I know, you think I'm going to go for the whole "Wade's going to get fired too" argument. I'm not.
↵What I found most interesting from Hendry's press conference today is that he revealed he'd really been fired back on July 22, but the team continued on with him nominally in charge so the trade and signing deadlines went smoothly. Of course, the Cubs didn't make any trades of their veterans at that trading deadline and took a lot of criticism for it.
↵This whole situation is what made me thing about Wade. Having a GM secretly fired really gives us a different perspective on everything. Instead of Hendry trying to save his job with trades, he had to leave things up to the next guy.
↵What I wonder is how this affects our view of Ed Wade's last few months. Since Jim Crane was announced as possibly, maybe, some time becoming the new owner of the Astros, changes have been flying left and right. First, the club traded all its assets off and then promoted a ton of young talent to compete at the major league level. We credit Crane with this, saying he wanted payroll slashed and Wade was just following orders.
↵What if that wasn't the case? What if these moves have really been more about Ed Wade following his own philosophy instead of kowtowing to Drayton McLane's line. What if Wade has been freed of control, as Drayton admitted he's been much less focused on the Astros since the sale was announced.
↵Does that change the tenor of Wade's moves at all? Does it color his first three years in Houston and the moves he made then? I think it can only help, but it will all predicate on how these young guys do in the majors. Remember, Wade's been talking about bringing up young guys for a while. It's only recently he was able to do it. We've all assumed that Crane could turn to a new GM pretty soon after taking over (I still think this happens), but it's also possible that Houston will get a whole new GM without having to fire Wade after Drayton's shadow leaves this franchise.
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