Sparky Anderson, Tommy Lasorda, Billy Martin, Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, Connie Mack, Casey Stengal....none of those guys could avoid losing 100 games with this bunch.
Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN): Lots of anger around the sport this morning for the way HOU staff changes went down. The change not a surprise, but method was bloodless.
Brian McTaggart @brianmctaggart Astros name Dan Radison as interim first base coach Brian McTaggart @brianmctaggart Astros name Ty Van Burkleo as interim hitting coach Brian McTaggart @brianmctaggart Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco, coming from OK
Apparently I've heard rumblings that DeFrancesco was losing the OKC clubhouse in recent weeks. Came as a surprise. The Astros blogosphere was expecting Joe Pettini to be the interim manager.
I agree (via twitter as far as the players go). This may have been an urgent change based on a power struggle as far as who Mills was and was not playing and how he was playing them. Doesn't make sense that they would not make the change on Monday.
Mark Berman @MarkBermanFox26 Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said decision made bout week ago to release Brad Mills. Said 1st decision was not to pick up option on Mills' contract
Where was the anger in the sport when Uncle D was driving this franchise off of a cliff with his irresponsible drafting and free agent decisions? Where was the anger in the sport when the Astros were forced to move to the AL as a condition of this sale. MLB can s*ck it! It was probably the humane thing to do to relieve Mills of his managerial duties at this point. The guy couldn't have got a worse "first look" as a major league manager, and now he's probably doomed to be a bench coach for the rest of his major league career.
Bobby V would be the perfect manager for this franchise. If you're going to go chicken**** bush-league, might as well go all the way.
Agreed. Casey Stengel wouldn't have been able to manage this team to a decent record, but at the same time, it's hard to blame the Astros for making the move.
The obvious answer is that DeFrancesco was not returning next year anyway. Luhnow wil not bring back DeFrancesco in any capacity next year and will have brand new managers in Houston and OKC.
Mills Sucked period... I understand that a manager can only do so much but his management skills suck. For one thing changing the lineup everyday. This bothered me a lot because younger guys need to find a spot where they are good and get comfortable hitting in that spot. If Schafer was going to be the Astros CF for the future his hitting style dictates he hit in the lead off spot. Otherwise don't play him and play somebody else. There is no point in hitting him at the 7th or 8th spots like Mills did time after time. Altuve should never have been hitting in the 8th spot. Holding Wallace out of the lineup after the lee trade again and again made no sense. Mill's inability to recognize comfort levels of the young players has caused the regression that lead to this house cleaning. I am not even going to get into the pitching management or bullpen management I am sure its been mentioned a bunch of times. Good riddance IMO
That makes sense. Probably the original plan was to let each finish his year and make the announcement in the offseason. But recent (since late June?) play with the Astros dictated accelerating those plans.
I don't think Pettini wants to be a manager. I think he is happy being a bench coach. DeFrancesco has had a lot success managing at the minor league level. He was the best guy to be an interim manager.
