
New league, new owner, new logo, new mascot. Seems like everything is new for the Houston Astros right about now. And, given the team’s struggles lately, that won’t necessarily be a bad thing. So now that Houston is making the figurative move to the American League West, what does that mean for the city and the fans of the team?
New Faces, Same Challenges
Like for any of us, just because the Astros are moving doesn’t mean their life is going to get easier. The National League Central wasn’t exactly chock full of great teams, but the AL West is definitely shaping up to be more of a challenge for their newest member. Facing off against the Angels, the A’s, the Rangers and the upstart Mariners every year certainly won’t be easy. The Astros are going to have to get a lot better pretty quickly if Orbit (the new mascot) is going to have anything to pump the crowd up about. With any luck, the Astros will at least give the Rangers a run for their money once in awhile so that matchup can develop into a decent rivalry.
Opportunity Abounds
Having said all that, the time is certainly right for some success in this city. The energy and enthusiasm that comes with new ownership should certainly help. And the change of scenery from switching divisions probably couldn’t hurt, either. I can’t imagine anyone will be expecting much from the Astros for awhile, so maybe they can get lucky and sneak up on some folks. Better set our sites on something more like a 70 win season.
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