Financial Crunch
Houston Astros confront tough decisions as revenue takes a hit
Dec 19, 2023, 2:43 pm
Financial Crunch
So why is a baseball team in America’s fourth-largest city, with the local economy booming, that plays in a clean, comfortable stadium with lots of parking, that charges the 5th-highest prices for tickets, beer and hot dogs, the value of the team has nearly quadrupled, and is riding a dynasty of success on the field … singing the blues over money problems and the general manager was practically wearing a barrel and suspenders at baseball’s winter meetings?
It all comes down to local TV revenue, where the Astros are closer to the small market Brewers and Marlins than they are to the Yankees and Dodgers. Because the Astros had to create a new TV network – Space City Home Network — in partnership with the Houston Rockets due to the demise of AT&T SportsNet SW, the team’s broadcast revenue is expected to drop by tens of millions of dollars. Make that many tens of millions of dollars.
With revenue taking a hit like that, something has to give, and it will be the Astros payroll. That’s why the Astros have all but admitted they will say goodbye to Alex Bregman when his contract expires at the end of the next season, and No. 2 starter Framber Valdez could reportedly be available in a trade.
The Astros payroll currently sits at just above the MLB luxury tax threshold of $273 million, with Kyle Tucker’s big-ticket future with the Astros looming. The Astros have busted the luxury tax paywall only once since Jim Crane bought the Astros in 2011.
According to Forbes, the value of the Astros stands at $2.25 billion, almost four times what Crane paid for the team. Big Macs and homes in West University Place haven’t gone up that much.
We know the numbers by heart: since 2017 the Astros have won six American League West titles, seven ALCS appearances, four World Series appearances, two championships. The Astros drew more than 3 million fans paying premium prices to root, root, root for the home team.
I used to tell my Little League teams, you guys are so lucky to be born when you did. You get to watch an incredibly talented baseball team with great players who do nothing except win the past seven seasons.
There are less fortunate kids who live in cities where the team plays like Bizarro Astros. Imagine if you had to watch the Kansas City Royals or Detroit Tigers those same seven years. Both are riding seven-year streaks of losing records. And their best players get the hell out of Dodge the minute they can.
Yes, the Astros have lost a bundle of top stars in recent years without making a sincere effort to keep them. Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, George Springer, Charlie Morton and others left Houston for greener – as in money – pastures. But somehow the Astros found new stars to replace them and kept winning.
We still have Jose Altuve, Tucker, Verlander, Valdez, Bregman, Pena, Pressly, McCormick and more. We, the Astros, should be all right for 2024. To infinity and beyond? That’s another question.
One prediction guaranteed to come true next season: if you attend an Astros game and get a hankering for a beer and a dog … check your credit card limit first.
When the Texans decided to part ways with OC Bobby Slowik last week, some were surprised DeMeco Ryans would pull the cord so quickly.
But others have been calling for Slowik's removal for most of the season with CJ Stroud and the offense showing significant regression, and Stroud getting repeatedly beat up behind an offensive line constantly baffled by stunts and twists.
To Stroud's credit, he took his fair share of blame for the struggles on offense this season, never throwing the coaches or scheme under the bus.
Which led many people to believe Stroud wanted Slowik to return. CJ even spoke about the challenges of learning a new system and how he didn't know how quarterbacks were able to pick up a new system every couple of years, hoping he wouldn't have to do that.
However, ESPN Houston's Lance Zierlein on Monday spoke about Stroud's relationship with Slowik and if it was really as tight as it appeared to be in press conferences.
Which makes sense on many levels. Stroud had to be losing faith in the offense based on results, and Coach Ryans did not give Slowik much of an endorsement when meeting with the press last week.
There have also been rumors that ownership was frustrated with the state of the offense, after giving Slowik and members of his staff a raise after a terrific 2023 season.
Who could blame them? The offense was the main reason Houston kept getting blown off the field in almost all of their primetime games. The cherry on top had to be the offense getting shutout on Christmas against the Ravens with all the world watching on Netflix.
While we believe Stroud had to give his blessing to move on from Slowik, at the end of the day the decision was DeMeco's. As a defensive coach, watching his offense fail to correct the same mistakes all season long had to drive him nuts.
Who will be the next OC?
KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reported some possible candidates which includeRams passing game coordinator/ tight ends coach Nick Caley, Ohio State OC Chip Kelly, Vikings QB coach Josh McCown, and the Texans current QB coach Jerrod Johnson. Houston also interviewed Syracuse OC Jeff Nixon on Monday.
Personally, I'd rather the team bring in a coordinator with experience. But we'll see which way DeMeco leans soon enough. Hopefully he already had someone in mind before letting Slowik go.
Be sure to watch the video above as we examine what ultimately got Slowik fired, the top OC candidates, and how players and coaches view the opportunities and challenges in Houston.
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