Houston Astros to face newer challenges in a new League - MLB News
The 2013 season will bring a few changes for the Houston Astros. The team will be under their new skipper, Bo Porter, with their new uniforms and will be playing in the American League instead of the National League.
Currently a part of the National League Central, the Houston Astros will be moving to the American League West in 2013 season. There are a few precedents of such moves in the history of Major League Baseball. The most recent such event took place when the
Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National League.
The Astros have struggled in the last two years with ending up with more than a 100 losses in consecutive year. The change in the league will certainly have its challenges but it will also provide the team to opportunity to play against different opponents
and can be a catalyst for a better performance.
There is an air of expectancy on developing a new rivalry with the fellow Texas team, the Texas Rangers. Jeff Luhnow, the general manager of the Astros believed that the matchup will be against a strong team but it will also provide the Astros a chance to
improve their game in a very competitive Division of the American League.
"I think our fans are looking forward to seeing the Rangers and developing that rivalry a little bit more," Luhnow said. "... It's a tough division, but if you're going to win you've got to beat everybody, so you might as well get trained in the toughest
division in baseball."
The single most important change within the league switch is the designated hitter rule. The National League does not have designated hitters. The move will certainly prompt some strategy change and possibly a different approach on how the roster of the
team is formed.
Astros will be looking into the matter come 2013. Jeff Luhnow acknowledges that there will have to be some change in how his team goes about various matters including whether to fill the space from resources at hand or go out in the market and add some more
players for the purpose.
"We need to decide what our strategy is going to be for the DH position," Luhnow said. “Do we have anybody internally that can compete, or do we have to go out and sign somebody?”
Historically, teams have struggled when such changes have been made. The Houston Astros is currently the bottom of the table Major League team with little to lose.
A change such as this can provide them with an opportunity to get out of the negative mindset after two years of drubbing in the regular season. This may just be the thing that the Astros need to get out of the rut and be contenders once again.
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