Since 2017 all the media, majority of players, and fans have been against us. It’s 2021 and all we hear about during the playoffs from the media and fans across baseball is trashcan talk and scandals. Hell even this post season we had a player on another team questioning our legitimacy. I am all for H Town vs everyone growing up in Houston my whole life. The only caveat I am worried about is we all talk like well we can let Correa or player X,Y,Z walk and we will go sign another star. What players are going to want to sign on with us and have to deal with not only the pressure of winning but all the negative talk about 2017 that is still being projected on our roster when we only have 4 players from that team still on our roster. There is a good chance big name free agents will not won’t to sign on in Houston and have the negative light attached to there names. The past 5 years have been great runs for our club we could keep CC let go of Grink and Ver and try to sign a pitcher and run it back just my thoughts..
Every team has positives and negatives. The Astros have many positives, most notably the opportunity to chase a ring alongside some outstanding players. No state income tax also helps (money talks).
If it makes you sleep better at night we didn't acquire Verlander, Cole or Greinke via free agency. There's other ways to acquire talent and maintain this streak of success is what I'm saying.
The allure of winning will persuade the right players. Honestly if they are worried about the negative stuff those aren't the kind of players we want anyway.
That's nice in theory, but is it really true? There's a lot of talk that Springer didn't want to deal with it and was part of the reason for his leaving, but did we not want him? There's a decent chance that if we managed to keep him, we have a 2nd World Series right now. That said, you're certainly right to some degree - but the other question is will we pay the ones that not only want to be here but have embraced this situation? (aka Carlos Correa)
I think the players are more willing to forgive than the fans and the media. Especially if the players were on teams that weren't really affected by the cheating the Astros did on their way to a championship. I think they know that teams are always trying to gain an advantage somehow. If a player is offered a contract or is interested in signing with Houston, maybe being honest with them up front will help. Maybe they won't even care or have questions about it. Didn't Springer say he asked the guys in Toronto if they had any questions about the controversy as soon as he got in their clubhouse? Wanted to feel accepted and thought telling the truth was the first step.
$ is the number 1 motivator for FA signing. I'm not worried. We aren't signing big name free agents anyway.
This is jenga and I have a "Houston Sports" feeling that Crane is bout to get too cocky and this tower will fall. Team chemistry is a real thing.
Cranes systematic, ruthless, professional, and non-sentimental approach is why the Astros are this good to begin with. he hand picked the GM and oversaw all the cutthroat activities being implemented… from the nerd cave to ground zero to codebreaker. Then he fired the two people he could as soon as it was revealed, without much hesitation. Crane is a killer. He will ensure this team is in a position to win… and as soon as they aren’t, he will order the code red and start over (or he will sell the team for a hefty profit).
Since 2017 is simply not true. The hate is pretty recent. The media and other fans thought we were a great story of rags to riches as far as wins go. We had taken down the giants on our way to a WS title. As far as your other questions you should follow the off season thread. Lots of great ideas and posts in there.....and yea money talks but we're not targeting the big fish anyway.
Astros offense is still the same likely without Correa and the pitching likely won't change except Greinke from this past season. The only worry is work stoppage. It maybe a good thing for the Astros because non-Stros fans will hate MLB than the Stros.
100% of the reason Springer left was the $150,000,000 he was offered by Toronto. The Astros offer that and he’d still be here. As we’re all well aware, the Astros could t offer that and keep the remainder of the core/team intact… Unless Springer turned into a dominant starting pitcher after he left, it’s doubtful he would have had much direct impact on the games we lost in the 2021 WS. Our CF platoon was fine offensively and defensively during the series. Starting pitching and home runs killed us.
When the that letter gets released about Yankees cheating too… all this Astros hate will blow over. Anyhoo, we’ve been shown to use the hate to our advantage. It’s like a bad break up… just takes some time. The core is still there and we’re gonna break the record next year. Everyone hopefully will be healthy and see a star or two on the mound. Correa wasn’t necessarily a huge threat this year… seeing that it’s a contract year. A decent pitching rotation will take the pressure off the bats.
We’re only maybe 2 pieces away from another World Series championship. The Braves got way too comfortable in the first innings. When we lost LMJ, that was it. With him out, it was basically a given.
I think most players take Bassitt’s attitude. Sure they are disgusted by the 2017 antics, but they also know the game is/was dirtier than fans/media are willing to admit. Players will follow the money and what’s best for them…to the extent that coincides with HOU’s plans, I think we’ll be fine. I don’t think the vast majority of players will be unwilling to sign with the Astros because of the scandal.
I am more amazed by this franchise than worried. From the 2017 Championship team, only a handful of players remain and yet we made the World Series this year even with key injuries. Looking forward to the next five years with Tucker and Alvarez leading! Should be fun and am hopeful for one more title.
