OK settle down, I'm not pretending that Wade did a fantastic job. I'm pretty much good with your statements above except: #2 has very little to do with the minor league system, unless you use the weak argument that they didn't spend on the draft because of FA signings (it's a weak argument because Drayton had a habit of not overpaying for slot regardless of FA activity). #3 isn't really accurate. Purpura had a laughably dismal record with signing draftees; Wade wasn't so bad. Also, you said in #2 that he outbid for free agents and then you say here that practically every FA signing fails. Clearly, not all of them failed (even though they were generally lousy signings). #4 -- the farm system was inarguably improved by the drafts that Ed Wade oversaw (unless you'd like to keep your head in the sand). Mind you, I'm not arguing he left it in great condition at all: he got it all the way up to a little below average from the historic toilet bowl it had become. "Below average" is far more than "slightly improved" from the ****hole that Purpura left. But yes we agree: we are better off now.
Also, I wonder if we underplay the role Drayton had in the Tejada deal. Dude had a mancrush on Tejada for the better part of a decade.
You're probably about that one. Drayton was waaaaay too comfortable trying to play fantasy baseball with his franchise. I wouldn't be surprised if he influenced a few other decisions that I rip on Wade for. But all that is over now. I'm going to enjoy the fact that I can get excited about the moves our team makes, rather than questioning the return on each of them.
I think McLane's role extends much farther than just the Tejada deal. We know he (tried to) micro-manage Hunsicker and it drove him out of town. And Pupura and Wade's tenures are both marked by remarkably similar short-sighted decisions designed to keep an obviously sinking ship afloat. Unless you think Pupura and Wade are just two cuts of the same cloth, the common link between them is Drayton. I think he interfered and mis-managed this franchise into the ground. I'm very happy with Luhnow - but I'm guessing he's benefiting greatly from a better owner with a much better understanding of where the team is and where it needs to go.
-McCullers will start in tri-city and move to greenville if all goes as planned -will wear #41 -Boras compares his high school domination to that of Jered Weaver's college career.
That was such an utter steal, I don't know how he fooled Boston into that one. Ridiculous. I like the McCullers/Correa duo for the draft, but we really won't know anything for a few years. It's nice to be signing guys like that, though, instead of hardballing them and letting 'em walk.
Can we leave the Ed Wade era behind us and not talk about it anymore? Anyway, this is great news. I'm really liking how the franchise seems to be turning around. A couple more years of this and we could start to think about competing with the Rangers.
I talk about all the eras in Astros history. For the weak of heart or weak of stomach, the ignore list is a handy tool.
Hell, if there is any era we should not be talking about it's the Purpura era. I remember when Hunsicker left everyone was still pretty optimistic because Purpura had been running the minors for a while and we had lots of talent there, so we should have been fine. Look how that turned out. At least Wade has a few credits to his name. Timmah Purp was a black hole of disappointment.
To be fair, all that minor league talent Pupura had helped accumulate over the years had already been graduated to the majors or traded away prior to Hunsicker leaving.
No doubt. Drayton wanted to have his cake and eat it too just like Les Alexander wants to do. He wanted to rebuild while also fielding a contender every year, which is impossible to do unless you are going to have a Yankees or Red Sox-type payroll. That's how we ended up with guys like Tejada, Pudge, Pedro Feliz and Russ Ortiz. I'm not a huge fan of Ed Wade in any way, but many of the bad signing or deals he made were made with pressure from Uncle Drayton.
Virtually nothing=2 top 100 prospects? Yes I understand they so didn't work out, but at the time it was pretty bad
Take out the "so". Anyways I love this draft, now that Florida is eliminated its time to get the players signed! The sooner they are signed the sooner we can attempt to sign Virant/hinojosa/traver
