Report -- Approval of Houston Astros sale conditional on move to American League - ESPN As an Astros fan, and "NL" guy, this really pisses me off. Bud Selig should have been fired years ago, he has such a conflict of interest when it comes to things like this. If balance between the leagues is so important, then either the Brewers should go back to where they came from, or one of the "new" NL temas (Colorado, Arizona, Florida or Washington) should be forced to move. I realize that the AL west is currently the only 4 team division, so why not the D-backs or Rockies? Baseball hasn't really held my attention for a number of years, and this just may finish me off. Interleague play, common umpires and expansion have really killed the appeal of the game for me. I used to love how the two leagues were so different, and you never really knew which was better until the All Star game (remember when this was actually fun to watch?) or World Series. Just making the playoffs was a HUGE deal. Now it's like any other sport. The changes made to make the game more "popular" have just turned it into something I hardly recognize anymore.
I consider myself an Astros fan although my interest in MLB has continued to decrease. I agree with pretty much everything you mentioned. Although not sure if you agree with this next point, I think they should've used this "balancing" situation as a reason to scrap the DH. I read recently that it was initially intended to be an experiment (i.e. not necessarily permanent). Although I'm not a big enough baseball fan to be a "purist", I think pitchers that command the inside of the plate should have to take their medicine and stand in the batter's box a couple of times/game. A pitcher running the bases can take them out of their rhythm and that's PART OF BASEBALL!!! Jim Crane should've agreed to move to the AL with the condition that the DH would be scrapped completely.
Not to mention the pinch hitting aspect, which is the very core of how baseball should be strategized. FWIW, I heard that if the Diamondbacks agree to move to the AL (which is a possibility), then the Astros may not be forced to move.
I agree completely with your idea on the DH, which is part of the reason I've always been an NL guy. The beauty of baseball to me has always been the strategy involved with handling pitchers and hitting situations. Baseball needs that mental aspect to it, because it can't compete with other sports on the "action" aspect, IMO. That's what made it different.
Bud Selig's Milwaukee team should have been forced to move back to the AL Central. Could have moved Kansas City to the AL West at that point.
Yep, this whole mess stinks of Pud Selig. Note: ESPN is reporting that; An extra wildcard team will be added to each league as soon as next year. Purportedly, wildcard teams would play one another in a one game playoff, the winner then plays the leagues best record. This is meant to reward division champions, by putting wildcards in a high risk 1 game playoff.
MLB approves Astros sale, price cut $65 million - MLB - Yahoo! Sports It's a done deal. Astros to al west. While I agree that the DH sucks and I love the strategy involved whether to take a pitcher out of a game to be pinch hit for (even though he might be throwing a 3 hitter) i an anxious to see some new teams in houston. And the rivalry with the Rangers should be great!
