I was going to do my usual ‘Things that worry me…’ but I realized that just about everything the Astros do worries me now.  They are poorly owned, poorly led, lacking talent, and apparently void of self control in some situations.

The Owner…It all starts at the top with Drayton McLane.  McLane is one of the worst owners in baseball.  He cannot see beyond the end of his nose as to what to do to help the Astros win.  He will pay Carlos Lee 100 million dollars but not spend 10 bucks on player development.  The Astros system is void of talent that can help the team in the next couple years.  Of course Drayton could never envision trading high end players to try and bolster the minor league system.  He would rather keep these guys so that when the Astros finally do have something coming out of the system today’s stars  will be to old to contribute at their present levels.  So McLane will continue lying to his fans and saying the Astros are going to compete so he can try and keep fans in the seats and keep the money coming.  He is not smart enough to see that if told us the team was going to rebuild we would still go.  Instead he lies to us and pisses us off.

The GM…Well I think after last nights incident we can see how well he treats his players.  How come none of the players said that what Chacon did was wrong?  Do they all like Wade as much as Chacon?  Of course Wade’s philosophy of a strong bullpen has worked real well.  So what if there is no lead to protect.  Why spend the money just to spend the money?  I would never condone Chacon’s actions but I will say I am a little jealous I can’t punch Wade.

The Manager… Cecil Cooper seems to coach with a philosophy of it has always been done that way so we are going to do it that way.  When you are down by one run in the eighth, with no outs, a guy on first, you should have Michael Bourn bunt.  Let’s just ignore the fact that all the numbers say you have a better chance to score with a guy on first and no outs than a guy on second and one out – even if the bunt had been successful.  Yes there are ways the situation could have turned out worse but not many.  Do you really think you are going to hit into a double play with Michael Bourn running?  Cooper needs to try and learn about the game he is coaching.

The Players…I really can’t get down on these guys too much.  They are playing up to – down to? – their talent level.  There are not enough quality arms for the Astros to complete right now no matter how well Berkman and the others can hit.

The Fans – I was at the game last night when Erstad was on first, Bourn hitting, no outs, and the Astros down by one.  The fans beyond the right field fence were trying to start the wave.  Not cheering for the Astros, not giving it to the opposing pitcher, or trying to pump Bourn up.  They were trying to start the wave.  As I not so quietly noted this I was told to stop being a ‘sourpuss’.  I was too surprised to even respond.  This is a tight game with building excitement and a chance for your team to try and win.  But by mentioning that I wanted to see this I was a ‘sourpuss’.  Would you even see something like this in a first class baseball town?  Would Cardinal fans be doing anything but losing their minds and their voices for their team in that situation?  Would Red Sox Nation not be shaking the pillars of Fenway?  But Astros fans are performing a ritual that was cool in Chavez Ravine in 1984.  Way to support your team Astros fans. 

At this point you can see that I am frustrated with just about everything Astros’.  Unfortunately I can only see losing seasons for the next 5-7 years unless serious changes are made.  At least the fans will have the wave down.