free_mhayden said:

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There are parts of every city that are "blue collar". It's a rather out-dated term, but where it is still applied are cities like Detroit or Cleveland where if manufacturing shuts down, the city nearly shuts down.

That ain't Houston.

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Exactly.

irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Ok but Altuve is shaping up to be like Craig Biggio. A future HOF player who spends his career with one team. At least right now, he's only been an Astro to this point and was discovered in Venezuela by our org. Beltre is a hired gun and was a veteran when he joined the rangers.

ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Ok but Altuve is shaping up to be like Craig Biggio. A future HOF player who spends his career with one team. At least right now, he's only been an Astro to this point and was discovered in Venezuela by our org. Beltre is a hired gun and was a veteran when he joined the rangers.

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So? I'm not sure why fans think that's some type of knock, especially in the free agency era. When I see Astros fans get in a huff over Nolan going in as a Ranger instead of an Astro, they never seem to concern themselves w/ the fact that he was a hired gun for them.

Assuming he's not traded away before retiring, he'll go in as a Ranger. He went from Hall of Very Good to 1st ballot HOFer with the Rangers. He'll go in as a Ranger and that's what matters.

Ag_07 said:

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Both sides always end up arguing about the stupidest shlt.

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Agreed. But that's what makes us fans. I was talking to my brother one day. He abhors sports. Just doesn't get the attraction. He think fans act irrationally, and I disagreed with him. Is it irrational to be a fan and to put so much time and energy in following a group of people, that you don't even know, play a game? Yes. But, if you are a fan, it makes sense to act the way most fans do. It's entirely rational for a fan to argue about the stupidest things because we've already abandoned rational thought by simply becoming fans.

Or maybe my thought was more the result of too many St Bernardus Abt 12's.

Isn't "fan" short for "fanatic"?

RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Yeah, I was implying he would be one of the best Astros ever, but I could see how you would take that. Should have worded that better.

Okay, yeah that makes more sense. I'm a huge Altuve fan, btw. How could you be a baseball fan and not like Altuve. He's like Beltre in that regard. You just have to respect the way he plays, especially at his size. Blows me away.

RetiredAg said:

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ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Ok but Altuve is shaping up to be like Craig Biggio. A future HOF player who spends his career with one team. At least right now, he's only been an Astro to this point and was discovered in Venezuela by our org. Beltre is a hired gun and was a veteran when he joined the rangers.

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So? I'm not sure why fans think that's some type of knock, especially in the free agency era. When I see Astros fans get in a huff over Nolan going in as a Ranger instead of an Astro, they never seem to concern themselves w/ the fact that he was a hired gun for them.

Assuming he's not traded away before retiring, he'll go in as a Ranger. He went from Hall of Very Good to 1st ballot HOFer with the Rangers. He'll go in as a Ranger and that's what matters.

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It's not a knock? It's a comment that I think it's a little more fun if you're a fan of a team to follow, for example, Chipper Jones career on the Braves than to follow a team *for a player* that joined as a veteran. Pretty simple concept, but not sure how that's being construed as a knock.

RetiredAg said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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RetiredAg said:

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Pahdz said:

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RetiredAg said:

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ClickClack said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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We're a blue collar town.

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Not really.

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As someone that lives in Houston, to call this place "blue collar" is hilarious.

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Compared to DFW it is

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First, the original claim had nothing to do with DFW. There was no comparison. He just claimed Houston is "blue collar". It's not. Not even close.

Second, I don't have any experience in Fort Worth, but it certainly seems to have more of a "blue collar" vibe than Houston.

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Houston is an oil and gas town. With dozens of refineries and chemical plants. Countless steel fab shops etc. Is the precious Heights Blue collar? No. But the parts of Houston I work in on a daily basis absolutely is

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There may be "blue collar" areas, but the city as a whole is not. It's laughable to even claim as much. It's more than just the Heights that isn't blue collar. Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, Medical Center, Energy Corridor, Museum District, the Wards....none of these areas are "blue collar".

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I'm Unaware of any downtown being blue collar, nor living areas to be honest. Houston is a city heavily dependent on oil and gas, when that market suffers so does the local economy. You can find whatever you want "laughable" but Houston is far more industrial than most major metropolitan areas. That's just a simple fact

Quote:

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I'm Unaware of any downtown being blue collar, nor living areas to be honest. Houston is a city heavily dependent on oil and gas, when that market suffers so does the local economy. You can find whatever you want "laughable" but Houston is far more industrial than most major metropolitan areas. That's just a simple fact

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You are moving the goalposts. The fact that it may be more industrial than most major metropolitan areas doesn't make it "blue collar". As said previously, sure there are some "blue collar" areas, but as a whole, the city is not "blue collar". Not even close. And I didn't only list downtown. I listed numerous areas of Houston that make up the bulk of the city, and none of those areas are blue collar.

When people talk of blue collar cities, they think of Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc. Having little pockets of blue collar work doesn't make the city blue collar.

Have you been to Pittsburgh or Cleveland?

ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Ok but Altuve is shaping up to be like Craig Biggio. A future HOF player who spends his career with one team. At least right now, he's only been an Astro to this point and was discovered in Venezuela by our org. Beltre is a hired gun and was a veteran when he joined the rangers.

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So? I'm not sure why fans think that's some type of knock, especially in the free agency era. When I see Astros fans get in a huff over Nolan going in as a Ranger instead of an Astro, they never seem to concern themselves w/ the fact that he was a hired gun for them.

Assuming he's not traded away before retiring, he'll go in as a Ranger. He went from Hall of Very Good to 1st ballot HOFer with the Rangers. He'll go in as a Ranger and that's what matters.

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It's not a knock? It's a comment that I think it's a little more fun if you're a fan of a team to follow, for example, Chipper Jones career on the Braves than to follow a team *for a player* that joined as a veteran. Pretty simple concept, but not sure how that's being construed as a knock.

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If that makes it more fun for you, then cool I guess. It really does nothing for me. The only time it really comes into play is w/ rental players.

Oh, and sorry for misinterpreting your post as a "knock". My bad.

Mr.Bond said:

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Have you been to Pittsburgh or Cleveland?

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Yes.

Ag_07 said:

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Both sides always end up arguing about the stupidest shlt.

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Called it

RetiredAg said:

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ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Ok but Altuve is shaping up to be like Craig Biggio. A future HOF player who spends his career with one team. At least right now, he's only been an Astro to this point and was discovered in Venezuela by our org. Beltre is a hired gun and was a veteran when he joined the rangers.

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So? I'm not sure why fans think that's some type of knock, especially in the free agency era. When I see Astros fans get in a huff over Nolan going in as a Ranger instead of an Astro, they never seem to concern themselves w/ the fact that he was a hired gun for them.

Assuming he's not traded away before retiring, he'll go in as a Ranger. He went from Hall of Very Good to 1st ballot HOFer with the Rangers. He'll go in as a Ranger and that's what matters.

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It's not a knock? It's a comment that I think it's a little more fun if you're a fan of a team to follow, for example, Chipper Jones career on the Braves than to follow a team *for a player* that joined as a veteran. Pretty simple concept, but not sure how that's being construed as a knock.

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If that makes it more fun for you, then cool I guess. It really does nothing for me. The only time it really comes into play is w/ rental players.

Oh, and sorry for misinterpreting your post as a "knock". My bad.

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Well it's just one of those things that, for instance, made it a blast for me growing up an Astros fan - following Bagwell's and Biggio's careers that were spent the whole way with the Astros. That's special. But you know I like Beltre, I already said it on this thread. I think he's fun to watch and the Rangers were smart to pick him up. Has ended up being a great asset to that team and a fan favorite.

ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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ClickClack said:

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RetiredAg said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Plus, you'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best ever. Mr. Jose Altuve.

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One of the best baseball players ever? Could he end up being one of the best 2B ever? Sure, but it is WAY too early to claim he's one of the best ever.

BTW, if he roots for the Rangers, he'd get to root for a great personality who also happens to be one of the best 3B ever and a future 1st ballot HOFer, Mr. Adrian Beltre.

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Ok but Altuve is shaping up to be like Craig Biggio. A future HOF player who spends his career with one team. At least right now, he's only been an Astro to this point and was discovered in Venezuela by our org. Beltre is a hired gun and was a veteran when he joined the rangers.

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So? I'm not sure why fans think that's some type of knock, especially in the free agency era. When I see Astros fans get in a huff over Nolan going in as a Ranger instead of an Astro, they never seem to concern themselves w/ the fact that he was a hired gun for them.

Assuming he's not traded away before retiring, he'll go in as a Ranger. He went from Hall of Very Good to 1st ballot HOFer with the Rangers. He'll go in as a Ranger and that's what matters.

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It's not a knock? It's a comment that I think it's a little more fun if you're a fan of a team to follow, for example, Chipper Jones career on the Braves than to follow a team *for a player* that joined as a veteran. Pretty simple concept, but not sure how that's being construed as a knock.

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Beltre is far and away my favorite player, and I would have loved to be able to follow him as a Ranger for his whole career, but since that's not available I'll just enjoy him as a Ranger from now on.

Goddammit...I love Beltre too. Hard not to love a guy that has as much fun as he seems to have playing baseball. He's probably the only Rangers player that I like.

Duck Patrol said:

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Goddammit...I love Beltre too. Hard not to love a guy that has as much fun as he seems to have playing baseball. He's probably the only Rangers player that I like.

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The only ones I like are him and Odor.

Can't stand Odor...

This thread is like politics. One side has data and results supporting their argument, the other just rambles and claims superiority. Neither changes their mind even slightly.

Astros fans sure are obsessed with Odor's looks.

I must admit though. I do love how he looks when he's playing the Astros. If my math is correct, his career numbers vs the Astros in 36 games:

.316 BA
8 HR
31 RBI
17 R

It's gotta be better than that

Some reading for OP

https://theringer.com/the-texas-rangers-luck-has-to-run-out-right-1765ff0b98d0#.1ydlfhnx5

The luck argument has always been lame but when it comes to choosing between the two teams the head to head is beyond luck.

Facts aren't lame.

Using sabermetrics to determine who was better over actual game outcomes.

Bulldog73 said:

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I clearly did say 1-3, but I intended 1/3. Apologies. I'm editing to clarify, but I did hit the wrong button.

Last I checked I believe the past decade did have more Ranger fans/game easily, but that's the height of their success as a franchise where the Astros were largely in the doldrums (Kaz Matsui era... shudder).

My biases are compounded with the Mavs fans showing up similarly annoying out of no where, so it's probably not as bad as I recall. But the fans have turned me off to DFW sports more than anything else.

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Houston fans don't bandwagon on social media, only because Houston sports have largely sucked since social media existed.

Except the facts are really about other teams. The Rangers may regress this year. It is certainly possible.

That said, the facts are that the Rangers won last season and continued kicking the Astros asses while doing it.

aggietony2010 said:

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Bulldog73 said:

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I clearly did say 1-3, but I intended 1/3. Apologies. I'm editing to clarify, but I did hit the wrong button.

Last I checked I believe the past decade did have more Ranger fans/game easily, but that's the height of their success as a franchise where the Astros were largely in the doldrums (Kaz Matsui era... shudder).

My biases are compounded with the Mavs fans showing up similarly annoying out of no where, so it's probably not as bad as I recall. But the fans have turned me off to DFW sports more than anything else.

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Houston fans don't bandwagon on social media, only because Houston sports have largely sucked since social media existed.

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Or cause they've been very active, and to some annoying from the beginning, win, lose (and they've done lots of that), or draw. And I say that as an Astro fan.