Lots of talk about managers and coaches floating around today; let's congregate them all in one place:
- In this series of tweets, MLB.com's Alyson Footer tells us that the Astros offered their whole coaching staff two-year extensions. All were accepted, aside from Jeff Bagwell, who will decide on his in the offseason after talking more with his family.
- Astros manager Brad Mills, who is signed through 2011 with a club option for 2012, will have his situation formally addressed this offseason as well. Footer thinks it's a formality, calling Mills "terrific" and saying he'll be in Houston beyond 2012.
- Bob Brenly is not a candidate to manage the Cubs in 2011, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Brenly doesn't feel that the situation is right for him on a personal or professional level. He will, however, still talk to other clubs.
- Yankees third base coach Rob Thomson told Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) that he hasn't heard from the Blue Jays about their managerial opening, and won't discuss it until the season is over. For now, he's staying focused on New York's postseason run.
Brenly is still a baseball pro and recognizes an ugly situation when he sees one. The Cubs have an established group of under achieving players with bad attitudes, big contracts and a feeling of complacency that will be hard to break. Anyone that takes the Cubs job will be dealing with all these issues while trying to win. He’s working at a less stressful job and most likely doesn’t want the headache.
Hard to argue with what pretty much has to be Brenly’s evaluation that the team is not in a good place. I just wonder how it will sit with Cubs fans if he doesn’t get a managing gig and ends up back in the broadcast booth next year.
The improved play of Houston is one of the stories of the year in my book. They looked like they were headed for a 100 loss season at one point. They have one of the best records of anyone since the all star break. Mills certainly got the best out of the players left behind. Brett Myers has been huge for that pitching staff. At the age of 29, he’s become the pitcher everyone thought he would be, and he’s kept his name out of the papers-he’s actually been a model citizen.
You get 2 likes.
But seriously, I agree with everything you said and to me, it reminds me of the Padres last year and this year…They had such a good second half of the season last year and look what they’ve done this season right? Plus, talk about great pitching and defense, and speed of the Padres, well we know about the Astros speed and defense, but I wonder if you can compare the Astro pen to that of the Padres…Wilton Lopez, Brandon Lyon, and Matt Lindstrom, and Melancon will continue their success an be like Mujica, Gregerson, Adams, Bell, Thatcher, Webb, and the rest of the Padres pen. Plus, Clayton Richard, Mat Latos, and Jon Garlan have all had great season and some breakout seasons…Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino both have great stuff and could both have tremendous 2011 seasons plus you add in Myers, Rodriguez, and Happ…I like the Stros.
Thanks. The Astros have impressed me for awhile. Their pen does look a bit like what the Padres constructed, pretty much all on the cheap. My son and I were talking about the Padres the other day, trying to decide who their worst pitchers are. The consensus was Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica were the worst pitchers on the team. We also agreed that those two would probably be the 7th or 8th best pitcher on just about every other team in either league.
As a fan of the Padres and a rooting interest in the Indians, I KNEW Mujica was going to be a better pitcher for the Padres. I never thought Wedge used him in a way to maximize his fastball; I also think they got frustrated with his “growing” pains early on. When he gets too expensive, the Pads will pluck another pitcher off the assembly line. They know what they’re doing.
It seems like the Astros are following the same path. Except the Brandon Lyons signing was a misstep, even though he’s done fairly well. Too much money for a slightly above average reliever. Perhaps that was on purpose to have a veteran presence, which also helps the kind of bullpen they have I guess.
The pen needs some work, Lopez, Lyon, and Melancon have all looked good. Lindstrom was awesome in the first half but he has been awful since the injury, maybe he can turn it around next year. Figueroa would be a great long relief/spot starter if he stays. Fulchino, Byrdak and Chacin are inconsistent. I would expect Chacin and Fulchino to probably get replaced by Figueroa and maybe Abad. We do need a real shut down type closer though.