Wade is in his 34th season in professional baseball. Prior to his stint with the Astros, he served as the Philadelphia Phillies GM from 1998-2005 and then spent two seasons (2006-07) as a scout for the San Diego Padres.

Owner Drayton McLane had a glowing review of Wade’s tenure so far:

“Ed is an outstanding baseball man. He’s organized and has surrounded himself with a good, solid staff. Much of the work Ed did in Philadelphia had a lot to do with them becoming a champion. We feel he has us moving in the right direction to be a champion as well.”

Houston finished the season last year with a 74-88 record and has found little success since making the World Series in 2005 versus the Chicago White Sox.

Major League Baseball uses the average annual values of contracts plus benefits for players on the 40 man roster to determine the $162 million cut off for the luxury tax. The Yankees payroll in 2009 including signing bonuses and prorated contracts finished at $220 million. That was $77.8 million more then any other team in the league. The difference is also higher than payroll for each of the bottom 11 teams. Boston was next at $140.5 million followed by the Detroit Tigers at $139.4 million and the Phillies at $138.3 million. Florida again was last in the majors, even though the Marlins raised their payroll by $10.5 million to $37.5 million.

Many people think that the luxury tax system is not achieving the level playing field it set out to make.  Only two teams outside the top 11 by payroll made the postseason in 2009: Colorado (16th at $84.5 million) and Minnesota (23rd at $73.1 million). Some like the idea of setting a payroll floor in order to guarantee the revenue that teams receive is used for improving the competitiveness of the big league clubs as opposed to going directly into the profit column for the owners. In essence this luxury tax has the possibility of subsidizing owners that have no desire to “win” in the first place and simply pocket the money.

Just for fun take a look at this. Listed below are the names of the owners currently worth more than Steinbrenner and the teams they are currently in charge of:

• Seattle Mariners: Nintendo Corporation: $257.4 billion
• Minnesota Twins: Carl Pohlad: $3.6 billion
• Washington Nationals: Theodore N. Lerner: $3.5 billion
• Cleveland Indians: Larry Dolan: $3.3 billion
• Atlanta Braves: Liberty Media: $2.3 billion
• Houston Astros: Drayton McLane, Jr.: $1.6 billion
• Detroit Tigers: Mike Illitch: $1.6 billion
• Texas Rangers: Thomas O. Hicks: $1.4 billion
• Chicago Cubs: Thomas S. Rickets: $1.3 billion

Granted MLB is a for profit business and each team is individually owned and operated. They are entitled to their revenue and should be able to spend it as they see fit. However, should they be allowed to profit from teams like the Yankees who do invest heavily in payroll? It will be interesting to see how things are handled with the new collective bargaining agreement that needs to be negotiated in 2011.

How would you handle this situation? Do you share revenue equally across the board or do you cut off the “free” money and let the market decide?

Baseball America

The Astros have had their share of highs and lows over the last several years. They spent most of this past decade playing second fiddle to the St. Louis Cardinals. They have had many good players come up through their system and make contributions–most famously the killer B’s of Berkman, Biggio and Bagwell. Roy Oswalt has been the cornerstone of the Astros for the last several years being complemented by the likes of Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and up and coming pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. The Astros, however, had the oldest roster in the major leagues last year and decided against rebuilding the team by trading away starting talent even though rumors swirled around them trading Roy Oswalt. I have to give Owner Drayton McLane and GM Ed Wade credit for keeping fan favorites around even though logic says to ship them out to greener pastures. The Astros have been an extremely loyal team, having many players that have played their entire careers with them. But, is that really helping their cause?

The Astros have not had much success in developing minor league talent. Since 1998, Brad Lidge and Chris Burke are the only #1 draft picks that have made it to the major league level. There is room for hope though. Catching prospect Jason Castro is showing real promise and looks to be the first #1 pick to make the majors since Chris Burke did in 2001. Castro has a good glove and can hit for average. The Astros will need to see more improvement out of their prospects for things to not continue they way they have.  Brian McTaggart of MLB.com quotes Drayton McLane as saying “We’re going to have to work to see who’s out there and what our needs are. We’re not like we were when we signed Carlos Lee three years ago [to a six-year, $100-million contract] or when we signed free agents in the past. We’re just going to have to evaluate what’s on the market, what our needs are and how the economy is looking.”

The Astros have been on the fence for a while now and need to figure out which direction they are taking the team. The current strategy of half-hearted free agent signings and poor minor league development just isn’t going to cut it.

Baseball America’s Top Ten List of Astros Prospects

1. Jason Castro, c
2. Jiovanni Mier, ss
3. Jordan Lyles, rhp
4. Sammy Gervacio, rhp
5. Chia-Jen Lo, rhp
6. Ross Seaton, rhp
7. Tanner Bushue, rhp
8. Jay Austin, of
9. Jon Gaston, of
10. T.J. Steele, of