My Two-Cents on the Astros

I know that the city of Houston has more important things to worry about than what happened to the Astros about a week ago. For those who don't pay attention to baseball, the Astros were supposed to host the Chicago Cubs for a three game series. Then Hurricane Ike disrupted things, and Major League Baseball moved the series to a neutral site in Milwaukee, WI. The Astros were on a hot-streak that was halted due to this change of venue, and it could have cost the Astros a possible playoff berth.

So, apparently the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig is trying to apologize to Astro fans, and he should because having the games played in Milwaukee is far from "neutral" because Cubs fans can travel there fairly easily to create a home field vibe. Also, Brewers fans could have attended the games to help create a hostile environment for the Astros since they were only a few games ahead of Houston for the Wildcard. Either way, Miller Park was not a neutral site. Of course fans are upset because Astros had the chance to come back from the dead to make the playoffs for the third time, which is not an easy task, but MLB played a role in hurting their chances of doing such an amazing feat.

Some non-Astro fans are accusing Houston fans of being whiners because they're still bitching about the crappy hand that was dealt to their beloved team. Let's just turn things around for a bit. If this series was in Chicago, and a huge blizzard hit thus moving the series to let's say Arlington, the Cub fans would be adding the Curse of the Blizzard along with the Billy Goat and Bartman.

Fans are fans. They support their teams and feel shafted when stuff like this happens, so let them complain if they want. I'm an Astros fan, and I was not happy when I heard the news, but I got over it fairly quickly. Some other fans are more invested, and they can feel slighted all they want because we've had to listen to Cubs fans whine and Red Sox whine (up until recently). It's time for the Stros fans to raise some hell.

I do agree that the players shouldn't be as outspoken because it makes them look less professional. They still played the game, and while they weren't at 100% they still had the chance to win, but people cannot discount the mental and physical fatigue the players had to endure. Flying from Houston to Milwaukee on such short notice, worrying about your family, friends, and homes, and playing in a hostile environment will have an impact. It's only human.

So, the players should be quiet and move on, but fans can whine all they want because that's what fans do best!