Tony DeFrancesco says that he fits in with the direction of the club, given his past experience with the A's.
"My background is the A's, and the 'Moneyball' area," he said. "I grew up with that system. I believe in it 100 percent, and it's something I hope we can teach to these young players."
That's a valid point, but DeFrancesco is operating under the assumption that the Astros are actually going to follow Billy Beane's A's as an example. It certainly looks like they're drafting and targeting high-OBP guys, but this season has been about stripping the Astros down to the bare minimum. Luhnow has had - by early returns - a solid start to his tenure through trades and the draft. But we don't know exactly how he's going to rebuild the team. Who knows, the Astros may turn into drunken sailors and sign all the players (doubtful). It's clear that the Astros are rebuilding from the ground up, but whether they're following another blueprint (A's, Rays), or designing it on their own, is still unknown - to us, anyway.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
