Friday, September 21, 2007
Today I found 49 cents . . . 1 nickel, 3 dimes, and 14 pennies.
The first find of the day was recorded at Randals, a local grocery store. There I found five cents (all pennies) in and around a change counting machine. One penny was in the coin return slot and the remaining four pennies were on the ground in close proximity to the machine.
The final 44 cents of the day (one nickel, three dimes, and nine pennies) was all found at the car wash next to the post office. I was there to mail a few eBay items, and to mail a package to Bailey. All the change was scattered about on the ground by banks of vacuum cleaners.
The other day the Astros hired Ed Wade as the team’s new General Manager. That is going to prove to be a bad hire. Ed was run out of Philadelphia after years of failure, so I’m not sure why the Astros think he was the right man for the job.
Totals for the day: 49 cents
Race Totals: $609.63
posted by Chris @ 11:32 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Chris...
As I said in response to your thoughts on the hiring on my blog, I think you'll turn out to like him. Just a hunch.
Let me expound a bit on my thoughts here. In Philadelphia, he was basically a lackey for the greedy ownership group. He tried his best to field a winner, but ultimately the constraints of the cheap owners limited what he was able to do.
I, along with many other fans, wanted him gone by the end of his tenure. But hindsight now tells me it was not for lack of trying or passion. It was just because we needed change and different vision.
If you look right now, this is basically still his team. The nucleus, at least. If the hometown nine does anything this year (and I'm praying these tangental comments about them on my blog and yours will do nothing to change that--I'm superstitious), it will not be because of Pat Gillick, but rather despite him.
In short, Ed Wade was a decent GM who fielded a competitive team that could have, should have, would have been a winner, but wasn't. Let's see who he selects as manager and give him two years and then let's chat. Mark it on your calendar. Either way, be thankful you didn't get the other candidate.
password: gdpxuyj
Brian:
I hope you are right, but I'm just not sure. Wade seems to have a good eye for drafting talented players (so did Tim Purpura) but seems out of his element as an actual GM. He has made some boneheaded trades (can anyone say Kurt Shilling) as did Timmy P.
Houston needs a GM that can stand upto our owner, not one that will rubber stamp his decisions, which he makes a lot of and makes a lot of mistakes. Money isn't a problem in Houston, but sound judgement is, and I'm not sure that from what I have seen Wade has that backbone.
Time will tell. You are correct that the current Phillies team is of Wade's making, but more of that was in the draft than in the signing of free agents. Houston is in the position where we will need to draft well in the next few years, but will also have to sign and trade some tallent if we are to contend. I trust Wade in the draft, but not on the sign and trade front.
If money is no object, I really do think Wade should do well. He did make some key signings when they opened the pursestrings just ahead of the new park, but they fell through. Thome, in particular.
And the trades are hard to dissect. He did snare Abreu before he became anything, for Kevin Stocker. But the Schilling and Rolen trades were forced on him, where those babies wanted out and left Wade with little leverage. We actually did get usable parts in both those trades, as opposed to the Abreu salary dump, but they were frittered away or never fulfilled their potential.
The one thing you really need to watch with him will be the contracts. He gave out no-trades like candy and really saddle the Phillies with some albatrosses.
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