Not sure if Elway is a good example. He lucked into Peyton Manning wanting to play there and hasn't been able to find a good QB since.
Honestly Ausmus will be an upgrade over Dusty so it's not the worst thing in the world. What you really have to hate about it though is Bagwell having more pull over the team than Dana Brown. Having a hard time seeing this end well with Bagwell going from loved by Houston to hated. Baffles me how an owner is completely ok moving away from what got the Astros to where they are today.
Drayton hated Gerry Hunsicker got more credit than him then fired him as a result. He felt vindicated when the Astros won the 2005 pennant without him, but that was the beginning of the end.
I'm not so sure if he would be better than Dusty. His lineups would probably be better, but managing a team is also about motivation and moral. Dusty is excellent at the soft side of managing other than F'ing over Chas.
I honestly have no idea what Ausmus as a manager would be like. It’s hard to truly judge a manager until you watch 150 plus games
..and probably Yainer Diaz and Jake Meyers (who comprise a third of the best 9 position players during the regular season). Also, his managing did not motivate the pitchers to pitch with Diaz. If anything, his comments like I need Maldy "to straighten out Brown" likely was the opposite of motivating the pitchers to pitch with Diaz who will likely be the primary catcher over the next 5 years. Never thought I would include Dubon in the best 9 position players for the regular season.