i didn't realize I nor you wasn't special. Try telling this to the Astros fan who has been following the ballclub for 30 years, and has seen all 7 of the Astros playoff failures without seeing a playoff series win. I don't expect the Astros to win in the playoffs every year, but in the 40 plus years of the franchise, you'd i think it would happen at least once. Actually,I feel Hunsicker could do better. He could go to Drayton's face and say "I want players like Biggio off this team." One bad move was The Hun giving up Alou so Ward could play. another huge error that Hun and Drayton made was signing Biggio to an extension. The Astros have some money, they just aren't using wisely all the time. So it doesn't have to cost the Astros. They just have to evaluate talent better than they do now. Well, that is the chance that the Astros take. And this risk is worth it now after seeing these now endless end-of the-season choke jobs the Astros pull every year. It's time to make some drastic changes.
Damn right!!! I remember SPECIFICALLY reading in the Houston Chronicle a year before Minute Maid Park was built of Drayton saying that with the new revenues at the new ballpark, we would be able to SPEND more and be able to compete with the big boys. Did that happen? Hell no. He rode the tails of Bags and Bidge, milked the farm dry and had Hunsicker work his magic year in and year out. Bottom line is that McClane is a FU#KING Fortune 500 Billionaire worth 1.2 billion. He is the richest man in MLB period. No one even comes close. Not a Millionaire a freaking BILLIONAIRE folks. You cant have a Wal-Mart philosophy running a baseball team. And you cant swindle me into thinking that you are losing money anymore.... Thats a complete crock of dog **** and I aint buying!! I pay $12 freaking dollars for a damn beer and a hot dog!!! Thats a profit margin of about 800 - 1000%. Most companies would drool to get those margins. It seems to me that you are a pretty good liar about things Drayton... Id rather watch the Texans and Rockets simply because now I know where those teams stand - THEY WANT TO BUILD CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER TEAMS. Its clear to me that Drayton wants to just be competitive within his puny - bullsh!t - feel sorry for me cuz Im loosing sooooooooooo much money - cry me a freaking river - we'll do what we can - wah wah wah - budget. Take pride in knowing full well that you have officially been crowned the most despised sports owner in Houston, Texas. We dont want bullsh!t excuses anymore..... we can see right through your lying eyes. Do us a favor Drayton - PLEASE - Sell the team to an owner who is comiited to winning a championship. Not just someone who wants to win. Its going to be hard for me to watch the Astros next year.
Though I agree w/ some of ure points....it wasn't Drayton that pulled a major choke job at the end of this seaon, or any seasons and in the playoffs for that matter....u know he did sign Kent last offseason supossedly to bring that fire/spark/clutch hitting this team lacked...well, where the hell was he in the last two weeks...oh yeah, a couple of his errors cost us a few games. Yeah, Drayton maybe should spend more, but that doesn't guarantee anything.
Well it instills in the fans that he is comitted to winning a CHAMPIONSHIP not just winning games. He should move to San Diego and take care of the Padres.
Drew -- he did spend more on the team...a lot more...with the passage of the stadium referendum. he started spending even before he moved out of the Dome, in that regard. honestly...how can anyone lay this at the feet of the owner? that seems so silly to me. guys just never performed in the playoffs..guys who DID perform in the regular season. i just can't lay that on the owner...that's just a sad excuse for the players, to me.
I think this article just about sums it up Sept. 30, 2003, 9:11AM COMMENTARY Astros makeover should start from owner down By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Here's what Astros owner Drayton McLane should do this week. Pack his bags, turn in his hotel key and head back to Temple. Enjoy the offseason, Drayton. You've earned a break. One other thing. Leave your checkbook on your desk. Then McLane should do something he has never done before. He should remove himself from all baseball decisions. He should trust general manager Gerry Hunsicker, the organization's most valuable asset, to begin repairing a flawed baseball team. He should resist everything else. If one of his superstars telephones and asks for a new contract, as a pouting Craig Biggio did last winter, McLane should tell him to call the general manager. If his accountants tell him that closer Billy Wagner or right fielder Richard Hidalgo must be traded to save money, McLane should tell them to figure something else out. (When Wagner offered to restructure his contract to defer salary and allow the club to make a move or two, he was told, "No thanks.") Most of all, McLane should let the baseball people make the baseball decisions. This will be difficult, because his nature is to have a hand in every decision. At the same time, McLane is a bright man who surely recognizes that the Astros are sliding off the radar screen. They look one way and see the Cubs making smarter baseball moves. They look another and see the Rockets and Texans cutting into their revenues. Their offseason shopping list should begin with the search for a No. 1 starting pitcher. This season, Astros starters ranked ninth in the National League in ERA, sixth in victories and dead last in innings. They'll improve in 2004 if Roy Oswalt stays healthy, if Carlos Hernandez makes a successful return from rotator cuff surgery, and if manager Jimy Williams stops pulling a starter the first time he gets into trouble. But the Astros still need a No. 1 guy. They need Andy Pettitte, the Deer Park native who will command, say, $60 million over five years this winter. The Yankees probably have the inside track at re-signing him, but maybe, just maybe, Pettitte would be tempted by the chance to live at home year round. If nothing else, the Astros could show their fans they're truly interested in doing something besides forcing Hunsicker to spend the winter rummaging through baseball's bargain bins. Wait a minute, you're saying. What about the offense? What about all those runners left on base? What about those 67 games in which the Astros scored three or fewer runs (and went 15-52)? There's not going to be enough money to fix everything. Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman, Hidalgo and Biggio are all signed for 2004, leaving little flexibility at other spots. Presumably, only Berkman will be offered a contract for 2005, so Hunsicker will have some money to continue the overhaul then. If Round Rock second baseman Chris Burke is as good as advertised, he'll be the Astros' leadoff hitter in 2005 and give the club a dimension of speed it hasn't had since Biggio injured his knee. At the moment, McLane says the team will have a $72 million budget again next season. This must be increased. If it isn't, Wagner or Hidalgo will be traded. If that happens, the franchise can no longer be taken seriously. McLane is not going to significantly increase revenues until the Astros win something in the postseason, and that's not going to happen until they add some talent. Talent costs money. Few farm systems in the game have been more productive, but the farm system can't fill every need. For a couple of years, McLane has watched what you've watched but refused to see what you see. Two winters ago, he arrived at spring training and announced he'd never been more excited about a club. Actually, he says virtually the same thing every spring. Except that when he said it two years ago, it sounded ridiculous. "I feel like we've really improved ourselves," he said. Huh? The club hadn't re-signed Moises Alou, Vinny Castilla and Pedro Astacio, had done almost nothing in free agency, and McLane actually thought fans would buy it if he said it. Please. Hunsicker surely will consider other moves. Should he allow Jason Lane to compete for the center field job next spring? Biggio is one of the two best players the franchise has ever had, but he understands the competitive aspect of things. He also understands that despite a strong September, he hit just .248 after the All-Star break. Don't keep secrets, either. Tell reporters of the interest in Pettitte. Tell them you're inviting Oakland shortstop Miguel Tejada and others in for visits. Tell them you intend to find out if Roger Clemens is serious about retirement. Make some headlines. Let fans know you're stirring a bit. If you sign even one big-ticket player, announce you're raising ticket prices. If fans know the money is going to make the team better, they'll understand. But when they read that McLane's net worth is in the $1.2 billion range and realize he's still running the baseball team like a mom-and-pop donut shop, they feel cheated. Hunsicker should also fly down to Florida for a visit with his manager. He should tell Williams that Wagner will be used differently next season, that he won't be brought into any four-run games because his left arm simply is too valuable. The GM should also tell the skipper that he simply must allow starting pitchers to go deeper into games, even if it means fitting the dugout with a seat belt. Williams has to stop treating his starting pitchers as if they were Fabregé eggs. Even they resent it. Williams is inclined to over-manage, to play every game like it's Game 7 of the World Series. Two weekends ago in St. Louis, he double-switched Berkman out of the game in the eighth inning. Hunsicker will not change some things about Williams -- this odd, decent fellow. He will not make him articulate or engaging. He will not make him media-friendly. Hunsicker probably was as annoyed as anyone by the handling of the pitching staff, but he surely agrees that Williams got about everything from this team that was there to be gotten. He deserves to return next season. Most of all, the Astros can't be afraid to change things a bit. At the moment, they're mediocre. While the Giants, Braves and others make substantial changes almost every winter, the Astros have been reluctant to do anything bold. The Cubs showed fans that improvement can come rapidly if a team's management is aggressive and not wedded to the past. The Giants almost won the 2002 World Series and decided to do a postseason makeover anyway. The Braves allowed Tom Glavine to leave and won a 12th straight division championship anyway. The Astros could learn from all of these teams, and perhaps that's the greatest lesson they can take from this disappointing season. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Justice covers major-league baseball for the Chronicle.
Spending more guarantees nuthin'. But where was 'management' during the season when the team needed help? Oh, yeah -- waiting for Roy O to heal. Look at how this team 'overachieved' then 'choked' and tell me, if true, whether 'management' might have been able to put pieces together to win less than 90 games and their Division.
Didn't the payroll go from $50 to $70 million over the past three years? (Honest question - I haven't kept up but I'm sure it's gone up, right? Whether the increase corresponds to the increase in income from tickets/concessions/etc. is another story.) Steinbrenner? Ted Turner / AOL? The Cubs ownership? (Honest question - I thought Steinbrenner owns/heads the MSG network and AOL is clearly worth more than $1.2 billion.) It's funny how McLane was seen as a savior compared to the previous worst owner in Houston sports history, John McMullen. It's definitely frustrating, even though I'm not as much of a sports fan I used to be.
Mr. Justice - All's I can say is AMEN! Except while we do need a #1 (and #2) starter - I wouldn't ask Roger - too old. I would see about the A's unloading one of theirs though - they always seem to have a fire sale or 2 each year. But other than that, VERY GOOD article.
I'd like to add, that I took my Biggio argument over to the Talkzone at orangewhoopass.com..check it out for a good laugh, they are bashing me like crazy over there. They are blinded by Biggio's regular season contributions.
Spending guarantees absolutely nothing...but I will agree that it does show a committment to winning and improving. My biggest beefs this season was that the 'Stros did nothing to improve before the trade deadline while other teams (Chicago, etc) did. That can't be squarely blamed on management though, cause there was really nothing to be had, or nothing worth further depleting our farm system or the current roster for. And then the fact that Drayton refuses to admit that this team needs some retooling, 1 or 2 other marquee players, because he just wants a winning/competitive team (and not a contending one). Well that's just not fair to the players or the fans....course for their part, the players pulling a choke job every season and then being so laid back and unemotional about it (c'mon Bags! At least Dotel and Wags had the balls to speak the truth) isn't fair to management or the fans. So it goes both ways. All I want is to see a championship caliber team on the field, and one that'll show the heart and fire a contender displays. Enough of this, "Well that's baseball and I tip my hat to them" crap!
Do I have to hit it over people's heads a million time? Revenue is baseball is based on two separate parts: one is attendance and city population, the second is media deals. Guess what? Houston has the first one to a T, but the cable deal in houston sucks. That is the reason the astros spend only 72 million while the Yankees double that, and the braves and cubs go 20 mil above it. The Yankees have YES, the braves have TBS, the cubs have WGN. The Astros have KNWS, and FoxSW. Doesn't seem like a fair fight does it? Just because Drayton is rich doesn't mean losing 30-40 mil out of his own pocket, with no guarantee of further success I might add, is a good proposition. Would you be willing to take those kind of losses if you were in his shoes and had that kind of money? It's still 30-40 million dollars, no matter how rich you are. You talk about Steinbrenner not being on the Forbes list. Big fricken deal, the guy has a stake in the devils, Manchester United, has a great cable deal and is in the media capital of the US. No wonder he can spend 150 mil a year and ruin baseball. Baseball needs to get its head out of its collective ass and find a flexible salary cap solution, like the NBA model. But definitely not like the overly strict NFL one. I understand your frustration as a fan. Hell I'm pissed off too, but McClane is not the problem. Baseball's economic structure and playoff exclusiveness are the problems. For all the bashing Drayton takes its as if fans forget he pulled the trigger for Johnson, Alou, wanted Clemens, and he has always made sure he kept the players the astros really needed to win. Like the bagwell's and biggio's of the world. I guess he didn't offer Kile, and Johnson virtually the same salary they signed for elsewhere? Oh wait, he did. He didn't sign the best players in Astros' history to longterm deals(ie Bagwell and Biggio)? Oh wait, he did. He doesn't lock up young players to the longterm deals they deserve? Oh wait, there's Hidalgo and Berkman staring you in the face. I understand being mad the team missed the playoffs, but all this Drayton bashing is unsubstantiated crap by fans who set expectations so high for themselves that they can't possibly be happy unless the team holds the World Series trophy every year. And not even the Yankees can do that.
Bob, I said I was angered that we played like crap against Milwaukee. And I was disgusted that we didn't win monday vs SF. Second, I disagree vehemently about the playoffs. What you need is a fair fight. Gee more than 4 teams in the NL have winning records yet only 4 get a chance at the prize. In the AL seattle had right about 90 wins and missed the playoffs. Do they not deserve a shot? It's this "lazy" argument that cracks me up. It's the same one the proponents of the BCS in college football use. Oh, it'll make the season too damn long, so instead we'll let a computer determine between 3 1 loss teams for the 2nd spot in the championship game or who gets screwed if 3 undefeateds from power conferences remain at the end of the year. And that 3rd or 4th team deserves to be screwed because it'll make the season too long? Give me a break. You do what is right, and give teams a chance. Besides that, maybe it's me but I would love to see a more expanded baseball playoffs because of the upset potential. Baseball is the one sport where any team has a shot to get hot in a short series. I don't particularly hate the current setup, but I do think that 8 teams out of 30 ain't enough. This system might have worked when you had very few teams but now with all the parity created by having 30 teams, and more competition for spots, I think you need more. And the extra 1 per league they added isn't enough. Shorten the regular season by a week if you must, but adding more teams into the playoffs would be the right thing to do to for entertainment value and the fairness of who gets a shot at a ring. Bottom line: If you think I'm happy my team is sitting at home, you are sorely mistaken. But I refuse to call a year with some serious underachievement and injury trouble where the team improved its win loss record from the previous year a bad one. Because it isn't. It's just disappointing and I feel that pain, trust me. I also agree we need a fiery leader, but isn't Kent that type? Because on paper, this team now has all the components of championship team: Good frontline pitching in Oswalt-Miller, good offense, great bullpen, solid defense. But something is missing, and if I could fix it I would. However all that said, I firmly believe baseball has some fundamental economic and competitive flaws that need to be addressed, and until they are, I will not pretend that they do not exist.
I think Drayton's biggest problem is not the amount of money he does or doesn't spend. I think it's two parts of his attitude: 1) wanting to be too friendly/collegial with his players . . . it doesn't create a winning environment for your old, brokedown, fading franchise player to be able to take meetings with the owner to discuss things that should be discussed with the general manager 2) his basic willingness to accept competitiveness . . . it's not that he doesn't want to win it all; it's just that he's okay with not winning it all the first problem is much like the problem that has dogged Jerry Jones pre-Parcells. the second problem is the bigger one in my opinion.
You know, its the same thing year after year, and usually the same people defending Drayton year after year. The problem is, how long will we contuinue to either miss the playoffs or choke in the playoffs before people realize that Drayton needs to allow the people he hired to make baseballs moves, to actually do their job. I am not saying he needs to spend more or less money, though, I think he needs to show us he is committed to winning. Drayton seems to be happy with just being good not great, and what that translates to most fans is, I am fine with not spending too much money, at least thats the impression I get. The same people will argue that he brought in this or that person and blah blah blah, it just didnt happen, but I dont buy it, its the same tired story and same tired excuses every year. Personally, I would be happy if he would just let Gerry build a winning team, and quit imposing a salary cap on this team. Its the only way we will ever be successful. I mean, what team that does well in the playoffs and makes it to the series has a salary cap, I am guessing zero. Drayton has money, dont let that penny pincher fool you. My thing is, why buy a baseball team, if all you are gonna do is try and cut costs ? I know others will complain that they dont want the price of tickets to go up. Well, personally, if the price of tickets going up means that we can get some more talent on this team, ie starting pitching, I am all for it, but again, Drayton will tell you how snake bit he is for paying Drabek, cry me a river, that was years ago, he needs to get over it. Lastly, if I wanted to watch losing, penny pinching baseball for years to come, I would move to Tampa, and watch the devil rays or slide up to detriot and be a tigers fan, I wanna see winners, at any cost, if you dont wanna run your team that way, sell it , sell it to someone like Mark Cuban, who is willing to put a good product out on the court, they may not win it all, but they sure are fun to watch. CAK
If 90 wins didn't get them a division title or a wild card berth, than NO they don't deserve a shot. There obviously was a better team that: 1. Won Seattle's division 2. Won more games than Seattle thus getting the wild card berth. The right thing to do is to eliminate interleague games, those games should be played against division opponents. 8 out of 30 is plenty. Any more than that and winning your division means nothing, a 3rd place finish could land someone in the playoffs. Now that would be a joke (much like the NHL and NBA are) No, Kent is like Bagwell. Not vocal enough. Very laid back, unless Bonds says something to him or about him.
