I don’t think it is a secret that I tend to enjoy using bullet points in my writing. It’s probably the engineer in me seeping over into the creative side of my brain to keep things in order. So, today – will be a set of subjects and bullet points related to the subject….
New GM Randy Flores
- I’m not sure I like the idea of a male adult who wants to be called Flo, but apparently folks trying to address him any other way will have to live with corrections.
- I heard it, you heard it and I am sure Flo heard it. Owner Jim Crane said he will have full authority. (Though Crane also says he will still be involved in the financial side of things and stepping in when he thinks it is requested or warranted.)
- Flo is the son of a minister. That is a wise choice by Jim Crane, as Flo will need all the prayers he can muster from his dad.
- Flo will need to get busy in a hurry, as there are about four weeks to go before the likely lockout. How much does he know about a team he is expected to begin reshaping?
- Chip Bailey pointed out that when the lockout was approaching in previous years, there was a flurry of activity before the stoppage. That would seem to make sense relative to free-agent pickups by Randy Flores, but what about trades? When Jeremy Pena has only one more season before free agency will teams package prospects for him when they have no idea how long the season will be – if it will be at all?
- Flo did come across very well in the presser. He sounds very smart and thoughtful and perhaps a bit more tech-savvy than his predecessor. But it will be tough to re-package this team on the fly with the salary restrictions they have.
The Manager Search
- It was interesting that former Astros’ Manager Joe Espada and former Astros’ employee Jason Kanzler were the finalists for the Mariners’ managing job. As Chip texted me – are they trying to get some inside info on the ‘Stros?
- Could Astros fandom stand to have Albert Pujols as their manager? Though I always respected him as a player, I will never get over “the home run” – the one that caused the Astros to utilize Roy Oswalt in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cards, instead of Game 1 of the WS against the White Sox and possibly threw the whole dynamics off as the good guys got skunked. No idea if he would be any good as a manager, though certainly he would only do it for the love of the game as he has already made a gazillion dollars in his career.
- Morgan Ensberg would be an interesting and perhaps popular choice. You can never say he was not a thinking baseball man. However, based on the way he would change his stance bat to bat and even pitch to pitch, he might be an over-thinking baseball man.
- The biggest thing in Brad Ausmus’ favor besides the thought that catchers make good managers is his close friendship with one Jeffrey Bagwell. He was up and down as manager of the Tigers for 4 seasons and mostly down as manager of the Angels for one season. I would lean away from him just because of the Bagwell relationship. But I would not judge him on either his good seasons or bad seasons at the helm of teams. If you have the right players you look a lot better than when they suck.
- Are the Astros interviewing Rangers’ bench coach Luis Urueta to get some inside info on the Rangers? Not sure what Urueta can tell them that playing them over and over over the last few years hasn’t already informed them.
- Like most of the people who blog here, I know enough to be dangerous. How many of us guessed that the first two championships for this organization would be under A.J. Hinch and Dusty Baker?
- We will support unconditionally whoever gets the next manager’s gig………until the first time he makes a lineup card or a pitching change.
The Future of Astros Baseball
- At what point does Jim Crane start rattling his tin cup for government money to either upgrade or replace his “ancient” ballpark? I know that it will be very hard to justify, but that has never stopped an owner from doing it with the threat of becoming the next Houston/Nashville Oilers.
- How will Flo navigate the narrow stream between Jim Crane’s very high expectations and his high (but with an eye to a decrease) budget? His boss just said there will be no rebuilding. The current team, though, is in big trouble as constructed on the starting pitching side. Unless everything breaks their way ….. well, three straight seasons of most everything breaking wrong should have beaten that thought out of them.
- The Houston fans are front runners. The attendance is tipping downward, and the momentum could make this look a lot worse in a hurry. The problem with a .500 team is that it is kind of bleh to watch. Do you want to get a second mortgage on your house to buy season tickets for bleh?
- Will we see some of these youngsters like Xavier Neyens and Kevin Alvarez accelerate and develop as they roar up the minors? Will a new GM trying to impress his boss be patient with the team’s potential future stars? And will he judge correctly which prospects are Kyle Tucker untouchable vs. Forrest Whitely untouchable?
There are my bullets for today. What do you have to share?
