According to Alyson Footer the Astros have signed Zack Duke to a minor league contract. The lefty spent 2011 with the Diamondbacks and posted a 4.93 ERA last season.
Jim Crane has said everything's on the table: uniforms, ticket prices, even the team name; he'll evaluate everything. With that in mind I find myself most interested in the slogan for 2012.
Every year the marketing department for the Astros comes up with a new slogan for the upcoming season. Last year it was "We Are Your Astros" in 2007 it was "The Return of the Good Guys." Honestly those are the only two that come to mind and Google hasn't been kind to me in searching for past slogans. The point of this article though is not to remember the slogans of the past but to brainstorm one for the upcoming season. Maybe it shouldn't even be a slogan, maybe it should be more of a theme.
My first idea for a slogan was a song, "Changes" by David Bowie. This led me to remembering that Tupac also had a song named "Changes." There are certain elements in each song that Astro fans can identify with, but neither really fit.
Maybe songs aren't such a good idea which is why I'm glad I found this slogan generator. Each click producing a new and more entertaining phrase for our beloved Astros. Some of my favorites:
"Wait Till We Get Our Astros On You"
"Behold the Power of The Astros"
"Just One Astro - Give It To Me!"
"Uh-oh, Better Get Astros"
"Please Don't Squeeze The Astros"
"We All Adore an Astros"
"We Don't Make Astros. We Make Astros Better"
"The Astros of a New Generation"
"The Biggest Astros Pennies Can Buy"
The official Astros slogan is still a couple months away but lets see if we can't find one for TCB. Post your favorite slogan's or theme's in the comments below and we'll do a poll next week.
With that in mind I decided to take a look at the Cardinals and Astros drafts from 2008-2011, which is the time frame in which Ed Wade became GM, and the draft started to become relevant again for the Astros. Since very few of these players drafted during this time period have made it to the majors, and the ones that have made it don't have a large enough sample size to determine what type of player they will be, I focused on the types of players drafted along with minor league career stats. This includes comparing college players and high school players, position players and pitchers, and how many of each category were signed by both teams, in addition to looking at minor league performance for rounds 1-10 from 2008-2010.
The first chart below shows the Astros and Cardinals Draft Distribution for 2008-2011, and the second chart shows the amount of money each team spent on the draft for the same time frame per Baseball America:
The rumor mill is again hard at work, taking statements by Jim Crane that his marketing team is investigating the possibility of a name change and turning it into a fully-fledged panic attack. What could a name change mean to the Astros? In the negative, it would mean yet another departure from tradition, sure to alienate the hardened core of Astros fans aged twenty to ninety. In the positive, it would create a clean slate, a new era, and the opportunity to establish new traditions in a new league, shedding the stigma that has dogged the franchise for years.
Everybody is rightfully debating the pros and cons (though to be honest, I haven't heard very many people 'pro-ing' on the subject), but nobody is asking the important question:
Thankfully, the recently-fire-hardened Astros fanbase has The Crawfish Boxes to turn to for answers. Below are the options that the Astros' Marketing Department may or may not be definitely considering for absolutely possibly changing the Astros' name.
I'm no extreme couponer, but I do enjoy a good deal. I was extremely pleased to hear about the Astros' plan to lower ticket prices and change the food policy at Minute Maid.
Jim Crane announced the changes yesterday in a press conference.
The most dramatic price drops are in the Field and Club level seats, where the prices are dropped more than $10 per seat. Outfield Deck tickets for adults dropped from $7 to $5. Tickets for children ages 3-14 are a buck.
Is this all a ruse to get fans in the stadium and then snare them with ridiculously high food prices?
Tell me I should take Jim Crane's mention of evaluating the Astros nickname with a grain of salt. Tell me it was one bad note in an otherwise very positive press conference on the upcoming fan-friendly changes.
Tell me that I shouldn't be upset at the very notion of possibly changing the name.
I'm really not. But, I am.
See, the whole reason I suggested a uniform change last summer when Crane was hired was that I wanted them to get back to traditional Astros colors and away from the more corporate, marketing-friendly but surprisingly sanitized color scheme they currently feature.
Changing the name flies in the face of all that and would prove fairly unprecedented. I mean, the franchise has already done it once, but that was because of a pending lawsuit. The only other case I can think of where a professional team drastically changed its nickname is the Washington Bullets switching to the Washington Wizards.
Every other change has accompanied a move to another city. I don't think Crane, a Houston businessman, is thinking of moving the Astros to Las Vegas or Portland, so let's rule that out. What else could be the impetus?
If the Astros name has such a negative connotation that it rivals the Washington Generals or St. Louis Browns for futility. That just doesn't seem to be the case. Houston's Astros are uniquely situated as a name that reflects the region they come from.
I guess the question is: Do you still think of Houston as Space City?
That'd be the only reason to change from the Astros. Otherwise, the move just looks like an attempt to sell new merchandise to a fan base that's not exactly thrilled with the state of the franchise to begin with. And, couldn't they accomplish the same thing with just changing the uniform in the first place?
I like that Crane is evaluating everything and shaking up a system that had grown stale under Drayton McLane. However, I'm sure they will find in the end that the damage a nickname switch will do is not nearly enough to justify the few new fans they might scare up or make excited by a new nickname.
I hope. I don't have it in me to root for the Bayou Gators or whatever nonsense they may come up with...
With the rebuilding effort and 2013 move to the AL West, when are the Astros primed to compete? You do have some top prospects coming up in the next few years.
While Brooks was educating us on injuries I was putting together these links to finish off your weekend.
How Sarah Burke would have wanted to be remembered - espnW
By Alyssa Roenigk
Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | MLB Rookie Prg: Paul Clemens, HOU RHP - Video | astros.com: Multimedia
2012 MLB Rookie Career Development Program: Houston Astros prospect Paul Clemens on being traded and joining a new organization
What the Heck, Bobby?: Interview with Rafy Valenzuela
Q&A with utility Minor League player Rafael Valenzuela
What the Heck, Bobby?: An Interview with Jarred Cosart
Q&A with Astros Minor League pitcher Jarred Cosart
As 2012 MLB Season Approaches, Blackout Policy Likely to Remain
File this one in the “broken record” department: prepare for yet another season of MLB’s blackout policy remaining in place. This probably doesn't affect those of you in the Houston area. For those outside the Houston area: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The Die Hard Astros Blog: Loyalty: A Response to Maury Brown
Matt has some issues with some of Mr. Brown's thoughts on the Astros fan base. He makes a good point.
Creative Destruction and Scouting in Baseball - Beyond the Box Score
Technological breakthroughs typically bring about disruptive effects on industries and labor pools. It's no different when it comes to scouting and evaluating talent in baseball.
Do Coaches Shape Pitchers in Their Own Images? - Beyond the Box Score
It makes intuitive sense that a pitching coach's own playing experience would affect how he mentors his staff. But does such an effect actually exist in baseball?
The Platoon Advantage: Leave other fans aloooooooooooone
By Jason Wojciechowski
