NY Times article on Crane

[juliogotay]

I haven't seen this posted here. Somewhat interesting. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/sports/baseball/astros-get-hope-and-youth-from-new-owner-and-new-approach.html?_r=2&smid=tw-share

[Duman]

14 trailers of stuff - should have been an Astros yard sale.

[Andyzipp]

14 trailers of stuff - should have been an Astros yard sale.

There was.  I think the past and present season ticket holders were invited.

[BlownRanger]

“If we don’t get this right,” Crane said, “then I’ll be probably moving out of town.”

The last line of the article is a strong candidate for misinterpretation (intentional or unintentional) by our friends in the national media.

[OregonStrosFan]

“If we don’t get this right,” Crane said, “then I’ll be probably moving out of town.”

The last line of the article is a strong candidate for misinterpretation (intentional or unintentional) by our friends in the national media.

Yep, I saw this and read 'run out of town on a rail', but that interpretation'd be much less entertaining for the national media...

[astrosfan76]

Couple of things I got out of it:

1) The return of orange to the uniforms next year.  It has been speculated elsewhere on the site, but the article basically guarantees it.

2) We should see a substantial rise in payroll over the next few years. 

To the contrary, Crane insisted, they “should be in the top three, four, five revenue teams in baseball” before long.

 

I don't expect them to get to $100M over night, but with the age (experience) of this current club, and the youth coming up to fill positions, they should be fairly active in free agency and possibly take on salary in trades in the next few years.

[Texifornia]

The Astros will have about 10 more late-night starts by playing in the A.L. West, but their gate receipts should rise by virtue of home games with the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Any boost will help a team that ranks last in the N.L. in attendance this season, at fewer than 22,000 fans a game.

Only 10 more late night starts? That doesn't seem right. Also, I somehow fail to see the benefit of giving knob jobs to the Yankees and Red Sox. Typical NY elitist bullshit.

and this:

“In all of our dialogue with fans, they kind of wanted a reset,” the new team president, George Postolos, said. “They wanted to start over. It’s not like the start-over they wanted was to be in the American League, but it is true that if you’re starting over, it’s easier to adjust to a league change in that context.”

Translation: The team is so bad and weak that being forced to change leagues was easy for MLB to do, and since the fan base was already so damaged it matters less that the long term fan base will be further alienated by the change. Since the fan base must be rebuilt from near scratch anyway, it matters less that it will happen in a new league.

“If we don’t get this right,” Crane said, “then I’ll be probably moving out of town.”

The last line of the article is a strong candidate for misinterpretation (intentional or unintentional) by our friends in the national media.

Probably innocuous, but at least possibly a trial balloon. Of course, I'm very pessimistic in this regard.

[Reuben]

14 trailers of stuff - should have been an Astros yard sale.

There was. Some poor sucker even took J.A. Happ off of their hands.

[MusicMan]

There was. Some poor sucker even took J.A. Happ off of their hands.

We got Cordero.  Joke was on us.

[HudsonHawk]

What I got out of it:

Crane thinks the Astros are a new kid in town and sees the Dallas Rangers as the goal to which the Astros should aspire.

Fuck all of them.  I just hope that someday Crane can go through an interview without creaming his pants gushing over the Rangers.

[Mr. Happy]

What I got out of it:

Crane thinks the Astros are a new kid in town and sees the Dallas Rangers as the goal to which the Astros should aspire.

Fuck all of them.  I just hope that someday Crane can go through an interview without creaming his pants gushing over the Rangers.

+1

[strosrays]

I think they are fooling themselves, a lot. The move to the AL is going to be a disaster on many, many levels.

[jbm]

Still hard to believe he actually entertained a name change.

[Mr. Happy]

I think they are fooling themselves, a lot. The move to the AL is going to be a disaster on many, many levels.

I agree. However, if the team eventually wins, the frontrunning fans will return.

[Mr. Happy]

Still hard to believe he actually entertained a name change.

As a new owner, he wants to put his brand on the team. That's why Millsie is toast at season's end.

[Mark Arm]

lots of jealousy in this thread

[Mr. Happy]

lots of jealousy in this thread

I don't know who you are referring to, but I'm not jealous of Crane at all. In fact, to the contrary. Being a true capitalist, I'm glad for his success. I think that Crane is like a puppy dog, though, and is marking his territory with his scent. It didn't surprise me that he even considered changing the name, but I'm glad that he seems to have learned that was not a good idea. New GM; new director of scouting; new president and, eventually, at season's end, a new manager. It is inevitable.

[HudsonHawk]

lots of jealousy in this thread

And a big steaming pile of ignorance.

[roadrunner]

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/15/3243242/houston-astros-kansas-city-royals-dayton-moore-jeff-luhnow

[juliogotay]

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/15/3243242/houston-astros-kansas-city-royals-dayton-moore-jeff-luhnow

the current voting is 50% Houston, 49% KC.

[Noe]

the current voting is 50% Houston, 49% KC.

The problem I have with the comparison is this: Houston did have a time like the Royals. Back in 1991, the team went through a similar process as today. The thing was, the young'uns were put into situations in the majors with major league veterans (over the hill veterans like Buddy Bell) to help them along. Those young'uns were Caminiti, Biggio, Bagwell, Gonzales (Luis), and others. That team is much more comparable to the current Royals. This year's version of the Astros are nowhere near on the talent meter as the 1991 Astros nor the 2012 Royals.

Better front office? If in the opinion of the author, a good front office or organization is anything not run by Dayton Moore, then the slant is obvious and one cannot quibble with a made up mind. Which reminds me of the days people said the same of Ted Turner and George Steinbrenner.

[Mr. Happy]

the current voting is 50% Houston, 49% KC.

I just weighed in in favor of Luhnow, increasing the margin to 51-48. Moore has made some real questionable moves.

[moriartp]

As much as I hope Luhnow is the wizard he's being painted as, it's way too early for me to feel comfortable betting on him against the talent the Royals have stockpiled (diminished as it may seem, it's still more than the Astros have by no small margin). The evidence for Luhnow's genius amounts to one good draft, basically. The Royals have had consistently good drafts for years. Moore has indeed made some bad calls, but in five years' time I'm sure Luhnow will have pulled the trigger on some head-scratchers. The smart money is on the Royals.

That's my two cents, anyway.

[Reuben]

I voted for the Astros, although I think you could easily pick the Royals, because:

a. They have a great farm system, and much better present major league talent
b. They're in a weaker division than the Astros will be from 2013-on. Yeah, the Tigers spend a lot, but I'd rather deal with them than the Rangers and Angels every year.

[Mr. Happy]

As much as I hope Luhnow is the wizard he's being painted as, it's way too early for me to feel comfortable betting on him against the talent the Royals have stockpiled (diminished as it may seem, it's still more than the Astros have by no small margin). The evidence for Luhnow's genius amounts to one good draft, basically. The Royals have had consistently good drafts for years. Moore has indeed made some bad calls, but in five years' time I'm sure Luhnow will have pulled the trigger on some head-scratchers. The smart money is on the Royals.

That's my two cents, anyway.

I'm cautiously optimistic about Luhnow, but it's a combination of blind faith/loyalty and wishful thinking.

[juliogotay]

the current voting is 50% Houston, 49% KC.

Now, Houston 52%, KC 47%.