As long as it's not Dusty Baker...In the end, anyone we bring in has great talent and we'll be in the World Series again, just like Tuve said...
He would be the most progressive of the candidates interviewed, as far as I know, which is a definite positive. But the fact that it would give my Rangers-fan friends even more ammunition has me leaning towards not wanting him.
I have to imagine behind the scenes some owners wanted Luhnow banned completely. Other owners know he's the best GM in baseball and will be happy to snap him up and "rehabilitate him" once his suspension is up. Those ones were probably "fine" with a one-year suspension. In any case, it works to the benefit of all other 29 owners to have him out of Houston. It's all so much like politics with the behind the scenes machinations, it makes me sick. And just like in politics, I get equally frustrated with my own side for giving stupid openings the opposition can exploit.
FWIW A lot of people in baseball believe Hinch will be back in November and running a team if he wants to. He is personally liked around the game, and he has fessed up to his involvement and professed how bad he feels about it. He is also only a manager and not someone that runs an actual team. Luhnow has denied any knowledge of what happened, has not fallen on the sword and has supposedly been somewhat defiant from the time the investigation opened until now. There are people in the game (quite a few) that believe that Luhnow never should have been suspended because there was no evidence of his involvement in the cheating and there is a fear that it puts all of their jobs at risk based on the actions of subordinates. I believe Hinch will get a job when he wants one. Luhnow will have a hard time because owners decide GM's and owners tend to stick with the commissioner. What would be interesting is seeing Luhnow get involved in another sport and see how he does. He is the best baseball executive in decades.
Yeah, that sounds like BOB's worst nightmare so I don't see it happening since he practically owns the Texans at this point.
I wonder if Daryl Morey has any interest in the Astros job. Methinks baseball has stronger analytics than basketball, so ....
I believe Crane was still pissed about the Taubman situation. He was looking for a reason to dump Lunhow. Sad.
Really good stuff here from Crane. Sounds like he really likes Dusty. Says he’s right there at the top of the list. Plans on bringing in a few more guys later this week that media hasn’t gotten ahold of their names yet. Hopes to narrow down to 3-4 candidates by Saturday. Says team will get together in Spring Training, talk about everything, then come out and address the press as a team to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Doubt this clip from Crane will get as much run as the pieces slamming Tuve and Bregs for “not saying enough” at Fan Fest, but hopefully their eventual team apology will be the first real step in moving on from this whole mess. Say what you want, but IMO Crane has done a wonderful job of handling this whole situation.
It will be very interesting to see how baseball handles the Luhnow situation when his suspension is up, and if he decides he wants back in. They basically have created a Colin Kapernick-type conflict... when they didn't have to (if they just wanted him out, they should have banned him indefinitely.... for all the transgressions, not just this one). The same media types that are calling for his head on a spike will turn sympathetic, spout off his pre-scandal scouting/draft accomplishments, quote the anonymous sources that say he shouldn't be permanently ostracized for something he wasn't directly responsible for, and point out the likely unqualified GM's that currently have jobs that he would run circles around. It has a chance to be a bigger story if/when he throws his hat in the ring for jobs and doesn't get an interview due to "commissioner pressure". FWIW, I don't believe Manfred has the full respect of all owners nor the media. This situation didn't help Manfred gain any fans. And in the end, the owners only respect/revere the commissioner when they're all making as much money as possible...and while baseball is far from being in a financial crisis, they do fear a significant downward trend in overall TV rights fees both on a local and national level, along with the still imminent threat of a labor stoppage when the current CBA expires. Baseball has never successfully "blackballed" an active player, GM, owner without an official ban. The steroid guys all were basically retired or on their way out. Even some figures that were banned have been able to come back.
Just to be clear, no not all the owners are happy with the Astros ruling and not all of them are happy with the commissioners office. However, at the end of the day the entire role in practice of the commissioner is to protect the interest of owners and the value of their investments. It isn’t coincidence that the report placed no blame on Crane and stated he was not aware of the acts. As far as Luhnow, if I had to place money on it, my guess would be that he can eventually get back into the game if he jumps through the hoops of taking accountability and the press scrutiny is off. It will just be easier for Hinch. I can tell you that some of the people a rung or two below Luhnow are worried they will be black balled or limited in advancement. Major League Baseball has a history of successful collusion.
In cases where the overall goal was aligned with all owners... or the offender was so blatantly guilty, there was no other choice (albeit, in those cases, a formal ban was issued). I just don't think baseball will have the ability to do to Luhnow what the NFL has done to Kapernick (who wasn't necessarily the best QB in the game at any point). And once media types start taking up the cause (not the ones that have the Luhnow vendetta)... MLB seems to succumb to that sort of pressure more so than any of the other leagues. Plus, no other sport has such polarizing, deep-rooted journalists who love nothing more than to ride the wave of a hot topic.
Seems like the old school retread is where it's at, as far as Crane's concerned: Dusty whoever .... .... .... (not enough dots) Showalter Bannister
