I don’t think he’s bad, but I do realize he’s new at this and he’s going to make mistakes. Not only is he a rookie, but he’s been given a bad team and expected to win.

Take tonight’s game for example. Hernandez started and gave up 6 runs in the first two innings. 4 in the first and 2 in the second. That might have been your que to pull him. The Pirates starter was, in fact, pulled after giving up six runs. Poronto pitched 4 innings today, so if Coop pulled Hernandez after 1.2 innings we can say Poronto might have pitched at least until 5.2. That leaves 3.1 innings to be pitched by the rest of the bullpen (assuming we win.) That is, 3.1 innings of SCORELESS ball. So he didn’t and we lost (although had the bullpen given up even one run, we would have lost anyway, but no one knew that at the time.) So he gets blamed for not using the bullpen effectively and we lose.

On the other hand, had he used the bullpen and we’d lost (which we had a good shot of doing anyway, then everyone would be complaining about how overused the bullpen is. Which they are. And people complain about it. But it’s not because Coop is managing the bullpen poorly, it’s because half of the bullpen blows donkey balls and the starters can’t go more than 5 innings.

That leaves 3 or 4 innings for the bullpen to pitch every night. And if the game is close, then you want to use the good ones. Like Valverde, Geary, Brocail, Wright and Byrdak. They get used to much then they start sucking too and we lose. Then people cry “overuse” and Coop has to use people like Villareal in close games because Geary is worn out and we lose.

So it’s kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t kind of situation for him. And don’t even get me started on how he’s gotten stuck with 3 young “everyday” players, based mostly on how good management thinks they could be. (But they aren’t.. at least not yet.) And.. expected to win with them.

Cecil Cooper is not a good manager. I’m just gonna throw that out there. Then again, there are very few good managers in baseball. Cooper has been terrible at choosing when the team should attempt steals, how the bullpen should be managed, and how to keep everyone in that clubhouse on the same page. He filled out his staff with a pitching coach that nobody relates to, and in doing so, has alienated the one legitimate starter the team has. I understand it’s his first year, but in reality, he’s finishing his first year. This is a game that he’s been heavily involved in for 40-45 years. It took him this long to figure out that Ty Wigginton should be given more AB’s, when anyone with a stat sheet could see that. (Note: I myself have seen blogs that have talked about this days before Coop made the move. I figure it’s not appropriate to pimp other people’s blogs on Crawfish Boxes, but there is a blog out there that said Ty should be given wayyy more AB’s) Sure, Drayton has no clue how to build a club, and has hamstrung Ed Wade in his attempts to rebuild. That doesn’t mean that Cooper gets to pass the buck on his end of the bargain.

A month ago the Astros were red hot and streaking. Now they’re in the cellar. What the hell happened?

It’s the manager’s job to keep the team playing at its best, to get the most out of his players. Looking at results, Cooper is a miserable failure and ought to be run out of town. Now.