The Spot Starters (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
Year: 2001 Record: 66-96 Win %: .407 Win % Change: -81 from year before Run Differential: -152 Pythagorean Record: 67-95 AL Finish: 11th of 14 Manager: Phil Garner Best Transaction: Letting Juan Gonzalez walk. Sure, this one wasn’t up to the Tigers, but boy did it work out. Randy Smith wanted to keep Juan Gonzalez in Detroit. Gonzo’s first year in Detroit was [...]
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
More photos » by Rob Carr - AP How is the weather in Arizona, Jason? Browse more photos » Let's look at some baseball-related links while wondering why the heck Joe Girardi is still pitching to Chase Utley ... Here's a nice roundup done by Brian McTaggart on the Astro Winter League contingent. Of note, Chia-jen Lo has headed back to Taiwan for a while and the Astros can't hit or pitch....
The Spot Starters (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
Year: 2002 Record: 55-106 Win %: .342 Win % Change: -65 from the year before Run Differential: -289 Pythagorean Record: 52-109 AL Finish: 14th of 14 teams Manager: Phil Garner and Luis Pujols Best Transaction: Couple of decent moves here actually. First, the Tigers drafted Curtis Granderson and Joel Zumaya in this draft, nothing to sneeze at there. Second, prior to the start [...]
The Cub Reporter (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
Alright, here's my half-ass plan for the next few weeks...try to get one of those offseason target posts up sometime in the morning and then some type of quick notes/news of the moment update in the afternoon or early evening if there's enough news out there. I will inevitably fail at keeping up that pace... - Naples, Florida is making their run at the Cubs to be their new home for spring training....
Houston Chronicle (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
Although Manny Acta turned down the Astros to become manager of the Cleveland Indians, owner Drayton McLane remains adamant that he's just as comfortable with the three remaining finalists: Brad Mills, Dave Clark and Phil Garner. Each one of those three, McLane states firmly, was a man the Astros were comfortable hiring as a manager.
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
via images.chron.com View full size photo uploaded October 25, 2009 If I would have know how prescient it would be when I wrote it, I probably wouldn't have. But I wrote it, and now we have to deal with the fact that Drayton McLane still hasn't figured it out. How much money is spent or how good the team has been in years past, is not actually what determines the on field product. What determines the...
SportsJustice (Free subscription) | 10/25/2009
Manny Acta was the guy they wanted. The Astros liked everything about him. His presence and personality. How he forged relationships with players. His ability to run a game. I said from the beginning that there was no right answer in this search for a new manager. Manny Acta would have been terrific, but then so would Phil Garner, Bob Melvin, Tim Bogar, Jim Fregosi and a dozen or so others. But the...
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 10/22/2009
More photos » by Rob Carr - ASSOCIATED PRESS The photo is from spring training when the Nats were playing...the Astros. Browse more photos » The search for a new manager for the Astros has stretched on, and on, and on. It probably should- this team needs to take it slow and make a smart decision. The ghosts of Jimy Williams, Phil Garner and Cecil Cooper still hang above MMP. Stability is...
SportsJustice (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
Brian McTaggart at MLB.com is reporting that Manny Acta has gotten a second interview with the Astros. He's the first of the 10 candidates to get a second interview, and with the Cleveland Indians also interested, he seems to have positiioned himself as a frontrunner for the job. He'd be excellent, but then so would Bob Melvin and Phil Garner. One thing Acta brings to the job is a history with the...
MLB Trade Rumors (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
Apparently Sunday afternoons in October are a slow time for baseball news. Who knew? Here's some links to tide you over for now... Viva El Birdos takes a look at the 2010 rotation options for the Cardinals, both internal and external. Could Kyle McClellan or Blake Hawksworth succeed in the rotation? Roch Kubatko isn't sure that the Orioles are in the market for a left-handed reliever at all, though...
Amazin' Avenue (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
So, while all the cool people are enjoying October baseball, I feel like I'm sitting at home in my parents' basement waiting for news on Matt Holliday. Fortunately, there is something along those lines to pass along. Meet the Mets Ken Davidoff reports that Matt Holliday's top two choices are the Yankees and the Mets (in that order) . I always enjoy being the second choice. Jason Marquis, however, seems...
Philadelphia Inquirer (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
Phil Garner met with the Houston Astros yesterday to talk about becoming their next manager, just over two years after the franchise fired him.
Baltimore Sun (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
Phil Garner didn't need to bring a resume to his interview with the Houston Astros on Saturday. He just wore his 2005 NL championship ring.
USA Today (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
Phil Garner didn't need to bring a resume to his interview with the Houston Astros on Saturday. He just wore his NL championship ...
SportsJustice (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
Drayton McLane Houston Astros P.O. Box 288 Houston, TX 77001-0288 You might be able to make a difference. You can vote for hope and change. Yes, we can. Do you want to do the right thing? Sure you do. It may be a close call deciding who'll manage the Astros in 2010. It could come down to the smallest things. That's why I'm asking you to do your part. I'm asking you to sit down and write Drayton McLane...
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