TCB Podcast Episode 24

by Timothy De Block on Nov 18, 2011 11:19 PM CST in Podcasts

Sponsored by Leiturgia Communications

TCB Podcast ready and willing to invade your thoughts and tickle your ear drums.

In this episode David Coleman, Sean Feist and special guest James Yasko from Astros County join me to discuss the sale of the Astros. Among the things we cover are:

The sale duh

BREAKING NEWS: We just received this in the mail at the TCB HQ's and It appears to be addressed to the Astros new owner:

It appears that Jim Crane is stepping into a worse situation than previously thought. Not only are the Astros being moved to the American League West but it also appears that attendance will be hostage unless the demands above are meet. Speculation is that the fanbase upset, with the move, have decided to take improvements at the ballpark into their own hands. One can only hope and pray that a quick resolution is found for this tragedy.

Stay tuned to to TCB for up to date coverage on this developing story.

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If you have any comments or questions in regards to the podcast you can email the show at thecrawfishboxes@gmail.com. If you have a question please be sure to include your name and where you're from. Also big thanks to those of you that have rated us on iTunes we appreciate the feedback.

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OCCUPY MMP!

by mike_o on Nov 19, 2011 3:34 AM CST reply actions

Getting rid of Tal Hill’s would make me sad. Don’t cave in to kidnappers too!

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 7:55 AM CST reply actions

Ultimately, the only way to punish Crane for selling out the team is to stop spending money on his product.

Perhaps he and Bud Selig would understand if the Astros started to play games in front of empty stands.

I’ll contribute to the effort in any way possible, starting, of course, with not buying tickets. I have no plans to “get used to it”, and I refuse to financially reward bad actors.

Don’t like what Crane has done? DON’T BUY ASTROS TICKETS.

Spread the word.

by charliee on Nov 19, 2011 9:08 AM CST reply actions 2 recs

You’re shooting yourself in the foot if you stop buying the product. The team would have been forced to move regardless of who the buyer was.

by AGirlintheSouth on Nov 19, 2011 10:57 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs

You realize they would still have the power right? They would then move the team to another city as soon as the lease is up at MMP or find a way out of the lease.

by Subber10 on Nov 19, 2011 1:25 PM CST up reply actions

I think the lease has something like 28 years remaining. I also recall that the Sports Authority drafted a tight lease to prevent an owner from moving the team. The Oilers’ situation caused that….plus, MMP bonds had to be approved by the voters and Harris County had to convince voters that they could prevent another Bud Adams from moving the team. Not that I’m agreeing with the idea that fans should punish the Astros.’ I don’t see what good that would accomplish.

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 1:42 PM CST up reply actions

For the record, in reference to my question about bringing a familiar and beloved Astro into the fold in order to help smooth things over with fan – I did mean in a true substantive role, not a “pretty face” who isn’t really contributing.

And there are waves….they’re just really tiny and full of oil.

by AGirlintheSouth on Nov 19, 2011 11:08 AM CST reply actions

Has there been any quotes from Ausmus

Or evidence that he embraces advance statistics? In Dierker’s book Ausmus seemed to be of the old school of thought. Of course maybe he has learned something since then. I seem to remember that many of Ausmus’s comments when he was a player seemed to indicate that he didn’t realize what actually happened most of the time in baseball and really relied more on his personal experience which is a small sample size and also biased.

by ntn on Nov 19, 2011 11:45 AM CST reply actions

Ausmus has been working in the Padres’ front office. SD had a more sabermetric oriented FO than the Astros. The main area of disagreement between Dierker and Ausmus that I recall from the book is that Dierk said Ausmus would always issue an intentional walk to the No. 8 hitter if he had his way (which he didn’t—since Dierker took the more stat oriented view of issuing few intentional passes). I always wondered if Ausmus would make a good pitching coach (like Dave Duncan, who was also a catcher). One of Ausmus’ positive traits as a catcher was his ability to help his pitchers with their pitch selection and pick up on their mechanical problems.

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 12:09 PM CST up reply actions

Brett Wallace just got released from his Dominican Team…..

by Woodlands'stro on Nov 19, 2011 12:33 PM CST via mobile reply actions

I saw an article suggesting that Wallace is on the trading block. But what can the Astros really get for him? Talk about selling low.

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 12:51 PM CST up reply actions

If we can't get much, there's nothing wrong with letting him play at Triple-A.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

by BustaPozee on Nov 19, 2011 1:36 PM CST up reply actions

he’s still young and could go even lower, but I wouldn’t expect anything close to an Anthony Gose.

Follow my ramblings on Twitter .

by Timothy De Block on Nov 19, 2011 1:45 PM CST up reply actions

New Uni's

I hate those stupid pin stripes. I saw it on the list of demands up there but haven’t heard it talked about by Crane. Has he specifically mentioned going back to any of the old ones?

by Stu0624 on Nov 19, 2011 1:20 PM CST reply actions

He said everything is on the table. I just wouldn’t expect anything immediately.

Follow my ramblings on Twitter .

by Timothy De Block on Nov 19, 2011 1:44 PM CST up reply actions

No. He said he was open to discussion of new uniforms, but didn’t say he wanted to do it. Also, I’m not sure that returning to old uniforms would be what he has in mind. Maybe he comes up with a whole new style.

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 1:44 PM CST up reply actions

The thing that really got me thinking about it was the rainbow logo and the shooting star going through the 50 on the sign behind him in the presser. Either the 90’s navy and gold jerseys or the rainbow jerseys would be a good change

by Stu0624 on Nov 19, 2011 2:40 PM CST up reply actions

I'd find it insulting if he brought any of the old uniforms back now...

I do think he should either stick with the sand (LOL) and brick red, or find a new color/style for the AL club.

by mike_o on Nov 19, 2011 3:06 PM CST up reply actions

Crane on how he will rebuild the team

“We bid on the Rangers … and when we looked at the Rangers they had not been to the World Series like they had the last two years. They had a very, very deep minor league system. They were stacked with a lot of pitchers and lot of talent. They were actually ranked No. 1 in the minor leagues. We knew they were going to make a move. I think our goal … is to build the minor league team first and once we have that loaded up and the players start to develop and come up, we will go ahead and sign some free agents as (Rangers) have to help compliment them. We will emulate (the Rangers) model as we try to improve the Astros.”

That’s exactly what I want to hear from him. If he stays true to his word he has my full support.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Nov 19, 2011 1:51 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

I agree. It may take awhile for that to happen, but it sounds like a good plan.

by conroestro on Nov 19, 2011 2:39 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

If he doesn’t mind bleeding red ink for about 10 years….

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 4:48 PM CST up reply actions

You know as well as I that it doesn't have to take 10 years

A couple good drafts and a dash of luck in prospects working out and we could be competitive by ’15.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Nov 19, 2011 5:41 PM CST up reply actions

The rangers are given as an example, and the period of time between playoff appearances, 1999 and 2010….that’s ten years, I think. Can you get lucky and appear in the playoffs if everything turns out just right? Sure. The Astros could be in the playoffs next year with a huge amount of luck, if Martinez, Altuve, Bogusevic, Castro, and Lyles all break out and become all stars. Is it likely? No, that’s very unlikely.

by clack on Nov 20, 2011 8:44 AM CST up reply actions

I assumed he was referring to the Rangers' model under Jon Daniels

He became GM for their 2006 season.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Nov 20, 2011 11:32 AM CST up reply actions

Oh, I’m just pessimistic, given that he seems to be projecting a budget that continues to contract with declining revenues. Given the current state of the farm system, I can see a downward spiral that’s hard to reverse. I think strategic use of free agents would help stop the downward revenue spiral, plus it would provide potential returns for the farm system by trading players at the deadline or taking Free Agent Type B compensation in the subsequent year. Tampa Bay, for instance, has always made good use of free agents, even in it’s terrible years, and parlayed them into additional draft picks.

Hopefully I’m wrong, but I can see quite a few years of Royals-like existence ahead for the Astros.

by clack on Nov 20, 2011 5:47 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

I would rather see him spend the payroll locking up homegrown players

On team-friendly contracts, as the Rays have done.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Nov 20, 2011 8:41 PM CST up reply actions

That assumes that the Astros have homegrown players who are worth locking up to long term contracts right now. I can’t think of any.

by clack on Nov 20, 2011 9:04 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

They might after, or sometime during, next season

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Nov 20, 2011 9:09 PM CST up reply actions

YUP

Sounds great if true.

by auclairkeithbc on Nov 19, 2011 5:46 PM CST up reply actions

Instead of flattening tals hill they should build a shack on it and Tal can live on it for the rest of his years.

by ntn on Nov 19, 2011 2:00 PM CST reply actions

If the Astros hit a HR he can come and do a dance kind of like coo coo clock.

"This is a simple game, you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the the ball, you got it?!"

by StrosSouth on Nov 19, 2011 3:30 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

so

it looks like the chic fil a cows are also astro fans,

I guess ditching the tacky “fowl pole” is asking too much?

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

by Ryan Perrio on Nov 19, 2011 3:02 PM CST reply actions

Barmes likely to sign with Pirates.

That’s the report from several sources.

by clack on Nov 19, 2011 5:19 PM CST reply actions

Hahaha. The phillies will still lose their first round pick but had they waited until the CBA to make their stupid signing they could have at least saved their draft pick. At least according to mlbtr. That sounds really unfair.

by ntn on Nov 19, 2011 5:46 PM CST reply actions

Don't know if anybody noticed this,

But BA posted their first HS top 25 for the 2012 draft. A lot of people’s favorite, Nick Williams, did not even make the top 20, and Trey Williams did not make the top ten. Their top ranked player, whom a crosschecker told BA was the best player in the draft class, is Byron Buxton, a player who sounds a lot to me like a HS version of George Springer.

Link

http://www.crawfishboxes.com

by OremLK on Nov 20, 2011 12:07 AM CST reply actions

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