I totally agree. I can see a deal based on a Urquidy/Jansen swap happening. Jansen is good enough to DH a bit (Alvarez deserves more time in LF with his howitzer arm), maybe handle 1st on occasion. I really want Maldy back another year. I'm not one to get too sentimental, but he brings so much to the clubhouse and the team. He can't catch every game, and he caught 112 (I think) this past year, which is a little much. But, perhaps something like Maldonado: 70 Jansen: 70 Lee/Diaz/other: 22 Splits the load, let Lee and Diaz say in AAA for some more seasoning and get them some time with the MLB club when the front office thinks it's time (or maybe trade fodder for the right player).
Officially, no. I'm kinda wishfully thinking that this is procedurally being done in advance of an extension here. Neither has Mancini, for that matter. No talk about him and while it really doesn't sound like we'll make an effort to keep him if he does opt out, the guys on 97.5 discussed he may be open to opting in and staying for another year in hopes of upping his stock for next year since he ended the season on a low note and appeared to really buy into the team, city, culture, etc and was very happy here.
Do you think they would want Urquidy though? They got Gausman, Berrios, Ryu, Kikuchi, and Manoah. Berrios and Kikuchi both stunk though.
Click should get a ton of props for locking up Pressly. Diaz just got 100m, meanwhile, Pressly was nails in the postseason, as well as for the majority of the season. Great extension 6-for-6 save opportunities (1 in ALDS, 3 in ALCS, 2 in WS) 11 innings 4 hits 1 run 0 earned runs 3 walks 13 strikeouts
I said I wouldn't do this but good God you are clueless. I gave Luhnow credit for building the team up to the '17 season. ALL CREDIT WAS HIS!! They needed something to push them over the top to make them a serious WS contender. Thus the phrase "Wartime" GM. What did Luhnow do? He went after JV and go ask any player on that team what that addition meant to them. It was enough to bring home a WS!! So, CLUELESS Joe Joe, who built that team? Luhnow. Who also made other HUGE acquisitions in trades (along with building up the farm system) which put them in a serious position to win it all again in '18, '19, '20 and '21 and again this year when they actually won it?? Luhnow that's who. Your point??? Your point was you made a statement earlier today claiming that Click (NOT LUHNOW) was the best Wartime GM in Astros history (because of the last three yrs) when I specifically laid out that over NINETY PERCENT of this year's team, the '21 team, and the '20 team, and the '19 team, and the '18 team and the '17 team (but let's just focus on the last three yrs because that's what spewed earlier) was built by Luhnow (NOT Click) and in your clueless world Click deserves the credit and he's the greatest. I asked it earlier and I'll ask it again what color is the sky in your world??? Anyone that follows baseball (and specifically the Astros) will tell you who built these teams and deserves most of the credit. Does Click deserve some credit with the bullpen. Absolutely and nobody is saying otherwise, however NOBODY else is spewing that Click is the greatest Wartime GM (or GM) in Astros history because of the last three yrs like you are when the facts say otherwise. And with that I'm out Joe Joe but there is NO DOUBT that you'll chime in again trying to make your clueless case.
As for the Click contract, a lot of people asking why he would sign a one year deal? Well as far as I know he hasn’t signed anything. While it is true that Click can point to a lot of success since joining the Astros, it still takes an opening somewhere else for Click to easily leave. It’s very possible that Click decides to stick around a year and then leave after this year when there are more openings. I spoke to the person I received most my Astros information on about what’s going on. First I have to say he has an axe to grind because Click fired him. Having said that, he made some interesting points. He said everyone shouldn’t assume Click’s too desire is to stick around, he probably would rather GM another organization with payroll that will not interfere in his moves. He also said that Luhnow “educated” Crane and they were often together discussing deals, the draft and the day to day running of the team outside the clubhouse. Said Crane would even sometimes call him on Sunday mornings to pick his brain. He said Click did not really include Crane and tried to separate the two. Also supposedly some hard feelings over Click wanting to change somethings that the Astros did really well that alienated some in the organization before Click. I don’t know if Click is a great GM. What I do know is we won a WS and have been very good every year. Further, he didn’t panic when Valdez and Verlander were hurt. He didn’t trade away talented players for veterans and that was without question the right move. Can he draft? How is he in the international market? I also don’t think Crane talked to anyone about what he would do. If he had, we wouldn’t have Oz and Pete leave if they felt they could move up with the Astros anytime soon. Ultimately he told me he would have brought Click back if he were in charge, but he said Crane always thinks big.
If Crane has a guy he likes I would rather he just separate from Click and be done with it. This type of fractured front office and a GM who is just running out the clock until he can find a different job isn't good.
I haven’t heard anything today about what Crane WILL do. It is possible that both Crane and Click are doing their due diligence at this point. I have to think that if Click has other options, he is exploring them. As for Crane, the obvious name is David Stearns but he is still under contract as an advisor for the Brewers and I don’t know that he wants to jump to the Astros. Stearns and Crane are fairly familiar with each other from his time with the Astros. Stearns and Goldstein both were handling a lot of trade negotiations for Luhnow. Stearns is from NY and was linked to the Mets but the team shot that down and Stearns claimed he didn’t want to leave the Brewers. What does that mean? Who knows. Stearns overall did well in Milwaukee, but so has Click with the Astros. Theo Epstein has been speculated as a candidate by fans, but I don’t think he would get along well with Crane. While he built the Cubs into a WS winner, he also destroyed them with poor signings and trades. If you want a dark horse, Dana Brown is someone Luhnow and others really have thought high of and has the personality the Astros seem to like.
Every time I saw Crane during the series I was struck by how he has aged. The impression I got was that he was a man who needed someone competent enough to trust the heavy lifting to. He is smart enough to know Click is not that man. He can do it himself but he really doesn't need that crap anymore.
now that you mentioned it Crane does seem significantly older than I remember recently. I feel like he even talks slower.
Someone mentioned it earlier and I agree that Crane seems to have the Jerry Jones gene. Which, as a Cowboys fan, worries me a bit. Hasn't caused harm yet but I do worry about it going forward.
