There’s nothing like Spring Training to make you believe that the Houston Astros have hope for a good 2013 season. To the untrained eye, this month has proven that the little engine actually can win ball games. After all, if you take a look at how the Astros are doing in the standings, you’ll be led astray – they’re playing .467 ball right now.

For the recent past, that’s an impressive number. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, sports fans…it’s Spring Training. Don’t get me wrong – I adore spring camp as much as any other baseball fan. In fact, I’m in Kissimmee right now just to spend time taking in a few games. But you can’t let the excitement of Spring take over. There are too many factors at play.

During the regular season, a team has a fairly consistent 25 man active roster and each team knows what it’s up against. Everyone knows what Bud Norris is capable of on the mound and although he could have an extreme day one way or another, there is some level of consistency with major league level players.

That isn’t always the case with the other guys…you know, the minor leaguers that get an invite to Spring Training with the big club? There are a lot of factors that can effect their play. For one, they’re nervous and trying like hell to impress, so depending on how they respond to pressure their play can improve or fall apart. Plus, some guys just aren’t quite ready to play at this level yet. They may be some day, but may need more time. Then there’s the minor leaguers on the other team – if your best hitters are up against a AA pitcher from the opposition…yep, they’re going to light him up.

So I can sit back and say what an amazing 5 homers the Astros hit yesterday and expect to see it again today, or I can take it for what it is…Spring Training.

Now I still stand by my previous comments about what this season holds. I don’t think this team is going to be as tragic as some national sportswriters keep saying. I think the little engine that could will prove, to some extent, that they can play ball. I’m not expecting a winning season or even a .500 season, but I think they’ll win more games than expected. I think they’ll surprise some people along the way, but I won’t be holding my breath for 5 homers a game. But if it happens, I’ll be happy to eat crow.

So take Spring Training for what it is – all the guys vying for a chance to play big league baseball, all of the players getting the creaks out and taking some risks, all of the players meshing as a team and getting to know each other, and all of the front office staff eyeing the abilities of each and every player trying to determine which pieces of the puzzle are the best fit for the coming season. I can tell you this, I have the utmost faith in new managerBo Porter right now, but I’m not envious of the hard decisions he and Jeff Luhnow have ahead.

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.

The expectations for the Houston Astros this season are beyond low. Most national sportswriters are predicting another worst-in-baseball season and many are suggesting the team, now in the tougher American League West, will make a run at a record setting losing season.

I’m not completely sold.

I don’t think the 2013 Houston Astros are a foregone conclusion. Now, before you bust out the straight jacket and have me committed, hear me out. I don’t think anyone can possibly know what to expect of the Astros this season. Yes, if you look at the roster in attendance at Spring Training you’ll do a lot of  ”who?” and “really?” before you hit a name that you think has long term, big league potential. But there’s a factor that I believe will be more influential than a list of unknown’s on the roster – Bo Porter.

Bo Porter at Spring Training in Kissimmee, Florida

Don’t get me wrong, Bo Porter’s not the second coming, but I think he’s exactly what the doctor ordered for the Houston Astros. Remember last year as we all laughed and groaned and cried as the Astros made silly error after silly error, so much so that the .gifs of their antics were in the running for awards of worst plays on some fan sites?

Of course you remember all of that. What those behaviors and plays come down to is reactions. When the pressure is on, human beings react instinctively, they don’t think, rationalize, weigh the pros and cons and consequences of their actions – they just act. The past few seasons fans have witnessed some really poor actions on the field at Minute Maid Park. The ranting on twitter is comical – the base running errors, the throwing errors, the little league mentality of a major league team.

Not all the name calling has been fair, but some of it was certainly well earned. I expect to do less of that this season. I expect to see fewer silly errors. I hope to never say “little league” and “Astros” in the same sentence. What’s all this expectation and hope riding on? Bo Porter.

I’ll admit it, he charmed me a bit, with his jovial personality and nice-guy smile, Bo Porter knows how to win someone over. But more importantly, Porter’s got good things to say about his approach and why it will be different. I asked him a while back if he’d be addressing those fundamentals that so often failed to produce good reactions in the past few years.

“As a team, we will be prepared differently than they have been prepared in the past.” The way in which Porter conveys thoughts like that one make you just know he’s passionate and believes what he’s saying heart and soul. To listen to him explain the 5 P’s (Proper Preparation Produces Peak Performers) is akin to listening to a Southern Baptist preacher on Sunday morning.

Porter’s hand slaps the table for emphasis, he leans into his statement and enunciates every word. The man means business. And reports from Spring Training camp say he’s hands on, more so than any other manager has been.

All of this makes me smile at the thought process behind Bo Porter’s hiring. I already thought Jeff Luhnow was a pretty bright guy, but his best move thus far may just be the jovial and passionate manager that brings a background of not just baseball knowledge, but a hard core football love as well. When your team is made up of young guns and no names, I think the guy you want leading the pack is someone like Bo, a little bit southern charmer and a little bit old school strict  father. He’ll give you all the love you want, but you better have picked up your room and respected your mother that day. Yes, just what the doctor ordered, indeed.

So if you want to count out the Houston Astros, feel free, but I just can’t do it -not with Bo Porter at the helm.

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.

The Houston Astros are poised to have a pretty horrible season. I have no reason to believe that the team, as it sits now, will win more than 60 games this year. Is that me being pretty negative? Maybe, but I think it’s me being pretty realistic. I’d love to say that the rebuild efforts were further along than that, but they’re not.

The good news is that the minor leagues look good. They’ve jumped in the rankings from the very bottom of the pack (30) to being a top 10 minor league system in a very short time. And we all know that to have a successful ball club, a minor league system jam-packed with talent is essential. So Jeff Luhnow’s plan seems to be moving forward and, dare I say, working.

In the meantime, those of us who mainly follow the big league team suffer a bit. So how will the Houston Astros keep our attention this year? Is a new Manager in Bo Porter enough? Is watching Jose Altuve enough? Is Carlos Pena enough? Nope. None of those things will get fans to put their butts in seats.

I’ve wondered if the dismal failure that is the spread of Comcast Sports Net would encourage attendance to games. “You can’t see it on tv, so see it live!” But at a dinner this weekend 2 out of 4 fans said they’d change cable providers to insure their ability to watch Houston baseball. For the record, I have AT&T Uverse and will not be switching. I”ll find another way and there’s always radio.

But if you’ve been following the announcements coming out of Minute Maid Park recently, you know that everything old is new again…and I don’t just mean the logo. The team’s recruiting former players for roles in the organization. Is this an attempt to draw us back? If a favorite of mine is working for the team, will I come to more games?

Who’s on the menu so far, you ask. We all know that Craig Biggio already has a role as a special assistant to the GM and I can only see his role increasing over time. Roger Clemens will be working with the pitching staff. He’ll be hands on starting at Spring Training and will likely spend the majority of his time working with minor leaguers.

Alan Ashby, who played with the Astros throughout the 1980′s as a catcher is back as a tv* guy. And Geoff Blum will join the television broadcast team and is expected to cover about 60 or so games to fill in when Bill Brown isn’t on air.

Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett will return to the club in roles in the minor leagues. Ensberg will be a development specialist assigned to Class A Lancaster and Everett will be an infield instructor and will work with both the minor league teams and the major league club. Both of these guys were on the 2005 Astros World Series team.

So, is this a gimicky parade of boys from the past to get our attention, or are these legit hires? I’d argue that they are both. Every one of these guys is definitely qualified to do the job they’ve been hired to do and in some cases, Clemens in particular, I don’t think there’s anyone who could do it better. Adam Everett was a fantastic defensive player and we all know that the Astros could use some serious help in that regard – if you don’t know what I’m talking about – go watch THIS VIDEO. (By the way, Bo Porter gets a shoutout in that video as the Nats 3B coach).

I salute the Astros for reaching out to former players who have the talent to help coach the young staff. I think it’s a good move. And in a year where good moves are needed to appease fans who are angry about all the bad moves (Jim DeShaies, Dave Raymond, Brett Dolan – good talent lost needlessly). Will this be enough to get former fans to come back and buy tickets? Nah. It’s not enough. But it’s an interesting move and one I’ll be following to see how these new coaches pan out.

None of these guys will be in high profile positions and fans aren’t going to see them, hear about them, etc throughout the season, but there is a little flicker of something – dare I say “hope” – that players who played in Houston’s glory days are coming home to play a role in returning the team to the days of old.

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.

*Edited – my first draft went out before I had caffeine and I stated that Alan Ashby would be joining the radio team. That was incorrect. He will be joining the television team.

Last Friday, I spent the evening watching the Houston Aeros hockey team play some team in red. Anyway, I went to the game with Jayne from What the Heck, Bobby, the blog that follows the Houston Astros minor league system. It stands to reason that in an evening fueled by Grey Goose, Dewers and twenty-somethings on skates that baseball would be a topic of conversation, right? Duh.

One of the topics that we wandered onto that evening was Jordan Lyles. We talked about his season and his woes the third time through the batting order last year. The first two times that hitters saw Lyles’ stuff he had the upper hand, but by the third at bat, hitters had his number. It was like clockwork and he was getting lit up like a Christmas tree. Is it something they can coach him through? That’s what I wondered.

I don’t have an answer to that particular question yet, and I’m working on it, but when I read Brian T. Smith’s article on Chron.com about Roger Clemens taking an active role with the Astros again, that exchange last week about Lyles is what immediately came to mind.

According to the Chronicle article, the Astros are expecting and hoping for a decent amount of involvement from Clemens this season.

“We’ve got the whole calendar mapped out, and we’re going to sort of figure out what makes sense,” Luhnow said Monday. “But the idea is to plug him in in spring training, plug him in throughout the season, and just have him get a lot more involved with our pitchers.”

So there you have it. Roger Clemens is going to be spending some time working with the Houston Astros pitching staff.

There’s been lots of buzz about Clemens in the last year. First there was the whole “pitching for the Skeeters” thing that fueled rumors of a posible start at Minute Maid Park again. Those rumors were squelched by Clemens himself. Now, we’re a day away from finding out what judge and jury have to say about Clemens, PEDs and history when the results from this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame voting are announced. Clemens, along with several other steroid-era players, appeared on the ballot for the first time this year.

What do I think about the influence of Roger Clemens on the young pitching staff in Houston? I think it could be outstanding. The Astros have needed reinforcements in pitching for quite some time. With a rotation of young kids, the need increases. If you have a pitcher like Clemens ready, willing and able to impart some advice, knowledge and help, you have to be excited.

Imagine being a 22 year old pitcher, finding your way in the major leagues and your new mentor just happens to be a guy with 7 Cy Young Awards, a guy who has two World Series rings, a guy who was named an All-Star 11 times and the All-Star MVP once, a guy who had a career 3.12 ERA. Not many pitchers get the opportunity to be coached and mentored by a player like that.

So thinking back to last week when the Aeros were beating that team in red and my ramblings with Jayne about Jordan Lyles, do I think that that the Astros could use the expertise of Roger Clemens? Absolutely.

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.

In anticipation of tonight’s 10:59pm CT deadline to finalize moves to the 40 man roster to protect players from the Rule 5 draft, the Houston Astros have made some changes. Any player who was first signed at age 18 has to be added to a 40-man roster within five years or they are eligible to be drafted by another club through the Rule 5 draft. The same goes for any player signed at age 19, but with a 4 year timeframe.

With that deadline looming Jeff Luhnow announced this afternoon that they are adding seven players to the 40-man roster. The players added are RHP Jose Cisnero, RHP Jarred Cosart, OF Robbie Grossman, RHP Chia-Jen Lo, LHP Brett Olberholtzer, RHP Ross Seaton and IF Jonathon Villar. These were all players that it makes sense to protect at this stage of the rebuild in Houston.

Jarred Cosart with the Corpus Christi Hooks

These are names that die hard Astros fans should recognize. After all, Grossman(.266 BA with 28 doubles, 6 triples and 10 HRs, 77 walks in 131 games of both A and AA play in 2012) was a part of the trade with the Pirates for Wandy Rodriguez and several others are top players in the Astros minor league system. Cisnero, one of the winningest pitchers of the system in 2012 spent time at both AA Corpus and AAA OKC ending his season 13-7 with a 3.70 ERA and twice being named Texas League Player of the Week.

Like Cisnero, Cosart spent time at both AA and AAA during the 2012 season with 21 combined appearances. In his 6 starts at OKC he threw for an impressive  2.60 ERA. Cosart was also named the top Astros pitching prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com.

Lo, who spent part of the 2012 season injured, impressed in the Arizona Fall League this year posting a 2.40 ERA in 14 games that included 3 saves. Oberholtzer had a split record of 10-10with a 4.37 ERA in his 28 combined starts at AA and AAA this past season and earned Texas League All-Stars before moving up to OKC.

Seaton spent much of his season at AA Corpus (25 games) where he was 8-8 with a 4.07 ERA allowing only 31 walks. He tied for 7th in the minors with 169.1 IP, but led the Texas League in strikeouts with 91. Finally, Jonathon Villar spent 2012 at AA Corpus Christi where he hit .261 with 54 runs, 11 home runs, 50 RBI and 39 stolen bases in 86 games. At the start of the season Villar was ranked as the 4th best prospect in the Astros’ system by Baseball America. He’s been recognized as the best defensive infielder in the system.

In addition, it was announced that RHP Mickey Storey has been claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees (no more sing alongs of “Oh Mickey” it seems), and IF Scott Moore has been outrighted to AAA Oklahoma City. Time will tell if Moore decides to accept this assignment or select free agency.

These moves leave the Astros 40-man roster at 36 just a few hours shy of the deadline.

Let the “hot stove” season begin….

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 news broke that the Houston Astros had named a new Manager and it would be Bo Porter, third base coach of the Washington Nationals. Per a tweet from Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle, front office personnel flew to Philadelphia yesterday, where the Nationals were playing to formally offer Porter the job.

Once again the Astros front office had big news flying through the air as most of us slept. They made it official during a 10am press conference at Minute Maid Park this morning. During his statement GM, Jeff Luhnow, stated about Porter, “He is openminded. He is smart and he knows baseball.”

Porter, who has been with the Nationals since 2011, was not the guy many of us had in mind for this position, but it’s only fair we give him his shot. The powers that be in the Astros front office did a fine job this year of making deals, stocking a desolate farm system, and proving that they have a master plan for returning the Houston nine to the glory the team once knew.

I’ll continue to have faith until they prove to me I shouldn’t.

In the meantime, Bo Porter and the Nationals are in a race for a championship and Luhnow asked that we all respect that and let him finish the job he has ahead of him. Not that Bo Porter would pick up his phone for me, I would love to ask him a handful of questions.

But for now, we have this: Bo Porter is a 40 year old who lives in Houston during the offseason, so he’s a hometown boy, of sorts. He played football at the University of Iowa until he was drafted in the 40th round by the Chicago Cubs in the 1993 draft as an outfielder. He made his major league debut, with the Cubs, in 1999, but would end up going to Oakland in the Rule 5 Draft in 2000. He played for the A’s for only 1 season before being claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers, again, staying there only one season. He played the rest of his career in the minors in the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies systems until his career concluded.

Since leaving the playing field he’s done everything from hitting coach in the minors to third base coach in the majors. He’s been a managerial candidate for the Marlins and Pirates, but never got to grab the brass ring.

Fangraphs interviewed Porter back in July of this year, calling him a “Future Big League Manager.”  When asked what his managerial style would be, he said this -

“When people ask what kind of manager I’ll be, I always tell them, ‘Give me a roster and then I’ll tell you how I’m going to manage that ball club.’ You can say you’re going to be an aggressive manager and that we’re going to steal bases and hit-and-run, but if you have six guys in your lineup that can hit 25 home runs, it’s probably not a good idea to take too many chances of giving away outs. Conversely, if you have a team that doesn’t have a lot of power — but you do have guys who put the ball in play — you can put runners in motion.

“You want to take advantage of the ability that your players have. How you manage shouldn’t be etched in stone. You have to play to your strengths and at the same time you have to look at your opponent. If there are things the other team doesn’t do well, you want to put your players in a position to take advantage of that. A big part of this game is recognizing advantages, whether you do that with data or with your own eyes.”

As of yesterday, Porter’s wish came true. I’d say with one heck of a coaching opportunity ahead of him. Many would see the Houston Astros as the team they’d least like to lead, but I’d bet that Porter’s looking at it as the opportunity of a lifetime. He gets the chance to prove to the Marlins and the Pirates that they were wrong. That he can turn a team around.

Until he proves me wrong, I’ll give Mr. Porter the benefit of the doubt. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with a team that has the lowest payroll and highest loss rate in the majors. A team that has too many minor leaguers taking the field each night. A team that has a developing farm system that’s talent is a few years out from the show. Yes, he has one heck of a challenge in front of him, but it’s one hell of an opportunity.

Welcome to Houston, Bo.

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. 

Jeff Luhnow wasted no time Sunday morning in announcing Oklahoma City Redhawks Manager, Tony DeFrancesco, as the interim manager for the Houston Astros. It’s a choice that seems logical given the fact that most of the young Astros team has spent time recently playing for Tony and there will be a comfort level from the get-go.

DeFrancesco expressed his excitement at the opportunity. “I waited a long time to come to this level and be on a big league staff as a manager,” DeFrancesco said. “I want to be the guy who changes the environment out there.”

He spoke openly of the attitude that can set in and the lack of confidence that can take root when a team is getting beat up on each and every day. If you’ve followed me on twitter during a game or sat near me at a game this season, you’ve heard me express the same concern. Let’s all hope that the clubhouse is a fun and encouraging place from here on out, win or lose.

The search for a permanent manager will begin immediately, according to Luhnow. He made no comments to help uncover the possible list of candidates that’s surely in his head, but did indicate there was no time to wait to begin the hunt.

As for the the other two places on the staff that were vacated late last night, Ty Van Berkleo, also from AAA OKC, as the interim hitting coach and Dan Radison, a special assistant to the GM,  as interim first base coach.

The pressure is off for all three it seems as Luhnow expressed that all three of these gentleman will be with the organization next season (but who knows in what capacity). All are clear on the needs and path of the organization according to the GM.

So what now? Now we watch and see if there’s anything an interim manager can do in six very short baseball weeks to help mature a very, very young club. In the meantime, it’s business as usual for this team as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks for game three at 1:05pm at Minute Maid Park.

Play ball!

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.

In a season where Astros fans just sit and wait for the next traumatic experience, the team will hold a presser tomorrow at 10am to announce the firing of Manager Brad Mills, first base coach, Bobby Meachum, and hitting coach, Mike Barnett.

The late-in-the-season timing may seem odd, but with the front office reorganizing the scouting department and casting some out this past week, perhaps it was just a foretaste of the destruction to come. Most surprising to me? The continued employment of third base coach, Dave Clark, whose head I’d like on a platter for ridiculous calls and direction and the continued employment of pitching coach, Doug Brocail, who was basically just filler after the firing of Brad Arnsberg last season.

Interestingly enough, a couple weeks ago twitter and bloggers were aflutter calling for Mills’ head on a platter, but moments after the story of his firing broke on twitter? Many are proclaiming that the poor man didn’t stand a chance with the roster of minor league misfits masquerading as major leaguers that he was handed to manage.

Meanwhile those in Boston who are begging for the return of Terry Francona to the Red Sox are wondering if Batman’s Robin, Mills, would return with him. If given a season group of truly major league players, a team would likely find Mills to be useful and productive.

It’s true that this is a team full of players who’d never likely get a major league call up if they were on another team, but there have been many occasions when the collective fan base asked, “What the hell?” as Mills made a particularly interesting or ridiculous call – having a player bunt in an odd situation, sitting an everyday player to give a wash up a few more at bats, etc.

No word yet on who will replace all three for the remainder of this record breaking losing season, but odds are we’ll see bench coach, Joe Pettini, take the reins for the remainder of the 2012 season. After all, there’s not much left to manage in Houston.

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.