All right, Jeremy, what was your
first reaction when you heard
the news about James Click?
You know what man, I wasn't surprised.
I mean we we talked about some of the
things that have gone on during the year.
We talked about the only chance
for one year offer to this you
know utilities today you know.
So when you do something like that
to win a World Series it tends
to to lend some credibility to
certainly a divide in in thinking in
front office and with the owners.
So not very surprised at all.
So externally, the optics are not good.
I've seen national columnists
and reporters now saying,
well, it's another negative,
the Houston Astros organization,
and now they're dredging up the sign,
stealing and everything else and
dragging that into it's another
negative of the Astros organization.
Internally, my sources
inside the organization.
Don't see it that way at all.
How do you see it?
I don't think it matters
one way or the other.
I think this is a clear disconnect
between the power people that are still
there and the people that are now leaving,
you know and and it it's not going to
be just James click leaving either, right.
We talked about Petilla who took
the position with the Giants.
We've talked about international scout
and director Ocampo who's now in Miami.
But you know you've got Scott Powers
and Andrew Ball and my understanding
is that is you know one of them,
I don't know which one is already been
let go and that it's time to go ahead and
and move ahead with the new direction.
New general manager is gonna get
in in Jim Cranes estimation,
more In Sync with which way he wants
the direction going for the future.
This isn't something you do
after winning a World Series.
The last time this happened was 75 years ago,
right?
So when you're doing this now,
it's not a positive or negative,
it's a direction change driven by something
the owner wants to see for the future.
Let me ask you about James click a moment
because the comment from Jim Crane.
We are grateful of all
of James's contributions.
We have had great success in each of
his three seasons and James has been
an important part of that success.
I want to personally thank him and
wish him and his family the bet.
Wish him and his family well moving forward.
Does James click have trouble
getting a job after this or does he
is it easy to get a job after this?
The immediate reaction for
James Click is going to be wow,
that's a wow because it hasn't happened much,
you know, depending on what you believe.
There's obviously a disconnect.
We knew that was there. Anyway.
It's very rare for a general manager when
a World Series or even be in the playoffs
and not get an extension longer than,
you know, three years, right?
So we knew that was there.
You know, there's reports coming out of
the GM meetings in Vegas that, you know,
he was unhappy with the offer he was given.
He, you know, he went out there.
I mean, he was tweeted by, you know,
Bob Nightingale tweeted it.
Of yesterday they didn't like that,
you know Jim Crane like the
way he aired his grievances.
Now we didn't confirm that.
We cannot confirm that.
The reality is is that the relationship
was already strained in the 1st place.
And so Jim Crane's response is is one
that's expected when you're making
a change from you know in anybody,
it's professional comment as far
as James Cook is concerned because
he's going to land on his feet if
he wants to and he's a free agent.
He's a World Series winning GM.
My early,
my early pick would be Detroit and
I say Detroit not because of AJ
Hinch has nothing to do with it.
But because they have a presidential
operations and Scott Harris that
they could conceivably have a
general manager level position.
Now, you know, James couldn't go anywhere.
And if I was him,
I'm going to want to be GM
after winning a World Series.
But conceivably there would be a spot,
especially with their Tampa Bay Rays
old scouting director Rob Metzler
joining them as an assistant general
manager just a couple weeks ago.
So how about the Astros future now?
Where do you think they look
for a new general manager?
The Astros are going to am I so in my
view and that's that's the loaded question
and everybody wants to answer right.
That's the one we want to know.
In my view the Jim Crane understands the
state of his scouting and player development
systems and departments right now.
It doesn't mean there's bad people
everywhere but in the international side
they don't have a director at least not
yet Ocampo left the player development
people till was overseeing that.
Some people liked it, some people did not.
Where that's going to work or
line up I you know.
That's obviously something has to be
revamped and with new general manager
you need somebody to build from within.
The Astros started to get good in 2008
when Bobby Heck had his first draft.
OK, so after leaving the Astros,
all of the success that these guys
had built up that Jeff Luno took and
compounded with trades and acquisitions.
And James quick certainly put
his stamp on the bullpen,
the Tampa Bay Rays,
the another organization
Jim Crane really likes,
you know Myers where at one time
trying to hire Andrew Friedman before
settling on Jeff Luneau and one time,
you know obviously hiring James.
Like you know you would look to somebody
who builds those type of things that
Bobby's got Houston ties and it would
make sense for them to discuss him.
He's long overdue for GM interview but
there are other people in in the mix
out there they may talk to but it'll
be somebody who's at least a hybrid
who understands the numbers who wants
to look at it and can communicate
and and and and respect the general
manager field manager balance with
a network to now go fill people.
There's nobody to fill from within
that's that's qualified to fill
these positions maybe.
One or two of them,
but certainly not all of them.
And you're gonna have to be able to go,
you know, call on something like that,
which lends itself to a more baseball
oriented veteran if you're a young girl.
Analytics oriented,
you know,
future potential General manager executive.
This is some place you're probably
running from.
And the reason why you run from
is because the guy that was just
fit that mold was just just fired
and dusty Baker's got a contract.
And that doesn't mean Dusty's all one way.
It doesn't mean that James Cook
was all one way.
That's between them and it should be.
What it does mean is that having that.
That intensity if you will and
and overall schooling instead of
understanding the other side is
in a place you're gonna want to be
you know and and and finally some
people talk about David Stearns and
I think David Stearns is a downgrade
from James Click and a lot of people
would feel the same way that I've
seen in the industry.
The reason why I say that is
because he hasn't won anything.
James just got a ring one way
the other just got a ring.
David Stern hasn't won anything
and he's an analytics guy and
you know you need to bring in
somebody's got some more balance
you've answered part of this question but.
That's something that I heard a
former general manager say after
the news came out about James Click.
He said this is not going
to be a destination.
People want to come to them.
And I thought, wait a minute,
they just want a World Series.
I think someone is going to
be interested in this job.
What's your perspective?
Somebody's gonna want it.
I mean I've heard some people already
had people text me saying hey who
do I contact when I resume like
obviously I don't have the answer
you know but it's one that they're
going that people are going to be
interested in but it's Jim Crane
is is going to rebuild his system.
I mean that's that's the focus right
retool the Bigly roster understand how
to get to the get to the people that
to make that better understand the
numbers but we rebuild the scouting
and development portions of this
organization not just as personnel
but as players and a groundswell
system so that when this window.
Closes if you will.
I said five years I think you said
as long as Crane wants to on the last
time we talked about this we have
this window goes five more years.
You just started drafting well now
and signing international players
now that are that are more of that
backfield to give yourself the assets.
So I think that's going to be something
that the hire is going to be.
I think anybody in baseball who
has those type of categories going
to want this job.
I think if you're one way or the other
and don't have school on the other side,
it's do not apply.
So I don't think it has any
shortage of candidates.
It just may have a shortage of focus.
All
right. Jeremy, thanks so much for
your time, man, and always appreciate
your perspective. Thanks, Matt.