I honestly think Click wasn't ready to be a GM. He was really good at certain things but terrible at others. He got promoted beyond his skill level. Hopefully he learned from the experience and gets another shot or builds a career being an assistant which isn't horrible. Hopefully his ego doesn't get in the way. He never Clicked with Crane.
I don’t think this deal should have been any kind of stretch for Crane. It’s not new territory for him, it’s a $64M/5yr deal; he’s given out contracts much larger than that under previous GMs. If Houston ends up extending Tucker, that will represent a significant change in strategy and will lend a lot of credence to the idea that Brown has been able to convince Crane to abandon one of his guiding principles.
Javier and Valdez have Cy Young potential. I wouldn't be surprised if they are the best pitching tandem this coming year. They both have another level. If Lance can stay healthy with the 6 man rotation and Garcia/Brown take a step, I think this could be the nastiest pitching staff we have ever had top to bottom. Lots of variables, but I think everyone is on the upswing and entering their prime. When Urquidy is the 6th starter, you have a pretty decent pitching staff
My excitement is tempered by recalling JVs first extension. $66M for 6 IP. Risk / reward. That's what it's all about.
Click is the irritating guy that confuses cheap with value. So- he goes and signs Odorizi for 8M or that d******d from the dodgers for 5.5M because they are cheap and then balks at giving JV an option or can’t find an extra 5 or 10M to get a Javier extension done. That’s why he has a middle reliever fetish- because they are cheap.
Both Astros and Javier accepted risk with this contract. It does not always work out to the Team's advantage. Sometimes it's the player that makes out like a bandit. Negotiations is just about a meeting of the minds concerning the risk / value for the proposed contract or determining there is no mutually acceptable middle ground. If anything, it appears Click would yield to demands or walk away rather than persisting in efforts to reach a deal. But Nook may be able to shed more knowledge than speculation which is all I have. I am limited to perceptions based on my low level negotiations profession. I just negotiated with landowners and Oil & Gas companies and these were heavily regulated, unlike many business agreements which have wide latitude.
Ugh...you just reminded of a certain pitcher circa 2001 who makes me cry a bit every time I think about him. He shall remain nameless because I wouldn't want to put that voodoo on anybody.
I could get run over by a bus today but that won't keep me from venturing out. Contract is extremely fair for both sides. In fact if you force me to pick a side but say the Astros came up better in the deal.
Staff is very good. But I'd rank them 5th. We only have one ace. The Mets and Braves have the upper hand in October.
Crane trusts Brown and he didn't trust Click. That would be my simple assessment, sure it's more complicated than that.
Where would you rank the Astros staff in the 2022 playoffs? And now the Astros shed themselves of their worst postseason starter in Verlander but I guess McCullers has a case for that title.
I remember sitting in the Dodger Stadium bleachers, in September of 2001 (one week before 9/11), dreaming of the Scott Elarton/Wade Miller/Roy Oswalt/Carlos Hernandez/Tim Redding rotation that was absolutely going to booty-blast the NL for years and years to come.
