Oct. 2, 2007, 11:54AM
New Astros regime has plenty to do
GM Wade looks to improve team that has slumped
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


For most of the past two decades, baseball in Houston was identified
with Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Next spring, the focus will shift
to a core of younger stars such as Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Roy
Oswalt and Hunter Pence.

Starting Monday, the weight of strengthening a team that finished 16
games under .500 and in fourth place in the NL Central fell on new
general manager Ed Wade, new manager Cecil Cooper and president of
baseball operations Tal Smith.

"Things have to end," Bagwell said. "The Biggio-Bagwell era is over.
You hope that some of the things that we did on the field and in the
community and in the organization remain. The way we went about our
business showed loyalty to this organization, as they have showed us.
It's something that can't be just washed away because we're not on
the field. It's going to continue to be."

Biggio and Bagwell — with an assist from owner Drayton McLane's
willingness to raise the payroll at trading deadline or through free
agency — brought winning baseball back to Houston. Winning has been a
staple during McLane's ownership, and he won't sit by without
demanding more than the 2007 team delivered.

The Astros suffered only their second losing season since McLane
purchased the club in 1993, and it's clear he wasn't satisfied with
the results, firing manager Phil Garner and general manager Tim
Purpura in August.

Now, it's up to Wade, Cooper, and Smith to formulate a plan to
provide a winning club. The '07 season was salvaged at the box office
by Biggio's pursuit of 3,000 hits and his retirement.

The way fans packed Minute Maid Park for the final weekend of the
season was a testament to the appreciation they have for Biggio's
contributions. Now, it's up to the younger Astros to build on
Biggio's legacy and turn the club around.

"I've learned a lot from Biggio," Pence said. "And a lot of the
veterans have taken me under their wing. We've all talked abut what
happened this year. And obviously some things need to change next
year. Losing isn't acceptable.

"I'm sure this year was great, and it was good to see Biggio's
3,000th (and) for him to have his final game and say goodbye to the
fans. But things need to change so that we can win. He basically
talked to me about what we can do to fix that."

The responsibility isn't just with the players, though. Wade has a
plan, and so does Cooper.

"I don't want to take a break," Cooper said. "Someone asked me
earlier how long will it take to get your plan in order? My plan is
already ready."


Taking immediate action
To that end, the Astros made some important changes Sunday. Third-
base coach Doug Mansolino was let go. Highly respected pitching coach
Dave Wallace was asked back, but he declined for personal reasons.
Wallace, who is open to serving the franchise in another capacity
away from the daily rigors of coaching, was replaced by longtime
director of pitching development Dewey Robinson.

If the focus Sunday had not been on such a historic sendoff for
Biggio, more attention would have been on the biggest reassignment
since Purpura and Garner were fired. Paul Ricciarini, who handled the
previous three drafts and was the team's senior director of player
personnel and scouting, was removed.

Ricciarini held one of the most important roles in the organization,
but Wade will restructure the team's scouting operation. While
interviewing general manager candidates and deciding whether to keep
Cooper, McLane made it clear he wanted to fix the scouting
department, the team's poor defense and the lack of fundamentals.

Considering Wade kept assistant general managers David Gottfried and
Ricky Bennett and lifted the interim tag off Cooper, Ricciarini's
reassignment has been the most significant change of the Wade era to
date. Wade quickly moved to restructure what is considered the nuts
and bolts of any organization.

"People think of it as a cliché sometimes, but there's no walking
past the fact that scouting is the lifeblood of an organization,"
Wade said. "And we have to make sure that we're doing everything that
we possibly can to strengthen our system. And the way you start doing
that is by effectively scouting and drafting, and on the
international side signing the right players.

"Paul's got great ability to evaluate, but I just felt at this point
in time, based on the information that I've been provided and looking
at it from afar, it's an area of significant concern. We just need to
move it forward and make the progress that we think we're capable of
making."

Wade's track record is strong in player development, as evidenced by
the young stars he developed when he was general manager of the
Philadelphia Phillies from 1998-2005.


Wade's track record
Wade was fired by the Phillies a few days after the Astros edged his
club by one game for the '05 wild-card berth. Two years later, many
of Wade's decisions are paying off as Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins,
Chase Utley and many of his other prospects are representing the NL
East champion Phillies in the postseason.

As Wade's former club prepares to play October baseball, he is
focusing on the Astros for next season, understanding the scouting
side must be straightened out to secure success in future seasons.

"I think we've got the big league club and scouting (as tasks) 1 and
1A," he said. " We finished on a high note, but we're finished. And
we can't be finished the last day of September. We need to figure out
a way to be playing those games in October again. So doing what we
need to do on the major league side is our No. 1 priority. But if
we're going to sustain success, we have to also pay attention to the
scouting and development side."

The Bagwell-Biggio era is over. Houston's hunger for postseason
baseball isn't.

jesus.ortiz@...