If only we could fire the owner
Well, he hasn't spent that much.But when McLane marched to the podium Monday and spoke of the need for better leadership and new ideas, he forgot to mention that he'd be well-served to take his own advice.
Why? Because he has done nothing lately to disprove the notion that he is as tough to work for as any owner in baseball.
Yes, he cares. And yes, he aims high. Yep, he's always around. And yep, he has spent lots and lots of dollars in the name of winning.
McLane doesn't know that much about baseball, and doesn't appear to be willing to learn. About a year ago today, I heard him speak at Rice. He answered one of my questions about using statistics in sports by saying that he didn't want his GM and manager to use statistics, and that all of that was terribly overrated anyway. He wanted his people to use their heads and follow their hunches.
When I hear people say things like "I had a hunch," it reminds me of degenerate gamblers.
Is it any wonder that the Astros are terrible? The bigger question is how they'd managed to be good enough to be in a position to get lucky in order to get to the World Series. Phil Garner was just a joke as manager, but as bad as his personnel and tactics decisions were, they were only worth a few extra losses anyway. Purpura wasn't fabulous, but he wasn't a disaster.
Garner and Purpura weren't the answer, but they weren't the problem. Drayton McLane is the problem.
Posted by Evan @ 08/29/07 01:33 AM | Print | Comments (1)
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