Houston Astros 2024 Season Thread

[UTexasFight 9383]

13 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

whitcomb could go on to a HoF career and the surly thread would still say he sucks 

And if you said he sucked today, you’d be right 

[Scraps 13545]

5 minutes ago, kevwun said:

You can't go in next season without a good 1B or 3B.  Pick one at least, but preferably both.

well lucky for you most of the FAs in both those positions suck ass 

[David Dennison 18662]

Morton, Cole, Springer, Correa, Bregman, Tucker

That's quite a list.

[LCHorn 2585]

Just now, David Dennison said:

Because you don't want to be stuck paying for a player who is no longer productive. 

Look, if the window is closed, who cares if the payroll is $65m or $165m?  Bregman appears irreplaceable in 2025 and 2026 is going to be contingent on replacing Tucker or his wins.  

[David Dennison 18662]

Just now, LCHorn said:

Look, if the window is closed, who cares if the payroll is $65m or $165m?  Bregman appears irreplaceable in 2025 and 2026 is going to be contingent on replacing Tucker or his wins.  

I don't think Crane will offer more than five years. I think Bregman might be willing to accept a five year deal for the right amount of money.  Make the lifetime Astro pitch. Get Altuve involved. Whatever it takes.

I'm not optimistic about Tucker.

[LCHorn 2585]

1 minute ago, David Dennison said:

I'm not optimistic about Tucker.

That’s just because Tucker is aloof.  I hope we offer him market but it’s easier to get average production in the outfield and upgrade elsewhere.  
 

One thing I want to take a closer look at is our peers bench production.  We’ve got probably 800 at bats with, at best 650 ops.  Some of that is bad luck (I wouldn’t expect Chas to repeat last year but this level of production is unexpected), but it’s also a place to upgrade for a low relative cost.

[David Dennison 18662]

14 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

That’s just because Tucker is aloof.  I hope we offer him market but it’s easier to get average production in the outfield and upgrade elsewhere.  
 

One thing I want to take a closer look at is our peers bench production.  We’ve got probably 800 at bats with, at best 650 ops.  Some of that is bad luck (I wouldn’t expect Chas to repeat last year but this level of production is unexpected), but it’s also a place to upgrade for a low relative cost.

It has more to do with the Astros' philosophy and my belief that Kyle Tucker wants a deal well beyond five years.

[n64ra 1078]

Forget the '71-'75 A's. It feels nice to have 7 full season division titles in a row.

[Wulaw Horn 18984]

Yall listening to crane talk about years are missing the point. It’s not years it’s total fucking money- he just frames it as years so the fans will be on his side. 
I guarantee you if Soto says/ hey- jimbo- I’d love to sign a 100 year deal for 100M you game? He’d fall all over himself to sign the thing. 
Crane doesn’t want to extend lots and lots of money and uses “years” as an excuse. 
I’d love to see him offer Bregman 200M over 10 years and see what bregs says. Maybe that’s in the market/ maybe it isn’t. But that would likely be my offer. . 

[David Dennison 18662]

17 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yall listening to crane talk about years are missing the point. It’s not years it’s total fucking money- he just frames it as years so the fans will be on his side. 
I guarantee you if Soto says/ hey- jimbo- I’d love to sign a 100 year deal for 100M you game? He’d fall all over himself to sign the thing. 
Crane doesn’t want to extend lots and lots of money and uses “years” as an excuse. 
I’d love to see him offer Bregman 200M over 10 years and see what bregs says. Maybe that’s in the market/ maybe it isn’t. But that would likely be my offer. . 

[runthebone 7932]

I would tell Bregman this:

 

I'll pay for the second half of your season and not for the first.

 

Just spitballing here.

 

[txduck87 983]

Not a good evening for the mariners . Royals, twins and Tigers all win. Just a damn shame.

[UTexasFight 9383]

O’s sweep the Yanks tomorrow it gets really interesting for the 1 seed

NY and CLE would be tied but NY holds the tiebreaker. A 1-2 series result vs Pit and 2-1 CLE series win over us would give CLE the 1

[runthebone 7932]

Not sure Neris is trustworthy.  Blanco the fourth bullpen arm for the WC series and maybe ALDS depending on if we win in 2?

 

[Pimphand 5609]

5 hours ago, txduck87 said:

Not a good evening for the mariners . Royals, twins and Tigers all win. Just a damn shame.

2.9% => 1.5%

Sure wish we would have won and dropped the death knell on them but I will take it.

 

[APMP 685]

Tickets acquired to Wild Card games 1 and 2. Fully expect us to be playing our games in one of the early slots.

[UTexasFight 9383]

Witcomb collecting his Astros MiLB award before the game and then committing 4 errors is a look. 

[UTexasFight 9383]

41 minutes ago, APMP said:

Tickets acquired to Wild Card games 1 and 2. Fully expect us to be playing our games in one of the early slots.

if we see the same start times as last year, get ready for 2pm.

Possibly 3:30 if they give Baltimore the early slot.

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

I actually love the daytime wild card slot but that’s just me. 

[Murfdogg21 4412]

56 minutes ago, APMP said:

Tickets acquired to Wild Card games 1 and 2. Fully expect us to be playing our games in one of the early slots.

They must stick Houston with the early slot for the nth out of n times if they are going to be able to promote some Mets vs Dbacks or Braves bullshit in primetime. 

[Scraps 13545]

I could see us getting later games for the WC round.....especially if they are doubling up with 2 nights games like 2 years ago. Everyone wants to see us lose.  Mil/Dbacks shit should be first game of the day who cares.  SD/NY will be night. 

 I like afternoon games because I can work have a day and then bail, and then still not be out til midnight.  So 3:07 is what I prefer.  (those were 2 years ago start times)  2pm works also 

Edited September 26 by Scraps

[UTexasFight 9383]

Once Seattle is officially eliminated , Houston is the farthest west playoff team in the AL.

The NL Wild Card round will have San Diego and possibly Arizona. Doubtful they put either of them at a 12pm local start (although espn had no qualms doing that to us in past years, going back to the 90s).

it is what it is. 
maybe by game 4 of the ALDS we’ll get a primetime game as possibly the only game of the day.

 

[Scraps 13545]

except no one is going to watch Milwaukee/Arizona anyway 

[UTexasFight 9383]

5 minutes ago, Scraps said:

I could see us getting later games for the WC round.....especially if they are doubling up with 2 nights games like 2 years ago. Everyone wants to see us lose.  Mil/Dbacks shit should be first game of the day who cares.  SD/NY will be night. 

 I like afternoon games because I can work have a day and then bail, and then still not be out til midnight.  So 3:07 is what I prefer.  (those were 2 years ago start times)  2pm works also 

Mil/Dbacks should be the first game but they somehow got the 6pm slot last year (but WC matchups were shit last year: Rangers/Rays, Blue Jays/Twins, Marlins/Phillies)

I prefer 3pm too so I can at least catch the end of games after work.

we’ll see what the tv slot times are this year.

Last year: 2, 3:30, 6, 7

2022: 11, 1, 3, 7 

(central)

[UTexasFight 9383]

Whitley after pitching a scoreless 7th last night as sugar land won the PCL championship …and then seeing Jackson Jobe getting the call up and contributing in a playoff race: 

 

[APMP 685]

Dunno how legit, but Fubo's guide for next week hints at the following start times for Games 1 and 2 of the wild card round:

Tue. Oct 1: Noon, 1pm, 3pm, 7pm
Wed. Oct 2: 1pm, 3pm, 6pm (possible switch between ESPN and ESPN2 if 3pm game runs long), 9pm

All Game 3s will happen on Thu. Oct 3 if needed. I hope MLB isn't so stupid as to pre-schedule a daytime do or die Game 3 and end up leaving a primetime slot on that night unfilled.

[UTexasFight 9383]

27 minutes ago, APMP said:

I hope MLB isn't so stupid as to pre-schedule a daytime do or die Game 3 and end up leaving a primetime slot on that night unfilled.
 

They aren’t.

They’ll issue a press release Monday that will lay out all of the possible “if there are 3 series” or “if there are 2 series” on Thursday scenarios 

[txduck87 983]

I actually love the daytime wild card slot but that’s just me. 

I bet you love cold toilet seats too.

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

1 minute ago, txduck87 said:

I bet you love cold toilet seats too.

In this heat? Hell yes.

[Gale Snoats 242]

We have to get someone who's good defensively at first base.  We lost a shit ton of outs this season with guys who have no clue how to play the position.  Crazy to me that they can't coach up someone with big league skills at another position to play adequate defense at first base.  Singleton's too fat.  Yainer just stabs at the ball like a little leaguer. Maybe Caratini can get there but I guess we need him at catcher.  None of them know how to properly stretch.    

And I wish Youtube TV would pick up SpaceCity. Fubo fucking sucks.  Trying to watch a recorded game is such a beatdown -- ff is shit and it just crashes several times a game.  

[runthebone 7932]

Probably the cheapest way to improve the team next year is defense

[Victor Lazlo 1770]

2 hours ago, Gale Snoats said:

We have to get someone who's good defensively at first base.  We lost a shit ton of outs this season with guys who have no clue how to play the position.  Crazy to me that they can't coach up someone with big league skills at another position to play adequate defense at first base.  Singleton's too fat.  Yainer just stabs at the ball like a little leaguer. Maybe Caratini can get there but I guess we need him at catcher.  None of them know how to properly stretch.    

And I wish Youtube TV would pick up SpaceCity. Fubo fucking sucks.  Trying to watch a recorded game is such a beatdown -- ff is shit and it just crashes several times a game.  

I have the opposite opinion of Fubo than you do.

I like the interface way better than YouTube TV, never have problems with recordings crashing, and Fast Forward is fast as shit. On my Fire TVs.

My complaint about Fubo is that they shut down my ability to watch the Astros when out of state. It was no problem for the first 2.5 years that I subscribed. 

[David Dennison 18662]

Is MLB going to put a game against the VP debate on Tuesday?

No CR.

[Pimphand 5609]

Lulz at the Braves & Mets having to play a doubleheader on Sept 30 then open the wild card series (if they qualify) the next day.  Talk about horrible draw....  

[Gourmand 7774]

 

Edited September 26 by Gourmand

[Pimphand 5609]

31 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

What did I miss?  I thought they held the tiebreaker over KC (3-3 reg season but Mariners with better intradivision record due to Angels & A's freebies being 2x White Sox freebies)

I thought if Minnesota beat Miami tonight it was game over for them in all scenarios but not until.

[Gourmand 7774]

They don't hold the tiebreaker over KC or Detroit. One of them holds a better intradivisional record and the other has the H2H advantage.

Edited September 26 by Gourmand

[UTexasFight 9383]

18 minutes ago, Pimphand said:

What did I miss?  I thought they held the tiebreaker over KC (3-3 reg season but Mariners with better intradivision record due to Angels & A's freebies being 2x White Sox freebies)

 

Idk about all the other stuff you wrote but the Royals have a better intradivision record (33-19) than the mariners (29-20…so best they can get to is 32-20).  Glad we could give them that 20th loss the same night we clinched 

Edited September 26 by UTexasFight

[Scraps 13545]

 

Ain't that a shame

[David Dennison 18662]

 

[tx 3 putt 76423]

Marwinnnnnnnning !

[tx 3 putt 76423]

braves / mets should have played their double hitter at mintier maid today 

[billfromlaketravis 11364]

4 hours ago, Gourmand said:

 

[Scraps 13545]

Since A's are moving here is a flashback to when the Astros were about to get moved to fucking Virginia








Maybe you remember, maybe you don't. I had to spend some time taking some hate-filled trips down Memory Lane to get the full story in my mind of when Drayton almost sold the Astros to D.C. businessman Bill Collins, whereupon he would move the Astros to northern Virginia.

On October 18, 1995 owner Drayton McLane confirmed the possibility that he had discussed the possibility of selling the team to a group headed by telecom magnate Bill Collins "on three occasions" with the expressed intentions of relocating the franchise to Virginia. Collins had previously attempted to buy the Pirates, Expos, Mariners, and Giants.

The AP report said that "dismal fan support is forcing McLane to consider a sale simply to protect his personal fortune." Among Drayton's claims:

1) He personally lost $65 million in the three years after buying the team from Dr. John McMullen
2) McLane could lose $20 million in 1996.

McLane told the AP:
"I have visited with Bill Collins but it is premature to draw any conclusions from our talks...If we had just been able to break even, this would not be an issue. We have to face reality. I'm not sure whether Houston can be a baseball town in today's financial situation with the game."

This prompted Mayor Bob Lanier and Harris County officials to meet with Drayton the following week. Lanier:
"I think the community needs to help him, and I want to help him as best I can...If we want to keep the Astros, if they are important to this community...it just comes down to people buying season tickets."

Drayton gave the city two weeks to demonstrate the fan support necessary for Drayton not to sell the team, and keep them in Houston.

Yet within that two week window, ESPN and the Washington Post both reported on October 27, 1995 that Drayton had agreed to sell the Astros to Bill Collins for $150 million. George Barton, of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, was quoted as saying "an agreement has been made. There has been a handshake." Denials were made, and "vigorously."

While NL officials were qualifying the deal as in its infancy - McLane hadn't been given permission to even start negotiating - he was still at least asking for permission. (Interestingly enough, in the previously linked NYT story, the Astros had just interviewed Gerry Hunsicker - the Mets' assistant vice president of baseball operations - for the open GM job.

On November 7, we got an update. McLane was alleged to demand the sale of at least 25,000 season tickets to keep the Astros in Houston (who averaged approximately 19,000 fans in the strike-shortened season). McLane's attendance goal was between 30,000-35,000.

Mayor Lanier and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels created a committee to study the possibility of building a new stadium downtown,but Eckels didn't sound optimistic:
"I have no idea what is going to happen. I'm hoping to talk with him before making a decision."

McLane met with two U.S. Representatives and complained further about "losing money:"
"The question is: Do the people of Houston really want to support a major-league baseball team? And if not, the team should go elsewhere."

McLane wanted serious improvements made to the Astrodome, but said in late October that a retractable-roof stadium would be the most ideal option for the team.

Negotiations dragged on for almost a year. 48 of the 81 home games at the Astrodome saw attendance over 20,000 as the Astros finished 82-80, 2nd in the NL Central.

Early on September 13, 1996, McLane told the AP:
"We made a lot of progress in the last two days, so we hope we could reach some agreement in the next three days. I'm very confident that we can. But if we can't, we would move forward."

He told the Chronicle that he wanted $20m - payable over three years - to cover his estimated losses  until financing for the stadium was approved. This was double what Judge Eckels was willing to pay. If this was not agreed to, McLane would resume negotiations with Bill Collins.

Later that day McLane and Houston/Harris County officials struck a deal to keep the Astros in Houston for 30 years in a downtown stadium.

A November 1996 referendum passed in Harris County with only 51% of the vote (out of over 775,000 votes, it passed by under 17,000 votes) to construct a $265m stadium downtown - which was enough to keep McLane happy, and keep the Astros in Houston. McLane said:
 "This will keep baseball here well into the next century. This is something we had to have to be competitive and I'll be happy to tell the other owners that we're moving forward in Houston."

And that, friends, is how Uncle Drayton held Houston hostage until they agreed to build him a shiny new stadium, on which construction began on October 31, 1997 and Enron Field opened on April 7, 2000.

Astros County

[IDIOTsavant 8457]

The best thing Dayton ever did for the city of Houston was selling the club to Jim Crane.

[UTexasFight 9383]

5 hours ago, David Dennison said:

 

 

Bang-enabled or not…but thank you for your career year in ‘17.

That play and game 2 WS are 1 and 1a for postseason moments.

1 and 1a regular season I’ll go with: 

 

[UTexasFight 9383]

12 minutes ago, IDIOTsavant said:

The best thing Dayton ever did for the city of Houston was selling the club to Jim Crane.

And 2nd best was buying it from McMullen 

[UTexasFight 9383]

38 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Since A's are moving here is a flashback to when the Astros were about to get moved to fucking Virginia








Maybe you remember, maybe you don't. I had to spend some time taking some hate-filled trips down Memory Lane to get the full story in my mind of when Drayton almost sold the Astros to D.C. businessman Bill Collins, whereupon he would move the Astros to northern Virginia.

On October 18, 1995 owner Drayton McLane confirmed the possibility that he had discussed the possibility of selling the team to a group headed by telecom magnate Bill Collins "on three occasions" with the expressed intentions of relocating the franchise to Virginia. Collins had previously attempted to buy the Pirates, Expos, Mariners, and Giants.

The AP report said that "dismal fan support is forcing McLane to consider a sale simply to protect his personal fortune." Among Drayton's claims:

1) He personally lost $65 million in the three years after buying the team from Dr. John McMullen
2) McLane could lose $20 million in 1996.

McLane told the AP:
"I have visited with Bill Collins but it is premature to draw any conclusions from our talks...If we had just been able to break even, this would not be an issue. We have to face reality. I'm not sure whether Houston can be a baseball town in today's financial situation with the game."

This prompted Mayor Bob Lanier and Harris County officials to meet with Drayton the following week. Lanier:
"I think the community needs to help him, and I want to help him as best I can...If we want to keep the Astros, if they are important to this community...it just comes down to people buying season tickets."

Drayton gave the city two weeks to demonstrate the fan support necessary for Drayton not to sell the team, and keep them in Houston.

Yet within that two week window, ESPN and the Washington Post both reported on October 27, 1995 that Drayton had agreed to sell the Astros to Bill Collins for $150 million. George Barton, of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, was quoted as saying "an agreement has been made. There has been a handshake." Denials were made, and "vigorously."

While NL officials were qualifying the deal as in its infancy - McLane hadn't been given permission to even start negotiating - he was still at least asking for permission. (Interestingly enough, in the previously linked NYT story, the Astros had just interviewed Gerry Hunsicker - the Mets' assistant vice president of baseball operations - for the open GM job.

On November 7, we got an update. McLane was alleged to demand the sale of at least 25,000 season tickets to keep the Astros in Houston (who averaged approximately 19,000 fans in the strike-shortened season). McLane's attendance goal was between 30,000-35,000.

Mayor Lanier and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels created a committee to study the possibility of building a new stadium downtown,but Eckels didn't sound optimistic:
"I have no idea what is going to happen. I'm hoping to talk with him before making a decision."

McLane met with two U.S. Representatives and complained further about "losing money:"
"The question is: Do the people of Houston really want to support a major-league baseball team? And if not, the team should go elsewhere."

McLane wanted serious improvements made to the Astrodome, but said in late October that a retractable-roof stadium would be the most ideal option for the team.

Negotiations dragged on for almost a year. 48 of the 81 home games at the Astrodome saw attendance over 20,000 as the Astros finished 82-80, 2nd in the NL Central.

Early on September 13, 1996, McLane told the AP:
"We made a lot of progress in the last two days, so we hope we could reach some agreement in the next three days. I'm very confident that we can. But if we can't, we would move forward."

He told the Chronicle that he wanted $20m - payable over three years - to cover his estimated losses  until financing for the stadium was approved. This was double what Judge Eckels was willing to pay. If this was not agreed to, McLane would resume negotiations with Bill Collins.

Later that day McLane and Houston/Harris County officials struck a deal to keep the Astros in Houston for 30 years in a downtown stadium.

A November 1996 referendum passed in Harris County with only 51% of the vote (out of over 775,000 votes, it passed by under 17,000 votes) to construct a $265m stadium downtown - which was enough to keep McLane happy, and keep the Astros in Houston. McLane said:
 "This will keep baseball here well into the next century. This is something we had to have to be competitive and I'll be happy to tell the other owners that we're moving forward in Houston."

And that, friends, is how Uncle Drayton held Houston hostage until they agreed to build him a shiny new stadium, on which construction began on October 31, 1997 and Enron Field opened on April 7, 2000.

Astros County
 

I was in high school when all that was happening so didn’t pay much attention or remember any of the details other than the reports Houston was seriously on the verge of losing the team. 
 

I get the idea of wanting to cut your losses, but what an idiot he would have been to dump the team then. I can’t imagine values of MLB franchises being any lower than the year or two after the longest strike in the history of the sport.

In hindsight he didn’t make out all that much better selling when he did.

selling for $150M in ‘95 vs $680M in 2011 = 9.9% CAGR.

Investing that $150M in the S&P 500 in 1995 would have yielded $570M in 2011, an 8.2% return

[patrickdrinksbeer 788]

In hindsight he didn’t make out all that much better selling when he did.
selling for $150M in ‘95 vs $680M in 2011 = 9.9% CAGR.
Investing that $150M in the S&P 500 in 1995 would have yielded $570M in 2011, an 8.2% return

you’re neglecting profits made from owning the club in those 16 years. they topped 2.4 million attendance in 12 of those and topped 3 milion 4 times.

[UTexasFight 9383]

And also paid Carlos Lee $100,000,000