NEW YORK — No one outcome doomed Dana Brown. He oversaw a disappointing homestand that cost the Houston Astros their American League West lead, but Brown’s fate as the team’s general manager had been sealed long before the ballclub blew a six-run lead on Sunday afternoon against the lowly Athletics.That it turned out to be Brown’s final game as Houston’s GM is something of a coincidence. Owner Jim Crane said the collapse and catastrophic homestand “didn’t have anything to do with it.” There is no right time to fire someone, Crane said, but the Astros “weren’t where we wanted to be,” forcing the 72-year-old owner to act.“We expect better,” Crane said on Tuesday afternoon from the bowels of Yankee Stadium, where he traveled to meet the team after a chaotic Monday morning.Crane conducted a closed-door meeting with manager Joe Espada, during which he reiterated that Espada will guide the club for the remainder of the regular season. Espada, like Brown, entered the season without a contract for next year.“I told him we’d deal with that at the end of the season,” Crane said. “We’ve never changed that answer all year long.”Espada, Crane said, is “doing what he can do with what he’s got.”“You get three or four starters down, you got to really scramble,” he said. “He’s a good manager. He keeps an eye on things. I just talked to him and he’s ready to win a game today.”Crane exited Espada’s office at Yankee Stadium at 4:13 p.m. ET. Five minutes later, senior adviser Jeff Bagwell entered for his own conversation with Espada. Bagwell will be influential in aiding the Astros during their baseball operations transition, along with assistant general managers Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff.Crane will oversee all four men.“I let the guys do their job,” Crane said. “If they need help, I’m there to help. I sit in the meetings so I can understand what they’re doing sometimes, but we’ve got three good assistant GMs that know what they’re doing and we’ve got Jeff (Bagwell) there. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. I’ve just got to help when I can.”“I think Joe is doing what he can do with what he’s got,” Jim Crane said of Joe Espada. (Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)Crane said the team will “take our time” in identifying Brown’s replacement. Moving on from Brown when they did will allow the Astros time to vet candidates, though Crane didn’t divulge specific qualities he will look for in a new general manager. Twice, though, Crane said he plans to study the operations of “some pretty good teams that don’t have big payrolls.”“I think we’ll need to make some adjustments (and) look at how other people do things,” Crane said.