When an era ends, there will always be questions about what the new era will bring. The Astros are no different and there will undoubtedly be some interesting decisions that will happen over the coming months as they attempt to find a replacement for George Postolos.
The changes that we can expect are purely speculative at this point since we have no indication of who will be the replacement. In fact, based on tweets for Brian T. Smith, neither does Jim Crane and Co. Despite this being rumored and discussed on the inside for months, nobody seemed to have expected it so soon.
Despite not knowing who might be the next President, we do know that Postolos created a disconnect within the organization, presumably between the baseball side and the business side. He cleaned house early on and left many employees with institutional knowledge without a job and many of the friends the organization upset. Many of the former and current employees just simply did not like many of his decisions, and fans agree.
As David has already shown, the list of blunder from his team of business men is long and exhausting. However, I wouldn't expect for them to be undone. What's done is done. Jim DeShaies is gone. The atrocity in left field, is here to stay, at least for now. I wouldn't be surprised to see it moved and on down the road, but that will not be a priority.
The priority is going to be rebuilding torn relationships. I think Jim Crane knows that this needs to be a priority. Why else would this happen as fans have grown from angry to losing interest since they can't watch with this whole CSN Houston situation? The TV deal will be the priority and I wouldn't be surprised if Crane takes the lead on this to make it get done right away. No, no...Crane HAS to take the lead on this and make sure it gets done.
Forget finding a replacement, Crane has to get this fixed right now. Then worry about a new president.
Larry Dierker may still be involved with the team, but lets be honest, that's still shaky ground. Postolos was a big problem with that and since he's not hanging around the park anymore, things could be getting better. But, my point is that relationships with former Astros are probably going to at least be attempted to be repaired. Crane wants him around, so surely Dierker's role will be more concrete.
The business side of the organization has been everything but fan friendly over the past year and a half. They've done things to make us happy with the re-branding and Orbit, but have they been friendly? No, they took baseballs from kids!
The thing they'll be able to do is attempt to bring in another social media director that works to re-build fan interest with promotions, social media interaction, blogs, fan events, ect. There biggest obstacle is making fans interested in a bad team which is no easy task. But, they are going to have to make fans feel welcome. They have been far too closed off in Postolos term with the team, and they need to open the doors back up.
Honestly, I don't think we see a big change with anything. I think the difference is something that we look back on more than anything. For example, a year from now, we'll look back and say, "Hey, there haven't been any major business blunders." That's going to be the difference. That and a happier fan base since they should be able to at least tune into a game soon.
What do you expect we'll see with a revamped business side?