Gerry Hunsicker walking away was a HUGE part of the Astros downfall, but they also benefitted greatly in the mid-90s by being one of, if not the first club to open up a training facility in South America, opening up a pipeline that few others had... eventually this was shuttered and the talent in the Houston Farm system quickly collapsed as well...
Yes, the Astros made it to the series in '05, but they also began a trend of relying on free agents and were in the awkward situation of letting Big and Bags retire as Astros, as they should have.
the fact that anyone is lauding the Astros great moves right now is pretty ridiculous... this team needs to at least show me a winning season before I believe in this plan.
there may have been some moves made, but my family has not been able to watch or listen to an Astros game for over two years now... despite the fact that my dad had been able to since the club's inception before then... i don't see how cutting out your fan-base is part of rebuilding a team...
don't even get me started on Selig and the freaking train-wreck of a commissioner he was...
rant over