In that whole article, I don't think there was more than 1 or 2 accurate sentences in there. Regardless of whether his conclusion is correct, he didn't nail anything. He was factually wrong on most of what he said.
I think you're missing the point. Richard is saying that the reason the Astros are bad is because of a history of front office decisions with respect to the product they are putting on the field. He's using the Berry firing as an example of Drayton and Tal putting the blame on others instead of themselves for the Astros futility. It's more than just "I'm mad b/c they fired Berry," it's frustration in the front office not being able to recognize the real fix that is necessary.
Since you are blaming McLane now, do you credit him for their success most every season that he owned the team, especially 2004 and 2005?
Maybe the front office realizes it. They just signed another international free agent. They seem to have had a solid draft. The fact of the matter is the team can't fire the players. This is a team starting over.
No, I credit Gerry Hunsicker for that (even though '05 was a Purpura year, it was still Gerry's guys on the field). Gerry was able to convince Drayton to make moves he didn't necessarily agree with. Once Gerry left Drayton took full control and his incompetency as an owner came to light.
So, McLane doesn't get any credit for hiring Hunsicker or eventually agreeing to the things Hunsicker wanted to do?
I agree that Drayton is a pretty bad owner. Yes, he presided over the team during there best years, but, like others said, he had a good GM that was willing to stand up for himself. Ed Wade has not made too many great moves, and Drayton has not made things any easier for him. It seems lately, Drayton is only interested in making a few bucks, and not winning games. The one free agent Drayton has signed for big bucks lately is Carlos Lee, who was a sketchy signing anyways. The Clemens/Pettite signing was for nothing more than to put butts in the seats and make money, in my opinion. Yes, it garnered a few wins, but I think there were ulterior motives. I agree with Justice in the sense that this team would be much better served with an owner other than Drayton. Give me Mark Cuban, and this team would be a ton better. Although the MLB would never let that happen....
Mclane, only interested in making money, but gives his star player a brand new tractor. Because he only cares about money. Mclane is very interested in winning, even if its just because he wants butts in the seats and playoff revenues. Drayton had Hunsicker around for 10 years. He could have fired him at any time, but he didn't. He thought Gerry Hunsicker was a good GM.
If course Drayton wouldn't fire Gerry, he's not that dumb. Wouldn't make much sense to fire your GM who got you 4 division titles now would it? Gerry quit Drayton because he was tired of twisting his arm for every damn move he wanted to make.
I can't wait for the Sugar Land Independent Team to arrive...that will be my new team. Uncle Drayton can go straight to hell.
do you give drayton any credit at all for hiring gerry and keeping him here for 9 years? drayton deserves all kinds of criticism...but how much longer do we all think hunsicker would have stayed? he's turned down the opportunity to be a GM since then on more than one occasion.
You guys are crazy. The Astros have sucked for years and seriously sucked the last two seasons. We were good 5-6 years ago. Big freaking deal. Drayton isn't the same owner that he was 10 years ago so comparing those years to these years is stupid. Unless he sells the team or stops getting in the way, we are going to continue to be the horrible franchise that we are. Until then, they will not be getting my money or viewership. I suffered through the last 4 seasons and they have not been anywhere near fun. I'm done. We aren't close to good now and there is ZERO light at the end of the tunnel. I don't even think we are in a tunnel. It's dark, we are dead, and there are no signs of life so you tell me where we are.
in 2006 we finished 1.5 games out of being the division winner. in 2008 we had Hurricane Ike...we finished 11 games over .500 and 3.5 games out of first in the division.
From what you saw of those teams, were they remotely close to a contender? Were we not having the very same discussions during those seasons about how the writing was on the wall about how terrible our team was becoming? The Astros have sucked for years now.
