Lame Astros Owner

Larry Dierker deserves this honor, and I'm glad Astros owner Drayton McLane is doing it, but I can't help but think that McLane is doing it more as a response to some of the negative vibes one gets about him from Dierker's recent Texas Monthly article than anything else.

It's been interesting lately listening to sports talk radio, because this town has REALLY turned on McLane, which is reflected in attendance at The Ballpark Formerly Known as Enron (way down). Most of the complaints center on the fact that McLane has raised ticket prices and concession prices (if you want a beer, it will cost you $6 now) this year, to the point that a lot of average people are staying home. They also center on the fact that McLane holds his payroll at a middling level despite such revenue enhancement.

So fans are not happy, and Drayton, in his typically narrow fashion, is trying to show the fans why they are wrong not to love him. Yesterday, according to sports talkster Mark Vandermeer, the Astros put out a lame press release arguing that compared to other entertainment in town (movies, etc), their concessions are not that much more expensive -- curiously, I can't find the press release on their website, so it must have been a release only to local sports media. And they announced plans to enshrine favorite son Larry Dierker by retiring his jersey.

Houston sports fans are tough -- and sometimes fickle. If they think they are being disrespected (ask Bud Adams) or a team isn't putting out proper effort (ask Les Alexander), they will stay away. Drayton needs to figure that out. Telling them why they are wrong probably isn't the best start.

[Posted at 08:51 CST on 04/20/02] [Link]