Results tagged “cecilcooper”

When the going gets tough, you get a new manager. That's not quite the way the saying goes, but it's the way things are playing out in the Astros clubhouse. Last night the ball club named the Boston Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills the manager for the 2010 season. This posting will be Mills first chance to run his own team in the bigs after a running the show at three clubs in the minors and apprenticing around the majors for 11 years.

With one year under his belt, Astros manager Cecil Cooper is ready for the 2009 season to begin. After a rough first half which saw the Astros at 6-12 to start the season, Cooper and his team got hot after the All-Star break to go an best 42-24 while just missing a Wild Card birth by 3.5 games. We can all thank Hurricane Ike and Bud Seling for that. Houstonist caught up with the Astros skipper at Thursday's Baseball Writers Association of America Awards Dinner to talk baseball. Coach, with spring training just right around the corner, how exciting is it for you this time of the year? Well, it's extremely exciting. We want to make a stronger showing than we did a year ago and we think we have a chance to do that. It's pretty exciting to get there (spring training) knowing that I'll pretty much have the same team that I had a year ago and we'll be familiar with each other knowing we can just go out and play baseball. What was the difference between the first half and second half of last year? It was a rough start, but the team rebounded for a strong second half finish. Well, I think number one, they got used to our style of doing things. Then I think everybody's role was really determined a little bit better and then I thought the biggest key was that Carlos Lee got hot and Roy Oswalt became the Roy Oswalt that we all know and love. The interview continues after the jump.

A week after the pitchers and catchers arrived, the Astros' position players are due in Kissimmee today. Some, including Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, and Kaz Matsui, have already arrived to get a jump on the rest of the team. Others, like focal point Miguel Tejada, arrived on time today. Like we did with the pitchers and catchers, we'll take a look at the guys out in the field and see where things lie.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and on a day like today, a young person's heart turns, naturally, to baseball. The baseball season is almost upon us, with the evaluation period known as spring training beginning in earnest today. The Astros major league camp starts today, with just the pitchers and catchers in camp. The position players will arrive later, but for today we'll take a look at everyone who's currently at the Astros' facility in Kissimmee, Florida, who has a chance of making the team this year, and what role they'll play on the 2008 Astros roster.

Every week, usually on Mondays (sue us), Houstonist braves the wilds of the internets to bring you a summary of what people on sports blogs are saying about your hometown teams: -Shasta, the UH Cougar mascot has responded to the assault at the wings/hands of the Oregon Duck from the first week of the college football season. Sounds like he's got a pretty good attitude about it. - The Colts-Texans game took place on "Deep...

Baseball's most self-pitying franchise is at it again. The Chicago Cubs are pissed at the Astros for the players that the Astros sent out to play against the Brewers this week. The Cubs and Brewers are locked in a struggle for the NL Central title, with the Brewers currently on top; baseball courtesy dictates that the Astros field their best team against the Brewers, so as not to hand them "cheap" wins. It's a supposed...

The Astros may have 99 problems, but the pitch ain't one. After stumbling out of the gate to start this week's series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros saddled up thoroughbred Roy Oswalt and rode to victory last night, securing Cecil Cooper's first major league win as the 'stros new manager. Oswalt worked with trademark efficiency, blazing through seven innings while throwing only ninety-nine pitches. Offensively, the team rode homers by Luke Scott and...

Cecil Cooper knew this day would come, but he didn't it expect it to happen like this; taking over a team from his good friend Phil Garner, but as destiny has it, this small town Texan has the chance of a lifetime. Although he was tabbed only as interim manager for the remainder of the season, Cooper has the credentials to deserve the full-time gig. Cooper, born in Independence, a small town near the...

The Astros made a decisive move today, firing manager Phil Garner and general manager Tim Purpura. Mired near the bottom of the NL Central all season, changes of some sort were necessary. Owner Drayton McLane stated that "a fresh start" was needed, and it's hard to argue with him. Bench coach Cecil Cooper will cover Garner's duties as manager, and Astros president Tal Smith will take over for Purpura. Cooper has been mentioned for the...