I don’t think anybody would have batted an eye at Montero being let to walk. But I’m not one of the “Crane is cheap” guys.
Thanks for your attempted fix, but no, you read it right the first time. I’m beginning to mistrust Crane, but I hope I’m wrong, and that the remaining 3/4 of the
off-season are prosperous times.
His moves from two years ago turned out shitty but he seems committed to cleaning up the mess. Feel however you want to feel, the franchise’s new direction may not work out, but the man has put his money where is mouth is.
The worst thing you can do is overreact to market trends and become one of the herd. The logic re: preferring short-term deals that worked for the Astros through 2022 still makes sense today. Other teams throwing out massive contracts over decades doesn’t make those contracts smart or necessary.
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You are well past “beginning” and it is “beginning” to get tiresome.
Both the Montero and Abreu contracts were signed off on by the scouting part of the organization and Click was on board and ready to complete them before he was dismissed for jackassery.
If he walked for more money, I think you are right. If he walked because Crane did not try to resign him, I think you are wrong. Montero was a key member of the unhittable BP in 2022. He should have been resigned, and all there is to complain about is the size of the contract.
Abreu’s and Montero’s deal are maligned with 20-20 hindsight because their contributions were well short of expectations. I was a big fan of both players.
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For me, Crane will always be looked at favorably. The run that this franchise has had with him at the top has been historical. Of course I want the franchise to continue to do well but if it doesn’t I will forever feel blessed that this run happened during my lifetime. I’m about to turn 50. I haven’t seen it all but I’ve been around long enough to know how special this run has been. In my 20s and 30s I’d of told you a run like this by the Astros was not possible and would never happen. These type runs were only possible by powerhouse teams like the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers (my thinking at the time). Well, look at this team now. Yes the cheating scandal will always be there but those that really know baseball know that this run had little to do with that and more to do with a franchise that figured out how to build a better mouse trap…one that would allow for an extended run of excellence that few teams before them, and few teams after will ever get close to matching. That started when Crane became the Owner.
Anyhow, I guess what I’m really trying to say is that bitching about Crane just seems ungrateful to me.
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Void gonna void.
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What owner has been better? Cohen’s money would be nice…but relative to resources available I don’t think that there has been better ownership anywhere in the game. The man has earned some respect and trust, imo.
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Magic Johnson maybe (hard to separate LAD owners’ actions from their infinite pockets), arguably Middleton in Philadelphia, Seidler was pretty good in San Diego but passed away last year—none of which really matters, because Crane has been a very good owner and brought in an era of previously unfathomable success.
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People seem to have forgotten how the Grocer mailed in the last few seasons. Anybody want Purpura back?
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All bills come due at some point…
That is the other thing to keep in mind. For a long time, Drayton was a good owner too. Then he started fucking everything up with bad management hires and utterly stupid disinvestment in the farm system. So I do understand why an Astros fan would get jumpy about an owner changing directions after a long run of success—we’ve seen it go south before.
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I think a change of direction is necessary at some point in time. It was inevitable. The core of this team is aging, and due to various trades and draft penalties, the cupboard is pretty bare. This owner has shown he’s not willing to spend mega dollars in free agency, be it our own players or not, to keep it going. He would prefer to try and do it other ways and I have absolutely no issues with that personally. Big, expensive, multi year contracts usually don’t work out very well. What Crane HAS been willing to do is have large overall in season payrolls, which has been a World Series winning formula. As long as he continues that model while we try to retool, I think we will be competitive and a playoff team. It’s just my opinion, but when Crane says the window will never close, I think he really means he never wants to tear it down and rebuild like we did before the run. But these players age and we have to infuse talent the best way we can and spend the money wisely.
I would have traded Bregman last off season like we did Tucker. If he doesn’t take the offer on the table and wants the reported $200M or more, I’m not gonna loose sleep if he signs elsewhere. I’d move Framer this year too for younger, controllable major league ready, or near ready talent. We have to get younger and find a way to infuse talent into a poor system. And if I’m being totally honest, I’m excited about seeing some new faces in our roster.
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I’ve been as vocal as anyone about what a mistake it was, in my view, anyway, for Crane to operate without a GM, even briefly. But despite his very understandable reluctance or even outright refusal to offer contracts beyond X number of years, 5 or whatever it is, he is most certainly not cheap, and, unlike the majority of other owners of North American major sports teams, he annually makes significant, sometimes costly, sometimes painful moves that are designed specifically to help the team win right then.
He’s had some missteps and he’ll have more. But he’s the best owner in the history of Houston sports and it’s not close. Les Alexander is the only other owner whose needle is on the other side of half full as far as I’m concerned.
I would much rather the team read the writing on the wall and make moves that will help the organization for years to come than run around signing Miguel Tejadas thinking that’s the piece you need for an aging club.
If the team fills its current holes with major league average talent, I don’t see any reason why they can’t compete for the division. If they get some unexpected performance from the new guys, great. Framber pitches once every five games. Every so often he’s brilliant. Every so often he’s putrid. He is not irreplaceable. And obviously the team started its run last season with Tucker hurt and he was effectively a non-factor on his return. The team is worse without him, certainly, but can win with other players instead.
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The Astros have never seen this type of run of success. Not even close. Not in your wildest dreams did you ever think you’d see the Astros be as successful as they been the last 10 years. I understand you want it to last forever, we all do, but I can’t understand why you reasonably thought it would.
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The Astros have won 2 World Series since the Yankees last won one. God bless Jim Crane!
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You got me, I’m the guy who thought they’d win forever and ever amen.
Outstanding post
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My only regret is that my dad never got to see the good years. He taught me the love of baseball.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to tell him about it in time. I’m not in a hurry, BTW. Hopefully there will be more good stuff to tell him by then.
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