As long as Mills isn't as bad as Cooper, I'll be happy. And thanks to Castor27 for changing the thread title to reflect the ongoing manager situation. Much better than seeing "BREAKING NEWS" Michael Jackson or Steve McNair thread title over and over again.
I think Mills is a good choice (my pick was Bob Melvin) considering that he comes from a winning organization which IMO should give him some instant credibility with the players on the team. I sincerely hope that he is successful here in all other facets aside from winning, since he will be hard pressed to put more W's in the win column with the current roster of players. Mills will hopefully get all he can out of the current players and hopefully will not take any guff from loafers. That being said, I really hope the Astros make informed and well thought out decisions this offseason in regards to free agents, player personnel and choosing a suitable pitching coach who can help Roy O regain his form, help Wandy continue his success, help Paulino and Norris take the next steps to becoming good major league pitchers and getting all he can out of the rest of the pitching staff (bullpen included).
I think Mills is a good choice. He comes from a winning organization and is highly recommended by a lot of very well respected baseball men. We've all heard over the last couple of weeks about how Ed Wade still regrets firing Terry Francona so it's obvious that he really respects his opinion. I'm guessing that was a big part of the decision. Francona couldn't have given a more glowing endorsement of Mills as a candidate.
I don't really think the manager is going to matter much the two years without a pitching staff and the oldest team in baseball but I'm glad Tal Smith has his hire in Ed Wade and Wade has his hire in Mills so that in three years when Drayton is ready for a new manager he can wipe the entire slate clean.
Is this the same Brad Mills that played for the Expos and Nolan Ryan struck out to pass Walter Johnson?
alysonfooter Bobby Meacham (1st base) and Al Pedrique (bench coach) have been hired to join the Astros 2010 coaching staff. http://twitter.com/alysonfooter
On the surface, it doesn't seem like either of those guys, Pedrique or Meacham, has had much success as a player or a coach. For an inexperienced manager like Brad Mills, is this really the way the Astros want to go?
It don't and won't matter, they'll all be fired in 2 years. And something tells me Ed Wade is picking these guys, not Mills. Can't put my finger on why I think that but I do.
Pedrique might be a good choice if the Astros truly are going with a youth movement. He's been working with the minor league system and should be pretty knowledgeable on the younger players. That should come in pretty handy for a manager who probably knows little about what's there. I don't know anything about Meacham, but how much damage could one really do being the 1st base coach?
There are some good coaches out there and they settle on Al Pedrique. Bob Melvin, Ned Yost, Eric Wedge, or Clint Hurdle would have been nice. They better make a good choice on the pitching coach.
It's quite possible that Melvin, Yost, Wedge and Hurdle are not interested in being a bench coach at this time.
True but there aren't a lot of jobs in the big leagues period this offseason for coaches. I know Hurdle is a candidate for the Rangers hitting coach job and Melvin is linked to the Mets and Nationals. Astros had openings and I thought they should have taken advantage of that. Who knows maybe neither would have been interested in the Astros so it may not have mattered.
