As for the long term, hand the whole thing to Dan Evans, let him build the Astros the way he did the Los Angeles Dodgers. Most of the kids that will make the Dodgers a juggernaut for the coming decade?

Evans did that.

The farm system that pops out pitchers and position players? At the same time? The farm system that allowed the Dodgers to back out of the excesses of Barry Zito, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, et al?

Evans.

The system that took a long look at a JUCO-bred third baseman named Russell Martin and decided he might be better suited as a catcher?

Evans again.

Tal Smith knows and likes Evans. McLane ought to find out why.

Of course, it will take a longer vision to advance from stop-gap contention to full organizational health. It would happen under Evans, though it would take some time.

More than 22 months
I find it funny that Tim Brown credits Dan Evans for having built the Dodgers when there isn't a single major league player remaining from the Evans era. The only homegrown pitchers on the roster are Billingsley and Broxton, while Penny and Lowe were acquired by DePodesta. Sure, Evans oversaw the rebuilding of the farm, but the scouting director whom he hired and who continues to run the team's drafts deserves just as much credit, if not more.

Evans' best moves were getting Paul Quantrill and Cesar Izturis for Luke Prokopec and Chad Ricketts, not trading Eric Gagne when every Dodger fan wanted him gone, getting Hideo Nomo for his final two good seasons, and dumping Kevin Brown's contract on the Yankees in his last hurrah.

Evans also made some of the most worthless midseason acquisitions (Terry Mulholland, Mike Trombley, Jeromy Burnitz, Tyler Houston) and offseason signings (Fred McGriff and Andy Ashby).