to move Houston to the AL for several years now.

[davearm2]

The Cubs and Cardinals are nationally significant teams with reviled followings who showed up in Houston in big numbers when all three teams were good. There is no comparison in the AL West.

 

The Dallas connection is a positive for them, I'll give you that.

What would be cool is if this guy offered, say, $700M if he gets to keep the team in the NL, or $500M if he's going to be railroaded into the AL. Obviously the franchise's value is tied to the league it is in, so it would make sense.

 

Put it in Selig's court to decide which is most important -- maximizing franchise value, or getting the division alignments he wants.

 

Imagine the fit Drayton McClane would have if he chose the latter.

Edited September 9, 2011 by davearm2

[NonProfitCow]

The Cubs and Cardinals are nationally significant teams with reviled followings who showed up in Houston in big numbers when all three teams were good. There is no comparison in the AL West.

 

The Dallas connection is a positive for them, I'll give you that.

What would be cool is if this guy offered, say, $700M if he gets to keep the team in the NL, or $500M if he's going to be railroaded into the AL. Obviously the franchise's value is tied to the league it is in, so it would make sense.

 

Put it in Selig's court to decide which is most important -- maximizing franchise value, or getting the division alignments he wants.

The guy would be a moron for not going to the AL. Bunch of games against an in state rival and more games against the Yankees and Red Sox.

[davearm2]

The Cubs and Cardinals are nationally significant teams with reviled followings who showed up in Houston in big numbers when all three teams were good. There is no comparison in the AL West.

 

The Dallas connection is a positive for them, I'll give you that.

What would be cool is if this guy offered, say, $700M if he gets to keep the team in the NL, or $500M if he's going to be railroaded into the AL. Obviously the franchise's value is tied to the league it is in, so it would make sense.

 

Put it in Selig's court to decide which is most important -- maximizing franchise value, or getting the division alignments he wants.

The guy would be a moron for not going to the AL. Bunch of games against an in state rival and more games against the Yankees and Red Sox.

It's hardly a given that it would be more profitable for the Astros to play in the AL.

 

They already play the Rangers in interleague play. And they'd trade like 15-20 home dates with the Cubs and Cards for 6 home dates with the Yanks and Sox.

[NonProfitCow]

The Cubs and Cardinals are nationally significant teams with reviled followings who showed up in Houston in big numbers when all three teams were good. There is no comparison in the AL West.

 

The Dallas connection is a positive for them, I'll give you that.

What would be cool is if this guy offered, say, $700M if he gets to keep the team in the NL, or $500M if he's going to be railroaded into the AL. Obviously the franchise's value is tied to the league it is in, so it would make sense.

 

Put it in Selig's court to decide which is most important -- maximizing franchise value, or getting the division alignments he wants.

The guy would be a moron for not going to the AL. Bunch of games against an in state rival and more games against the Yankees and Red Sox.

It's hardly a given that it would be more profitable for the Astros to play in the AL.

 

They already play the Rangers in interleague play. And they'd trade like 15-20 home dates with the Cubs and Cards for 6 home dates with the Yanks and Sox.

They'd replace those Cards and Cubs games with a bunch of Rangers games. And while the Cards and Cubs travel well, they don't travel well enough to make up for that. Those games would be sold out much more often.

 

A new owner would welcome the AL move with open arms.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Are the Astros and Rangers really any kind of rivalry? I know they're in the same state, but there's like 300 miles between Houston and Arlington. It's not like Cubs/Sox or Yanks/Mets where fans can just hop on a train to get to each others park.

[NonProfitCow]

Are the Astros and Rangers really any kind of rivalry? I know they're in the same state, but there's like 300 miles between Houston and Arlington. It's not like Cubs/Sox or Yanks/Mets where fans can just hop on a train to get to each others park.

300 miles is the same distance as Chicago to STL. Put the Astros and the Rangers in the same division, and there's your rivalry.

[CubmanPi]

It wouldn't be about creating a rivalry, it would be about geographic proximity to a population of people with motivation to spend money on tickets. The rivalry may grow if both teams are competitive for a length of time, but that would be many years down the road. I feel like the Cubs-Brewers comparison would fit better than Cubs-Cardinals. The rivalry is unremarkable. Relative success of the two teams and geography are still the driving factors of the visiting team's fan turnout.

[champaignchris]

Rangers fans would have to love this. Something like 35 or 40 of their games every year start at 9 pm central. Can't be easy to follow for the fans with jobs. Adding Houston to their division would cut that number by about 8.

[Rob]

But year-round interleague would stress the rules disparity between the AL and NL, and eventually force the NL to adopt the DH

 

would it? all it means is that you need one interleague series at all times. if you spread out the interleague play so that you don't have those two blocks where all the games but one are interleague, it could easily be done without adding any additional interleague games.

 

The number of games isn't necessarily the issue. To this point, each year there are two short news cycles where writers who cover AL teams bitch about the NL not having the DH (for any of a variety of poor reasons). People forget about it being an issue until it crops back up again the next time.

 

I just worry that having an interleague series going on at all times is likely to result in the media cycle lasting a lot longer... which is more likely to influence public perception.

[jersey cubs fan]

But year-round interleague would stress the rules disparity between the AL and NL, and eventually force the NL to adopt the DH

 

would it? all it means is that you need one interleague series at all times. if you spread out the interleague play so that you don't have those two blocks where all the games but one are interleague, it could easily be done without adding any additional interleague games.

 

The number of games isn't necessarily the issue. To this point, each year there are two short news cycles where writers who cover AL teams bitch about the NL not having the DH (for any of a variety of poor reasons). People forget about it being an issue until it crops back up again the next time.

 

I just worry that having an interleague series going on at all times is likely to result in the media cycle lasting a lot longer... which is more likely to influence public perception.

 

I don't see how that could possibly be the issue. If anything the cycle will be extremely diluted because the vast majority of action going on at any given point won't be interleague related. And I think you are making up the scenario where writers are bitching about NL not having the DH. I'm sure it happens, but no that loudly.

[Soul]

Houston really has no choice, but I'd hate to be charged with convincing that market to get excited about the Angels, Athletics and Mariners. Rivalries will develop, but it will be a long, hard slog.

 

Wouldn't the Houston/Texas rivalry be enough to tide them over?

 

Certainly Milwaukee would have seen it similarly. It was that Milwaukee/Chicago instant rivalry that surely was very attractive. And it's worked out exceptionally well.

[Backtobanks]

Moving the Astros to the AL would be great for Carlos Lee's career as a DH.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Houston really has no choice, but I'd hate to be charged with convincing that market to get excited about the Angels, Athletics and Mariners. Rivalries will develop, but it will be a long, hard slog.

 

Wouldn't the Houston/Texas rivalry be enough to tide them over?

 

Certainly Milwaukee would have seen it similarly. It was that Milwaukee/Chicago instant rivalry that surely was very attractive. And it's worked out exceptionally well.

 

Were the Brewers and White Sox ever considered rivals? I know the Brewers and Twins were.

[SouthSideRyan]

Houston really has no choice, but I'd hate to be charged with convincing that market to get excited about the Angels, Athletics and Mariners. Rivalries will develop, but it will be a long, hard slog.

 

Wouldn't the Houston/Texas rivalry be enough to tide them over?

 

Certainly Milwaukee would have seen it similarly. It was that Milwaukee/Chicago instant rivalry that surely was very attractive. And it's worked out exceptionally well.

 

Were the Brewers and White Sox ever considered rivals? I know the Brewers and Twins were.

 

Yes, big time.