[610am] Hunsicker stepping down, Purpura to be new GM

Hunsicker steps down... will stay on as an advisor.

Tim Pupurra (a very solid guy) is the new GM.

 

Gerry steps down as GM

 

Hunsicker is stepping down.

 

He must know that Beltran and Clemens aint coming back. Get while the gettin is good.

 

He'll be back behind a desk somewhere after next year. I don't know where, but he'll be somewhere.

 

Damn...he is by far the MOST underrated GM in Baseball

 

At least we didn't lose Pupurra to somebody else before Gerry left (which he was gonna do anyways after next year)... he was a pretty hot commodity among MLB, but stayed loyal to Gerry and Houston.

 

Said he wanted to spend more time with his wife which usually means he's taking another job.

 

You can't handle the Truth.

 

Too bad, wonder what the issue was. Hun did a hell of a job for the Stros, he's one of the top 5 GMs in the game imo. Year after year the Stros remained competitive despite a payroll lower than most of the teams they competed against, and many of the clubs below them in the standings.

 

He's just stepping down as the GM, and will stay on with the team as an advisor thru next year (when his contract ends).

He's letting the "Jason Lane" of GM's take his shot (that's how Gerry put it... you can tell he probably wanted Lane to get his shot earlier than he's had).

Tim's speaking now.... sounds VERY happy.

 

Wow.

Purpura is a solid, solid guy, and will be a fantastic GM.

Thanks, Gerry. He's been, along with Schuerholtz (sp?) in ATL, the best GM in baseball over the past 8 seasons or so.

 

We're damn lucky to have Tim Purpura waiting in the wings...but losing Hunsicker is a huge blow.

When a GM steps down after an outstanding year that is going to be followed by an offseason with a lot of moves to be made, it makes you wonder if he and Drayton had differences on how to design the team...

Purpura is known to have a fantastic eye for talent.

Here's a little story on him via Neyer... http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1483345.html

 

So what do you guys know about Purpura?

 

I'm actually liking the "ambition" that Pupura's gonna bring to this. He knows how to do the job, that's not a problem... and you just know he's gonna bust his ass to succeed now that he's finally gotten his shot (and after turning down several other GM jobs from other teams over the past few years).

Gerry was fantastic... and there's probably nobody else in baseball who could have gotten more out of this team and its payroll the last 10 years. You could tell that he'd lived and died with every win and every loss.... in fact, he mentioned how much of a wreck he was throughout the playoffs, and the NLCS... he was the GM, but more than that, he was the most diehard of all the Astros fans.

Chances are, he probably felt that nothing could have topped this season (hell, as a fan, I kinda feel the same way... even though we didn't win it all), and the sooner Tim can take over, it will probably make for a smoother transition (especially since Gerry will be around to make sure things are okay).

Reminds me of when Michael took over as the Don at the end of GF1, and he'd have his father there as a "consigliere" if he needed ("You're out Tom...")

 

Great baseball mind, according to the scouting guys I know. Same guys said Gerry was getting burned out, he wasn't going to stick around after next season anyway.

Purpura was in consideration for the Pirates & Mets GM positions, he was basically promised this job after next season, so he stuck with the Stros.

 

That's what I am thinking.