Houston Astros fire their manager
With 13 games to go in the 2009 MLB season the Houston Astros have decided to fire Cecil Cooper as their manager. This firing is not a complete surprise as the Astros have severely underachieved though out the 2009 campaign. As of Monday afternoon this team sat 70-79, while sporting a 103 million dollar payroll. The two biggest stars on this team, 1B Lance Berkman, and SP Roy Oswalt have had very disappointing years, and all of that equals a manger looking for a new job. Third base Coach Dave Clark took over the team on an interim basis.
Cooper was hired by the Astros in 2007 and under his leadership they managed a 171-170 record. For the amount of payroll dollars on this club that simply isn’t good enough. General Manager Ed Wade will begin a search for a new manager immediately and will consider Clark as a candidate.
Cooper becomes the fourth MLB manager to be fired this season. He joins Bob Melvin (Arizona Diamondbacks), Clint Hurdle (Colorado Rockies), and Manny Acta (Washington Nationals) as mangers to be let go during the 2009 campaign.
Several other mangers may also face trouble come the off season. If the Detroit Tigers continue their collapse and miss the playoffs one has to wonder how long manager Jim Leyland will keep his job, and considering the kind of season the New York Mets have had one had to wonder about Jerry Manuel’s job security as well.
