Now that the Texans season is officially over it’s time to talk about the Astros.
There seems to be a large percentage of Astros fans that are upset about the Astros move to the American League in 2013. These fans are mistaken in their angst, and should in fact be excited for the move to the American League. Here is why….
1. The Astros will finally get a true rival, the Texas Rangers. Texans fans, think about how much you hate the Cowboys. Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Texans played the Cowboys 2 times every year. Those tickets would be outrageous, and the whole state would stop to watch. Well, the same kind of atmosphere will develop with the Rangers in a few years. Especially once we eliminate them, or they eliminate us from the playoff race with a sweep in September (this obviously won’t happen any time soon). Imagine the division championship comes down to a final weekend series against the Rangers in Arlington. That would be awesome, and it will develop into a truly great rivalry.
Many Astros fans think we already have rivalries with the Cubs and Cardinals. We don’t. Cubs fans hate the Cardinals and to a lesser extent the White Sox. The Brewers are another potential developing rivalry with the Cubs (Milwaukee is ridiculously close to Chicago) now that the Brewers are in the NL and aren’t a joke franchise anymore. The Cardinals hate the Cubs, and to a lesser extent the Royals (who are unbelievably terrible). While Astros fans may see these two teams as their rivals, the Cubs and Cardinals don’t see it, and never will. Why, because the Cubs and Cardinals have been rivals for over 100 years!!!! The Rangers don’t have a natural rival, so adding the Astros to their division creates one, and it will be awesome.
2. I know many Houstonians were upset when Albert Pujols signed with the Angels, because now he’ll be able to torture Astros fans for the rest of his career. True. But at the same time, we will get to see Albert destroy all kinds of records in the next few years. I think Astros fans will be glad he’s in our division, especially once his skills start to deteriorate and his contract remains huge, thus handcuffing the Angels.
3. If the Astros ever end up with a guy like Carlos Lee, he wont’ have to play the field again. Sadly, we have to wait a year to move to the AL, and after this year Carlos Lee will be but a bad memory. However, the Astros could use that DH spot to bring back an aging veteran who can hit to finish his career in Houston at a reasonable rate. Yes, I am talking about Lance Berkman, or someone like him who can still hit, but is a liability in the field. Carlos Lee should have been a DH 5 years ago, probably the city of Houston’s worst signing ever (besides Scottie Pippen).
4. You get to see the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays play in Houston every year. Yes, the Rays are really, really good.
5. This one is personal, but it applies to many Houstonians. There are lots of poeple in Houston who moved here from other places, or their parents taught them to be fans of other National League teams before they moved to Houston (namely, the Cubs, Cardinals, and Braves). I am a huge Cubs fan, which wasn’t a problem before 1994 because the Cubs and Astros were in different divisions and never once met in the playoffs. However, once baseball created the stupid, 6 team, NL Central, my loyalties were constantly divided, as were many other fans. Now, I can be an unabashed Astros fan knowing that there is almost no chance of an Astros v. Cubs World Series. I’ll probably go out and stock up on some Astros gear for 2013 once they announce the new uniforms, logos, etc. (Bring back the orange caps!)
So get excited Astros fans, we are gonna own the American League……. in 5 years.
