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When Milo Hamilton was pushed out of the radio booth stepped away from the mic, many were sad, many were happy, but regardless of your opinion of the aging play by play baseball broadcaster, the future of Astros radio was still  in good hands, right? The voices of Dave Raymond and Brett Dolan had carried us through many dismal seasons. That will no longer be the case.

It was announced yesterday that Dolan and Raymond would not have their contracts renewed and the Houston Astros would begin a search for new radio talent for the 2013 season. One member of the new team is set, as Crawford Jones, the winner of the “You Make The Call” contest, will be doing pre and post game broadcasting for the Astros in 2013.

As for the Houston Astros thoughts on the subject? From Brian McTaggart’s article via MLB.com:

“We appreciate the work Brett and Dave have done for us over the past seven seasons, and wish them well,” Astros president and CEO George Postolos said in a statement. “We are excited to begin the search for the new radio broadcast team of the Astros, and look forward to finding a great talent to succeed Milo.”

I’m confused to say the least. There are many things in the Houston Astros organization that need to be fixed, but the radio broadcasting team was not one of them. Throughout the last few seasons of dismal play on the field and countless trades of fan favorite players (which were understandably needed to restock an empty farm system) the voices of Brett and Dave were often the only bright spots in a game.

I see no reason for this change and am shocked and saddened by it.

What’s next, Postolos? Will Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies still be with the team for 2013? Or do you plan on continuing to antagonize your dwindling fan base?

Will my contract as a fan be renewed? It seems you don’t really want me anymore. I accepted the move the AL. I accepted the bad baseball on the field. I accepted just about everything you’ve thrown at us. But now I put my foot down.

When your organization is in the throws of a complete overall, you HAVE to give your fans something to hold onto. So far, this organization isn’t offering anything. I consider myself a part of the Astros family and families don’t abandon each other, but families sure as hell do call each other out when they’re screwing up.

And you, Houston Astros, are screwing it all up.

This is the second very critical blog I’ve written in the last week and frankly, that saddens me. I think most of you know that I am as die hard of a fan as they come. I’ve defended almost every move of late (except that damn erector set of a sign in left field) and the fact that at every turn this club is forgetting the fans is pushing me to the edge.

It makes me wonder if the Houston Astros want us as fans. Are they trying to overhaul everything, including us? Maybe that’s the case. Because outside of that reasoning, I don’t understand why you would take away the security blanket of your scared and nervous child moments before they are forced into a new world.

What’s been done can now not be undone. At this point, all I can say is that Brett Dolan and Dave Raymond are excellent broadcasters. I enjoyed their time in Houston immensely and I will miss them. They are voices that make baseball fun no matter if your team is winning or losing. I have no doubt that wherever they land, fans will find them as knowledgeable and likable as we did here in Houston.

Good luck to you, Brett and Dave. You will be missed.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Fred Nelson, the Astros Director of Player Development, and Stefanie Brown, the River Bandits General Manager, make the announcement today about the new affiliation.

When the news broke that the St. Louis Cardinals would not be renewing their Player Development Contract with the Quad Cities River Bandits, the rumors then began flying over which Big League club would pick up the newly-free low-A club.

With Jeff Luhnow’s familiarity with the Cardinal farm system, the Astros seemed a likely fit.

The River Bandits thought so, too.

Today, the two-year PDC between the Astros and the River Bandits was announced at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa. Bandits general manager Stefanie Brown was accompanied by Astros Director of Player Development Fred Nelson as the two shared the news with local media.

“We’re extremely excited,” Brown said. “Jeff Luhnow has been a friend of ours … so, talking with him was very exciting. In the end we’re very excited about the direction and the rebuilding of the Houston Astros and to have them be part of this community.”

Nelson echoed her sentiments as he recalled the years the Astros had a home in the Quad Cities from 1993-1998.

“One thing that really pushed us towards the Quad Cities was Jeff Lunhow’s relationship and knowledge of the renovations, the operators of the league, and I think because of that, it might have given us a little bit of a leg up coming back into the Davenport area, back in the Quad Cities,” he said. “But, we’re thrilled to death to be here.”

“Rebranding” was the word of the hour, both for the Bandits and the Astros.

With new ownership, management, and front office staff, the Astros are on their way to fulfilling a vision Luhnow and company have — a vision that restores the Astros to the top in the Major Leagues.

“To give you an idea of the direction and the focus of Jeff Luhnow, George Postolos and Jim Crane, they’re all winners – they’re all driven to win,” Nelson said. “Jeff especially. I’ve seen a passion in his desire to win in the Minor Leagues, at all levels, and ultimately we think that will filter into the big leagues as we secure better players, players that we’ve been able to acquire in trades, and through especially this last draft which Jeff and his staff directed.”

For the Bandits, the vision now centers on the excitement of adding that fresh, newly drafted talent and introducing a whole new group to a community — especially since that community is full of Cardinal fans who were disappointed to see their parent club move their affiliate to Peoria. Brown says, though, that simply makes their job more interesting.

“Obviously we were very sad to see the Cardinals go,” Brown said. “They were a great organization, and there are many fans here that are Cardinals fans, but I think it’ll just be educating the community and letting them know the great things that the Astros are doing and probably trying a little bit harder to get the new players out in the community and get that personal touch with the fans. Every organization has a great group of guys and a great group of athletes, so it’s just going to be on us to get them out there.”

Local fans will recognize at least three players who made their way through the Quad Cities on their way to the Major League club in 2012 — Brett Wallace, Chuckie Fick, and most recently, Tyler Greene.

With the potential of a first overall draft pick on his way to town, and oodles of other promising young players, talent will definitely not be a problem.

Ultimately, it came down to three teams vying for the Bandits’ attention — the A’s, the Angels, and the Astros. When all was said and done, it came down to identifying the Major League team that offered the thing the River Bandits wanted most: partnership.

“We were looking for a Major League affiliate that understood what we were doing,” Brown said. “We wanted to have player appearances, we wanted them to be an intricate part of the community, [we wanted] someone that is easy to communicate with, that will hear out our ideas on different promotional ideas or appearances, someone who buys into the same vision.”

For the next two years at least, that team is the Houston Astros. And Nelson is confident that those two years will be exciting — both in the Quad Cities, and eventually all the way to Houston.

Welcome to the Quad Cities, Astros fans!

Tara is a St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball and a contributor to Around the Horn. Follow her on Twitter @tarawellman. 

I want THIS logo back!

This week there was an awful lot going on in the world of Houston Astros Baseball. Here’s the wrap:

The CAREavan continued around the state (and even into Oklahoma). Former and current players as well as owner, Jim Crane, and GM, Jeff Luhnow, participated in bringing some Astros joy to many fans this past week.

Over on Footnotes, Alyson Footer’s blog, you can find tips for Spring Training attendees, so check that out if you’re planning to attend!

Jessica, the caption contest winner, and me at the reception before the Baseball Dinner.

The Astros in Action Foundation hosted the Annual Baseball dinner benefitting Grand Slam For Youth Baseball last night. I was there along with Jessica (@mamu30) who won my caption contest. It was a who’s who of baseball history for Houston celebrating the 49 years of baseball in this great city and looking forward to the 50th season.

Jayne Hansen, who writes What the Heck, Bobby, a blog about the Astros minor league system, had an entertaining run in with JR Richards last night. Head over to her blog and give it a read.

Lance Berkman was there and stole the show, on his birthday no less. After taking the stage to be honored as the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA’s MLB Player of the Year he solemnly stated how touched he was to be onstage with a host of historical Astros baseball figures. He leaned over, head in hand as if to collect himself then popped up smiling and said, “Just kidding!” And then went on to tease the audience about how that probably felt as awkward for us as walking into Minute Maid Park in a Cardinals uniform was for him!

Lance was his ever-charming self when he thanked the “Houston Lonestars” for the award and then looked over his shoulder at players and front office peeps to confirm, “Wait, it wasn’t approved? We’re still the Astros?”  And yes, Lance said we.

That wouldn’t be the only reference to Lance as an Astro as stated he would always consider himself one. Later, when Jeff Luhnow took the stage he reminded Lance that in 2013 the team would need a DH and Berkman’s services may be needed. Oh, how I wish that would happen. If Luhnow could bring Lance back to HTX for one more season to end his career as an Astro, he would forever be my baseball hero.

Brad Mills even made a good funny at Lance’s expense when he wished Berkman a happy birthday and then stated, “I hope you play your age next year.”

Yes, Mr. Berkman stole the show. The other current players also honored: JD Martinez, Wandy Rodriguez, Jason Bourgeois.

With that, it’s time for me to get ready to head to Minute Maid Park. In case you’re not aware, today is FanFest! The event itself is free, and autographs are $10/ticket with 3-4 players per session. There are “Talkin’ Baseball” sessions and batting practices you can do, activities for kids and anything else you can imagine to get you ready for Spring Training. You can find the schedule of events for the day on the Astros website.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Sig Mejdal, Astros Director of Decision Sciences has the coolest title in baseball.

With the introduction of Sig Mejdal to the roster in the Houston Astros front office something very cool happened. The most amazing title in baseball was created – Director of Decision Sciences. I mean, seriously? Is there a better title in baseball?

Sig’s title got me thinking about what would be more appropriate titles or at least more fun titles for some of the other staff running the show over at Minute Maid Park….

Jim Crane, owner could now be “Chief Shit Stirrer”. I don’t have to explain that one, do I?

George Postolos, President & CEO is now “President of Keeping Jim Crane from Pissing off Fans” since he certainly doesn’t want him to suggest anything like moving the team to another city the next time Crane insists that “everything is on the table.” I am looking forward to the day when George is the face of this ball club. He’s likable, and charming and I think he’s about perfect for this role.

Jeff Luhnow, General Manager could be “Chief Gambler” because is signing players on a bargain basement budget anything less than gambling? Granted, I think the gambles he’s made so far have been really low risk with potential for high payoff, but it’s gambling still. Spring Training is going to be fun as we see if some has-beens have still got it and some almost-theres are ready. The tightrope that Luhnow is balancing deserves a high risk title.

Bobby Heck, Assistant GM of Scouting, could become Hercules because isn’t the weight of the world on his shoulders this year? Plenty of people have given him the benefit of the doubt over the demise of the farm system, but now with an Owner and GM ready to truly rebuild, this is his make it or break it year. I like Heck and think he’s a smart guy when it comes to judging talent. I just hope the rest of the front office really lets him get the guys he know are a good choice for the club this year.

Brad Mills, Manager, should really be called “Camp Counselor” given the age of the rebuilding Astros. I wonder if he makes them take a buddy when they go hiking? I’m sure he makes sure that lefties don’t go anywhere with other lefties.

Alyson Footer, Sr. Director of Digital Media, is really Queen of the Crazy Fan since she gets the great pleasure of calming down the nut jobs on Twitter and Facebook when they get riled up about silly things (not me, of course! ;p). Hey Alyson – is the roof going to be open today?

So if you could retitle anyone within the Astros organization, who would you change and to what? Is it JD and Brownie? Maybe Doug Brocail or Mike Barnett? Let me hear it. We’ve got another 12 days until Spring Training starts, we’ve got to entertain ourselves somehow.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Houston Astros Season Ticketholders were welcomed today to Minute Maid Park for the first of several “town halls” with the new owner and front office team. On the agenda? A little bit of sharing and a little bit of venting.

Fans were given the chance to ask questions, air grievances and generally give feedback. One of my friends, who writes about the Astros farm system on her blog What The Heck Bobby?, was at the event and was kind enough to share her takeaways with the rest of us.

Here’s a snippet from what she had to say about the Q & A session -

There were several good questions/comments during the Q&A.  I made a comment about how some feel that the season ticket experience has been devalued with the proliferation of cheap deals to the non-season ticket holder, and how upset people were when “Sweet Caroline” was played during a Red Sox game at Minute Maid Park (which led Astros fans to feel that they weren’t as valued as the Red Sox fans).  Jim Crane took the question and came extremely close to guaranteeing that season ticket holders would be getting a partial credit on their tickets, and did guarantee that a decision would be made by February 15th.  And, although the “Sweet Caroline” incident wasn’t specifically addressed by Crane, I think from the comments that were made, you could safely bet that incident will never be repeated.

I’m sure I’m not alone in my relief that “Sweet Caroline” won’t be a part of the Astros Playlist this season! In addition, I’ve commented several times about my displeasure at the “come when they may” fan getting a half priced seat right next to my “paid in full for 27 games” seat last season, so I was encouraged to hear that would be addressed as well.

To see all the scoop from the Meeting today at Minute Maid Park, you can visit the post on What The Heck, Bobby? which, by the way, is a great place to keep up with the comings and goings of the minor leaguers in the Astros system.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

I want this logo back!

The Houston Astros are continuing to make their way through the list of General Manager Candidates while at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.

The latest on the list? LA Dodgers Assistant GM, Logan White. White’s been around baseball for a long time (10 years alone with the Dodgers) and actually interviewed for the Houston GM job once before back in 2007 when the winning candidate ended up being Ed Wade.

We’re told they’ve interviewed a half dozen candidates so far, but the only ones that have been openly named and recognized have been Bill Geivett of the Rockies, Jeff Luhnow of the Cardinals, JJ Picollo of the Royals and now White. These candidates all have one big trait in common and that’s their experience working with either bringing in new players or developing new players.  It seems the rebuilding process is finally in full commited swing.

Late last night Danny Knobler of CBSSports tweeted “Rival execs think Colo’s Geivett is favorite for Astros GM job. Could be done soon.” Oh Danny, how I hope you’re right on the last part of that tweet. So it could be soon and if the Winter Meeting chatter is to be believed, it’s likely to be Geivett.

Finally, Brad Mills spent some time with the media yesterday afternoon in Dallas. He spoke on his thoughts about the new ownership as well as the rebuilding process that’s going on,specifically about those dynamic young kids we saw play last season. Read more and see the video HERE.

I hope whatever announcement comes in the hopefully-not-too-distant-future regarding a new GM, that Brad Mills sticks around a little longer. I want to see what he does under a different GM who plays by different rules. I know that some of you won’t agree, but I just wonder…

It probably won’t be a pretty year in 2012, but it’s looking like it will at least be a productive one.

One final note: Tonight at 7pm on 740KTRH is the Astro’s offseason radio show, Astroline. The guest this week is none other than my favorite, Studly Cudly Budly, Bud Norris. You can tune in or join us at Buffalo Wild Wings at 510 West Grey in Midtown to see what Milo and Bud chat about.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I suppose I should have never gotten my hopes up. I suppose I should be good at dealing with disappointment by now. After all, I am a Houston Astros fan. But nonetheless I found myself a bit forlorn when I saw the first tweet saying that Andrew Friedman would not be coming to Houston as the new General Manager for the Astros.

In typical and delusional fashion, I decided to pretend the tweet didn’t exist. If I thought it wasn’t real, then it wasn’t and Friedman was still an option. But after several tweets I couldn’t delude myself anymore and gave in to the idea….Friedman was off the table.

I drowned my sorrows this afternoon in a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake. God bless Chick-fil-a.

Once I collected myself and started really thinking about it, I remembered that there are still lots of great options for the Astros. The people that matter are in Dallas for the Winter Meetings and they’re considering all the options.

Crane, Postolos and Co. are getting a chance to talk to an outstanding pool of candidates including Jeff Luhnow from the Cards and Bill Geivett from the Rockies. Both of these gentleman have what Houston needs, the ability to manage and grow a farm system, including getting new players as well as developing them.

We’ve heard time and time again from Jim Crane that rebuilding this team through the new player draft and the farm system was his strategy and I’d say that his list of candidates for the GM role in Houston seem to support that. Chalk one up for Jim Crane. I give the guy props for following through with his plan. That’s something we haven’t had a lot of in HTX, Jim.

So although I’m disappointed that Andrew Friedman isn’t coming home to Houston, I am optimistic still that there’s a GM candidate who will be a great fit to build this organization back to a winning one. After all, we’re approaching the holidays…the season of miracles.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Late last night (or early this morning depending on where you are) many Astros’ fans dreams came true when George Postolos, new team CEO and president, announced that Ed Wade is no longer the General Manager of the Houston Astros. Also gone from the front office? President of Baseball Operations, Tal Smith.

Apparently there was no need for a fireside chat today between Crane and Wade.

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports:

In a statement released by the club, team president and CEO George Postolos said assistant general manager David Gottfried will serve as interim general manager but is not a candidate for the permanent position.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations,” Postolos said in the statement. “We have told Ed Wade and Tal Smith that we are making a change. We recognize their dedication to the Houston Astros. We thank each of them for their significant contributions and many years of service to the Astros, and wish them our very best as they pursue new opportunities.

“The search for a new general manager begins immediately. We are searching for a candidate who has the knowledge, skills and experience to build a winner and a strong commitment to player development in order to sustain success. Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball. We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal.”

Tal's Hill in Centerfield at Minute Maid Park

So now that we can officially starting talking GM names, who is on YOUR short list? Mine, not surprisingly is topped by Kim Ng and Andrew Friedman as I’m sure many others are as well. Both Ng and Friedman have a fantastic baseball experience and understand all of the implications of the word “rebuilding” and I think it’s time we had someone in Houston that got it.

My one lingering question…since Tal Smith is gone, do we get to flatten out the damn hill?