texasaggie2015 said:

---

Crane is pretty much the GM of the team at the end of the day.

He gives Dana such little cash to work with and expects miracles. Meanwhile Crane handles any signings/trades that involve more than a few million dollars.

Even Dana's first couple drafts… Crane gave him a very specific type of player he wanted.

---

And he is the exact same way in his business dealings and other extracurricular ventures. Sometimes its a good thing, sometimes not

Good Dana moves

- trading for Kikuchi
- trading for Carlos (this could end up being bad but I'm hopeful he gets healthy and back to productive in the future)
- trading away Tucker
- signing Hader

Bad Dana moves
- every other free agent signing
- every other trade
- drafting Brice Matthews over McGonigle
- missing out on better moves this past offseason in favor of his horrible pitching acquisitions

I'd give him a C- grade overall. And I'd love to get a new legit GM next year without crane getting too involved. But that won't happen

Espada on the comeback win over the Angels pic.twitter.com/scikXPYlTK

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 28, 2026

Espada is right -- Javy was a beast last night when it was needed. That can't be overstated. Blubaugh also -- with the exception of the HR, did really well after Imai **** the bed again.

I swear with Imai, he is either really on or really off. Hopefully, he can get to some consistency.

Astros Bingo Update: 7-28-26
Spreadsheet Link


Reasons to Smile
The Angels are a trainwreck
On pace for 80 wins for the first time all season
Kudos to Taylor Trammell for not even moving a millimeter so that ball would hit him leading off the ninth.


Reasons to Barf
Imai is starting to feel worse than Jose Abreu. At least Abreu had a decent first season.


Astros' Flashback: July 28, 1979: In a journey back to the "good ol days", the Astros beat the Dodgers 5-2 on a 3-hitter by Ken Forsch and the teams have a massive brawl that sees multiple ejections. It starts when Astros' veteran and probable murderer Cesar Cedeno spikes LA's Steve Yeager during a play at the plate. Cedeno is playing first base later in the game when Yeager, being the b8tch that he was, lobs a baseball out of the dugout at Cedeno, who picks it up and guns it back into the dugout. He and Yeager are both thrown out of the game. A few innings later, LA's Ken Brett hits Enos Cabell with a pitch and both benches clear.

And now, the newest sensation, sweeping the nation.


Better Know a Poster
Day 66 spotlight: Big Al 1992




Current Bingo Score: 4
Place: Tied for second with a few folks
Squares Achieved: Rangers suck, Correa < 15 HR, Correa < 65 RBI, Hunter < 14 W
Squares Missed: Opening Day W, Hunter ASG


Predicted Astros record: 86-76, just need to finish the season 33-21 (.611) to get there


Squares that look like future wins:
Altuve < .275
Framber < 13W
Yordan > 125 G
ERA > 3.86


Squares that are technically still humanly possible:
85-89 wins
Playoffs
Pena < .290
Isaac < 20 HR
Cam < 15 HR


Squares that haven't aged so well:
None!

If Javier was great in the pen, my hope is they let him do that a few more times and see if that's the spot for him rather than saying "oh 4 shutout, let's immediately put him back in the rotation"

Let him get a few more 2-4 inning relief appearances and then that becomes a weapon in the potential postseason

tjack16 said:

---

If Javier was great in the pen, my hope is they let him do that a few more times and see if that's the spot for him rather than saying "oh 4 shutout, let's immediately put him back in the rotation"

Let him get a few more 2-4 inning relief appearances and then that becomes a weapon in the potential postseason

---

Agree. With any of our current starting pitchers seemingly able to crap the bed and go less than 3 in any given start, having a reliable guy in the bullpen who can give you 3-4 innings to get to the 7th is worth more than whatever we would get from him as a starter. If it was just one guy routinely going less than 3 in a start, you would just have Javy replace them. But when you have multiple guys who have had meltdowns semi-regularly, having him in the bullpen is a better use for him.

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

AggiEE said:

---

People defending Dana? Really?

---

I don't think anyone is really defending Dana.

I just think we realize he's working with some pretty significant restraints put on him by meddling micromanaging owner.

Given the info we have and knowing that Crane isn't going anywhere I'm starting to doubt that firing Dana is actually going to change anything.

Same shlt...Different pile type situation

CFTXAG10 said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

Crane is pretty much the GM of the team at the end of the day.

He gives Dana such little cash to work with and expects miracles. Meanwhile Crane handles any signings/trades that involve more than a few million dollars.

Even Dana's first couple drafts… Crane gave him a very specific type of player he wanted.

---

And he is the exact same way in his business dealings and other extracurricular ventures. Sometimes its a good thing, sometimes not

---

This sounds like even more fun as he gets older and increasingly senile

Honestly, I don't hold Dana accountable for the majority of the stuff he gets heat for, knowing that Crane is really calling the shots.

My biggest issues with Dana:
1. Even bargain bin hunters can find some good pieces. But Dana seems to pass over low-hanging fruit each offseason for questionable signings.
2. Unless Crane forced it, the Cam Smith situation has been completely mishandled. He shouldn't jave been promoted straight to the majors and even then, he should have been sent down during the second half last year. There is a reason for the stair-step process in development and you are risking destroying a talented prospect by chunking him in the deep end before teaching him how to swim.

SpaceCityAg05 said:

---

Honestly, I don't hold Dana accountable for the majority of the stuff he gets heat for, knowing that Crane is really calling the shots.

My biggest issues with Dana:
1. Even bargain bin hunters can find some good pieces. But Dana seems to pass over low-hanging fruit each offseason for questionable signings.
2. Unless Crane forced it, the Cam Smith situation has been completely mishandled. He shouldn't jave been promoted straight to the majors and even then, he should have been sent down during the second half last year. There is a reason for the stair-step process in development and you are risking destroying a talented prospect by chunking him in the deep end before teaching him how to swim.

---

This is exactly where I'm at. In fact, I'd say Dana got everything he possibly could get out of the Tucker trade. The problem is Wesneski getting hurt and Cam Smith being completely mishandled as soon as we got him. Dude spent only half a season in the minors before making the team. That's malpractice!

SpaceCityAg05 said:

---

Honestly, I don't hold Dana accountable for the majority of the stuff he gets heat for, knowing that Crane is really calling the shots.

My biggest issues with Dana:
1. Even bargain bin hunters can find some good pieces. But Dana seems to pass over low-hanging fruit each offseason for questionable signings.
2. Unless Crane forced it, the Cam Smith situation has been completely mishandled. He shouldn't jave been promoted straight to the majors and even then, he should have been sent down during the second half last year. There is a reason for the stair-step process in development and you are risking destroying a talented prospect by chunking him in the deep end before teaching him how to swim.

---

On #1, Dana's go-to is former first round picks that have been DFA'd by other teams or guys he drafted or wanted to draft in the past that are on the scrap heap.

tjack16 said:

---

Good Dana moves

- trading for Kikuchi
- trading for Carlos (this could end up being bad but I'm hopeful he gets healthy and back to productive in the future)
- trading away Tucker
- signing Hader

Bad Dana moves
- every other free agent signing
- every other trade
- drafting Brice Matthews over McGonigle
- missing out on better moves this past offseason in favor of his horrible pitching acquisitions

I'd give him a C- grade overall. And I'd love to get a new legit GM next year without crane getting too involved. But that won't happen

---

It's pretty telling when your second "good move" example is pretty clearly a bad move at this point...

The guy just isn't competent. I realize he's not dealing with a strong hand, but even the moves he makes on the margins have failed. I'd like to see a change there.

If all this is true, GM of the Houston Astros sounds like a job nobody would want if they were interested in actually excelling, not just collecting a paycheck.

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

Crane obviously doesn't trust Dana. The only GM he appears to have trusted was Lunhow....good thing he's available to be hired.

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

The sign stealing fiasco really changed the way he handles business and puts trusts in folks in the organization.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mlb-owners-reportedly-expect-lockout-200540120.html

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

Sounds like the owner trusts no one i.e. a Crane problem with no one left to blame but himself. Basically an ego maniac running the Titanic into an iceberg, and I don't see him pivoting away from this until he's ready to quit.

With success comes expectations (within reason). He can either learn from his mistakes and stop playing GM and let people do their jobs or fail.

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

If Jerry had learned to not meddle, do you think the cowboys would have been such an exercise in incompetence for the last 30 years? The meddling looks bearable as long as the relics of the non-meddling era are still around. Those relics are no longer here (players, nerds, front office personnel, coaches), and now the stench of perpetual mediocrity appears here to stay.

I will still never forgive Hinch. I was sitting behind home plate about 4/5 rows up (corporate seats), and could see how Zack had the Nats hitters befuddled (except for Rendon's solo Homer). Two hits through 6 1/3 innings with a pitch count of 80. I was in shock when he pulled him. Should have 3 WS titles in the golden era!

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

He became the most successful owner in Houston sports history by putting his trust in the development of the franchise in the hands of a bunch of analytics whiz kids. Then he fired them, turned his back on all of it and supplanted his own judgement for theirs, and the track record of his decisions has nowhere near the success rate that the people he fired had.

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

Just because he was successful doesn't mean he's doing what's best for the team now. Jerry Jones once was winning consistently until he let his ego get in the way too. The comparisons between Crane and Jerry Jones are so close. It's his team and his money to do what he wants, but when fans don't show up and he is criticized, it's all because of his own failings.

Never thought I'd say this, but Jim could learn something from Cal.

txags92 said:

---

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

He became the most successful owner in Houston sports history by putting his trust in the development of the franchise in the hands of a bunch of analytics whiz kids. Then he fired them, turned his back on all of it and supplanted his own judgement for theirs, and the track record of his decisions has nowhere near the success rate that the people he fired had.

---

He fired them because they were cheating their asses off.

That was in 2019.

How many division titles have we won since 2019? How many World Series have we won. How many times has our window supposedly been closed according to the experts since 2019?

But yeah. He's totally Jerry Jones. Great take, guys.

houag78 said:

---

I will still never forgive Hinch. I was sitting behind home plate about 4/5 rows up (corporate seats), and could see how Zack had the Nats hitters befuddled (except for Rendon's solo Homer). Two hits through 6 1/3 innings with a pitch count of 80. I was in shock when he pulled him. Should have 3 WS titles in the golden era!

---

I'll die on the hill of greinke should have finished that inning and then Cole for the 8-9th

Mr. Awesome Time said:

---

Never thought I'd say this, but Jim could learn something from Cal.

---

Marry a smoking hot woman 15-20 years younger than you?

Silent For Too Long said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

He became the most successful owner in Houston sports history by putting his trust in the development of the franchise in the hands of a bunch of analytics whiz kids. Then he fired them, turned his back on all of it and supplanted his own judgement for theirs, and the track record of his decisions has nowhere near the success rate that the people he fired had.

---

He fired them because they were cheating their asses off.

That was in 2019.

How many division titles have we won since 2019? How many World Series have we won. How many times has our window supposedly been closed according to the experts since 2019?

But yeah. He's totally Jerry Jones. Great take, guys.

---

The analytics guys in the back office working for Luhnow weren't cheating. Click wasn't cheating. His franchise became what it was because of analytics and he chose to turn his back on that and go old school. That was a stupid decision that had nothing to do with cheating.

Silent For Too Long said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

He became the most successful owner in Houston sports history by putting his trust in the development of the franchise in the hands of a bunch of analytics whiz kids. Then he fired them, turned his back on all of it and supplanted his own judgement for theirs, and the track record of his decisions has nowhere near the success rate that the people he fired had.

---

He fired them because they were cheating their asses off.

That was in 2019.

How many division titles have we won since 2019? How many World Series have we won. How many times has our window supposedly been closed according to the experts since 2019?

But yeah. He's totally Jerry Jones. Great take, guys.

---

He smartly took advantage of the talent those cheaters compiled. He rode the wave and green-lit some moves to extend that wave.

BUT, when it came time to reload (Altuve is only player remaining from the origin), his lack of trust in "baseball people" affected the results.

So yeah, he deserves credit and criticism. Not very good takes by anyone ignoring both sides. HTH!

Silent For Too Long said:

---

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

AggiEE said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

See my post above. It's truly hard to grade him based off the situation he's in. It's unfortunate.

He's basically allocated a few million and told to go bargain bin hunting. Anything that's going to cost more than that is handled by Crane.

Crane has even told him the type of players to target in previous drafts. I can't say for certain if that was the case this year.

The people I talk to don't necessarily defend Dana, but they're always quick to point out the situation he's in. This year more so than ever.

---

Why did Crane change his approach?

He was much more hands off during our rebuild and prime years under Lunhow

Perhaps Crane should realize he's not a good GM

---

He's baseball Jerry Jones. He thinks he knows best and no one is going to change his mind

---

He's the most successful owner in Houston sports history by a country mile.

The entitlement of our fanbase is reaching Yankee levels. Its ridiculous.

---

Two things can be true at once: he is a legendary Houston sports owner who finally brought us rings.

He has morphed into a new form that we recognize from past scars and one that does not project to continuing that success.

The two rings were not accidents. Lunhow had a vision he executed. Even during the dark years, there was a direction. I remember getting excited on days when guys like Springer got called up because you knew this guy was a planned building block.

You don't need insider info to see what unfolded if you understand organizational culture and leadership.
It is VERY obvious that Crane was deeply impacted the the sign-stealing fiasco. He didn't just whack his leadership team, but he stopped trusting any other leaders. For all of his shortcomings, Dusty did achieve what he was brought in to do, which was be a veteran mentor to steady the ship in stormy waters. Click did what he was brought in to do, which was take the analytics brain trust Lunhow had built and keep evolving it, but Crane no longer trusted enough to let him do his job without interference.

At the same time, you had the exodus of Reid Ryan as Crane's son was brought in. The loss of the Ryan's was another loss of leadership continuity.

Crane, having played baseball himself, has a perspective. Guys around him, like Bagwell, share that old-school point of view. When Dusty was brought on board, it solidified a philosophical change from analytics to old fashioned scouting. This led to an exodus of remaining front office continuity.

The long and short is some of the veteran players might be the same, but we are no longer the same organization that won two World Series. The owner cleaned house, changed philosophies, and became more controlling. As owner, that is his right, but those with eyes to see can see the fallacy of thinking we are anywhere close to reprising the greatness of yesteryear.

My concern isn't with our current mediocre record - it is with the process that led to it and that is getting worse, not better. Until the decision making changes, things will get worse, not better.

I won't say objectively speaking, because I hate that phrase, as none of us are capable of being objective, but you can draw a parallel between Jones and Crane.

Jones wanted to prove he could do it without Jimmy Johnson. They parted ways and the Cowboys won the Super Bowl a third time in 95 with Barry the Slack-Jawed Yokel as coach, which to Jerry solidified that he could do it on his own, or with his own choices for management.

Crane had to let go of Luhnow and Hinch to avoid the players betting punished after the cheating scandal came out after the '19 season. The '20 season was a wash, but then the Astros made the World Series in '21 and won it in '22, which to Crane solidified that he could do it on his own or with his choices for management.

Obviously, Jerry has a MUCH longer time period since the last Super Bowl season, but in the past 30 years, they've got a .533 winning percentage and have made the playoffs 13 times with lots of great players, sellout crowds, and national media exposure. But they haven't made it back to even the conference title game, let alone the Super Bowl. Still, from a business perspective, the Cowboys are massively successful.

Since 2022, the Astros have made the playoffs 2 out of 3 possible times and have a .536 winning percentage with lots of great players, sellout crowds, and national media exposure. But they haven't made it back to the World Series. From a business perspective, the Astros are massively successful.

Good post-draft talk, and some prospects we should try to hold onto.