I wasn't implying that Houston is a bad sports town, I was implying the sports organizations are run badly. I just feel we deserve better from our franchises.
I sure don't see Biggio as a desperate guy who wouldn't ruffle any feathers! That's not how he came across all those years anyway. I don't know him personally so maybe I'm wrong, but certainly not how I view Biggio I agree we will likely see another young guy with little to no managerial experience. Probably someone a little more geeky. Wouldn't shock me to see AE get a shot at it
That's the thing. The Astros don't want a real manager. They want someone that will take the bucket of information Luhnow and Sig Mejdal give him and they want him to follow their instructions precisely. All they want is an on field puppet to do what they tell him to do with respect to game decisions and moves.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>GM Jeff Luhnow will address the media at 2 pm CT at Minute Maid Park. The press conference will be streamed live on <a href="http://t.co/yJVJuhSuOp">http://t.co/yJVJuhSuOp</a>.</p>— Houston Astros (@astros) <a href="https://twitter.com/astros/statuses/506512384161505280">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I'm not crazy about how this has gone down But If the relationship between Bo and Jeff had truly deteriorated to where nothing positive was happening, then it probably ha to be done now
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/51039/no-surprise-that-astros-fire-porter "What we will seek going forward is a consistent and united message throughout the entire organization. It is essential that as an organization we create an atmosphere at the Major League level where our young players can come up and continue to develop and succeed."
No... I said a former manager would be "desperate enough" to get back into the game to the point to not ruffle any feathers. Biggio would just agree to do it if he simply wanted to be a manager in the city he already lives in. Just speculation... I noticed Luhnow and Biggio catching a lot of games together lately, but that could be anything. I agree that as soon as Biggio would take the job, he'd be put in a position to possibly fail, which could tarnish his reputation, which is probably not in his best interests (unless he really wanted to manage). They need somebody who is as fanatical about numbers-drive baseball as the front office is... and somebody who can take orders... not sure who that would be right now (as far as former players go). Think outside the box... hire a non former-player to be the manager! 100% trust in the "system".
http://deadspin.com/houston-astros-fire-manager-bo-porter-1629272898 The Astros also fired bench coach Dave Trembley.
FWIW <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The story I got from someone close to org. > Many times Porter basically refused to use analytics provided by front office. Always at odds.</p>— Houston 5A Baseball (@H5AB) <a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB/statuses/506522652102905856">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>More from source on Porter > Was told Porter was very unhappy with many roster moves, & how he was instructed to use players in second half</p>— Houston 5A Baseball (@H5AB) <a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB/statuses/506523141997596672">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>More Porter> According to source; The Athletics series was the last straw. Defied many numbers provided by front office and paid the price.</p>— Houston 5A Baseball (@H5AB) <a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB/statuses/506523574908092416">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Challenging, difficult thing to do. One I didn't come to lightly. Not regarding W/L. I take responsibility for the roster and baseball ops, including staff in the clubhouse. We need a new direction for the next phase. I do believe we've made a lot of progress and are moving towards our goal of being consistently competitive. We needed change in the clubhouse. Tom Lawless is the interim manager. Adam Everett as bench coach. Rest of staff will remain until end of year. Once you make a decision, best interest for everyone to move along. September, we'll be evaluating players for next year and planning for next year. We felt like it was in everyone's best interest to move forward once the decision was made. Bo has a lot of energy. When you think about the relationship between GM and manager, it's complicated and day to day and has to work perfectly. Won't get into specifics, at the end of the day, going forward, a different leader was in the best interest of the Astros. As we get to the next phase, looking for a collaborative environment across all aspects. We've taken steps towards that the last couple years. As we continue to get to our goal, we want that unified message and spirit of working together toward a common goal and culture built around that. Decision was made yesterday. We got an environment with young players, finishing development at the big leagues. Need the right development to succeed. The clubhouse chemistry is a complicated formula but need the feeling we're all aligned and working toward the same goal. Something I had been considering for a few weeks but no one event that led to it. Bo has a long history in this game and will have a history in this game. Takes certain cohesiveness to maximize the talent. We are trending upwards. I've said this before. This isn't a reflection of W/L. This is what we need for the future. It's never easy. Ultimately everyone will hold me accountable for results. I have to make decisions on who the right people are in achieving the goal. Bo is very professional. He thanked me and talked to Jim and then left. Anytime you bring in a new leader of any department, you hope that individual will be there for the long haul. We didn't intend to hire anyone for a short period. We're looking for someone for the long haul. So many things we look for in a manager. Similar to last time. No one thing you look for. A whole bunch of criteria. Leadership, tactical ability, ability to manage major league staff, ... Talked to a lot of our players. Some have been through this. I'll rely on our leaders to talk to the others. I'm sure some were surprised but when I explained it and we're all aligned, it is what it is at that point. Our process, I put time and energy into that last process. Different people involved this time. We'll probably have some of the same candidates. Don't know what the process will look like. (Tom Lawless)Interim basis, thought someone within the org. made sense. He's familiar with the players. They're familiar with him. His temperament is ideal for this situation. Won't rule anyone in or out. If Tom expresses interest and he does a good job, I won't rule anyone in or out at this point. I take responsibility for a lot of things over the summer. We're well positioned going into next year. We have a lot of decisions to make on players. We'll have new additions tomorrow. Players for next year, that's not obvious at this point. When you have a major league team, there are so many variables into how well that team will do. I don't think anyone in this room expected to be a playoff team. Of course we hoped but the sum total of wins and losses over last 2 years, that's on me, not Bo. We know what affects the outcome, the players you have, luck, injuries, etc. Baseball Ops is responsible for the roster. That's what I mean when I say it's not about wins and losses. We want to move quickly but want to get it right. Open to first time guys. No one criteria that will rule anyone out. Jim and I have been discussing this and supports my decision. He's been well aware where my mind has been and has been supportive. Manager and bench coach have a special relationship on any team. They are tied together and felt Tom and Adam have a good relationship. If you hire a new manager, giving them to hire own bench coach is something we want to do. Communication is important. Jim Crane is the owner and I'm the GM. It's where you want everyone to feel like they have input but if I'm accountable for results, I'm gonna make these decisions. That's how it goes. We got a couple new people in the FO. Jim will be involved. Nolan will I'm sure will be part of the process. Craig was last time. I'm sure he will. Nolan will be a part of the process. We want to evaluate players and win as many games in September and finish strong. What mistakes have I made? You can probably tell me Evan. Anytime you try something and it doesn't work, you see if you can do anything differently. Can't talk about specific candidates. Haven't talked to anyone. Won't get into specifics on pros and cons. I'm in the mode of looking forward. Search process, it's one of the most important things you do. It's not about right move or wrong move at this point, when I reflect on what is needed going forward, we need a different direction. Since I'll be held accountable, we need a different direction, that means a different field leader. I trust people to make decisions in their areas of expertise. I don't tinker with lineups or such. I expect them to do their job. I'll ask questions. That's natural.
Not much of a baseball man But would this be like McHale being fired because he didn't use the players like Darryl told him too? If this is the case why have a manager at all? When the decision making on the field is coming from the field box/owners box? Rocket River
I'm guessing that Bo sided with those of us that wanted Cosart to not be traded for prospects. We complain on a website though, Bo's complaints might have caused him more serious problems than listening to other tell us we are wrong, lol
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB">@H5AB</a> Source; That simply wasnt happening. Reports were not being used properly to the desire of front office. Many stood out in A's series</p>— Houston 5A Baseball (@H5AB) <a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB/statuses/506524796524306432">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>More Porter; According to source, Porter became very disenchanted with organizational moves just after the all star break & it continued</p>— Houston 5A Baseball (@H5AB) <a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB/statuses/506525945771982848">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>More Porter: Source; The differences started much longer ago than reported and were much deeper between the two than will ever be disclosed.</p>— Houston 5A Baseball (@H5AB) <a href="https://twitter.com/H5AB/statuses/506527015369846784">September 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Spin what? Regardless of the terrible decisions Porter made, I'm definitely not happy this happened and we are now looking for another manager. But to think no one is going to want to manage an MLB franchise because of this is asinine.
I didn't say NO one. He'll you could get a bum to manage the team if you paid him. Just no one worth his salt. It will be young assistant from the minors or someone from Japan. Just not someone with any other option.
Not saying that this happened, but an example would be if Luhnow and the front office wanted to see Foltyniewicz pitch in close games and Porter refused to do so. Or, if they wanted Marisnick to play CF and Fowler to play left or right and Porter refused to. Many Astros' players are in an evaluation period since they are not contenders and the front office may want to see how they perform in those situations.
Nonsense. Analytics are a percentages-based system. They want a manager who values that and is going to play the percentages moreso than using gut feel. There are a ton of both types of managers in the game. People here routinely questioned Porter's decisions on use of bullpen pitchers or starting certain players that defied the logic of their stats - those kinds of things are probably the same types of things that frustrated a numbers-driven front office (although probably using more sophisticated numbers than we have access to).
