One of the big stories of the 2015 regular season has been the sudden, seemingly premature rise of the recent bottom-feeders known as the Houston Astros, who vaulted from 70 wins a year ago to 86 wins and a trip to the postseason this season. This, in GM Jeff Luhnow's fourth season at the helm, caps a remarkable turnaround that has been marked by big trades, adventurous drafts and even hacked computer systems. This might be a convenient time to remind ourselves that it wasn't long ago the club was at a much different kind of organizational crossroads.
As the sun set on the 2008 season, the Astros were probably feeling pretty good about themselves. They finished 86-75 that season, 3½ games out of a playoff spot, after a season-ending 39-19 flourish that saw them nearly overtake the Milwaukee Brewers for a wild-card spot. They had finished above .500 in 14 of 16 seasons (counting that year), and made the playoffs six times in nine seasons between 1997 and 2005.
Savvy baseball followers knew, however, that the bottom was about to fall out. These were the death throes of the Biggio/Bagwell Astros; Craig Biggio had retired after the 2007 season, and Jeff Bagwell two seasons before that. Their compadre Lance Berkman was the only remaining member of the "Killer B's," and his brilliant .312-.420-.567 campaign was the driving force behind that '08 club. At 32, however, he was one of six Astros regulars, along with five of their six most often-used starting pitchers, over the age of 30. The clock was ticking, and the Tim Purpura/Tal Smith era was set to end, with Ed Wade set to take over as GM.
Even worse, the minor league system was in severe disrepair.