Can we promote him to Three-Star General Manager?

Every few days, for the last few weeks, either Stephen or myself have muttered the same sentence regarding Ed Wade, the new general manager for the Astros:

"This guy's not fucking around."

Our problems going into the offseason:

1. We needed more offense.
2. We needed another outfielder.
3. We needed to get rid of Brad Lidge while he still had some vague trade value.
4. With him gone, we would need another closer.
5. We needed a second baseman -- Chris Burke was clearly not going to work as the heir apparent to Craig Biggio.
6. And many fans would really appreciate it if we got rid of Adam Everett, even though he's the best defensive shortstop in the game -- the man just can't frickin' hit to save his pointy-eared life.
7. And another starting pitcher would be nice.

That's a lot of work, but then the Astros were atrocious last year. They clearly needed a lot of work, even to compete in the National League "Comedy" Central.

Well, Wade has been on the job for less than three months now. What has he done?

1. He traded Brad Lidge to Philadelphia, picking up speedy centerfielder Michael Bourne. Problems 2 and 3: solved!
2. He signed Colorado's stellar second baseman Kaz Matsui. Problem 5: solved!
3. He made a huge trade, sending five guys to Baltimore in exchange for power-hitting shortstop Miguel Tejada. Problem 1: solved!
4. With Tejada, Everett was unnecessary, so we didn't bother resigning him. Problem 6: solved!
5. And now, he's just traded more castoffs (including poor Chris Burke) to Arizona for Jose Valverde, the best closer in the National League. Problem 4, solved!

In addition to that, he's made a few other moves that shored up our bullpen, and built a nice, speedy lineup that should be a lot of fun to watch next year.

Problem seven still remains. So of course, I read a rumor today that he's going after Mark Prior. A risky move, yes, but it would be an answer.

See? This guy's not fucking around.

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