Montero is largely an Astro because Miller and the R&D group told Click he could be very good if they worked with him. Credit to Click for listening to them and getting Montero and holding onto him. If I would have any criticism, it would have been nice if they had extended his contract last year so we had him in 2023, I do think the Astros will miss him. Having said that, Click also deserves credit for the deal to get Graveman and Montero. The Astros overwhelmingly won that deal. Also some credit to Click for trusting his R&D staff and paying more than most expected for a reliever with middling career numbers (Neris) who proved to be very solid. As for Dusty and most the claims about him and mismanaging his starters…. Most of that was over 20 years ago. Dusty didn’t ruin Mark Prior and Kerry Wood lied about an injury. As for game 1 of the WS this year, he didn’t want to burn his pen early and he knew he would need Verlander later in the series so he gave him a shot. When Verlander left the score was tied… if not for Castellanos’ sliding catch, the Astros win game 1 in extras… also, if Baker is to blame for game 1, does he get credit for getting 5-6 innings from Verlander and only 1 run in game 5? Does he get credit for having Pressly go more than an inning twice and it worked? Dusty’s desire to play Straw and Dubon over McCormick in center was annoying- but he was experimenting with a team that won 106 games and in the playoffs he didn’t do those things. Honestly, I grew to respect Hinch 2015-2019… but Dusty this year did as good a job as Hinch ever did. Maybe next year is different, but right now I don’t think there is a lot of valid criticism of Baker’s recent performance.
Really? Because he’s being touted as its some huge loss for Houston. What did he actually do? Build the best bullpen? Who were your best bullpen guys? Abreu and Presley. Lunhow finger prints. Mancini and Vazquez signings were both bad. His best move was getting Montero as a throw in deal as well as Nerris. This guy is average. Largely reported he didn’t want Peña in the 2 hole(laughable) and Didn’t want Maldy to start(laughable) So not only is he poor at baseball decisions, he’s also poor at the deadline. Again I ask… why is he regarded as a good GM?
Neris and Montero were huge parts of the bullpen in the regular season and postseason. Also, was the Vasquez signing bad? I certainly didn't think so. He didn't tear the cover off the ball in the regular season or postseason, but he had some clutch hits in the playoffs and generally hit a little better than Maldy in the postseason, with more RBI despite fewer at bats. On top of that, he caught the second no hitter in World Series history. Hardly a bust. Again, I don't think anyone is saying he deserves as much credit for the World Series as Lunhow or that he's proven to be some incredible GM in his time here. But he also hasn't had many draft classes to accumulate prospects (but has seemingly did well with hand he was dealt), and he deserves credit for not screwing up a great team. Letting him go a week after the World Series just seems like the wrong move. He probably deserved a multiyear deal.
I think Crane got to see Lunhow and Click work and realized what a Great GM looks like. It's that simple. I think ultimately this will not be a negative move for this franchise.
I like Mike Fast but I do not think he is ready to be a GM. Not sure he has the right personality for that. Wouldn’t mind him coming back as an Asst GM though. Stearns is really the only former Luhnow guy I think would make a good GM right now. Goldstein and Mejdal also do not have the personality for it even though both are extremely smart and Goldstein is also a good dude.
I realized last year that baker plays the long game. He knows the team will be in the playoffs so he has the luxury of figuring stuff out in the regular season like putting Pena in the 2 spot or putting Pressly out there for over 1 inning
While I agree with your take, it concerns me a bit that maybe Crane thinks every GM should be able to accomplish what Luhnow did? Is the bar set that high?
I think Crane thinks there are other Luhnows out there if given the chance. Notice that both Luhnow and Click were not GMs before Crane hired them. Crane hires based on aptitude and potential. If Click isn't what he wants, why waste time. The Astros have a legit window of 3 years. He wants an aggressive GM to make the most of it.
As he said in his post-game speech… “I didn’t have to do ****!!!!” Dusty led them well and the team was set up that there was a lot of safety-nets and built-in depth that kept there from being an overwhelming amount of “tough managerial decisions”. I didn’t have a problem with how he managed the playoffs, minus maybe leaving in Montero a little too long in game 2 (which probably led to some game 5 fatigue/familiarity). The game 1 Verlander sequence was a tad flukey… and who knows what happens the rest of the series if he starts burning bullpen guys early then. Ultimately, the players love him and that’s the best mark a manager on a winning team can truly have.
Do you think he was the acting GM when Luhnow was here? There's a reason he took on more oversight of HIS team.
It may be his team but just because you own a team doesn't mean you know jack about running it see Cal McNair owner of the Texans for further reference.
Apparently Click does know a thing or 2. He's made good hires so far for the time period they were needed. Click is media friendly and at the time that's valuable. Same with Dusty
Who cares what the national media thinks. They hate the Stros anyways. What I care about is keeping the dynasty going for as long as possible and obviously Crane thinks Click isn't the guy for long term success. I agree with Crane.
