W said:

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so Osuna's salary is off the book now -- right?

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Yep...$10M

W said:

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so Osuna's salary is off the book now -- right?

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He would have cost around 10 M next year. Devo just over 2 and Garneau just under 1. About 13 M reduced for 2021.

If 2020 was a full salary year, it means there is ~67 M coming off the books. We've dropped from 4th to 7th. I would expect Crane wants to hang around 7-12 and jump up when the opportunity presented itself (Greinke in 2019).

good news.

and just in time for Brantley's Q.O. on Sunday

W said:

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good news.

and just in time for Brantley's Q.O. on Sunday

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Yes, please.

Farmer1906 said:

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AggiEE said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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You have a right to your opinion. My opinion is our successes were not due to his actions. And we often gloss over many of his decisions that bit Us in the ass


And I'm not comparing the AJ to the Oilers directly. I'm simply saying the memories are similar in the sense that every day that goes by what AJ did in my memory was better than the actual outcome much like the Oilers to me

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Agreed

2019 Astros are one of the greatest MLB teams of all time, and if it weren't for AJ's mismanagement we'd have a second championship

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Maybe.

I think we all agree we should have left Greinke in or brought it Cole. And most at the time thought it too. But we don't know if it would have worked.

Outside of that moment in game 7, was there some other big mismanagement?

Game 1 - Cole got roughed up and Himch let him work thru it. We scratched a few across after Sherzer left, but was short.

Game 2 - JV got touched up early and late then our bullpen got wrecked.

Game 6 - JV got touched up early and then the bullpen got wrecked.

Game 7 - We know.

We scored 11 total runs in the 4 losses included 2 in game 6 and 7. Short of a major lineup change or some pinch-hitting matchups, what should AJ have done differently?

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We decided to pitch to the only two guys capable of any offensive outputs on the Gnats

This may not be km Hinch but it is an awful mistake from our pitching staff

Happened this year with McCullers in G7 too

Howie Kendrick ?

And now Cora in talks with Red Sox

IIRC he was fired before he was suspended so it just shows the firing was CYA virtue signaling.

If they thought it was a fireable offense then logically it's an offense bad enough to not rehire the guy.

It's really just Boston saying "we didn't cheat"

Some of you may have already read this, but I feel like it's relevant.

https://theathletic.com/2161829/2020/10/27/a-j-hinch-alex-cora-jeff-luhnow-carlos-beltran-mlb-houston-astros-sign-stealing-scandal/

opening of the article

Quote:

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Earlier this month, as Tigers general manager Al Avila fielded questions about his club's managerial vacancy, two names surfaced. Each one boasted the sort of resumes that might entice any executive. A.J. Hinch led his team to a title in 2017. Alex Cora won a championship in 2018. Both were also barred from stepping foot inside a major league ballpark in 2020. Their season-long suspensions in the wake of the Astros sign-stealing scandal ran through the conclusion of the World Series. At that point, Avila said, Hinch and Cora were free to pursue any openings in baseball. "I have them on my list," Avila said.

The quote made headlines. One crawled across the bottom of a broadcast on MLB Network, where it caught the eye of many in the game. One major-leaguer professed shock at the expected reintroduction of those who held leadership positions during a lengthy cheating scheme.

"I remember reading that and being like, 'I can't believe that they would even interview them,'" the player said. "It just seemed early. It seemed really fast. And to me, it sends a tough signal, or maybe a bad signal, saying, they served their time, and now we're just going to hire them?"

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All the quotes are anonymous

Man you'd think they'd fix the water leaks in the Detroit building before having Hinch interview on mlb network.

maca1028 said:

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Or Boston saying "We don't give a ****"

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Crane caved. I think the Astros will gradually decline under his ownership.

I know many want Springer but I can't see us spending the cash. I see Crane saving it for Carlos. If we do not sign Springer thoughts on Brantley and JBjr signings?

texpdx said:

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I know many want Springer but I can't see us spending the cash. I see Crane saving it for Carlos. If we do not sign Springer thoughts on Brantley and JBjr signings?

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If we're uncertain about Springer staying, I'm totally fine with giving Brantley a QO and him taking it. Then our corner OF spots would be locked down with him and Tucker. JBJ would be a solid replacement in CF but in that scenario I'm guessing we'd opt for a cheaper alternative (ie Jake) to platoon CF with Straw. Whoever is playing CF will be batting ninth regardless.

And yea, that allows us to save our long term cash for Carlos.

Ag_07 said:

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Frok said:

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maca1028 said:

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Or Boston saying "We don't give a ****"

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Crane caved. I think the Astros will gradually decline under his ownership.

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Well...3 straight 100 win seasons, 4 division titles, 1 WS title, a couple pennants, 4 ALCS appearances.

Gonna be hard to keep that pace regardless of who the owner is.

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True. But he had Luhnow and lots of draft picks.

Now it will be much harder to win

As much as I want to keep George by all means necessary, I'd be okay with taking care of CC, resigning Brantley and trying to resign Marwin. If that's even possible. Sure would like to get our hands on Glasnow right now too.

That's also true.

But I don't think you can say a decline from our current pace is a direct indictment on Crane. Kinda like the Yankees decline from their 2000s teams. It's not really a result of the owner just hard to keep that kinda pace.

Me personally I think is the best thing to happen to Houston sports in a very long time. He made a commitment to turn this team around, put the right people on place and let them work, spent his money wisely, and got us to where we are now. I know others disagree but that's just my personal take.

No doubt.

I just wish we still had Luhnow. Everyone hated him in MLB because he was good.

I hear ya

But honestly I think Click is gonna be pretty good. I think Crane made a great hire.

Doubt he's as good as Luhnow but I think he's very capable of taking over and building on the foundation that Luhnow created.

It seems Crane enabled Ludnow to spend more money than the Rays ownership. The Rays are nearly a budget team. Partly due to reduced review compared to Houston. I think the key questions is can the stros build a great team with a blend of high dollar contracts and value players.

Rays decline option on Morton- maybe see if we can get him on a 1-year deal.

Pirates decline option on Chris Archer. Maybe a possible pick up for Stromie to do some work?

Beat40 said:

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Pirates decline option on Chris Archer. Maybe a possible pick up for Stromie to do some work?

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Archer didn't have the kindest comments about the Astros in Feb