He signs the GM’s contract. Who else would you expect to “meddle” in the hiring of the GM?
When Crane negotiates directly with JV, I do not call that meddling. It is his money, and he and JV have a good relationship. I also do not call it meddling when he listened to his manager on a player acquisition and trade. Click should have listened also. Every owner has the right of approval/veto on trades, and if Click was bringing in Contreras to catch, not DH, and to take innings away from Machete, I would have vetoed it too. Vazquez was perfect for the backup catcher role.
ETA: Crane did not “can” Click; he offered him a one-year contract and a raise.
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Talk about “takes one to know one”.
Not meddling in that. I’m talking about hiring a GM and then not trusting him to do the job.
Nightengale (I know, I know) said in his article that Crane interviewed some candidates a year ago with the intent that the hire would serve under Click for a season then assume the GM job after '22. No hire of that kind seems to have been made but it’s another odd piece to this odd puzzle.
As a GM, one would love to have the final say and not need approval from the owner, but that’s just not the nature of people who become owners. They’re all going to “meddle” to some degree.
When the team’s manager voices his concerns/reservations about a trade the team’s general manager has verbally agreed to with another club, the owner has to step in to resolve the issue. That’s what Crane did with the Contreras deal.
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A one year contract is a slap in the face.
That is not meddling. It is the owner’s right because it is his money and his team. A GM is an employee.
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What makes you think Crane didn’t trust Click to do the job?
To a big ego, yes. I guess the raise was insulting too. Getting non-renewed is a slap in the face.
That’s why I used quotation marks…
All 30 owners have the power to approve/veto trades. That is not even quotation marks meddling.
Security > a little bit more money. A GM’s job is to strike a balance between the now and the future. How can one do that job going year to year? Click saw the offer for what it was “you just won the WS so I can’t fire you right now. Take this one deal so I can fire you next year”
No one is saying owners can’t run teams the way they want to. Everyone knows GM are employees. The damn quotation marks were referring to what someone else had said.
I would not change one decision that lead up to the 2022 championship. Why? Because we won a damn championship! Some teams wait 50+ years to win a title. Our team has two in six seasons now. Whatever happens from this point on happens but I’m grateful to have been along for this fantastic ride.
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Crane owns the team and can do whatever he wants with it. All I am saying is that the best run organizations are the ones where the GM makes the player personal decisions, that is inarguable imo. Look at the other teams with really involved owners accross all sports and it’s hard to find one that wins. I worry that Crane is headed that direction
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Oh, poor Click. An entire year to look for a job with more money too. His ego would not accept a one-year deal. I guess he did not want to continue, and I wish him well in his next stop.
No team GM has absolute power in player personnel decisions. Where did you get that idea? Every GM must get the owner’s approval, and it is obvious with Contreras, Click did not listen to Baker.
I agree 100%. I’m very grateful for these last six years of Astros’ baseball, and that’s why Jim Crane deserves the benefit of the doubt. The recent track record speaks for itself.
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