Astros hire Brad Ausmus in move that feels like same old recycled strategy

When the Houston Astros cleaned house over the last couple of months, the hope was that things would tangibly change for the better. The Astros had become stagnant as an organization, relying on aging familiar faces to keep the good times rolling while failing to establish a consistent model for supplementing their roster. Many organizations encounter similar problems during their competitive windows, although Astros owner Jim Crane's reliance on loyalists makes Houston's issue particularly acute.

As a result, there were sighs of relief when Crane hired Randy Flores to replace general manager Dana Brown. While it was definitely a move out of Crane's playbook to pillage the Cardinals' front office, there was hope that Flores would have some real autonomy to run the organization instead of simply being the face of Crane and advisor Jeff Bagwell's machinations behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, that excitement may have been short-lived. On Wednesday, it was revealed that after what was described as an exhaustive search, the Astros just hired Brad Ausmus as their next manager, as most assumed Crane would push for.

Astros hire Brad Ausmus to replace Joe Espada, and now there are more questions about who is really running the team

In fairness to Ausmus, it isn't as though he is doomed to fail in the role. He HAS managed over 800 games in the major leagues, and has served as the bench coach for a pretty good Yankees team for the last three seasons. This isn't a situation where Crane and Co. are hiring a guy that is completely unqualified for the job.

What this move DOES signal is that while Flores may have had some input, Crane's mind was probably already made up. According to Astros insider Chandler Rome, both Crane and Bagwell had already interviewed Ausmus before Flores was even hired. Sure, Flores probably had a chance to voice his opinion, and he probably spoke to Ausmus before the hire became official, but all signs point to the buck still stopping with Crane.

One hopes that the Astros' direction does work out. Crane has seen an unprecedented run of success as the Astros' owner, although it is unclear exactly how much his input in baseball operations actually helped Houston's run over the last decade plus. However, if you were expecting a change in philosophy under Flores, you may want to brace for disappointment in the coming days and weeks. If we see the Astros start cutting costs and leaning on aging veterans again, we'll have our final answer as to who is calling the shots.

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