Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

Who didn't see this coming after the Astros fired Gerry Hunsicker and hired Pupura?

Srsly.

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

I will remember the Garner era fondly; I mean, who else intentionally walks Ryan Howard to lead off the inning?

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

Ehh, they didn't really "hire" Poops as Gerry's replacement. He was the Assist. GM and just sort of took the reins...and since they did well in '04, and '05, Drayton was results-oriented, and assumed Timmy Poops was a good GM, and basically gave him 2 more years to hang himself.

I hope he never works in baseball again, except for maybe as a peanut vendor. Him and Charlie Casserly would overpay for ice at the North Pole.

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

Looks like I was wrong. According to Stark (on ESPN.com) it seems Cooper is going to get the job for next year. So the timing could very well be to see if he is right for the job or can't handle it. Seems he has to show major reasons as to why he can't handle it to NOT get the job for next year.

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

Let me already quote a passage between Jon Miller and Joe Morgan from the future of September 14th, 2007:

Jon (for whatever reason, tries to start conversation): "Joe, what do you think about Astros new manager, Cecil Cooper?"


Joe (stupidly): "You see, this hasn't been able to help th'astros. Sure, it's great that the Astros hired their first African-American manager in the team's 40 plus year history. It shows progress for the city of Houston, where no Black Americans are allowed to live. But it's not going to help. Because he's not a player. Cecil Cooper was once a pitcher for the Red Sox back in 1996, but he isn't going to help the Astros as a manager. The Astros won't get better until they get more African-American players. On the field. Playing the game of baseball the right way. They have a reliever Steven Randolph, but his ERA is way too high. He might be 1/16th Cherokee Indian or something. Also they did acquire Tyrone Wiggerton at third base and got rid of that blue-eyed guy. They sent him to San Diego. That was a good transaction. Craig Biggio isn't Black. OPS stuff."

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

Joe Sheehan writes a very strong defense of Purpura today, basically placing a lot of the blame on the owner. I won't paste it all, but this sums it up

"Tim Purpura isn’t to blame for the Astros’ disappointing 2007 season, and that he’s being fired for it is ridiculous. Drayton McLane set these events in motion by abandoning what had worked for close to a decade—staying out of the baseball staff’s way—and instead making his own bad decisions about what the Astros needed. McLane wanted a year-long coronation of Craig Biggio, and he got it. He couldn’t have that and a contending baseball team, however, and his refusal to see that—and his subsequent dismissal of Purpura and Phil Garner as scapegoats for his own mistakes—ranks as one of the game’s great embarrassments of 2007."

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

lol. I guess by "year long coronation" he's talking about sticking Biggio in the leadoff spots and starting the game on defense. OK, I can see that.

Granted that didn't help, but they could have worked around it. This team has performed horribly this season, and coronating Biggio is about 1/20th of the problem at hand.

I'm not saying Drayton doesn't get his dirty little fingers into things, but I understand that laying it mostly on Biggio will sell more papers.

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

embarassing for Biggio for this all to come down on him. I feel kind of bad for him.

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

lawl @ Sheehan raping this thread

Re: Astros Fire Manager Garner, GM Purpura
 

if i'm not mistaken, mclane made an executive decision and signed bagwell to his last contract.

i think an awful lot of responsibility comes on mclane. i'm not saying that purpura wasn't a good gm - anybody that lets ensberg get away for basically free isn't that good. my mind is telling me, however, that purpura deserved the opportunity to rebuild the organization.