I've always supported Drayton McLane. He's willing to shell out and pay for a team, something many owners simply won't do. After cutting costs this summer, the Astros payroll sits around $95M. Sure, most of that money is written to four players who are either out of shape or past their prime, but criticism should fall on the GM as well as the owner for that.
However, a recent interview with a former Astro shed light on the front office, and why it's far from championship material. And it starts with Mr. Drayton McLane.
Norm Miller played eight seasons with the Astros, and then two for the Braves. Though he didn't have the most memorable career, he considered the move the baseball's front office.
However, Miller's experiences exemplify why Drayton will never will a championship.
When asked if the Astros will ever win a World Series, Miller did not shy away from his opinion:
I think Drayton McLane has to sell the team. He needs to get out of baseball and they need to clean house. I don't think they have a good eye for talent. You've got to have people in the front office that have played the game. They need to get some baseball people back in there and they have to get back some toughness, starting at the top. I worked for Drayton for a year, and he asked me to sign a document that we would preform with the highest of Christian principles. That was pretty much the end of it for me. I don't think that belongs in the workplace, so I walked out. I'm not bitter.
I supported McLane up until I read this. Not because I'm against "christian principles", but because it became so vividly clear that McLane does not know how to run a baseball organization, and a championship one at that.