On Monday, new Houston Astros team owner Jim Crane held a press conference to talk about the future of the franchise and talk about a handful of topics, including the 50th anniversary of the franchise in 2012, the cutting of ticket prices, the future move to the American League and the potential renaming of the team -- possibly to the franchise's original moniker, the Colt .45s. While the issue of a name change is interesting and raises some eyebrows, for at least one baseball reporter, it has raised some ire as well.
Jerome Solomon from the Houston Chronicle has plenty to say on the subject. Here is part of what Crane had to say on Monday:
Change is change. We're going to do a study on [the name change]. We're going to study the information, both from our fans and from all sorts of marketing people. I'm not saying we're going to change. We haven't made a decision. If the change is going to come, it's going to come next year.
Here is just a portion of Solomon's response to the subject of any name change:
Stop while you are behind, Mr. Crane. Don’t change the name on the front of the jerseys; change the names on the back of the jerseys.
Dig deep into your pockets and field a team of players worthy of wearing "Astros" on their chests. Heck, while you’re at it — and I understand this might be asking a bit much — find some players for whom the stars on their jerseys might actually describe their status in baseball.
I’m not saying you can’t use cheap tricks to make fans want to want you — and you don’t have to be a band from Rockford, Ill., to know a name change is a cheap trick — but the name Astros is at the heart and soul of this franchise.
Solomon has plenty more to say on the subject, but at the end of the article, he opened up a fan poll as to what the Astros should change. Although the most popular option was for the Astros to change neither their name nor their jerseys, there were a combined 20 percent of responders who said they would be just fine with a name change.
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