he should stay out of baseball operations. hire a competent gm, let the gm hire the manager, and develop the minor league teams. don't interfere and ultimately have a revolving door for gms and managers when they don't say "yassur" to the uncle.
it's called the bill of rights of our u.s. constitution - the freedom of speech! if you don't like it, you have the right to not even bother reading my opinions or responding to my post.
yeah..the astros didn't try to do positive things. that's why the made the playoffs 6 times in the past 10 seasons. In a sport where only 8 teams out of 30 make it. Only on a Rockets bulletin board would someone suggest that the Rockets have been trying to do positive things over the past 10 years but the 'stros haven't. You name Battier, Stro and TMac. How about Randy Johnson, Carlos Beltran, Moises Alou, Ken Caminiti, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Carlos Lee? This is silly.
Had Rudy's 'guard' teams played in the East what might they have accomplished? If McLane's recent 'stro teams played in the ALEast (or even NLEast) what might they have 'accomplished'? Rudy's teams were competitive, except against the creme de la creme. As a fan I could hold out hope that the 'messiah' was coming. The latter day 'ain'ts er, 'stros, are frustrating - because, IMHO, the owner is micromanaging every department, including GM and accounting (see: Draft '07). I remain steadfast as a fan, but not a happy or hopeful one.
RJ left too soon, but, yes, a great move. Carlos left too soon, byt, tes, a great move - and despite the inane negotiations, I can't fault the loss v $115mm. Mo? Left too soon, but his injuries, oh his injuries... Cammy? No comment, too sad. Rocket/Andy - Poster Boys of McLane at his best/McLane at his worst. Carlos Lee? Great financial commitment. Now, how many holes are on the roster? In the Minors? Where is the run, or ability to run, after a devalued NLCentral Flag? The Thread, BTW, was supposed to be IF Roy O or Berkman were to be traded what would fair value be (to us, Les Fanatiques du Astros)?
you said, "at least the rockets try to do positive things." implying as if the astros don't. that's ridiculous.
Even a GM with complete baseball autonomy won't have a blank check. If the team does not make money, in a few years, we'll be the current Florida Marlins.
I'm not sure I agree with McLane's methods of interfering as much as he does.. but the man is legitimately trying to win ballgames. So you have to give him that.
I agree. We should hire a GM and let him operate. But at the end of the day, Drayton will not give him a blank check, nor should he. We are not going to have a $150MM payroll. If a good GM cannot make several big splash signings, then certain people here will still say that they are not "competitive."
I agree totally. Our GM needs to have more room to operate. I wasn't a big Purpura fan, but at the same time I feel like I never even really got to see him in action because I'm not sure how many of his moves were of his own volition and how many were McLane pulling strings. Its unfortunate.
