When you have a brain like mine, the ideas for a post come out of the blue or not at all. After struggling for a couple of days for the next topic, this one appeared out of the ozone (what’s left of it).
If you were allowed to ask 10 questions of Astros owner Jim Crane, what would you ask him?
Here are mine…..
- How did “IT” (Chipalatta’s abbreviation for the cheating scandal) change your view of your team and your interactions with those in charge? We know that you either chose to or, more likely, were forced to fire manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, but like any divorce situation, how did that affect your relationship with those that followed, including James Click, Dana Brown, Dusty Baker and Joe Espada?
- How much was your shadow government, including yourself, Jeff Bagwell and previously, Reggie Jackson and Craig Biggio, involved in second guessing the men who supposedly were in charge of the team the last few seasons? We have to assume that there were times (like the veto of the trade of Bryan Abreu for Trevor Larnach) where it was more than just second-guessing and actual intervention. Was that because you knew Dana Brown was on his last legs or had that been happening along the way?
- What is the plan going forward, and who is in charge of putting it in place? Ever since Luhnow left, fans have felt there is just reactive, not proactive, leadership with the team.
- We are reading that the team that was cutting edge in analytics under Luhnow is now bottom 5 in number of folks working on this for the team. Why is that and will that change going forward? We once thought this team was ahead of the curve on everything analytical and now, we do not. That sounds wrong and cheap.
- Your view of the team has seemed to be that they have entered every season with a chance to win it all. After the descent of the last 3 seasons, do you still feel that way or are you stubbornly putting on an optimistic face for the public that laughs at that view? It is not that we don’t love our club, but we believe that in order for the team to get better, you have to admit you have a problem. And you have many problems.
- Are you hiring a general manager before the manager and will the general manager have a say in the manager’s hiring? Folks feel like if you are going to hold your GM accountable, he should have this power (unless you are hiring Jeff Bagwell as the GM).
- You told the truth when you said you would cut the payroll to the nub, but then spend plenty of money when the team was rebuilt and needing a boost to get over the top. How do you feel now when spending right at the luxury tax level leaves you far below the Dodgers but far above the Brewers and the Rays? Just saying you want to run the team like the Rays run their team is not enough. How do you plan to get there across the board – majors, minors, budget, scouting, analytics, etc.
- Heading into a potential lockout/strike situation, where do you stand on what you want out of the new labor agreement? A salary cap? With a salary floor? A modified luxury tax situation? We don’t really know where you would stand on this. Would you want the CBA to control your out-of-control owner-peers?
- Do you regret any of the moves you have made as a GM or manager? Do you wish you had stood up to MLB and just allowed AJ and Jeff to sit out a season before coming back (like happened with Boston manager Alex Cora)? Do you wish you had told Dusty to deal with it rather than offering James Click a one-year extension/insult to rid the club of him for a manager who was not here long term?
- At the time, Drayton McLane seemed to morph from one of our better owners to one of our worst as he let the place deteriorate before the sale. You were the very best owner this franchise has known, but your Jerry Jones-ish last couple of seasons have certainly tarnished your star a bit. Where are you headed and what will be your legacy? Hey, you deserved the praise for most of the last decade, but the blame for the last few seasons. Are we ungrateful? Well, you held Espada and Brown responsible, and we hold you responsible. It seems fair.
Okay, your turn, dear readers – you don’t have to have 10 questions, but whatever amount you want to throw out there is welcome here.
13 responses to “10 questions for Jim Crane”
Who orchestrated the signing of Tatsuya Imai?
Attendance is down 4,483 fans per game since 2024. Why do you think that is?
Did Dana Brown report to Jeff Bagwell?
Are you regretting the Jose Altuve contract extension?
Are you considering a full rebuild of the Astros?
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Dan P’s answers for Jim Crane
Who orchestrated the signing of Tatsuya Imai?
Attendance is down 4,483 fans per game since 2024. Why do you think that is?
Did Dana Brown report to Jeff Bagwell?
Are you regretting the Jose Altuve contract extension?
Are you considering a full rebuild of the Astros?
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Great questions Dan, I would like an answer too.
A great rebuild is on a lot of people’s mind. I would like to see it, too. The problem is this team can’t be taken to the nubs like before. Lets just talk about the players that are NOT able to be traded –
Jose Altuve – owed another 49M.
Carlos Correa – guaranteed 40.5M, 70M in vesting options that are very obtainable.
Christian Walker – 20M.
Tatsuya Imai – 36M of player options that everyone expects to be picked up.
Cristian Javier – 21M.
Potentially 166.5M of either dead or seriously unperforming money. Can you eat 166.5M when your attendance falls to 15k a game (or worse!) as Joey Loperfido and crew take you to 2 or 3 100 loss seasons? Is that really the way it ends for Altuve and Correa?
Is there a middle ground where the return for Yordan, Hunter, Isaac, Jeremy brings you back some competitive players? Maybe Jeremy goes to NYY for Lombard, and Lombard becomes the SS some scouts think is in him. Maybe Yordan brings a haul similar to what Washington got, which has put them on the fast track to becoming the beast of the NL East. Who knows. I know it’s hard to consider a rebuild when you can’t look five teams worth of minor leaguers and find one guy you think might be your future CFer or LFer. Has to be a dismal feeling.
Or do you tighten the ship, look at the dead money you’ve had the last few years, the near corpses you are paying to be a shell of themselves, and double down? How do you improve a 81 win team with the current stock of free agents, remembering Altuve, Walker and Correa are all just going to be 1 year older?
This is what I meant by this roster makes my head hurt. They need to hire a really smart guy, and get out of his way.
This is what I would ask Jim Crane.
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Not sure what to think Steven – I go back to the DARK days when we traded off what talent we had and then stared around and saw we did not get that much usable back. The Tucker trade was a huge exception in that you have gotten value out of each of the three folks you received in return.
But this will tie to the next GM (who we hear may be chosen soon and may be Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine) among others. Is he a great judge of talent – can he get the most out of folks he does trade and does he have the stomach to trade some of our best players?
Matt Kleine Among The Candidates For Astros’ GM Job – MLB Trade Rumors
Astros Have Spoken To Josh Barfield, Randy Flores About GM Vacancy – MLB Trade Rumors
Ben Sestanovich, Scott Sharp Candidates For Astros’ GM Job – MLB Trade Rumors
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You don’t sound like Jim Crane. Dan does.
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You know guys, in general, I think I’d rather watch a whole bunch of kids lose 100 plus a couple of years in a row than endure 81 wins with a roster similar to what we have now.
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Me too.
The question though is Jim Crane willing to eat that money.
His choices – double down. Find one guy to play LF, one guy to join the rotation, move Pena to help both get something in return and salary relief for 2026, hodgepodge the bullpen, and just hope for 85 wins and contention. This keeps his attendance from bottoming out (no doubt it drops another few thousand a game but probably not losing money yet drop), and keeps sponsors (and the Rockets happy) on SCHN.
Or, reset. Trade everyone that can be. But you can’t trade everyone. We already know what contracts we are stuck with and how much they are. 2027 you lose your rearend. Imai, 18M. Altuve, 33M. Correa, 21M. Walker 20M. Javier 20M. Payroll well over 150M while your team loses 90. Attendance bottoms. SCHN commercial money bottoms. Everyone is mad all the time.
I don’t see him as a guy willing to both lose money and lose games. I fully expect either Walker or Paredes at 1B, Altuve at 2B, Pena at SS, Correa at 3B, Yordan at DH, a new LFer and CFer, Cam in RF, and Hunter, Lambert, Weneski to be joined by Javier and Imai (because that’s their pattern, make money paid earn it’s way out) in the rotation. I guess it comes down to – can Burrows pitch well enough to push someone, there is yet still no help from the minors, the bullpen will look like a bunch of names we don’t know, but he won’t lose his shirt.
It’s also possible the new GM is a disruptor, and finds creative ways to shake up the roster.
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Steven, I think you’re presenting our reality. But I would not be part of the majority that would go off the deep end if the Astros moved both Pena and Yordan. It’s too bad we’re in for a lock out. Things that should and might have happened might not.
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There are two problems with Crane spending like the Dodgers. First, we lose draft picks. Second, he will jack up prices on everything to make a dent in his losses. Should I care how much money he makes or doesn’t? I don’t think I should. I do care about lost draft picks and signing pool money. It’s a fun narrative that you don’t have to spend big money to be competitive, but let me cherry pick some data from recent social media postings.
Postseason Games last 10 years and times in top 10 salary:
LAD – 116 (10 of 10)
HOU – 101 (9 of 10)
NYY – 70 (10 of 10)
ATL – 54 (6 of 10)
CLE – 48 (0 of 10)
TB – 43 (0 of 10)
PHI – 41 (8 of 10)
MIL – 39 (0 of 10)
SD – 34 (5 of 10)
BOS – 34 (10 of 10)
Cubs – 32 (7 of 10)
TOR – 24 (5 of 10)
WAS – 22 (4 of 10)
ARI – 21 (0 of 10)
Everyone else combined 147 playoff games
So question 7 is the one I’m most interested in hearing about. A few contracts were bad decisions without a GM: Montero, Abreu. We can debate the Walker signing, but it certainly isn’t returning the value Crane expected. The Correa trade was a panic move. Giving big money to pitchers and watching them blow out their elbows was probably predictable given how our Justin Verlander signings went.
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Another way to look at your list is by looking at the WS Champions in the last 10 seasons
You don’t have to spend the very top to win it, but it helps and except for the Astros first championship when they had so much young (cheap) talent – don’t count on making it when you are outside the top 10…….Unless you are the Brewers (19th) or Rays (28th) in 2026.
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It’s so much more about how we’ve spent our money during the post Luhnow/Click years.
See above post by Steven. 166.5 dead or dying money. That sure makes things tough. And it does not include sending Abreu and Lance home, eating their remaining salaries. If we lose the 2027 season, we also lose Walker, Javier and 20 million of the Jose Altuve contract. He’ll be making 13 million in 2028. So Crane might not mind sitting out 2027. He might even have insurance against business interruption.
26th out of 30 in MLB in full time analytic staffing. We quit spending money there.
And no real way to know this one, but what do our minor league operations budgets look like compared to 5 or 10 years ago? We do know that we’re still get the lowest of rankings as it applies to the overall talent levels in our Milb system.
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Honest question – how do you want to see the analytics spend increased and to what end? I feel like it’s an area with diminishing returns reached pretty quickly right now. At the same time, I’m looking at other teams running give guys out there hitting near triple digits across a series and wondering if our problem in the minors is not identifying the best talent or failing to help develop it.
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Devin, like squeezing juice out of a turnip? I’m not an expert, but we all know I have opinions. I do think we were much better overall in judging talent during the Luhnow and Click (brief ) era. Luhnow had designed a program back when he was still with the Cardinals that was a big part of evaluating talent, which he expanded when in Houston. It helped build the minors. And I fervently believe we’ve lost that edge due to relying more on old fashioned scouting and less on analytics.
A couple of days ago I mentioned the team by team number of full time analytics staff for 2026. It was a graph published by Zack Scott. The Astros have a very small analytics staff today, 26th out of 30 clubs. If you’re right about analytics being an area of diminishing returns, then we’re moving in the right direction.
At the same time, I also wonder how good we are at developing talent once in the system. The results recently are not good either.
But getting back to baseball, I think the Astros became an older, less athletic, less talented team than we need to be competitive today. Someone was not paying attention. I’ll bet some experts in the front office thought leading the league in home runs would have guaranteed a better outcome. But watching the post season, I’m seeing teams manufacture runs by knowing how to get a bunt down. Stealing a base to get into scoring position. Hitting behind a runner. As a whole, better prepared, younger athletes.
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