The Identity of the Astros

The following comment was left on Astros County's post on the rebuild. I really felt like it was worth addressing. 

"But with the major differences in rules and strategy between the two leagues in baseball, the Astros switching leagues is a very good reason to dump the team. And honestly I believe if you continue to support the team then you were never a true fan to begin with because the REAL Astros died last year. The REAL Astros are a NL team. Any AL version is just a zombie version of the real Astros were no matter how successful they become after the switch. They aren't the same team or the same franchise. And honestly anybody who supports them is a traitor to the city of Houston and should just pack their bags and move to Dallas."

That is preposterous. Being a fan is irrational at its core, and so its all right if you stop rooting for the Astros for any reason at all. It doesn't make you a bad person. But don't try to justify it. Don't try to rationalize it. Admit that YOU are abandoning the team, not the other way around. The Astros will still be playing at Minute Maid Park. They will be decked out in Orange and Blue, which is what they should have been wearing this whole time. The NL Championship banner from 2005 will still be flying. Numbers 5 and 7 will still be retired, along with 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40 and 49. The team that gave us so many great memories, and so much heartache, will still be ready to give us more of both. They aren't leaving. If you leave, fine. But don't blame them. 

Unless you think that the true identity of the Astros is solely wrapped up into whether Bud Norris hits for himself. Unless you think that the most important part of all of that history is the fact that for all of the years, the Astros pitchers were hitting for themselves. For all the talk of the differences between the AL and NL, there really is only one. In 1973 the American League added the Designated Hitter. I have never liked it. I still don't like it. But, they still play baseball. There are still 9 innings, four balls and three strikes. And the Astros are still the Astros. 

The Astros are more than just the pitcher hitting. They are bigger than Jim Crane. They are bigger than any league switch. If the Astros defected from the U.S. Major Leagues to join the Nippon Profession League, I would follow (weirder start times, but no DH). If you can't bring yourself to watch Carlos Pena (or whoever, not really clear on that yet) hit for Norris, that's your prerogative. As for me, I am hoping for an AL Championship banner to hang next to that NL one in the near future. And I don't think that makes me a bad fan. Quite the opposite, in fact.