Friday Morning Hot Links

It's Friday everybody and you know what that means. Yep, it means Flick does your Hot Links, so prepare your bones for about 10-12 Astros related articles, a couple offbeat stories, and a few things that happened on this day in baseball!

The Astros did not play last night but depending on what Oakl-- wait. What.

Well, its back to a 3.5 game lead for Houston as we await the Angels. A miniature preview provided by Yahoo can be found here.

There are 10 games left in the season and the Astros need to go at least 5-5 to join the elusive 100-win club. Reminder: it's the Angels, Blue Jays, and Orioles left.

2018 just might be the best year of Astros baseball yet.

Reid Ryan makes it official: A.J. Reed will be playing in Round Rock.

No spoilers but they made a great choice for Best Astros Rookie.

It's time to play the cryptic game that is which pitchers will be playing for the Astros in October. It's quite the problem to have.

Josh James and Kyle Tucker were named Astros Minor League Pitcher and MVP respectively.

Dallas Keuchel isn't thinking about free agency right now, which I didn't think he would be.

Phillies targeting Charlie Morton in free agency this offseason?

Here's your feel-good story of the day.

You're the GM - Astros Edition!

Mike Fast has left the Astros, per McTaggart.

Alex Cora's first test as manager starts now.

Orbit, once again, was causing only the best mischief on Wednesday night.

Here's an article that is a crazy stats-lovers dream. It's about Ryan Pressly.

Bill Brown sits down with The Athletic to talk life after broadcasting. ($)

Amazon is making smart-microwaves and I absolutely do not understand the appeal for this. Don't worry, your smart fridge, blender, toaster, grill, and coffee pot, will be on the way soon.

Delaware has brand new "DMV Selfie Zones." I mean honestly what else can I say about this that will make this situation any better?

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1956, the Yankees left an MLB record 20 men on base in a 13-7 loss to the Red Sox.

In 1964, the Phillies lost to the Reds 1-0 after Chico Ruiz stole home. This was the game that started the Philly Phold.

In 1966, the Cubs beat the Reds 9-3. 530 fans attended the game at Wrigley Field, the smallest crowd in field history.

In 1988, the Astros beat the Braves 1-0 after Bob Knepper threw a complete game one hitter against Pete Smith, who also threw a complete game. 

In 2001, the Mets return to Shea Stadium for the first time since 9/11.

In 2008, Mariano Rivera closed Yankee Stadium.

In 2009, Cecil Cooper was fired as manager of the Houston Astros. He was replaced by Third-base coach Dave Clark.

Alberto Arias' shoulder vs. Cecil Cooper

What with the news that Alberto Arias has been released, it's worth looking at what the heck happened to the 2009 breakout star - and it has a lot to do with Cecil Cooper. We actually speculated on just this subject in March 2010. Let's see what happened up to that point.

First of all, Ed Wade picked Arias off waivers on July 31, 2008 from Colorado, where he spent his whole career, signing with the Rockies as an amateur free agent in 2000. Arias was a starter in the Rockies' system for the first two years of what Baseball-Reference has listed, throwing 73IP in 2003, 135IP in 2004, 90.2IP in 2005, 111.2IP in 2006. In 2007, Arias made his MLB debut and, between the minors and Colorado, threw 33.2IP; that was bumped up to 91IP in 2008. With Colorado's system from the beginning of the season to the point where the Astros acquired him, he threw 59.1IP. Doing the remaining math, he threw 30.2IP in August and September for the Astros/Express.

And then 2009 happened, where Arias threw 62IP - again between Triple-A and Houston. We can go to FanGraphs and see his gamelogs from 2006-2008. What do we find?

Appearances on consecutive days

2006: 3
2007: 1
2008: 1 (with Colorado)
2009: 8

We don't have pitch# data from the minors, but we can see a few things about how Cooper used Arias in 2009.

Appearances on 0 days of rest, 2009: 9
Appearances on 1 day of rest, 2009: 13
Appearances on 2 days of rest, 2009: 10

Pitches per outing, May 2009: 13.45
PPO, June 09: 22.78
PPO, July 09: 21.46
PPO, Aug 09: 14.44

 There were some telling signs about Arias' future troubles towards the end of his 2009, which occurred on August 23 as a result of a sore knee:

*Arias threw 30+ pitches seven times in 2009 - five of them between June 26-July 27.
*In May, Arias' sinker was sitting at 93mph (1,555 rpm). In June, it was at 93.27mph (1,859 rpm). In July, it was at 94.07mph (2,051 rpm). And in August, that slider was even higher, at a season-high 94.53mph (2,045 rpm).
*From May-July Arias allowed a .224/.325/.294 line, with 35K in 38.2IP. In August, Arias faced 40 batters, and got 21 of them out, allowing a .459/.500/.595 line with 4K in 7IP.

Later in August, Arias pulled his hamstring slipping in the bullpen. On September 17, his simulated inning didn't go well, and he had knee surgery on September 23. Still, there was no reason to think that Arias wouldn't be ready in 2010. Wade mentioned him as a late-inning bullpen candidate in December 2009.

Thing is, Brad Mills was the manager when Arias was pronounced healthy enough to go after a middle-relief role in March 2010. That said, Arias strained his trapezius on March 9, threw two bullpens and a live BP before needing an MRI on March 21 before getting the report that he jacked his rotator cuff on March 23. Wade was not optimistic about his short-term recovery. On April 21, 2010, Arias was throwing, had a lot of pain, and ended up having surgery, ending his 2010 season. On August 30, he began throwing off flat ground, in preparation of 2011. On January 14, 2011, Arias would be ready for Spring Training, but felt tightness on Feb 21 - four days later he got a cortisone shot.

By March 2, 2011, Mills was talking about Arias' career with concern. On April 5, Arias was throwing off a mound and looking good, but had a set-back on April 19 and flew back to Houston to get examined by the team doctor. He was placed on the 60-Day DL at the end of June, and was outrighted off the 40-man roster in October.

So. Who is to blame for what happened to Alberto Arias? Cecil Cooper rode him hard in 2009, but ultimately what sent him down the injury path were knee and hamstring issues (and remember, the hamstring issue was a result of slipping in the bullpen). Now, was the knee issue a result of poor delivery? Was Arias pushed to return due to a questionable bullpen heading into 2010? Was the shoulder injury overcompensating from a dodgy knee, and things just snowballed? Was it a complete breakdown of the entire system as a whole? It's hard to say for sure. But while Cooper started him down the path, Cooper was gone long before Arias' career was in question.

Cooper "would be perfect" for Brewers job, says Cooper

Let's be honest, if there was ANYTHING else going on today, this wouldn't even get an eyebrow raise. But I'm on duty, and I feel like I need to post something, or The Constable will make me buy everyone a round.

Cecil Cooper thinks he'd just be perfect for the Brewers' job:

"I think I would be a perfect fit. I hope they think so, too...

...I reached out to (GM Doug Melvin) to let him know I'm interested in managing the Brewers. I'm looking to get back. I've got something to prove. I know a lot of the players in Milwaukee and a lot of the people with the club. It would be perfect. I hope to hear back from them."

Cooper to interview with Seattle

Well, well. So Cecil Cooper must be bored. After being linked to the Brewers' managerial opening, Cooper will interview today with Seattle.

The Mariners will also interview John Gibbons, while Eric Wedge and Bobby Valentine are considered candidates.

Cecil Cooper has been working the phone

Addressing the vacancy at the helm of the Milwaukee Brewers, GM Doug Melvin is putting together a list of candidates. And he's heard from someone we all know:

Melvin said he has already heard directly from several would-be candidates, including former Brewers star and Astros manager Cecil Cooper, or from their agents.

Go get 'em, Coop!

Cecil Cooper wants another shot

According to an Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent article, Cecil Cooper wants back in to baseball.

Former player Matt Erickson:
"I hope he gets another job and gets back in baseball because talking to him today he really wants to get back into it. Coming to the ballpark today, you could see he was fired up. I hope it works out for him."

Berkman still complimentary of Mills

Well, this is nice:

Berkman:
“For me the toughest thing about (the slump) is it reflects poorly on (Mills), and that couldn't be further from the truth. He's been great and needs to be here for a long time. He's a great communicator and a very upbeat guy. But the best thing for me is I feel like he's here for our benefit, where in the past you felt maybe you were here for the benefit of the coaching staff. It's a shame that we as players haven't played to our capabilities to reward them for their effort."

We get it. Coop couldn't communicate. Mills can. No need to keep bringing it up. But he is right.

Royal brings up a good point

Dude's on a roll lately. After naming J.R. Towles the Official Scapegoat of the Houston Astros, John Royal takes on Roy Oswalt:

And from nowhere there was a lot of talk about Towles and the pitching staff, especially Roy Oswalt, having communication issues. That's a good reason for a demotion -- the pitchers not trusting a catcher. But it's kind of fishy sounding in that there has never been any talk in the past about Towles not being able to communicate with the pitching staff, and it just suddenly arose on Tuesday when Oswalt pitched to Humberto Quintero instead.

It's also kind of fishy sounding because we're talking about Roy Oswalt, and as Cecil Cooper will attest, Oswalt has never been shy about publicly expressing his dissatisfaction with the team, his teammates, and management decisions.

Carlos Lee takes the blame, and that's fine

Carlos Lee feels personally responsible for the Astros' slow start - and that's fine by me.

Lee:
"We're struggling right now trying to score runs, and I take full blame, because I've been in big spots in a lot of games and I haven't been able to come up with the big hit...My swing is feeling a lot better and I'm hitting the ball hard and putting good swings on the ball. I'm not doing anything differently or changing my swing. I'm trying to find rhythm. That's the problem right now. I don't know how you lose it like that. It's funny. I came out of Spring Training swinging the bat real well and all of a sudden somebody turned the lights on and turned mine off. I guess it's a matter of finding the spot and not being too far out front or too far back. I need to find the middle spot and get there to help the team."

That's correct, Carlos Lee. Not counting today's game vs Chicago, Lee has had 36 plate appearances. In only five plate appearances has he even seen a three-ball count. He's 0x10 with RISP. In innings 4-9, he's 2x25. I'm okay with him claiming some responsibility.

-
And there's the backhanded slam of Cecil Cooper and Dewey Robinson, courtesy of Chris Sampson:

"I feel even better than I did the first half of last season. With Arnsberg and Mills this year, they understand you can't run guys out there every single day and for multiple innings every single day and they're a lot easier to talk to. They want you to be completely honest with them and let them know how you feel because they don't want to run you out there if you're not feeling right. It's not going to help players, not going to help the team if you're not 100 percent. They do a great job with all of us, using everybody in the bullpen and getting everybody in games and getting them innings and do a great job of mixing it up. It's just a heck of a lot better atmosphere, and it's a lot of fun to play for them."

Bam.

Oswalt notes how he's feeling, and examines the Giants

McTaggart has some notes from Roy:

On how he's feeling, emotionally:
We have new personnel that are more easy to work for, and Arnie is easy to talk to in the bullpen. With the skipper, he's checked on me more the last two or three weeks than I got checked on the last two or three years, so it means a lot to you when you know what you've done for the organization for eight or nine years that guys care what you do. It helps a lot."

On his G1 opponent:
"Going up against the Giants, they've got a few new guys in the lineup that are going to help them. They added a few more bats to the lineup, and they've got a good pitching staff, so you know you have to go out there and throw up some zeroes."

Coop's legacy lives in the form of Alberto Arias' jacked-up rotator cuff

Alberto Arias was signed as a 17-year old undrafted free agent by the Colorado Rockies in 2000, and made his debut for Colorado on May 1, 2007. His total IP by year:

2003 (Rookie ball): 73
2004 (Single-A): 135
2005 (High-A): 90 - converted to a reliever
2006 (Double-A): 111.2
2007 (Triple-A): 34 - missed significant time with shoulder inflammation
2008 (Triple-A): 91
2009 (Triple-A/MLB): 62

So from that little exercise, Arias wasn't "overworked" in the traditional sense of IP in 2009 - pitching 29 fewer IP in 2009 from 2008.

But if we look at how Coop used Arias in 2009, we can see a few things:

-Arias threw 30+ pitches in a given outing seven times in 2009. All between June 9 and July 27.

-From May 6 to the All-Star Break, Arias threw in 25 of the Astros' 60 games, average 18.56 pitches per outing and averaging 1.8 days of rest between appearances.

-After the All-Star Break, Arias only appeared in 17 games, due to going on the DL on August 24 and having knee surgery on September 23.

Did Coop screw him up? I don't know about that. Maybe. Probably. But it's hard to fault Coop for continuing to run him out there. Pre-ASG, Arias was throwing 60% of his pitches for strikes and allowing a slash line of .184/.298/.243.

Fact is that Arias is hurt, and it's not looking good. Responding to David Coleman of TCB, Will Carroll basically confirmed AC's quick research that his injury is a precursor to a full-on rotator cuff tear, but that scenario is preventable. Whether it was preventable in 2009 is a larger, harder-to-define question.

Justice v. Berkman

So Richard Justice and Lance Berkman had themselves a good sit-down. He spent a lot of time reassuring that he plays hard, and is a leader. What do we learn?

On the public's view of his work-ethic:
It's easy when the interview is on television for people to see it's said tongue-in-cheek. You say some of these things in the print media, and it comes off as serious. I probably should have been a little more guarded with some of my remarks. But I don't want to be a guy that hides behind cliches.

I would like for people to know I do work hard. I worked the whole off-season. The first thing I did was lose about 12 pounds. I follow Gene Coleman's program. They send us home with an off-season training manual.

On his weight:
I like to play at 220. At the end of the season, I was at 230. I was about 10 pounds heavier than I wanted to be. I'm getting older and it's harder to keep the weight off. I don't feel I've ever been fat or unathletic. I joke about it because that's how people perceive me. People tell me I look like I'm 300 pounds on television. I don't run pretty. I'm not the most fluid on the bases. I feel like I always play hard. I run hard. I do care about what we're doing here.

On "dogging it":
Like A-Rod. Until very recently, everything he said was scripted. I'm not going to tell you something because that's what you guys or the general public want to hear. I would hope the people that are truly fans would pay close enough attention to the way I play. I've never dogged it on the field my entire life. If you hit a ground ball to the second baseman, and he's standing there holding it, you may not run 100 percent through first base all the time. You're out halfway down the line. That kind of thing happens.

All I'm saying is that I feel like I've played hard, I've played hurt, I've been on the field, I want to win. I would hope that people that watch the games would know that just by watching.

On the clubhouse environment:
It was really bad. But I don't want people to blame that all on Coop. It was bad because I played bad. I wasn't as good as I can be. Roy was hurt and down. Nobody really played up to what they were supposed to. We had a lot of guys under-perform. In fact, the only guy to perform consistently well was Wandy. He pitched great. Outside of that, everybody had a down year, and that in and of itself creates a horrendous environment. I think people want to say it was the manager. It wasn't all his fault. Certainly, he has some responsibility in that because he was the manager. It was our fault.

Mills = Tabasco Sauce

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick's huge-a$$ profile of Brad Mills has a lot of words. Let's condense, and glean:

Ed Wade:
"He doesn't come in with a joke book or 100 baseball stories to engage his audience. His message is consistent whether he's in front of crowds or he's having individual discussions with players. I really think the players are buying into his program: Prepare to play the game the right way. Know that the manager and the staff have your back. But you're also going to be accountable."

Crasnick, on what the Astros need:
The Astros need Oswalt to improve upon his 8-6 record, Brett Myers to rediscover his old 200-inning form; Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom to stabilize the back end of the bullpen; Berkman and Carlos Lee to scare people in the middle of the order; and Pence, Bourn, Bud Norris and the kids to keep maturing.

A decent start would also help. From 2000 through 2009, the Astros posted a .480 winning percentage before the All-Star break (427-462) and a .555 win percentage after the break (405-325). It would be nice if they don't play themselves into a hole by Memorial Day.

Braves GM Frank Wren:
"If there's a better training ground than he got in Boston, I don't know what it would be. I think he'll do a terrific job."

Crasnick:
During a recent interview with his hometown California paper, Mills described himself as "a little bit vanilla." When his three kids came over to the house for dinner a couple of nights later, they immediately gave him the business.

"They told me, 'You're anything but vanilla!'" Mills said, laughing. "Then they started listing things. They told me, 'You're more like Tabasco sauce than vanilla.'"

I'll pour tabasco sauce all over my ice cream if it means a winning season, or at least a season that looks like the Astros are interested in playing in September. I will say this, where Blum and others have taken their opportunities to rip Cecil Cooper, Ed Wade had this to say:
"I'm not into comparing and contrasting. Coop's a great baseball man, but things got rough from a win-loss standpoint last year. We're facing forward at this point and building off the strengths that Millsy brings to the table."

That's some class.

Justice: Everybody hated everybody else last year

Just a few key notes from Justice's blog post

It was the worst clubhouse environment I've ever been around and stemmed from the fact that management allowed Cecil Cooper to continue as manager even after it was clear he'd lost the club....

...It was bizarre because management knew there was a problem. It knew the players had lost faith in him, that the atmosphere was terrible. I'm not saying the club could have gotten back into the race, but it had no chance with Cecil Cooper as the manager. Veteran players became very cynical about whether management even wanted to win...

...In Coop's case, strategy was a huge problem and contributed to the bad atmosphere. Also, there was a similar problem between pitching coach Dewey Robinson and the pitchers. I don't know if the Astros are going to be any good in 2010, but simply having a competent manager and pitching coach is going to be a huge step forward.

I'm not sure what prompted Run-DMc and Easy Eddie to keep Cooper around for as long as he did, but I'm guessing it was the fact that they had extended him for 2010 in April. This was an incredibly short-sighted decision. So, knowing that the Astros would be paying Cooper whether he managed or not probably had a lot to do with keeping him around and hoping that he could turn things around. (Remember, Cooper yelled at the players in Spring Training). Cooper will receive $850,000 this year, just to not manage. As with most things Astros, payroll and money had a lot to do with this (non-)decision.

Blum flat-out brought it

In an interview with Fox26, Geoff Blum brought the thunder and the rain in talking about Cecil Cooper.

It was one of those over-bearing things that was like a black cloud hovering over the clubhouse. There were things you couldn't say. You couldn't be who you wanted to be in the clubhouse with all of the internal rumors and all the clubhouse lobbying going on, things like that. You don't need those kinds of things. It's hard enough to play a 162 game season with 25 different attitudes as it is. Then you add into the mix the heavy burden of playing for a manager who wasn't overly upbeat to be there in the first place, it seemed like. Now we've got a guy in here who wants to be here, first-year manager, brings over like I said the winning attitude and maybe a little more upbeat style hopefully."

And Mills?
There's definitely a new feel. We had some issues last year with Cooper and the way things were going and some of the clubhouse mood, but I've heard good things about Brad Mills from players that had him in triple-a and obviously he's coming from a winning organization in Boston. So that's going to be a good influence in the clubhouse. Knowing what Brad might bring to our ballclub, we're going to bring our best for him so that he can make the right calls and succeed...

...(A new manager) makes a huge difference. We're going into a championship season. You want to go into the season with a guy who's got your back and is enthusiastic about playing. We get bogged down through the season playing so many games. You are going to hit some ruts. You need somebody that is going to get you out of it. Knowing that you've got a manger and a coaching staff who are on your side and want to battle for you and with you makes a huge difference."

Roy, got anything you want to say?:
I think the attitude of the team is a little better this year. I think with Brad coming in he's going to add a little different attitude in the clubhouse and I think it's going to be a lot more fun around the clubhouse and a little better atmosphere.
I met him twice. With just the way he wants to learn the team, and he's been around winning teams too, so he's adding a different factor into the clubhouse than we've had. I think he's going to do a good job. A manager, you know, you've got to rally your troops. You can't get down on your troops. I mean they're out their playing their hearts out. His job is to stick behind us and ours is to stick behind him. I think he is going to be a good fit for us."

In one of the saddest lines Fox26 Sports has ever printed, the closer is:
When reached by FOX 26 Wednesday night Cooper declined comment.

I get it. You have to ask about The New Guy, and the new feel and atmosphere in the clubhouse. But there's a way to be excited without having to drag Cooper into the conversation. We all know Cooper had an issue with communication and that it was hard to play for him. What Blum and Roy said wasn't classless, but maybe a touch unnecessary.

That said, when a new boss comes in, everybody compares him/her to the old boss. It's just that our water-cooler conversation isn't printed. And thank God for that. I'd like to know what Cooper's response to this is, but he's holding his tongue - and should be applauded for it. (Though it would be pretty frickin awesome).

Roy moderately confident his back problems are a fluke

But he is feeling good well. And the panic is mostly our fault. And the WBC's.

Roy:
"I'm doing all the exercises they showed me to do as far as strengthening the lower back and doing a little bit less long cardio and a little more short stuff, like quick bursts here and there. Instead of running three or four miles, I'm trying to do a little more accelerating stuff. I think people read into it a little too much (into) it. I'll be ready when it gets time to go. This new workout stuff should help a lot...

I feel like I'm getting in shape quicker this way. I just started throwing this week. I've been lifting [weights] for couple of months now, and it seems like it's coming together well."

Noting that he had been pitching at form for five extra starts, Roy said:
"I only missed three starts and started five in the WBC, so that's 35 starts. I think I'll be in good shape. [The back problem] is not in the back of my head or anything like that. If I have to, I can pitch through it and hopefully for the entire season I'll be pain-free."

Hey, but what about 2010?
"I think we're going to be OK if Myers comes in and pitches good and Wandy pitches the way he did last year. The biggest thing is health. Most teams you see in the World Series, they stay healthy the whole year. That's the biggest key in the big leagues. The talent is there, but we have to put it all together and stay healthy. Adding a new manager and a pitching coach is a help for us."

Those are two big "Ifs."

On Mills:
"I think it's going to work out well. He fits our club well. We have some guys on the team that have the same background as he does. A lot of people from the side don't know what it's like to get on the field. Being out there, he can understand how hard the game is, and you learn a lot from guys who had trouble getting through the season when they're hurting."

Maybe I'm one of the people from the side. But Cooper should theoretically have understood that, too...

Bidding farewell to a terrible year

The ringing in of the new year is a time to reflect and ask the outgoing year to kiss your ruby red ratleg. The new year is a time of hope and promise, however fleeting for us Astros fans. So let's take a look back at 2009 and reflect on the ways in which The Apparatus (which is how the front office will, from now on, be known) tried to eat our souls.

1. Exercising Coop's option (April)
Because of the dreaded, and formal, vote of confidence, the Astros will pay Cooper $850,000 in 2010 to not manage the team. After a mediocre start, The Apparatus killed the clubhouse, effectively allowing Berkman and Lee to loaf all season long.

2. Signing Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz (offseason)
It was a low-risk, high-reward couple of moves that just didn't pay off. Hampton predictably got hurt during the season and Ortiz was flat-out released mid-season.

3. Not offering arbitration to Randy Wolf
#2 was precipitated by this one. Wolf was coming off a strong 2nd-half with the Astros, and were in negotiations to re-sign him to a 3-year deal. The Apparatus had an offer on the table, and pulled it before Wolf could respond. Then they didn't offer him arbitration, and the Dodgers picked him up for $5 million. We have the benefit of hindsight, and Wolf had a great year. Now he's with the Brewers, who will likely finish higher in the standings than the Astros.

4. Not playing Tommy Manzella
I think everyone knew the Astros wouldn't be offering arbitration to Tejada, because he would have taken it and cost The Apparatus a whole lot of money. So to leave Tejada in, and let him chase 200 hits - which of course just fell short - instead of giving 2010's SS1 Tommy Manzella some playing time was completely short-sighted. Now the Astros have a rookie shortstop coming in with FIVE career plate appearances. Would playing Manzella for 20 games have prepared him for his first major league season? Not totally, but it would give him a taste of a job that will hopefully be his for a few years.

I'm sure there are others. But I just had to pick myself up off the floor and take a Zoloft. So what did I miss?

Bourn: Feel-good human-interest local-boy hyphenated-All Star

Jerome Solomon's Told-You-So column on Michael Bourn this morning is a good one:

He might be confident and somewhat stubborn, but to this point he hasn’t been as concerned with critics as with improving his game.

That makes him easy to root for.

The stubbornness is why continued improvement is likely, and why he could truly become a special player. Bourn has always believed he could be a great player. He doesn’t think he is a great player yet.

And he's good at taking directions:
The Astros told Bourn what to work on in winter ball last year — staying on top of the ball, hitting the other way, being more selective — and he looked like a different hitter this season.

He improved his average by 56 points — hitting .285, which was almost as high as his on-base percentage (.288) in 2008 — thanks to 66 more hits, and he led the league in stolen bases with 61. Offensive consistency made it easier for people to applaud his defensive prowess.

Who should get credit for Bourn (besides Bourn?):
Cooper should get some credit for Bourn’s development as a hitter. Jose Cruz played a major role in Bourn becoming a better outfielder. The God-given speed would be wasted if Bourn didn’t get the great jumps for which he is now known.

Melvin likely out; AC's thoughts on managers, in general

JJO's blog post has a few clarifications on this manager search:

Drayton McLane said multiple candidates for the Astros' managerial job were brought in for a second interview on Wednesday. He admitted Manny Acta was one, but McLane said Bob Melvin wasn't brought in...

..."We brought in some others. I don't want to go into details. Some of them I had not met, and we had several discussions. They were kind of brief on me."

I'm of the opinion that unless you interview with Drayton, you're not really going through a managerial interview with the Astros. So those who have made the second round are at least in the door.

Keep in mind, however, that unlike the other candidates, Garner, Clark and Pedrique don't need an introductory second interview with McLane to enter the finals.

-
On this subject, we got a question in the ol' inbox (astroscounty@hotmail.com):

Constable,
You aren't posting any opinions about who should be the new manager. Why not?

That's one astute observation. But it's true. The reasons I'm not terribly concerned about who the new manager is are these:

-It's kind of a crapshoot. There wasn't anything to indicate that Joe Torre (whose managerial stock is falling slightly since leaving NY) or Tony LaRussa would be a great manager. There also wasn't anything to really suggest Fredi Gonzalez or Don Wakamatsu or Ron Washington would be good managers. And the thing about it is, a manager can be considered Great one year, and lousy the next (see: Garner, Phil). One year ago we all thought Cecil Cooper had done a pretty great job, and look where he was by May. So it's not like measuring a K:BB ratio, or SB%. There aren't any predictors to how well a manager may do.

-If Lance and Roy decide they're going to throw a fit (see: 2009) and pout, and wear t-shirts (which wasn't even funny. I could get on board if they made shirts that were actually funny) wondering if the manager really just did...whatever, then the manager doesn't have a chance. One advantage that the new manager will have is the backing of Ed Wade. Easy Eddie didn't hire Cecil Cooper. And that fact was made obvious. So if/when one of the Veterans decides to act like a 2nd grader at some point next season, it will be interesting to see what effect it has from a personnel standpoint.

So in conclusion, the reason I'm not so hopped up on the managerial search? It's not like a GM search, where you can evaluate trades and drafts. Once the next manager is announced, there will be plenty to go over, but it's hard to just look at some stats and make a PECOTA-style prediction.

McTaggart's Q&A with Garner

And from a couple of days ago, McTaggart posted a Q&A with Garner. Some nuggets:

Drayton was not in this process, so I've no conversations with Drayton other than to see him here at the ballpark a few times to chat with him. First and foremost, being fired, there's nothing wrong with that. It happens in baseball a lot. I did not have any ill feelings I do know I've made changes when the club is not going right and in '07 things weren't going right. You have to do things to shake up the ballclub. I don't think Drayton had ill feelings towards me...

...I feel re-energized, I always bring an energy to a ballclub. But I think at this point after being out a little over two years, I'm re-energized and I think that's important to bring a can-do attitude to a ballclub and I can bring that. I'm always upbeat. You guys know that I can see a lot of good things even in a storm. That I can bring to the table: baseball experience and knowledge. I think there's some things that need to be done with this ballclub and for whatever reason I don't think it's where it should be. I think there's going to need to be a tough hand applied, and I think I'm very capable of doing that...

...We weren't playing well in '07 and I think any time your club is playing poorly it's hard to determine if the club's better than you're actually playing or it's about what you have. And so, I'll have to leave it up to the people that are evaluating and some p the personnel they've watched closer than I have the last couple of years. You can always use a year like the Astros have gone through as a good bounce-off point...

...I have not talked to Cecil yet. As a matter of course, I usually wait when things like this happen to good friends, but I will give him a call. I want to check with him and see how he's doing...

...Were we lacking in a team effort? It looked like that at times. I think those things need to be addressed. I don't know if that was a fault of anybody, but that's the way it appeared to me. I think those are the things that would need to be addressed. We need to get back to the team concept. Baseball is unusual from the fact of individuals play to get it done, but you need a team effort and you need to get where you're going. It appeared to me at times we weren't really sure we were playing for a team, for a single goal."