Finally, while Drayton McLane is not the worst owner, the McCourts occupy the entire top 10 in that category, he has been declining in his interest and commitment to excellence in the franchise. Initially he made some big moves, some of which didn't pay off like Signing Doug Drabeck, Greg Swindel and Woody Williams to big contracts and he was the guy who thought Nolan Ryan was washed up and let him go to the Rangers...but he also paid the freight to bring in Carlos Beltran, Randy Johnson to bolster playoff runs. He signed Jeff Kent, and paid big $$ for Carlos Lee. But lately he's been letting the franchise languish, he got rid of an excellent baseball man in Gerry Hunsicker because he thought he knew more than Gerry and put his stooge Tim Purpura in as GM. That was the beginning of the end, the minor leagues system that Hunsicker had built was dismantled rather quickly and a slew of terrible moves, tightening of the payroll, etc and we have a last place team with few prospects. I hope the new ownership group will make a commitment to the minor league system and to going after talented free agents like they mean it. Astros Sold
:idea: Good news for the Stros. Even the Pirates have found a way to improve, so there are no excuses. Houston is like LA, NY or Chicago: there's plenty of money and talent laying around to build a great franchise. An owner who knows what he's doing could probably find enough money and talent in the local area alone to get everything he needs. Good luck! :!:
The Round Rock Express no longer are affiliated with the Astros. They are part of the Ranger organization now.