Astros sign former 20-game winner. Astros fans disgusted.

Yes! The Astros have scrapped the bottom of the barrel again!

Randy Wolf is still out there (even though he really screwed up turning down a 3-year, $28 million deal earlier this offseason).
So is Ben Sheets.
So is Jon Garland.
Heck, so is Andy Pettitte.

So what do the Houston Astros, who were one more halfway decent starter away from a playoff spot, do in a market with rapidly declining prices?

They signed a 20-game winner. Problem is, he won 20 in 2003. And his name is Russ Ortiz.

Yeah, that Russ Ortiz. The guy who was 7-22 in his last three big league seasons and didn't even pitch an inning last year because he had Tommy John surgery.

Why did the Astros sign him? Because he's cheap. Plain and simple. Just like the team's owner.

Drayton McLane, for those of you who don't know, is a trucking magnate. He is a billionaire. He's also always been unwilling to take that final step to take the Astros from a competitor to a winner. He wouldn't invest in scouting and the farm system (because that SOB Gary Hunsicker had the nerve to suggest it) and would only shell out the big bucks for Pettitte and Roger Clemens because they were local guys (and, by extension, would draw bigger crowds and allow him to raise ticket prices).

McLane has been largely insulated by the mega-recession because the Houston area has been largely unaffected and his company has a close relationship with Wal-Mart. Yet, he's the most public screamer of poverty since the market headed south. It has been pathetic.

Ty Wiggington, the guy who almost carried the Astros into the postseason, is gone because he's too expensive. Instead, he's been replaced by the combination of Geoff Blum and Aaron Frigging Boone. Combined, they hit 20 homers and drove in 71 RBI. Wiggy hit 23 homers by himself (though he only drove in 58). But Blum/Boone are cheaper! Joy!

The Astros desperately needed help at catcher, as J.R. Towles and Humberto Quintero are a giant offensive hole (kind of like Brad Ausmus was). The Astros signed Toby Hall to a minor league deal.

All the pitchers mentioned above are still out there. The Astros signed Russ Ortiz and closed down shop. And, with a rotation of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Brian Moehler, Mike Hampton and Brandon Backe/Ortiz/who knows, they have sceeded any chance at a playoff spot in 2009.

McLane seems to think that he'll cry poverty and Astros fans will simply sit around, nod and understand. They won't. Their level of disgust has been high for several years and the whining about how poor he is won't fly. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the nation and the Astros have a new ballpark. They also have an owner who spends like he's a mid-market franchise. People will probably show their displeasure this spring, when they don't show up at Minute Maid Park.