More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Drayton would never wear that.

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So Richard Justice has a new idea, and frankly, I sort of like it. What if instead of another nameless businessman as pro sports team owner, Drayton McLane sold the Astros to a businessman with a name above all else- Mark Cuban?

Cuban certainly improved the Dallas Mavericks in recent years- turning the Mavs into a respectable lot after years of being a terrible organization with a fanbase that was pretty much non existent. I can vividly remember watching Rockets vs. Mavericks games in 1993, 1994 and wondering what it would be like to be a fan of a team that was as bad as the Mashburn-Jackson-Kidd Mavericks. Flash forward 15 years and the Astros are almost as bad, almost as hopeless.

The difference in the two clubs is that the Mavericks had to wait until 2000 to start their relationship with the Pittsburgh native turned billionaire. Our Astros, should McLane decide to pursue a sale earnestly, could find themselves across the table from Cuban in a negotiations session sooner rather than later.

Does Cubes have any intentions as far as becoming an owner on some level of a MLB team? Well, he flirted with the idea of buying the Chicago Cubs, but that never materialized as the Cubs have found new ownership. There is the potential hurdle of getting the stodgier, more set in their ways MLB and their respective club owners to sign off on a renegade of sorts becoming one of their peers.

If money talks like I think it does, this shouldn't be an issue. Bud Selig has turned MLB as much into a profit making vehicle as a professional sports league- whether it be moving back start times for World Series games to get prime TV time for advertisers and networks, to overseeing the evolution of free agent contracts, Selig understands the importance of the financial viability as much as any league commissioner.

On the micro level, the city of Houston could benefit greatly from Mark Cuban owning the Astros. While it's not as if the Rockets, Texans and Astros are laughingstocks, none of these franchises are visible nationally. Take that trip up I-45 and you find yourself in Dallas with at least two of the three professional sports teams (the Stars don't count with me. If you like hockey, I'm sorry, but your league is on life support) are well known nationally- the Cowboys and Mavericks. Even the Rangers, one of the more forgettable MLB teams, are making national headlines- albeit for less than desirable reasons. The striking thing about this, is that outside the Mavs, none of the Dallas teams have accomplished all that much in the past decade and a half.

The Cowboys have a history of losing in December that dates back nearly 15 years. Imagine the Yankees not winning their division or even winning a playoff series since 1996. Now imagine them still getting the lion's share of attention on ESPN. That's the Dallas Cowboys. They've been able to stay in the national consciousness because they have a history of winning, but also because they have an owner, Jerry Jones, that has pushed boundaries and made headlines. Bottom line: they're interesting.

Back to the Cuban front, the Mavericks have a lone Finals appearance to show for their near decade of great play. Their owner though, has given them every opportunity to win, has changed a losing culture and like Jerry Jones has perfected the art of turning controversy into revenue and attention. Unlike Jones though, Cuban has turned that notoriety into consistent winning. 

Yes, I realize the chances of a) Mark Cuban being interested in buying the Astros b) the MLB establishment giving the OK on the sale, and c) a Mavericks-like success story occurring is slim. But hey, it's December 21st. A guy can dream, and so can a city. So Mark, come on down to Houston. We're not that much different than Dallas. We don't have a riverwalk (I hear you have problems with those), and the MLB/NBA seasons don't overlap all that much. Just think about it. Rest assured, Astros fans are.

by David J. Phillip - AP

Here today...gone tomorrow?

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I'm back home for the Christmas Holiday, and it was startling to wake up Thursday morning and walk into the kitchen to find this article in the sports section of the Chronicle. Apparently, the whole "Drayton would consider selling the Astros" story-line has some legs to it. The revelation that the team was almost sold to Houston businessman Jim Crane in 2008 was somewhat startling, considering what a fixture Drayton McLane, Jr. has been with the Astros for the better part of two decades. To read the pseudo-obituary that Richard Justice penned was surreal, to be honest.

While all things, good and bad, must come to an end, I get the impression that most of us would be happy to see McLane sell the team and be on his billionaire way. Which is fine. I mean, the proof is in the pudding, and the Astros' pudding hasn't tasted good in a few years. To think, however, that Drayton's sole objective in buying the Astros was to turn a profit and speak to genteel civic luncheons is misguided. As much as we jump all over him for failing to sign draft choices or allowing the somewhat egregious signings of Carlos Lee, Woody William, Kaz Matsui, et al, I can't help but look past that and to the big picture of baseball in our city.

When Drayton McLane bought the club in 1992, the Astros had reached the playoffs a whopping total of three times in thirty seasons. Their home ball park was the Astrodome, and while we all love the place, it wasn't the greatest place to play or see a ball game. Attendance was minuscule, and the team was a distant third in popularity behind the Warren Moon led Oilers and an up and coming Rockets club. As Justice notes, the Astros were sold for $117 million in 1992, approximately on par with the San Francisco Giants. With the club valued at nearly four times that amount in 2009, McLane the businessman surely has to be pleased at the return on his investment.

As fans (ok, we're all beyond being called fans...super-fans?) we don't particularly care about the profitability of the Astros, beyond any effect it has on the product on the field and our record in the NL Central. Bottom line for the front office means a completely different thing than the bottom line for fanatics like us. Of course, winning on the field usually leads to winning at the box office. Which is truly the confusing part of the Drayton McLane saga for me. For such a savvy businessman, he has seemingly lost his way in determining what will best help his on field product these past few seasons. Attempting to compete by signing veteran free agents and neglecting the backbone of any baseball team- its farm system- has obviously cost Drayton in the short and long run. Surely he has to have realized that.

Now, with the Texas Rangers having gone through one of the more harrowing sales in sports that I can remember, it seems appropriate to consider Drayton McLane's sports-mortality. When ultimately his eulogy is given, I would like to think that fans will remember him for being the man who ushered baseball into relevancy in the collective mind of Houston sports fans, and gave the community a team they could be proud of. He may be a control freak to an extent, and we may not always agree with his hires, fires or in-betweens but if winning is the ultimate measure of a team, an organization and an owner, Drayton McLane has been a success. I told DQ just this past week that I don't care if the Astros never employ a sabermetric idea, as long as they get back to winning games and contending for playoff spots. Looking at the game objectively allows us to have a different appreciation for the decision making process of an organization, which by and large is a good thing.

Often times though, we neglect to mention that baseball is as much about emotion, the emotion of fans, players, coaches and ownership, as anything else. From what I can discern, emotion was lacking in 1992 surrounding our Astros. Their fanbase today is many times over what it was in the early 90s, due in no small part to McLane's ownership. We may get upset with him, but at least there is a palpable feeling towards the team, which I cannot say for certain was the case years ago. In wishing Drayton a fast exit from our lives, let's not be too hasty to dismiss his role in improving baseball in Houston.

More photos » by John Amis - AP

How does "Kelly Johnson, Houston Astro" sound?

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After second baseman Kelly Johnson was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves, a number of teams have expressed interest in him. That link notes that the D-Backs are on record that their hat has been thrown in the KJ ring, but Tim Dierkes said Monday on his site that three NL Central clubs: the Pirates, Cardinals and Astros desire his services to various extents.

Johnson's non-tendering came as a surprise to many, including clack, and his bat would be welcome in Houston, assuming he returns to his normal self after a down 2009. Take Bill James' optimistic projection and the fan's projections off FanGraphs, and you can get a pretty good idea of what is expected out of the middle infielder in 2010.

This wouldn't be an offseason-defining signing by Ed Wade, but if the Astros could get Johnson, the team would be much improved. The Diamondacks are in a position where they would trade another one of their backup infielders in order to create space for Johnson. Neither the Cards or Buccos have the greatest infields in the world, and while Pittsburgh signed Bobby Crosby to bolster theirs, it's not as if Kelly Johnson wouldn't be able to get significant playing time in Pittsburgh. St. Louis may not get Troy Glaus back, which leaves them with Skip Schumaker, David Freese, and Joe Thurston at 2B/3B entering spring training. Not exactly household names.

Pedro Feliz is an upgrade for Houston over Geoff Blum, but it's no guarantee that Feliz will be even a win better than Blummers. Kaz Matsui is injury-prone at second, is coming off a disappointing season and his backup, Edwin Maysonet, does not project to be anything special. Cost is something to focus on, as KJ made $2.8 million in 2009 and should demand a contract worth more than that in 2010. A deal in the mid-3 millions for one season maybe a gamble worth taking, especially if Wade cannot sign a starting pitcher or convert Jason Bourgeois to a second baseman as some have hypothesized.

Just when we thought we were getting rid of him...he pulls us back in. Or rather, we pull him back in. That's right: Jason Michaels has been re-signed to an $800,000 contract. Again, not a disaster, but the money could have been better allocated elsewhere. I would still like to see the team make a move for Ryan Church, if their budget allows for it. Bottom line, as with most of the Astros' moves, this won't be the difference between a postseason berth and another Astro-less October. Michaels wasn't near as bad as I thought he was in 2009, but I would have liked to have seen Wade think a little more out of the box. Reggie Abercrombie, and the aforementioned Bourgeois and Church could be in the running for the fifth and assumedly final outfield reserve spot.

Alyson Footer also tweets that Gustavo Chacin has been signed to a minor league deal and given an invite to Spring Training. Chacin hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007 and hasn't pitched a full season since 2005, so let's not hold our breath on anything happening for him with the Astros. His experience working with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg in Toronto most likely has a lot to do with his being given a shot. Think of him as Russ Ortiz with perhaps a bit more upside.