Monday Morning Link Dump

While You Were Drinking: here's your Monday Morning Link Dump...

The Astros are beginning the managerial search immediately. Meanwhile, minor league hitting instructor Ty Van Burkleo is the interim hitting coach, and special assistant to the GM Dan Radison (formerly in the Cardinals' organization) is the interim first-base coach.

The hope is to have a manager in place by November, and a short list of names has already been compiled.

Luhnow, on the timing:
"It was about a week ago that we made a decision that we weren't going to renew Brad for next year," Luhnow said. "Once that decision was made, in thinking through the logic, it made sense to make these changes sooner rather than later, not have a lame-duck administration really."

Brad Mills seemed to be relieved by his firing.

Luhnow:
But there's something to be said for sticking to a plan. And sometimes sticking to it can be harder than figuring out what the right plan is."

Dierker:
"I like the philosophy. I wholeheartedly endorse the process. I don't know if it will work. (Luhnow) doesn't know if it will work. It all depends on if these guys get better. If they already were better, you couldn't get three of them for one major league player."

Jeff Gordon, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, of course, had some things to say. When he quoted DeFrancesco's desire to help move the Astros in the right direction:
Yeah, well, good luck with that. Real progress is at least a few years away.

Maury Brown has a post in Baseball Prospectus about Jim Crane, the Astros, and payroll:
What the Astros really are is three seasons into a five-year rebuilding plan that’s certainly going to need more than five years to come to fruition...

Al Pedrique out, Pettini in

Al Pedrique - bench coach for the past two seasons - has resigned his position after he was told that he was being reassigned to Bullpen Coach, a void left by Jamie Quirk's move to the Cubs.

Pedrique:
“I’m leaving. I resigned after being told I was going to be the bullpen coach.”

Short. Sweet. To the point. Hemingway would love it.

McTaggart says the Astros have hired Joe Pettini, who had spent the last ten years as Tony LaRussa's bench coach in St. Louis.

Luhnow, on Pettini, to Mark Berman:
"The way he runs spring training. The way he organizes all of the fundamentals, he really brings so much experience to the game. He was a minor league field coordinator for many years before that. He just has a really deep understanding of all the elements of the game. His experience is invaluable and the fact that we were able to get someone like him is an opportunity I really felt we couldn't miss."

Here's a Derrick Goold story on Pettini from May 2011:
Pettini, 56, doesn't have the headlines or longevity of pitching coach Dave Duncan, he doesn't have the former-player following of Jose Oquendo, but he has emerged was La Russa's utility coach. Pettini's daily role is as bench coach, but at times he's filled in for Oquendo as third-base coach, he's taken over at first base when Dave McKay is ailing, and no coach is busier than Pettini when it comes to spring training.

Here's a Pettini interview with the Birdhouse, a Cardinals blog. Spoiler: Pettini uses geometry for infield defensive positioning.
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Also, the Astros hired Matt Sinatro as the ML Catching Coach/Advance Scouting Coordinator; Dan Radison is now a special assistant in player development; Mike Elias as a special assistant to the scouting department.

Radison was fired by the Nationals with Jim Riggleman when he said Riggleman was his "best friend in the whole world."
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But if you're Bobby Heck or Fred Nelson, don't worry, 'cos you're staying right where you are.