One thing we have constantly been ridiculing in the Astros section of the blogosphere over the last six months is that they have a rivalry with the Texas Rangers. Sure, there is a certain amount of dislike for our northern cousins, but frankly they regard us with more apathy than anything else.
In order for Bud Selig to sell the move, he has to talk up the reasons for the Astros shifting to the American League, and the AL West in 2013, mowing down the barriers such as time differences and the like. One of his, and others, main arguments has been the idea of a great rivalry between the two Lone Star State teams.
And Jim Crane, new owner of the Houston Astros, in his infinite wisdom, seems to be drinking from the same Kool Aid.
He said:
“Talked to Nolan Ryan last night and he said its really going to be great when we are both contending for the divison title and we’re going back and forth so in the long run there could be a lot of positives and there is a natural rivalry with Houston and Dallas, those of you from Texas.”
Well, yes, anyone knows there is something of a rivalry between any two cities that are in close proximity to each other. Frankly I would like to stick it to Nolan Ryan, whose comments have been a bit of a sore over the past few months. Apart from that, I’m not really feeling it.