***** 2023 Houston Astros Season Thread *****

6,733,403 Views | 114825 Replies | Last: 10 mo ago by texasaggie2015
FrioAg 00
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Houston is in a thriving economic city (large and fast growing MSA), but our payroll is still quite a bit smaller compared to LAD, SD, NYY, NYM.

We've been pretty smart with balancing the need to stay competitive without jacking prices to a level we drop the fans

Very well run organization on that side of things
Jackal99
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Ag_07 said:

W said:

ballparks in the suburbs are / should be the new thing now

No thanks


Yeah, **** that. I ain't driving to Spring or Kingwood for an Astros game.
AustinCountyAg
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Prosperdick said:

texasaggie2015 said:

Extreme arm fatigue. Unless they get shut down for a while, I wouldn't expect a dramatic improvement.
So you're telling me the *******ed World Baseball Classic not only cost us 2 months of Altuve but the arms of our 2 best starting pitchers (before we acquired JV of course).

Lovely.
that, and the fact that Dusty trotted out crap lineups for the first four months of the season which didn't emphasize winning games in the hopes of "keeping guys fresh" and "not giving up on guys while they struggle", or whatever excuse.

Well guess what Dusty, those games in May and June ****ing matter and now here we sit at the end of August fighting for a playoff spot.
AgLA06
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Beau Holder said:

AgLA06 said:

Beau Holder said:

W said:


ballparks in the suburbs are / should be the new thing now

Why? The movement of people is going the opposite direction.

The Braves built theirs a million miles from the center of Atlanta with no serviceable public transport to get you there, you have to drive, have a DD, park across the highway, walk 15 minutes, and hang there all day just to enjoy the Battery.

The Royals are seeking to put one in downtown KC which would be far superior to Kauffman being in an ocean of parking lots eight miles from any sort of entertainment scene.
Because movement of residential preferences change.

The old thinking of paying over the top to build a ballpark near a known entity or location is cost prohibitive. And the examples you said represent the new thinking that it doesn't matter where the ballpark as long as they create an experience around it. And if the organization builds that experience around the stadium they also own and control that revenue as well. So they aren't leveraged by someone else.

Ballparks don't make as much off of concert and events as one might think. But if by going this route they are driving new revenue with those events to the bars, restaurants, shops, and multifamily around the stadium it now does put enough money in their pocket to make it worth operating year round. And if you're out in the burbs there's less properties with pull around you to make that difficult.

I'm confused by this part. Every team considering a new stadium (Rays, Royals, A's in Vegas) wants to move closer to the heart of where people and things to do are, not further.

The A's traded building next to the Raider's stadium for no property taxes on their stadium property and $380M in public funding towards the build. There's also already a very nice minor league stadium in the burbs (Red Rock). The city wanted it on the strip to try and achor the dying south end. It was a much bigger deal that focus as much (if not more) on the Tropicana ownership to leverage this to get rid of the old Tropicana and partner with this for a new hotel, casino, and resort, ballpark complex. So only a third of this was driven by the A's (Las Vegas and Tropicana)


I used the Braves example from experience to say it was actually terribly done. The Battery and ballpark are great but the location and the involvement of NIMBYs in how it came together actually made it a ridiculous chore to attend unless you happen to live in Cobb County. At face value you are correct. From a fiscal point, it's a screaming success.

https://www.si.com/mlb/braves/news/cobb-county-annual-report-highlights-the-financial-success-of-truist-park-and-the-battery-atlanta#:~:text=The%20overall%20project%20is%20producing,and%20are%20a%20huge%20success.

"Simply put, Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta are considerably outpacing past projections and are a huge success."

W
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it's always surprising that folks don't understand why a major league franchise would want to leave the downtown / inner city area

what are the trends in the inner city that are anti-business and anti-fan friendly?

the Braves are thrilled to be in Cobb County instead of Fulton County / City of Atlanta

why is that?

why are the A's really leaving Oakland?

W
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we are fortunate that the Greater Houston area has avoided (so far) some of the ills that are plaguing other cities like Chicago and Atlanta
Ag_07
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Because Atlanta and Oakland are shlt holes

Houston is not

Yeah you've got the homeless folks that are a bit of a nuisance when walking around for a game but overall Houston doesn't have near the issues Atlanta and Oakland do.
AgLA06
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Jackal99 said:

Ag_07 said:

W said:

ballparks in the suburbs are / should be the new thing now

No thanks


Yeah, **** that. I ain't driving to Spring or Kingwood for an Astros game.
They're focus wouldn't be on Houston proper driving out, but suburbs not driving in.

Since 2010 City of Houston proper has only added 200Kish while the suburbs have added 1.2M new residents. As the sprawl gets worse, what used to be 30 minutes from anywhere is now an hour for many. Many other big cities are in the same boat due to the exponential increase in housing costs.

Statically it would make sense, but Houston is a loop centrick city so it will probably never happen. However, not all other big cities are and they're looking to leverage the flight, lower property prices and property taxes, as well as room for bigger developments around the project to drive more revenue in their pockets.
AgLA06
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FrioAg 00 said:

Houston is in a thriving economic city (large and fast growing MSA), but our payroll is still quite a bit smaller compared to LAD, SD, NYY, NYM.

We've been pretty smart with balancing the need to stay competitive without jacking prices to a level we drop the fans

Very well run organization on that side of things
Agreed. I think that's what makes many of us so frustrated with the complete mismanagement of this team this year that flies directly in contrast to that.
CoachAg19
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Ag_07 said:

Because Atlanta and Oakland are shlt holes

Houston is not

Yeah you've got the homeless folks that are a bit of a nuisance when walking around for a game but overall Houston doesn't have near the issues Atlanta and Oakland do.


IMO they've really done a good job of relocating the large majority of the homeless folks compared to years past. There's still some lingering down in that area, but it's nothing compared to what it was a few years ago.
The issue I have with MMP is the surrounding area. They need to establish more solid bars/restaurants in the area. Our attendance at games is FAR too high to be limited pre-and-post game like our fans are. The Rockies are a prime example of what it should be like. Lots of different places right near the stadium for people to go to and hang out before or after the games.
Class of 2010
gigemJTH12
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whats the status on Crane doing all that renovation around the stadium?
Beau Holder
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Agree Coors ballpark neighborhood is great. T-Mobile has a solid street of brewpubs next to it. Wrigleyville is obviously a platonic ideal.

Pre and postgame in EaDo is a lot of fun and honestly not even that far of a walk to/from the stadium, but it would be nice to have something on the MMP side of 59.
CoachAg19
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Beau Holder said:

Agree Coors ballpark neighborhood is great. T-Mobile has a solid street of brewpubs next to it. Wrigleyville is obviously a platonic ideal.

Pre and postgame in EaDo is a lot of fun and honestly not even that far of a walk to/from the stadium, but it would be nice to have something on the MMP side of 59.


I've been to Wrigleyville, and it's great. Unfortunately never made it to a game at Wrigley though. I'm going to Chicago next summer when the Astros play the White Sox and then making a stop for a Cubs game the next day.
MMP definitely needs more pre-and-post game attractions surrounding it.
Class of 2010
tjack16
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CoachAg19 said:

Beau Holder said:

Agree Coors ballpark neighborhood is great. T-Mobile has a solid street of brewpubs next to it. Wrigleyville is obviously a platonic ideal.

Pre and postgame in EaDo is a lot of fun and honestly not even that far of a walk to/from the stadium, but it would be nice to have something on the MMP side of 59.


I've been to Wrigleyville, and it's great. Unfortunately never made it to a game at Wrigley though. I'm going to Chicago next summer when the Astros play the White Sox and then making a stop for a Cubs game the next day.
MMP definitely needs more pre-and-post game attractions surrounding it.


I'm making that trip as well. I've only been to Wrigleyville since I went during the winter
Farmer1906
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Beau Holder said:

Agree Coors ballpark neighborhood is great. T-Mobile has a solid street of brewpubs next to it. Wrigleyville is obviously a platonic ideal.

Pre and postgame in EaDo is a lot of fun and honestly not even that far of a walk to/from the stadium, but it would be nice to have something on the MMP side of 59.
This area needs to be developed into something awesome.



Eado is fine.

West of the ballpark is solid enough with V&A, Irma's, & Osso & Kristalla's are some nice places to eat.

A little farther south is fine too - Biggio's, Grotto, Saltgrass, Grove.

We need home plate & BUS to be replaced with something 10x better. Not just a parking lot.
spadilly
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S
San Diego was great walking through downtown to Petco.
Bars and restaurants all over, all with open air seating.
You can do that when your summers are in the upper 70s.
Pretty rough here.
JYDog90
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n_touch said:

EastCoastAgNc said:


Well at least we can count on the Orioles owner wrecking their long term chances of contention. This guy is a moron
What is he saying that is wrong? If they have to raise prices, they may be pricing their fans out of being able to attend which causes even more issues.


My wife couldn't believe how empty their stadium was for that series last week. Over and over she would comment, "they're a good team and nobody's there!"
texasaggie2015
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Yeah but could we make any improvements to the downtown area with Maldy in the lineup???
linkdude
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Correlation or causation?
EastCoastAgNc
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AgLA06 said:

n_touch said:

EastCoastAgNc said:


Well at least we can count on the Orioles owner wrecking their long term chances of contention. This guy is a moron
What is he saying that is wrong? If they have to raise prices, they may be pricing their fans out of being able to attend which causes even more issues.
Yep. It's why the Astros have been very particular on who they've extended and who they've cut loose in favor of young talent or free agency. It would be great to keep every up and coming star. But as long as dumb owners like the Mets and Padres will overpay for talent and over inflate the market, that isn't feasible.
How different are the local economics of San Diego vs Baltimore? I get cost of living is much different, but in terms of potential for ballpark revenue, they're both relatively smaller markets. I would think that the source of the Padres spending is their ownership choosing to do so. It's in the Angelos DNA to be cheap.
EastCoastAgNc
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Chas had an interview with Foul Territory yesterday
Beau Holder
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Farmer1906 said:

Beau Holder said:

Agree Coors ballpark neighborhood is great. T-Mobile has a solid street of brewpubs next to it. Wrigleyville is obviously a platonic ideal.

Pre and postgame in EaDo is a lot of fun and honestly not even that far of a walk to/from the stadium, but it would be nice to have something on the MMP side of 59.
This area needs to be developed into something awesome.



Eado is fine.

West of the ballpark is solid enough with V&A, Irma's, & Osso & Kristalla's are some nice places to eat.

A little farther south is fine too - Biggio's, Grotto, Saltgrass, Grove.

We need home plate & BUS to be replaced with something 10x better. Not just a parking lot.

Bingo. Really miss that place.
BadAggie
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linkdude said:

Correlation or causation?


cc Baker Jr, Johnnie B. "Dusty"
Farmer1906
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EastCoastAgNc said:


Chas had an interview with Foul Territory yesterday
Wow, I had never noticed how similar Chas and Tuve look / their lower haves.


Wabs
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So with JV pitching (and Maldy and Dubon being "required" to play)...

1. Altuve 2B
2. Breggy 3B
3. Yordan DH
4. Tucker RF
5. Chas LF
6. Diaz 1B
7. Pena SS
8. Dubon CF
9. Maldy C
BadAggie
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texasaggie2015 said:

Yeah but could we make any improvements to the downtown area with Maldy in the lineup???


Exactly.
CFTXAG10
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linkdude said:

Correlation or causation?
"Fan Stuff"
redline248
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linkdude said:

Correlation or causation?
I love how he throws Jake in there
bigjag19
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There is nothing south of downtown Atlanta really. The baseball attending population was well north of downtown for the vast majority. It made sense.

Our population is everywhere. Downtown is all that makes sense.
The Porkchop Express
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redline248 said:

linkdude said:

Correlation or causation?
I love how he throws Jake in there
Lonestar_Ag09
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Ummm you just described any Astros game for all of those not living inside the loop. I seriously hope Houston can get a hockey team and find a way to get a stadium on the North side like near the racetrack or guns point. I'd consider being a season ticket holder and I've never been to a hockey game in my life
Farmer1906
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Teams with players fWAR >2.5

ATL - 7
ARL - 6
HOU - 5
SD - 5
TB - 5
ARI - 4
LAD - 4

Tucker leads the way with 4.2. He's on pace for 5.4. His previous 2 seasons were 4.7 & 4.8.
Beau Holder
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I get that, and I'm afraid by even posting this that things are going to go sideways, but I don't want to just ignore you. Isn't that the tradeoff as old as modernity? With density in cities comes things to do all around you at the cost of space and some amenities. With suburbs comes nice yards and lots and school districts at the cost of the things characteristic of a city.

I live two miles from MMP. As a huge Astros fan, being able to bike down the bayou to go to as many games as I want was a minor factor in that decision. Along with food options and three music venues within 10 minutes of me and lots of other considerations. I didn't want to live in a burb, but if I did, I wouldn't have done it with the expectation of a major sports franchise setting up shop there.

EDIT: I should also say, you're right about the experience in this regard: I love this city, but public transpo is 100% one area in which it needs to get its crap together. No reason there can't be routes of some kind from the Beltway-ish neighborhoods toward downtown.
linkdude
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If Tucks defense hadn't nose dived early in the year, he'd probably be on pace for 6-7 WAR
Prosperdick
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Wabs said:

So with JV pitching (and Maldy and Dubon being "required" to play)...

1. Altuve 2B
2. Breggy 3B
3. Yordan DH
4. Tucker RF
5. Chas LF
6. Diaz 1B
7. Pena SS
8. Dubon CF
9. Maldy C
Probably the best we can hope for...Dubon in centerfield is still such an oddity but whatever.
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