About to need a 'Pour one out for the Astros' thread.

I've stayed positive the last two years but might be time to reload and reset while we still have a lot of valuable pieces to move.

Serotonin said:

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About to need a 'Pour one out for the Astros' thread.

I've stayed positive the last two years but might be time to reload and reset while we still have a lot of valuable pieces to move.

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Theres going to be a lockout next season...Who knows how long it will last. Or what the outcome may be.

Is that what is expected? What is their beef?

Sea Speed said:

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Is that what is expected? What is their beef?

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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48750180/mlb-mlbpa-labor-battle-cba-salary-cap-players-union-manfred-negotiations-faq

short version, both owners and players want a bigger share of the pie.
lockout expected because its viewed that if you agree to a deal too early you're leaving money on the table. so, expect brinkmanship, lockouts, strikes, or threats thereof.

oh and the fans are tired of watching large market teams buy world series titles (looking at dodgers now, yanks in the past). but the fans matter the least in the labor negotiations.

07ag said:

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Sea Speed said:

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Is that what is expected? What is their beef?

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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48750180/mlb-mlbpa-labor-battle-cba-salary-cap-players-union-manfred-negotiations-faq

short version, both owners and players want a bigger share of the pie.
lockout expected because its viewed that if you agree to a deal too early you're leaving money on the table. so, expect brinkmanship, lockouts, strikes, or threats thereof.

oh and the fans are tired of watching large market teams buy world series titles (looking at dodgers now, yanks in the past). but the fans matter the least in the labor negotiations.

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Yup. A giant money tug of war of players vs owners, owners vs owners, owners vs media and probably a lot more going on.

Im not a hard-core baseball fan at all. But those friends of mine that are are worried the entire season is going to be tanked. Not wven sure how player contracts will work if salary caps are instituted.

Billionaires vs. Multi-millionaires.

What a country!

There needs to be a salary floor and a salary cap, and if the lower end team owners can't afford the salary floor, MLB either needs to find an owner with deeper pockets or move them from the city they are in. They also need to figure out their TV rights, because they are a joke right now ow.

Sea Speed said:

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I was already pretty apathetic about sports in general but any time one of these kinds of things pops up it just makes me tenfold moreso. Especially when it costs so much to go out to a game for a family of 5.

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Yep. The Titans using Oilers throwbacks hammered that home in a different way.

Hours and hours watching games with family, talking with friends, buying starter jackets, Oilers swag, spending money etc on "my" team. Columbia blue uniforms and Luv Ya Blue were part of Houston's identity.

The Adams family and Titans franchise blew up that emotional contract by holding the Oilers identity and using it against the city of Houston when they played the Texans. They had to know it would be a jarring experience for any fan to watch their hometown team uniforms from childhood trot out to play their current hometown team.

But hey, legally they control the brand. So you realize that all along you were a sucker for wasting your time and money to support their privately owned commercial asset.

The Astros are by far a net positive with their run from 2017-23, but agree that all this stuff waters down interest over time.

And throw NIL and portal in that bucket as well.

Oh yea, I am completely checked out of college sports. Probably take my kids to an Astros game this year because it's still a cool thing to do for the kids, but I don't get invested or watch any of it at all anymore. If I do turn on an Aggie football game it's just for entertainment and there's no emotion involved whatsoever anymore. I know there are a lot like me now too.

Sea Speed said:

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I was already pretty apathetic about sports in general but any time one of these kinds of things pops up it just makes me tenfold moreso. Especially when it costs so much to go out to a game for a family of 5.

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Really, just go to minor league. Much cheaper, much better seats for the $$ and then bounce in the 7th unless its an interesting game.

With the brewery nearby theres 1 more thing to do.

Stros really pissed this one away. Three innings in a row with bases loaded and only 2 runs. Then, walk in the tying run in the 9th. Maybe they can pull it out in the bottom. Not holding my breath on it.

07ag said:

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Sea Speed said:

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Is that what is expected? What is their beef?

---

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48750180/mlb-mlbpa-labor-battle-cba-salary-cap-players-union-manfred-negotiations-faq

short version, both owners and players want a bigger share of the pie.
lockout expected because its viewed that if you agree to a deal too early you're leaving money on the table. so, expect brinkmanship, lockouts, strikes, or threats thereof.

oh and the fans are tired of watching large market teams buy world series titles (looking at dodgers now, yanks in the past). but the fans matter the least in the labor negotiations.

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And its not just that the large teams are buying titles, the larger teams' revenue gap to the small teams is widening due to half of regional sports networks falling apart. So i believe there is push from ownership in the middle to find a way to spread tv money around more, as well as implement a salary cap and a salary floor. Of course the players have never wanted a cap as they see it as a win when teams like the dodgers overpay for talent to stack their roster.

Long story short, the days of all our cable plans putting money in baseball teams' pockets whether you watch or not is over and now MLB has to find a way to keep the league financially healthy with just baseball fans paying for the product before it becomes just the big 3-4 teams and everyone else.

The Dodgers have one of the most storied brands in American sports history, own the second largest metro area as well as huge shares of Asian and LatAm markets, have an incredible TV deal and are in the midst of a dynasty.

And as a franchise they might fetch just a little more than the hapless Texans, if even.

That shows the brilliance of the NFL model. It maxes out value for everyone by bargaining together on TV rights, sharing revenue, and imposing a salary cap which keeps the games and title races interesting every year.

This popped up on my x feed.

Hilarious interview with Astros fan after fan interference! So many great quotes, this man was definitely made for TV.

“The ball way heavier with the gravity"

“No one can stop me from supporting the asteroids”

“It looks like it’s coming right to you and I reached and my body… pic.twitter.com/cAJIMewOOs

— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) May 14, 2026

cajunaggie08 said:

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07ag said:

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Sea Speed said:

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Is that what is expected? What is their beef?

---

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48750180/mlb-mlbpa-labor-battle-cba-salary-cap-players-union-manfred-negotiations-faq

short version, both owners and players want a bigger share of the pie.
lockout expected because its viewed that if you agree to a deal too early you're leaving money on the table. so, expect brinkmanship, lockouts, strikes, or threats thereof.

oh and the fans are tired of watching large market teams buy world series titles (looking at dodgers now, yanks in the past). but the fans matter the least in the labor negotiations.

---

And its not just that the large teams are buying titles, the larger teams' revenue gap to the small teams is widening due to half of regional sports networks falling apart. So i believe there is push from ownership in the middle to find a way to spread tv money around more, as well as implement a salary cap and a salary floor. Of course the players have never wanted a cap as they see it as a win when teams like the dodgers overpay for talent to stack their roster.

Long story short, the days of all our cable plans putting money in baseball teams' pockets whether you watch or not is over and now MLB has to find a way to keep the league financially healthy with just baseball fans paying for the product before it becomes just the big 3-4 teams and everyone else.

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and remember, mlb gave the dodgers a decades long sweetheart deal and they get to keep more of their rsn money than anyone else

https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/mlbs-revenue-sharing-model-has-two-big-problems-how-can-they-be-fixed-r3929/