This team will only go as far as Yordan can take them. He seems to be the catalyst for the rest of the lineup and that early HR may have sparked some more fire on opening day but it was for not. I'll wait and see.
The Astros offense last year was absolute trash. So the Astros went out and added zero players to the lineup. it is what it is runs will be hard to come by (yeah I know…Yordan was “added”)
Texans and Rockets have a salary cap, meaning the basically spend the same as everyone else in their leagues. CHEAP OWNER has 2 World Series rings and laps the other two franchises in recent success.
NFL and NBA have salary caps so owner spending is not an issue. Astros have the 11th highest payroll in the league after being consistently in the top 5-10 over the last half decade. They’ve gone over the CBT twice in the last 5 years. Crane spending is not the issue. The issue is they had some contracts go underwater (McCullers, J Abreu, Montero, Walker) at the same time as they got hit with draft pick penalties and were picking at the back of the draft.
He’s apparently an idiot too. Seems like we really have picked up some insufferable fans during this run.
That’s idiotic take when he was very much involved in an unprecedented level of success over the last decade.
I have been an Astros' fan probably longer than you have been alive. He is CHEAP. That is why the Astros keep losing players. The titles were won with draft picks. When those players needed to be paid, he let them walk. That is how the Astros are here today. Other than Altuve (Correa doesn't count), has let every player walk.
He extended Yordan, Bregman, and Altuve. Every player Crane let walk had their contract underwater with their new team. The Astros have consistently fielded a top 10 payroll. There’s no reasonable argument that Crane has been cheap. You can argue he’s spent stupidly but he has spent money.
Only thing Crane has done wrong was firing Luhnow -- which could've been forced by MLB. THAT decision led to multiple failed contracts, one of which was Guiness-level, all-world suckage. We need Walker to perform. He doesn't need a 140 OPS+, but 105 (an actual improvement from last year) is an abject failure.
Maybe you have been a fan longer than I have been alive, as well ( turned 56 earlier this week) but I certainly have been alive, and a fan long enough to have an informed opinion about Crane. Nobody can say he's cheap. What he is, is a business man who wants to win while adhering to his business philosophy of spending money but not making long term commitments that can hamstring the team over along period of time. It was an innovative idea 10 years ago. But the nature of MLB spending and the CBA financial rules have made it obsolete. His spending philosophy has not evolved as the finances of the game have changed. And by continuing to try and win, but not extending home grown talent he has bled the organization of talent. This team needs a GM who has Crane's ear and can convince him that paying $15M to star player with 3 years of service time, instead if $5M in arbitration, because you extended him buying out 2+ yrs of FA is the best way to keep a window open. The 2nd best way is to keep your best prospects. This team has done neither.
I feel like it was pretty important that we sign a good bat in the offseason. I am disappointed that we didn’t. I thought us fans were all in agreement that it was something Crane needed to do. While having Yordan back is definitely a welcome sight, I feel like the offense sorely needed at least 1 FA stick as well. I thought it was kinda obvious.
