Daily Archives: June 26, 2005

Checking in on the Stros

Posted on by
Reply

Ensberg.jpgMy son Cody and I attended the Stros‘ (33-40) Sunday afternoon game against the Rangers (38-35) and enjoyed the 10-inning 3-2 win behind the solid pitching of Andy Pettitte and the game-winning single of 3B Morgan Ensberg. The Stros have now won 13 of their last 20 games, which has generated all sorts of speculation on some local sports talk radio shows and in the Chronicle sports section that this club actually has a chance to make a playoff run.
Well, despite that optimism, this Stros club remains a poor hitting team that will struggle to win as many games as it loses, and likely will not win a playoff spot this season absent a major trade soon for at least one very good hitter or more likely two above-average hitters. Through 73 games (45% of the season), the Stros have scored 67 fewer runs than an average hitting National League club would have scored in an equivalent number of games (“RCAA” explained here). Only one of the other 29 MLB clubs — the woeful Rockies (24-48) has a worse team RCAA than the Stros. Only three regular players (Berkman 2 RCAA/.265 AVE/.369 OBP/.411 SLG; Ensberg 13/.271/.377/.547; and Bidg 3/.273/.333/.465) have created more runs than an average National League hitter and, beyond Berkman at 1B and Ensberg at 3B, every other non-pitching position on the club is in need of an upgrade.

Continue reading →

Ripples from the Kelo decision

Posted on by
Reply

Washington stadium2.jpgProfessor Sauer over at the Sports Economist reflects in this post on the impact of the Kelo decision on governmental promotion of redevelopment boondoggles related to new stadium construction.
The entire post is a must read, as reflected by the following excerpt:

The economic literature on stadium subsidies is thus very clear: economic development provides no basis for justifying public investment in stadia. Yet peddlers of fantasy under the economic development banner make their living aiding and abetting major league owners in their quest for public handouts. In Kelo, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to ban this tripe from the courtroom in takings cases. But the decision gives these same peddlers the license to aid and abet developers in tearing down neighborhoods.

As Harris County figures out whether to undertake the boondoggle of converting the Astrodome into another underperforming convention center hotel, I am now officially marking time until a promoter engages Commissioner’s Court with plans for a “Texanville” development next to the Dome and Reliant Stadium.