Astros to the American League?

[CHRISDODGERS]

HOUSTON - Major League Baseball sources confirm for FOX 26 Sports that commissioner Bud Selig has asked Houston businessman Jim Crane to agree to move the Houston Astros to the American League if he is approved as owner of the team.

MLB sources told FOX 26 the fact that Crane has yet to agree to the request has kept him from being approved as owner.

That approval can only come from a vote of the game's owners.

Major League Baseball cannot move a team from one league to the other without that team's consent.

Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association may decide to expand the number of teams in the playoffs, and to do that they want each league and each divison to be balanced.

Right now the National League has 16 teams and the American League has 14 teams.

The only two divisions that aren't made up of five teams are the NL Central (six teams) and the AL West (four teams).

The Astros are in the National League Central.

MLB sources also told FOX 26 it is believed Crane can still get MLB's approval to buy the Astros franchise without consenting to move to the American League.

However, the sources said the issue of shifting the Astros franchise would be addressed again at a later date.

Crane has an agreement to buy the franchise from Drayton McLane for $680 million.

It was thought the deal was going to be voted on by the owners last month, but that vote was delayed according to baseball as it continued the approval process.

Crane is not available for comment.

McLane declined comment when asked by FOX 26 Sports to respond to this story.

Thoughts?

[giants73756]

ray:

[VenezuelanMet]

So what? 15 - 15 would be the split? Get rid of the leagues and the DH (or add him) altogether then. I don't want interleague the whole year.

Or: Montreal expansion. WOOO BRING BACK THE EXPOS. Plus another team.

[North Yorker]

I like it.

Who cares if interleague has to go all year, not that big of a deal.

[sexicano31]

That would be hilarious

[Ezio]

**** the Cubs would be the worst team in the NL Central w/o the stros.

[Mr. Hangman]

Try arguing the AL is the better league if this happens.

It'd be cool to have the potential for a real Texas-Houston rivalry and the balance between the leagues would be nice, but I'm not a fan of interleague being dragged out for the entire season. It's better in small doses and makes the World Series seem that much more special. It's not just a fight for the title, it's a fight for the title between two teams from different worlds (so to speak). Kind of the feeling surrounding the very first Super Bowls.

[GoatMilk]

lol i thought Selig gave him an ultimatum, but then i kept reading

"MLB sources also told FOX 26 it is believed Crane can still get MLB's approval to buy the Astros franchise without consenting to move to the American League."

i'd rather move the DBacks or Rockies

[getfoul]

I like it.

Who cares if interleague has to go all year, not that big of a deal.

Yeah it would be better all year, especially if they went down to 12 games per team. Make it 3 series on 5 weekends, and one series the rest of the time. No big deal.

[getfoul]

lol i thought Selig gave him an ultimatum, but then i kept reading

"MLB sources also told FOX 26 it is believed Crane can still get MLB's approval to buy the Astros franchise without consenting to move to the American League."

i'd rather move the DBacks or Rockies

Agreed. Make both leagues equal by time zones---7 east, 4 central, 4 west.

I've read elsewhere the D-backs want to move to the AL. Let them.

Eliminate divisions. Play a close-to-balanced schedule, and seed the top-5 in the right order.

[Giraffes Rule]

It makes no sense to put the Astros in the AL West. The Rangers being there is already dumb.

[Crucis]

I like it.

Who cares if interleague has to go all year, not that big of a deal.

Who cares? I sure do. If interleague is needed all year, then I oppose this idea.

[Crucis]

It makes no sense to put the Astros in the AL West. The Rangers being there is already dumb.

Really? Unless you're going to go for a radical re-alignment, who should be in the AL West, if not the Rangers?

[sexicano31]

Really? Unless you're going to go for a radical re-alignment, who should be in the AL West, if not the Rangers?

A team thats, ya know, in the west...

[Crucis]

A team thats, ya know, in the west...

And the Rangers are pretty much the most westerly team in the rest of the AL aside from Seattle, Oakland, and the LAA.