This guy seems like an average GM. Made some good moves, made some bad moves...... I'm more interested to see what he can do with our dilapidated farm system, then going for a win now philosophy. Fan interest is going to dwindle pretty rapidly, especially with the rising Texans and the loaded Rockets....
But Uncle Drayton obviously okayed the Woody contract and the Jennings deal. Maybe now he will let the experts do their jobs like in the Hunsicker era (somewhat)
this is what scares me about Drayton, the Texans and Rockets will get all the attention and instead of being patient Drayton will try to "reload" again and there are way too many problems to think like that. IF YOU THINK IT DOES NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO DRAYTON PLEASE THINK AGAIN. As far as attendance it was down to 30K before Clemens and Pettitte, I would say around 32-33 next season (lots of Biggio nights) and a dip to 28-30 by 2009.
PECOTA, for one. But obviously there are several others, and to my recollection, they all had him in the 4.1-4.2 range for this season. I'll add one more comment -- I do agree with Major, who in prior arguments on this subject showed the flawed thinking of the Astros when they made the deal. That is, when the team made the deal for Jennings, the Astros were looking for a lifeline to stay afloat in 2007 and be the best of a very mediocre NL Central. They didn't consider his potential salary after the season, or things that would make them a truly elite team down the line. But, that was not Purpura's decision. It's not Wade's decision, either. No matter who the GM is or was, the primary objective for the Astros is to find what quick fix will allow them to contend for the postseason in the following year. That's the directive from Drayton. In long-term thinking, no, the Jennings deal didn't make sense even at the time it was made. But general managers in this organization aren't afforded that luxury. To bring this back on topic, Wade won't have that authority, either.
As good as PECOTA is, it's very limited when dealing with situations where guys have career years. It's usually pretty hit or miss when trying to measure what they did and translate it to what they will do again.
If this is Matt Jackson, you ought to stop off the radio if you are equating Wade to Billy King. That's an asinine comment. He helped find and develop Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and they have been a perennial playoff contender. One more thing: taking heed of what Philly fan has to say about their teams is r****ded. They would hate on Branch Rickey.
I think there is a real question as to whether Wade gets credit for those guys. Not every organization is setup to where the sitting GM is responsible for minor league scouting / player development or the MiLB draft. This has already been discussed.
Ed Wade and Billy King are both despised by Philly Fans...I think there were better candidates interviewed and available, I wish Ed Wade well. Thanks for your thoughts.
I see your point, but isolating a bad signing here and there is a disingenuous way to judge a GM. Wade inherited a team with a lousy farm system and built it up while fielding a winner. Comparing him to Billy King, who is truly one of the worst GMs in sports, is silly. And, again, screw what the Philly fans think. Wade's hire points out that Tal Smith holds considerable sway over the organization and I am ok with that. As GM Tal stressed pitching, defense and player development. If Wade follows that model (and there is some evidence that he does) then I will be happy. A more experienced GM with allies in Drayton's inner circle has a better chance to succeed than a up and coming GM that may be feeling his way into the job in the teeth of an impatient owner and fanbase. See: DePodesta, Paul.
For your info MadMax my family has been with this franchise since the beginning.....and I'm 41 years old.My Grandfather,my Mom,and myself have been season ticket holders from the get go.Yes,I remember the ineptitude that often is associated with fledgling franchises....the characters (including owners and players),the losses,and much more that is both hilarious and has been at times hard to swallow.It's all part of the maturation of a franchise into whatever...I guess you could say it's a fluid situation that isn't always evolving....totally cyclical in almost every case. Drayton came in and right off signed Drabek and Swindell for mainly PR purposes.....and he got burned.This hasn't stopped him from learning his lesson with regard to being a meddling PR hungry owner that hurts in the long haul what the ultimate product on the field COULD be.He's one helluva businessman......Look at what the team is worth.....Heck all you have to do is look at his portfolio.(but we can't) I'll tell you what he's NOT a good baseball man and he darn sure has a problem delegating authority to the real pros in this business. Quite a bit of time has passed since our Astros have entered the League and we had some near misses before we finally made it to our first WS.Baseball has grown by leaps and bounds (or deevolved depending on how you look at it) in terms of money and such.Drayton has ridden this,hometown discounts, and Mother time for all it's worth....right into a new stadium and finally a WS berth.It was nice to make it to the WS,but at what cost,gutting the farm system?Playing your average fan for the fool?What a carnival!Letting Hunsicker get away because of ego and money?You know Roger and Andy wouldn't have been here without the hometown connection.So don't be so fast to put Uncle up on a big pedestal.What about when we moved into the new park and the team salary wasn't bumped up to make us more competitive?How about not making a real move at the break last year or having Garner trot Lidge out time after time?You think we could have made up that last little bit of ground? I truly believe that if the player's union hadn't had so many concessions and some kind of revenue sharing/salary cap was instituted when Bowie Kuhn was still Commissioner then THE STATE OUR NATIONAL PASTIME would be much much better. I love baseball and I love the Astros,but it doesn't make me oblivious to the bigger picture. Ironically enough I probably will get my wish in the near future for Uncle will "reload" and most likely sell high. Just my take.....probably not worth much I know,but yes I'll keep beating that drum....because I care. OMT...I know I've been long winded and a wee bit hard but it's a subject which I'm passionate about and you got personal.I've repected you all these years so if I came across too strong on this subject I apologize.I just thought you were out of line.
George W. Bush type hiring. Hire your friends and people who are loyal instead of people who are competent. My question is why is Drayton so involved in the process? I would be more comfortable if he let his baseball guys do more of the decision-making. I like how Les Alexander let Daryl Morey take control. Same with McNair and Kubiak/Rick Smith.
This is kind of an underwhelming move. On one hand, the Phillies have produced a few good players in the past few years and they were drafted and developed under Wade. But there are other things that make me wonder: 1) I'm not sure how much credit he gets for the farm system, and how much Wolever and Arbuckle get. I suppose worst case scenario is that Wade at least didn't fire those guys when he came aboard and let them do their jobs. 2) The farm system was desolate when Wade came aboard, and equally desolate when he left. Again, I'm not sure how much of that is Wade. They seem to draft high risk/reward players and it's either feast or famine with how they develop. 3) Didn't do to well in free agency. Didn't do too well with trades. I don't know anything about his relationship with ownership in Philly. Is he the kind of guy who can convince his bosses to pay a little more to sign a talented, but Boras-represented first round pick, or is he someone who will pass on a more talented player and draft on signability?
There is absolutely no way McLane could have pleased you with this pick. You would have found a way to criticize him and/or the organization no matter who they chose. You showed that already when we talked about Wade's record with the farm system and you said, "the astros don't sign draft picks." He can't win by you. It's become trollish.
and yet the astros have one of the best records in all of baseball over the course of the past 10 seasons or so. there's sooo much b****ing.....and the astros are far and away...i mean light years ahead...under mclane's watch from where they were before. it's not even close. you talk about carnivals?? a carnival is begging 20,000 to show up to watch your team. a carnival is watching your own freaking team fall into receivership. this team draws fans like crazy...they've been among the most consistent teams in the game...they have stability like they've never been close to in their entire history. it's so much better than the carnival it was it's not even funny. a carnival is hoping your team might be in contention once every 10 years. guys like randy johnson, carlos beltran, moises alou, and carlos lee didn't come to play for the astros in years past. guys like craig biggio and jeff bagwell didn't stick around. the entire scope of this franchise is better. to pretend the owner has NOTHING to do with it....but to criticize him for minutiae like who the freaking manager puts in the game(????) is to illustrate just how ridiculous this argument is. You said you're not oblivious to the bigger picture...i highly disagree. I think you've missed the bigger picture entirely. You're blaming the man for getting us to the WS for heaven's sake!!! Yeah...what a b*stard that guy is!!! No credit...all blame. Including blaming him for getting us the only pennant we've ever sniffed. Geez...what a joke. (btw...there is nothing more tired than the "he let hunsicker get away" stuff. hunsicker was with this team for 9 freaking seasons.)
First off I love the idea in a time when players play for three or four different teams minimum over the course of their career, we've had two that will go to the Hall while playing their whole career with one. As far as HUN goes it's the truth.He operated under chain and tired of it. Do you think that if Tal Smith and Gerry Hunsicker weren't involved that we would have enjoyed the sustained success in our division for so long? You honestly in your heart believe that under Drayton's stewardship without those two that the Stros would have and will be OK.??!! My point is we could have been better,but to point that out is blasphemy,unappreciative, and the height of idiocracy in your book. Drayton deserves some credit but I sure as hell give it up to the above two guys before him. Of course we're light years ahead of where we were,but part of that also has to do with the economics/politics of the game and of society. I like Drayton as a human being and philanthropist.He's helped the city bigtime,but when it comes to pinching those pennies or cranking out at least partially related PR moves at the worst possible times with regard to the welfare of the team/or sitting still....minutiae as you speak of,he's guilty and THAT is why the Houston Astros haven't WON at least 1 WS yet.Baseball IS a game of inches......... He's a businessman. What's your outlook on the future of the club? You have no fears that he will rest on "his" laurels? Are we going to live on the goodwill of the last 10 years or what? What about the integrity of the game?How about that?I see that as the most important issue.
I think we have pretty much seen the incompitence of the old regime in the last couple of games. We have had trouble getting on base in general this year, we keep giving chances to lane, everett and ensberg (two people who cant do it if their life depended on it). Suddenly we bring up anderson, ransom and towles and then we suddenly have a 22 and a 23 hit game. I think the only time this year one player has gotten on base 5 or more times is biggio's 3000th hit night. Ransom and Towles (last night), and Anderson (last sunday) do it like its nothing. Towles even sets a record. I can't believe what im seeing with this kids. And you wouldn't even give any of them a chance when we needed a leadoff hitter, a center fielder and production out of the bottom of the line up. The kids are showing up the veterans hardcore. By the end of the year, Anderson is gonna have more hits than lane did at wayyyy fewer at bats and Towles is probaly gonna have more rbi's if they give him the playing time. If wade get us more talent and actually plays them and those three guys are on the team next year then he'll be doing a big job. He cant fall in love with players like purpura did. The philly's problem is that they do not have a supportive city like we do and they have a combustable coach, those wont get them far no matter how much talent they have.
not true, I gave him major ups for cutting loose Purpura and Garner when he did, I did not like his idea of "reloading" but I was waiting to see who the GM would be. I don't like recycled guys with poor track records sorry. As far as "the Astros don't sign draft picks" that's out of frustration and has nothing to do with the new GM. I like Cooper and I hope he stays, I also wish the new GM well as I want this team to win and get back on track. I am waiting for this move to "win me over"
I don't know if Wade will be good or bad for the Astros, but the Phillies have been a winning team over the past 4 (soon to be 5) years. Since many posters on this board give Hunsicker credit for 2005 and 2006, it would only seem fair to give Wade credit for 2006 and 2007. They have been stuck dealing with the Braves and Mets and have been winning 85+ games. Again, since many posters credit some of the Astros success to the weak Central Division, the Phillies should get extra credit for putting up winning seasons in the East.
