David Barron's Media Notebook tells us a little more about how many people aren't watching the Astros on TV:
Through Tuesday, Astros games on Fox Sports Houston are averaging a 1.7 Nielsen rating, down 34 percent through 63 from a year ago, when their final season average was 2.4.
And if people tell you that the Astros won't move to the AL West because of the potential tanking of ratings, you can slap them in the mouth:
The Rangers averaged a 3.9 rating for 12 left coast games in 2010, a half-point above their season average, and the Astros averaged 2.6 for five late games in 2010, two-tenths above their season average. This year, the Rangers have averaged 2.6 for three late games while the Astros averaged 1.8 for four.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
