Astros Owner Jim Crane on Thursday said that the team is "considering relocating" the Triple-A PCL Oklahoma City Redhawks to "an area north of The Woodlands" near Houston. Crane said that the Astros "want to streamline their minor-league operations and are evaluating all of the club's properties." Crane acknowledged that the Astros have "lost ground in the state" to the Rangers. He said that the "Astros 'like' their situation" with the Double-A Texas League Corpus Christi Hooks, "but the team is owned by a Nolan Ryan-led group" (CHRON.com, 3/7).
BILLY BALL: A's VP & GM Billy Beane on Thursday appeared on CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime Report" with Brian Shactman, who noted it has been over 10 years since Michael Lewis released "Moneyball." Shactman asked, "What's changed in that stretch of time because you haven't won a lot in the interim?" Beane said, "The business has become certainly more competitive. The people running baseball teams now are really bright guys." Beane: "Our situation is somewhat burdened by our venue. We still share a stadium with the Raiders. We're trying to secure a new venue someway, somehow. But until that point comes we have to operate very much like a business where we're spending what we have and no more" ("Fast Money Halftime Report," CNBC, 3/7).
ALL IN: D'Backs President Derrick Hall said of rumors about him going to work for MLB, "I don't plan on going anywhere. I'm home, we love it here, and I want to be in this job for the next 25, 30 years" (ARIZONASPORTS.com, 3/7).
