Astros on a 56-106 pace (Houston: home, high school, salary)

[crbcrbrgv]

I don't know what to say. I'm not a big fan of the Astros, but being a Cubs fan who lives here, I don't root against the Astros either. Will they win 60 games? I hope so.

[case44]

I'd like to see the Astros win again, but they're being forced to wait for their recent draft picks to break through into the bigs. The hand they're being dealt is not very good right now. To get real good again, they're going to probably have to go through a season like this one just so they can get better. GM Ed Wade has placed a huge emphasis on rebuilding the farm system and drafting good players. When he worked in Philly, he built that current Phillies team that is now one of the elite teams in the NL, mostly via the draft. He can do the same thing in Houston.

[Dopo]

How cheap are the tickets? (that's all I care about right now, so I can take my kids to a game)

[AlfredB1979]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

I don't know what to say. I'm not a big fan of the Astros, but being a Cubs fan who lives here, I don't root against the Astros either. Will they win 60 games? I hope so.

I'm not sure I can hope the same.

After Uncle Drayton spent so many years not signing draft picks over money or just having the folks in control draft junk just to draft something (hence the current dearth of even close to big league ready minor league players), maybe a few ~60 win seasons will have them positioned at the top of the draft to make up for lost time.

I don't really follow (what once was) steroidball anymore, but I assume the lousier the record is the season before, the higher draft position a team gets.

I'd love to see 1991 all over again, but I don't see the next Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez, Cammy, Bigg, Bagwell; hell, I'd even take the young Curt Chilling and chain smoking Mark Portugal...sigh.

[MIBS98]

I was here during the World Series run in 2005. That was a lot of fun, even more so as I am a native Chicagoan and a White Sox fan plus managed to score tickets to game 4 of the sweep.

The team has obviously gone downhill since 2005. Sometimes it is good to rebuild around youth and dump the deadweight (Carlos Lee needs to go). Hope this rebuilding goes somewhere, however. Went to the game yesterday and the lack of any real offensive threat was bit disappointing. My kids kept asking when the train would go and I had to tell them that it would only go if there was a home run and the chance of the Astros hitting a home run was quite slim given a real lack of power hitting.

[crone]

Originally Posted by Dopo

How cheap are the tickets? (that's all I care about right now, so I can take my kids to a game)

Check their site. They have been flashing some good deals lately up on the new fancy scoreboard. Best I can remember is ticket, hot dog and drink $10.

This is Drayton's drought and we are just going to have to wait it out. DH"s high school buddy was kind enough to split his long held season tickets with us. We have had them for years, and they are such good seats, we will put up with anything just to keep them. DH has never left before the end of a game. We did for the first time the other night. We do not think Carlos Lee is deadwood, yet.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by crone

We do not think Carlos Lee is deadwood, yet.

At the halfway point in the season, he is hitting .267 with 7 HRs and 45 RBI. For $19 million per year, that is a pretty poor return. 27% of the Astros opening day payroll was going to Lee.

You could say that he is just having a poor season. Of course, the counter to that is the fact that he hit 40 points below his career batting average last season and only drove in 85 runs.

At $19 mil, which makes him the 12th highest paid player in baseball based on salary, by the way, the guy is deadwood. He certainly isn't anywhere near the 12th best player in baseball.

[crone]

My goodness, you sound like my son and my NYC grandson. They figured out how many beers had to be sold per inning to pay his salary. Everything is relative. The team sucks. In every way one can measure. When a person is paying $250+ to see a damn ballgame, one needs some hope. They need a pitchers.

[Texas User]

I am a big fan of SF Giants.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by crone

They need a pitchers.

That is kind of the point; if they weren't saddled with paying $19 million per year to a guy who has become an average (at best) MLB player, then they could afford pitchers. $19 million buys 2-4 pretty good players if you spend it well.