Having been through this before, Phil Garner offers some nuggets for anyone even thinking of wanting to manage a team under Drayton.
Garner:
“Find out what the owner's and general manager's expectations are. And then look at the team and see if you can meet the expectations...
...“It's a great organization. It has a great name. (Managerial candidates) might overlook some things because it's a great organization. It's hard (to) because you have to make an honest assessment. You want to be upbeat about the team. You want to believe and you want a GM on a team to know you're upbeat.
And managers basically have three years to impress Drayton:
...“In this town, a new manager gets a first-year honeymoon period. The second year is a bit harder. Then the third is make-or-break, but that's been Drayton's modus operandi. Everybody knows that.”
So what was wrong with the 09 Astros?
“I don't know this team. I saw several games, but I don't really know this team. Strictly speaking as a fan, I felt the weakness was the pitching.”
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
