00:00Tyler, who was a former biggest Houston and specifically Astros fan
00:06that I'd ever heard of before Bill took that title.
00:11Your thoughts on this when you saw the timing, everything,
00:15and you woke up and you found out the news Dana Brown has been let go.
00:21Yeah, and that's literally what happened for me today.
00:23I was, you know, rubbing my eyes, getting my day started in bed,
00:28combing through all the texts, all the push notifications,
00:30and I say, oh my goodness, the Astros did it.
00:33They parted ways with Dana Brown.
00:35My initial reaction, Ron, to it was, well, this is something I've been calling for
00:39and waiting for and wanting.
00:41I needed Dana Brown's ass out the door, so I was happy to hear that news in that way.
00:46But then to continue reading and see where we're going to be sitting for now
00:50until the next general manager is hired,
00:52it concerns me greatly that Crane and Bagwell are running this show of sorts.
00:58It is a giant concern for me, and I think it should be for Astros fans.
01:02But Dana had to go, and I'm glad to see him go.
01:05Yeah, and this probably, like, you talked about it before.
01:08Bob Nightingale, he's backed off his initial report at first,
01:13stating that Joe Espada has been informed by high-ranking Astros officials
01:19that he will not receive a new contract after this season.
01:22He has recently updated here in the recent moment
01:26that Joe Espada is expected to remain the manager through the season
01:31with Jim Crane making the call on his future.
01:34So, you know, this could lead to him being out, too,
01:37and I've said that I think that's what has to happen this season
01:40for this organization to have the best chance to keep moving forward
01:45is they need to part ways with both of those guys
01:48and start over in those areas.
01:51But, Clint, the other part of this is what Tyler was saying.
01:56Like, this Jim Crane part of it is interesting, too,
02:03for the future of this thing because generally you think,
02:06well, this is a guy that knows baseball probably as well as most owners do,
02:13if not more.
02:14Like, you would think, I don't know all the owners,
02:16but I would imagine that he's probably in the top five or ten
02:19in terms of people that know the game as well as he does.
02:26And, like, what is he looking for?
02:29What is he going to bring in?
02:31And I compared him to there's some Jerry Jones in him.
02:35This is filleted.
02:35Now he is now taking over and running baseball operations the rest of the way.
02:40Last time he took over and ran baseball operations him and Jeff
02:43conspired to get him to bring in a break
02:47and signed Rafael Montero to that deal.
02:51So I think that is a concern of what he's doing.
02:55And, like, the deadline part, like, Clint, this is insane.
03:00As you said, he vetoed a trade for a reliever.
03:05But then also allowed Dana, which I'm guessing he was all about then,
03:11allowed Dana to trade away Spencer Arrighetti,
03:15a 26-year-old pitcher that she had team control for multiple years
03:19for an outfielder that I know you love in Varsha.
03:22Like, that is an odd thing.
03:25You know he's going to move on.
03:27So I just – that's the big part is I just don't know what their game plan is.
03:32It feels like they're just making decisions at times
03:35and led by Jim Crane just on a whim or just, like, knee-jerk.
03:41When you play the short game,
03:44when you just refuse to sign anybody to longer-term contracts
03:47and you refuse to take the risk of signing players that are going to age
03:53into their 30s and risking – hey, man, they don't age well,
03:58then you – they have decided they're going to play the short game,
04:01shorter contracts.
04:04And to me, there's more risk with that.
04:07Right?
04:08I mean, you had – you had – I saw somebody making the comparison of Bregman.
04:12You had Bregman.
04:14You didn't want to offer him the money.
04:15You didn't want to offer him the contract.
04:17And you go and you sign Walker to a two-year deal or whatever it was.
04:22And it hadn't panned out.
04:23Right?
04:24Luckily, you can get rid of it.
04:26You can get rid of it quicker.
04:28But the odds are if a player is going to sign a shorter-term deal for lesser money,
04:32he's obviously a lesser player than the Bregmans of the world.
04:36And older.
04:37Yeah.
04:38I mean, you just – like, you just – if your – as a general manager,
04:42if the owner handcuffs the organization to where he's not going to write those checks,
04:47then it's constant churning of players that are going to be willing to sign
04:52the shorter contracts.
04:54Right?
04:54And so it's a lesser player, whether it be now or as he ages.
05:00And there's more risk associated with that.
05:02I mean, that's just – there's more volatility, if you will, on this roster.
05:06There's more boom or bust on this roster than it was if you had three or four players
05:11that had long-term deals that you develop that are your dudes.
05:16And it's just – it's part – look, it's the nature of the beast, I believe.
05:21I mean –
05:22Yeah, I think they've got to make a decision on what kind of organization they're going to be.
05:27Like, are they going to be a, you know, a mid –
05:30Well, you know what they're going to be.
05:33As long as Jim Crane owns this joker, you know what they're going to be.
05:35Well, I guess Jim's – it does feel like Jim has shifted even more to, like, you know,
05:44not long-term stuff.
05:46Like, it's – there was a time where he was – he signed Altuve long-term.
05:50He signed Bregman long-term.
05:52Young guys in their prime that he gave money to.
05:55It seems like that thing has gone right out the window.
06:00Like, I'll give Verlander a two-year deal.
06:03I'll give Abreu.
06:04I'll give, you know, as you said, Christian Walker a two-year deal.
06:07But they got two dudes right here by their philosophy, Hunter Brown and Jeremy Pena,
06:12that you just almost expect that they're not going to pay him.
06:14Right.
06:15Which is insane.
06:17Like –
06:18Which, I mean, but right.
06:19Like, Dana Brown's job would be a lot of – this is my overall point.
06:23Like, whether it's Dana Brown, Jeff Bagwell, whoever the hell is –
06:26James Click.
06:27Their job would be a lot easier if you looked and said,
06:29hey, I know Jim Cranes is going to sit down with Hunter and get this thing worked out.
06:34I know Jim Cranes is going to sit down with Pena.
06:37Homegrown.
06:38We developed him.
06:39One of the best in the league.
06:40I know he's going to get this thing hammered out in those spots.
06:44But they're not.
06:45Those guys are going to move on.
06:46And then the pressure's on you to backfill it with similar players.
06:50And the truth is, Dana Brown came along at a time when the system was depleted
06:57of prospects.
06:59And, you know, you didn't – you're not going to pay those kind of guys.
07:02So, all good things come to an end.
07:04And I just hope this ain't a hard stop for Jim Cranes.
07:07I hope this is a little bit of a reset.
07:08Jim needed to go over there and talk to the McNairs and think about, like,
07:12what they did.
07:13They went out and hired the best football person they could find in their mind,
07:17in D'Amico Ryan.
07:19Yeah, but they went through Cully and Lovey to get there.
07:22Yeah, but then eventually they stopped and said, well, we're going to take –
07:24I guess Joe can be one of those.
07:26Can Joe be Cully?
07:28Yeah.
07:30Joe's got some Cully-ism in there.
07:33But maybe Joe's a little Lovey.
07:35Maybe we'll give him a little Lovey.
07:36But, no, I mean, I'm just saying, like, when it came down to it,
07:40they said, we're going to go D'Amico.
07:42And then they kind of let everything breathe off of that.
07:46And I think that's what they've got to do.
07:49Although my concern is Jim is going to find the best person he feels can work
07:53with him and let him do what the hell he wants to do.
07:57Jim might make himself the general manager.
08:00I don't know.
08:00I wouldn't be surprised at all.
08:03But we lost, Dana.
08:07And if you're just joining us here on The Drive on 95.7 The Fan,
08:11when we lose, folks, we pour one out and we let Wanye.
08:20There it is.
08:23Damn, Dana.
08:24Melvin Taylor in the commons at Baytown Lee right there.
08:26Ah, dog, Dan.
08:28Boy, he was so confident in himself, wasn't he?
08:30I kept it real as a true professional myself.
08:32Yeah.
08:33Kept it real on up out of here.
08:34Not real personable, by the way.
08:37Nah.
08:37It's just time, Dana.
08:39You knew it wasn't good.
08:40Tyler, that's not how you feel, Tyler.
08:42That's not how you feel, Tyler.
08:44It wasn't good when...
08:46Trying to be nicer.
08:47When you would just absolutely go left of Dusty Baker repeatedly when he first got here.
08:54And pissed off Dusty.
08:56Well...
08:57I don't think Dusty's a big fan.
08:59I'm from a different generation.
09:00Well, no, and Jim should have put a stop to that two years ago.
09:03Yeah.
09:04But he just hired somebody that would let it happen in Joe Espada.
09:07It's the end, man.
09:08Tyler, you sitting up there, was you in some pajama pants and a white tee?
09:11Is that what you laid up in when you were scrolling this morning when you seen that?
09:14No, just the briefs on.
09:16Just the briefs.
09:16Oh, you weren't just briefs.
09:17How about socks?
09:19Yeah, I may have had some...
09:20I usually sleep in just the briefs and the socks on my toesies.
09:23You go socks, huh?
09:24Yeah.
09:25Yeah.
09:25Wow.
09:25The feet get a little cold.
09:26The rest of me doesn't.
09:27Could you imagine OT Meal rolling?
09:29Hey, he's rolling over like this on a nightstand trying to find them glasses.
09:33Put them glasses on.
09:34You can't see nothing.
09:35You're painting a picture.
09:36That's exactly what happened.
09:37Hey, he got them goggles on.
09:38He looked at that phone.
09:39He said, boy, let me break out of them boys and men.
09:44I said, I better get my ass up and get into work.
09:46We got a GM spot open in H-Town.
09:49I just want to say to you, Dana.
09:50Tyler got good wood.
09:53Yes, I heard.
09:54Let me get up there, boys.
09:55I just want to say to you, Dana, if you need a place to unload, you need a place to
10:02really
10:04express yourself.
10:05Thank the fan.
10:06If you want to thank the fans, if you want to thank the people out here, if you want to
10:10give your side of the story, we got you right here on the drive.
10:14713-572-416.
10:16Tyler will get a hold of you.
10:17Yeah, I wanted you gone, but we will gladly have you on as a guest, and we will be respectful
10:22and have a great time, Dana.
10:23Well, we'll do the best we can.
10:26Damn, he left all mad at me, too.
10:28Damn, Dana.
10:30Interrupting his presser and stuff that day.
10:32Yikes.
10:32We believe in you, Dana.
10:35Not as a general manager, but we believe in you.
10:37Dana Brown, out.
10:39It's the end of the road.
10:40Stay strong.
10:41Probably the end of the road when you couldn't trade.
10:44Brian Abreu.
