The Houston Astros began a major front office shakeup early Monday by firing two top executives.
Astros Latest Team Trying To Lure Rays’ Andrew Friedman
Day 1: Fire old general manager.
Day 1-A: Try to steal new general manager from good team.
Read Article >Searching For The Easiest GM To Poke Fun At
Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade talks on the phone during battting practice before the Houston Astros play the Cincinnati Reds at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) Getty ImagesIt wasn’t too long ago that it was easy to make fun of all sorts of general managers around baseball. For example, this used to be a popular joke going around the internet:
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Cam Bonifay.
…It would slay them every time. All around the league, there were GMs who built their rosters through some amalgamation of batting average, RBIs, and scouting reports they found on cocktail napkins in the garbage of the visiting team’s hotel bar. Had to be. That was the only way to explain some of the moves the GMs would make, and some of the contracts they’d hand out.
Read Article >Houston Astros Fire Ed Wade And Tal Smith
He didn’t wait very long to begin changing things in the executive offices. According to the team’s website, team president Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade were fired Sunday:
Smith had been part of the Astros for much of their existence; he joined them in 1960, before they even took the field and when they were still named “Colt .45s”, and was with them most of the time from then until 1980. He returned to the team in 1993 when Drayton McLane bought the club.
Read Article >Houston Astros To Fire Ed Wade In Shake-Up, According To Report
HOUSTON: General manager Ed Wade, left, of the Houston Astros and manager Brad Mills talk during batting practice before playing the Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) Getty ImagesWade took over as the Astros’ GM in September 2007. The team hasn’t reached the playoffs since, and just lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history. Wade has a...colorful transaction track record, with the Astros and (previously) the Phillies, which I won’t get into right now. Just take my word for it that Wade has earned a dismissal, and that the Astros would be better off in the hands of another. Wade isn’t all bad, but the Astros desperately need to move forward, and Wade isn’t the right kind of GM to help them do that.
Interestingly, the winter meetings begin next Monday. Will the Astros have a front office by then? Stay tuned!
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