Gerry Hunsicker has resigned from his post as general manager of the Houston Astros. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle sees this as a bad move for Houston.

He gave the Astros credibility. He gave them a conscience. He contributed more to their success than any of us may ever really know.

He didn't cry Monday when he announced his resignation, but he came close a couple of times.

If you love the Astros, you're the one who should be crying. Your favorite baseball team is far worse off than it was before Gerry Hunsicker stepped to a microphone on Monday morning at Minute Maid Park.

Hunsicker is no longer general manager of the Astros because he had finally had enough of McLane.

He resigned because their relationship had run its course and because he was worn down by the constant budget battles and by dealing with an owner who wanted a hand in virtually every decision.

Yes, they disagreed over McLane's decision to bring back Craig Biggio for 2001. That wasn't the reason he quit.

It wasn't even about McLane's latest slashing of the player-development budget. McLane has asked his baseball people to do more and more with less and less for so long that cutting the budget became the norm.

It was all those things and more. It was a desire for more freedom, to maybe answer to someone who trusted him a bit more and who understood that building a team is more art than science.

Hunsicker is going out on top after doing a very good job for the organization. I'm sure he'll get a good job somewhere else, and with any luck, a less meddlesome boss.

John P. Lopez looks at Hunsicker's successor, Tim Purpura.

There's no reason to believe Purpura will falter. Eminently qualified in ways not even Hunsicker was when he stepped in, Purpura paid his dues as an intern, rose through the player development ranks and ultimately became one of Hunsicker's most important sounding boards.

But never has Purpura felt the burden and responsibility of being a GM.

"It's sort of like molding a great Triple-A player," McLane said. "He's hitting great in Triple A, and you bring him up to the big leagues. You think he can be good. But until he gets there, you don't know."

Make no mistake. This is one of the most crucial junctures in club history, and Purpura will face pressures like never before. There is a manager to hire, a decision to make on Kent, negotiations with Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt looming, that 1 percent chance Roger Clemens will return, and a momentous call on how much to offer free-agent outfielder Carlos Beltran.