So the Forbes piece that came out this morning that said the Astros were the most profitable baseball team ever in the history of ever? That's causing some waves - which is of no surprise. Some of you are pissed. Some of you are willing to give it some time.
But while I decided to formulate some thoughts in the form of Photoshop Wizardry, others decided to pass the time actually coming up with something. A roundup, if you will:
Rob Neyer: ...While the Astros are losing even more games and making even more money
than I would have guessed, I'm willing to cut their owner some slack for
another year or two, in the absence of new information.
Crawfish Boxes: When the Astros' prospects blossom into a winning core, the money should
be there to sustain a long term winning team. I'll wait for that time
in the future before I point any anger at the Astros' owners.
And while both of those come with a self-admitted place of incomplete knowledge of the Astros' finances, this one doesn't - Astros President Reid Ryan says that Forbes is totally wrong:
There is no doubt that the numbers are wrong in the Forbes article. If
they were right, I’d look like the guy who had done the best job in
three months ever (since taking the job in May). The fact is that the
numbers are wrong.
Where are they wrong? We’re going to have expenses that are higher than our revenues, and that doesn’t make (the team) profitable.
So there you have it. Yes, Forbes' numbers are wrong. No, the Astros aren't going to release their financial statements. I'll have more thoughts later tonight, and certainly on tomorrow's Morning Drive.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
