Astros HOF Index: The Community Chest

One thing has always bothered me about the way that the Astros do business. This is a team that has been to the playoffs eight out of the last nine years, won four pennants, and two World Series titles. Obviously, not much should bother us about those results. However, even if you go back to the Drayton McLane days, they have handled negotiations with stars like they are off the books.

It all gets baked into the same payroll. As a mere school teacher, I am not likely to be a billionaire at any point, but if I were and I owned a team my likely strategy would be to tell my general manager what his budget is at the beginning of the offseason and let him build the best roster he can with it. In…