I know this is probably a long shot but I would love to see Craig Biggio comeback and be our manager. Bring him back and hire Bagwell on to be a hitting coach/base coach. Any thoughts on who else they might go after?

Tim Bogar

I really don't think Bagwell can handle a full-time job like that, it's just not worth the time to him. Just look at the way he handled his previous hitting instructor and tv analyst positions. Bagwell was a great player and one of my favorites, but I wouldn't expect him to help the Astros anymore.

Biggio would be interesting, but it would suck to see him get fired someday. I really think Art Howe or Adam Everett would also make good choices.

Go get Ron Gardenhire

Who the **** is aj hench

yeah art howe already has a history of managerial success with the Astros. Those were some hellacious teams he fielded back in the dome.

Some slap deek who was fired as the ARI manager after .420 managerial winning percentage and then proceeded to run the Padres into the ground as manager of scouting from 2010-2014 until he resigned.

They really shat the bed again.

Unless they were going to get LaRussa or Torre, is there really any significant difference between the other candidates?

Why fire Porter if you're going to go and do that?

Didn't get along with Luhnow.

who is this guy?

Even after searching on Google, I still don't know who he is!

Good thing they snatched this guy up before he accepted an offer from Home Depot.

Came here to see if y'all knew anything about Hinch.

Guess not.

Malls are starting to do their seasonal holiday hiring. Didn't want to miss out

i wonder if he had to call luhnow back because he had a guy on the other line about some white walls?

Straight from ESPN: "Hinch managed the Arizona Diamondbacks from May of 2009 until July 2010, when he was fired after 31-48 start. Most recently, he worked as the vice president of professional scouting for the San Diego Padres from 2010 until August." What they don't say is he was 89-123 all together. From wiki there is this little gem: "His .420 winning percentage ranks as the second lowest in Diamondbacks history, just ahead of Al Pedrique." Pedrique was 22-61 (0.265) in his stint . I guess he wasn't available.

I would hate to see the resume of the guys who didn't get the job. They must be on suicide watch right now.

I have a feeling this guy just agreed to be a puppet for luhnow so he got the job. Luhnow will attempt to run this team much like moneyball depicted beane running the team. Just my 2

When one manager gets fired over a disagreement with the GM and his replacement is a nobody that hasn't been on a bench in 5-6 years, sucked when he was, and spent the last 5 years running a lousy scouting dept, the puppet theory is a very logical one.

Tidbits:

A.J. Hinch #14 (Sorry Jesus Guzman)

Luhnow: We interviewed 10 candidates, felt there were a lot of good choices. ... Couldn't be happier with our choice. Think A.J. will be here when we win the world series.

A.J.: What a great day. Privileged to sit in front of you as the Houston Astros manager. ... I will tell you the Astros called every person I've ever met to dig up as much as they could. To know me is to know I like winning, I like to compete. I see great things with the Astros. I look forward to being a part of that. ... We need to build on the success. Proud to be here. To wear orange and blue is something that I cherish.

(Jeff) Staff: Not gonna be his guys or my guys. It'll be the Astros guys.

A.J.: Texted back and forth with Bo. Didn't speak directly with him.

I love good hitters and guys that get outs. ... Run prevention is at a premium. You want to put as much pressure on your opponent as you can.

Players come from anywhere. We may not know what the team is shaped like well into the winter meetings or past it. ... We'll embrace every player. If he's a 10 or 15-year vet and provides leadership, all the better.

We have to play better defense. Run prevention is important. I want every area in the game to take an incremental step forward. Brent Strom has made advances with these guys. Can we get better? You never have this game perfected. It's a 162 game grind.

(How many wins?) Great question. I'd love to know. I hope we win every game. I don't believe in bold predictions. The NFL Network makes bold predictions. I'm not into making restrictions. I have no idea what this team is capable until we play 162. ... I want to be the best team we can be. I believe in what we're doing. We can do things sooner rather than later.

He's a Stanford guy that is called a numbers guy, so I think he fits Luhnow's style. He was 34 when he got the Arizona position. I won't put too much stock into his record there, but I bet he learned a lot during that time and his time with the Padres that will help him this time around.

I don't love the hire, but I don't hate it either. This is a Moneyball approach. Pretty much, this time will taste success if Luhnow does his job.

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I want to be the best team we can be.

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So Arian is writing his pressers? Should be fun #namaste

Brent Strom will return as part of Hinch's staff
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Looks like they reached out to Davey Johnson

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But every so often, Johnson still receives reminders of his past life. The Houston Astros, a young team that could use veteran guidance, have been looking for a manager. Johnson went to high school in San Antonio and attended Texas A&M. Through a mutual connection, Houston General Manager Jeff Luhnow recently and informally asked about Johnson's availability. (Luhnow declined to comment through a spokesman.) Johnson told Susan about it and joked about how fun it might be.

The Astros reportedly were close to hiring former San Diego Padres exectuive A.J. Hinch as manager Monday, but that hint of a possibility is what defines Johnson. He isn't retired. He is happy now but isn't opposed to managing again. He loves challenges and likely will work until he dies.

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Chron: Hiring of Hinch gives GM a rare second chance to get it right

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The Hinch hiring could be the most crucial personnel decision Luhnow has made as Astros general manager.

Crane did not like the way Luhnow's relationship with Bo Porter imploded into a very public and ugly divorce before Porter was fired this past Labor Day. Whether it was Porter or Luhnow's fault is uncertain, but Crane sided with Luhnow. Now Luhnow is the one essentially on the clock.

...

Hinch is Luhnow's third Astros manager. Luhnow was in his rookie season as GM in 2012 when he fired Brad Mills, the mild-mannered manager he inherited from the Drayton McLane-Ed Wade regime.

Luhnow hired Porter at the end of the 2012 season and let him finish the postseason with the Washington Nationals. The problems began when Porter was forced to inherit most of his coaching staff.

The coaching staff in 2013 was extremely divided with only bench coach Dave Trembley as Porter's "hire."

Hinch, however, will have a say in the coaching staff. Pitching coach Brent Strom, who was hired by Luhnow and highly respected eventually by Porter, is the only coach from the previous staff guaranteed a job on Hinch's new staff.

...

By June of 2013, there was clearly friction with the ultra-competitive Porter and Luhnow, who has made no secret of his methodical plan to build the club through the acquisition of high draft picks.

The disconnect between the front office and the coaching staff was clearly evident in spring training after Luhnow refused to let George Springer and Jon Singleton make the opening day roster.

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Is Jeff on the clock?

Oct. 27, 2009 - Hired Brad Mills
Dec. 8, 2011 - Hired Jeff Luhnow
Aug. 18, 2012 - Fired Brad Mills
Sep. 27, 2012 - Hired Bo Porter
Sep. 1, 2014 - Fired Bo Porter
Sep. 29, 2014 - Hired A.J. Hinch

I like how the article says Hinch will have more control of picking his staff vs Porter, but then immediately goes into the fact the pitching coach is already in place.

What a ridiculous hire. It's pretty obvious they wanted a puppet. I don't trust Luhnow so say hello to more bad baseball.

He says he believes in building with high draft picks but then doesn't sign them because he fails to research the pick before-hand.

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i wonder if he had to call luhnow back because he had a guy on the other line about some white walls?

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I don't understand the appeal of hiring a guy with a losing record and a pretty bad track record of scouting potential players. I know the Astros might not be a top destination job yet, but I still feel like their should have been more suitable options. I guess it's hard to find a good manager when Luhnow and Crane practically demand complete control.

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i wonder if he had to call luhnow back because he had a guy on the other line about some white walls?

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Dammit, I wanted to make the white walls joke.