I sent Gerry Hunsicker an e-mail suggesting this silly little feud had gone on long enough. Time to come home, Gerry.

"Thanks for asking," he wrote back. "I'm doing fine."

Actually, those weren't his exact words. I softened them a bit because they wouldn't reflect the conciliatory tone needed at a time like this.

"Can't you let me rest in peace?" he asked in another cryptic exchange.

I could tell he was going to play hard to get. Some people are like that. I love the Astros enough to put a little extra effort into getting the job done. Besides, Hunsicker's worth it.

He's easily the most popular general manager in the history of professional sports in this city. In fact, he might be the only one fans had almost complete confidence in.

In terms of evaluating talent and shaping a roster, in understanding how the various pieces fit together, Hunsicker was among the best in any sport.

With the Astros in free fall, it's time for a fresh perspective. General manager Tim Purpura and his staff can keep their offices and titles, but Drayton McLane needs an outsider to offer a blunt assessment of what has gone wrong.

Trust me when I tell you no one does blunt assessments better than Hunsicker. Over the years, no one was spared, not even a certain bright, enterprising and well-meaning sportswriter.

Sure, there was an ugly divorce between McLane and Hunsicker, but that was almost three years ago. Who stays mad that long?

I'll bet he and McLane can't even remember what led to their split. It might have had something to do with McLane's believing Hunsicker got too much credit for the successes and not enough blame for the failures, but you didn't get that from me.

That was then. Now is the time to forget the past and look ahead. A fresh, cynical voice is needed.

A sad state of affairs

The Astros lost their 10th straight game Wednesday night, a 4-3 loss to the Reds, and could tie a 12-year-old club record tonight. They're near the bottom of the National League in hitting and pitching. Their minor league system is in sad shape.

What the Astros need is a game plan for the future. OK, that's not completely accurate. What they really need is a new game plan, because the current one stinks.

Their philosophy seems to be to stay the course and hope the guys they counted on, especially Lance Berkman and Morgan Ensberg, get straightened out. Those guys were part of the dramatic turnarounds in 2004 and 2005, and McLane and Purpura haven't given up hope that another magical run is possible.

Another reason they're reluctant to make changes is they don't know what to do. I recently advocated wholesale roster changes, with three or four Round Rock players getting a shot in the big leagues. That suggestion was met with a resounding yawn.

The Astros don't believe the players in Round Rock can help. I could argue they won't know until they try them, but I'd be wasting my breath.

Eric Munson and Chris Burke could be called back to the big leagues as soon as today, but they would represent nothing more than a patchwork fix. That may be the end of the changes until the July 31 trading deadline.

No matter how this season ends, McLane needs a harsh assessment of his organization, not just of the major league roster, but of every layer of the player development system.

McLane can allow Purpura to spend millions in free agency next winter, but the Astros still must get it right in player development. Every minor league system has bad cycles. McLane must find out if the problems that caused this one have been solved.

An Astro at heart

Hunsicker was general manager of the Astros for nine seasons. His teams went to the playoffs five times and finished lower than second once. He left the Astros after the 2004 season and is now a consultant to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays . McLane would need that organization's permission to hire him back.

If Hunsicker wanted to return, it's unlikely the Devil Rays would stand in his way. No matter what he says, no matter how long he has been gone, he invested a big portion of his life in the Astros.

No one loved them more during his nine seasons. No one took defeats harder or celebrated big victories more joyously. Hunsicker sometimes annoyed McLane by refusing to sugarcoat the truth. He'd be unlikely to do it this time, either. But he'd at least begin to come up with a clear picture of how the Astros can again be the franchise they once were.