According to the Chronicle's David Barron, Bobby Valentine was almost an owner of the Astros:
“I was part of a group of people who were thinking about buying (the team). I don’t know if they were for sale last winter, but there was a group that was entertaining that act.”
First: It seems odd that you would be part of a consortium to buy a team without knowing if they were for sale.
Anyhow, elaborate, Bobby:
“They needed to be revitalized. It was on the shelf too long. It was the same people making the same decisions, having the same players that they held stock in. They needed a facelift. They needed to make wholesale changes, and with Oswalt and Berkman gone now, they are free to do that...
...If you’re one of them, you can do no wrong. They love their winners, and these guys helped them win and brought them great memories, and they just kept clinging to them.
What about the current Astros?
“They may have scored as many runs in the last month as anybody in baseball. They’re creating a new kind of dimension with that ballpark. They seem to be very active offensively. Some of their young pitchers will have to earn their stripes, and it’s a tough thing. You have to earn your way.”
Que interesante!
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
