Whether it’s life, business, or in this case, sports, participating in something existing and thriving feels good. However, everything (life, business, sports) has an arc, and entering the tail end of a prosperous arc can be a bit treacherous. In the end, doom lurks around the corner. For the Astros, new manager Joe Espada and second-year general manager Dana Brown may be finding that out the hard way.

Off to a 6-14 start, the Astros have been one of the biggest disappointments in the Major Leagues this season. For a team that came in third on some odds charts to win the World Series, taking up space in the standings behind the Oakland Athletics is suboptimal, to say the least.

Any time a baseball team performs poorly, the seats under management’s butts, both in the dugout and the front office, will get a little warm. Espada is only three weeks into his managerial career, so he is in virtually no danger of being fired and, similarly, Brown is still fairly new to the role. However, both Espada and Brown face unique challenges in navigating the future terrain.

Let’s start higher up the food chain with Brown. The following video is an interview that Hall of Famer and senior advisor to Astros owner Jim Crane, Reggie Jackson, did with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, in which Jackson describes how decisions (such as choosing to leave contract negotiations with free agent pitcher Blake Snell) take place inside the Astros building:

Reggie tells us here why his Astros didn’t sign Snell. “We don’t play that game.” Reggie talks about the A’s, the Yankees and Bregman. Altuve in full cast. Praise for Volpe, concern for pitchers

HEAR:
Apple: https://t.co/YUScvSqLLO
Spotify: https://t.co/FLSKqeg2Ws

WATCH: https://t.co/0cP3Of6wWW pic.twitter.com/7qoONj93OZ

-Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 12, 2024

This is a terrifying minute of audio, if you’re a Houston Astros fan. In a league where the normal understood power structure is to have an empowered GM who makes his own decisions, with understandable input and approval from owners on major decisions (even Jeff Luhnow needed that, well, back in the day), the Astros They’re operating with a strange committee of old-school Hall of Famers who may or may not have a bigger voice in the owner’s ear than the actual GM.

At first glance, this seems like, at the very least, a very difficult situation for Brown to navigate and mold the team to his vision. Honestly, listening to Jackson describe how decisions are made with the Astros, it seems like Brown was hired almost largely alone to rebuild the crumbling minor league system and bring major league decisions to the Cooperstown Three and Crane. In other words, I find it hard to blame Brown for anything that’s going wrong with the Astros, because I don’t really know how much he has to do with it in the first place.

As for Espada, it’s too early to say that he is the problem or the root cause of the Astros’ horrible record to start the season. So far, Espada’s decision-making seems about as sound as it could be as he tries to navigate a sea of ​​injuries and a black hole at first base.

Where Espada may have problems is with fan perception, if the team doesn’t change things. While AJ Hinch and Dusty Baker had to operate in a Houston sports universe where the city’s other coaches were Bill O’Brien, David Culley, Lovie Smith and Stephen Silas, Espada has to manage and hold press conferences in a world where the famous “dawgs” (the good ones) Ime Udoka and DeMeco Ryans have their respective teams in rapid promotion mode. That’s hard.

Hey, look, at the end of the day, Brown and Espada are getting opportunities that most managers and staff in the sport dream about. They are working for a winner. But all good things come to an end, and Espada and Brown may have added to this existing good thing with the eventual tailspin in sight.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergaston Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.