That would be a surprise to me. But may be plausible. It’s the kind of call up which would attract attention and could attract fans to the ballpark. I voted for Manzella, but I really don’t put him in the “surprise” category. I expected him to be called up. He is on the 40 man and expected to contend for a ML slot next year. If Cooper considers him a “surprise,” then the Astros really are conservative on Sept. call ups. I think Johnson may be a player Cooper would want to call up. He doesn’t seem enamored with the nicked up Blum and Keppinger at 3d.

first off, welcome to the blog, glad you’re here…

second, manzella’s defensive skills will translate to the major league level a lot easier than chris johnson’s all or nothing plate approach will..cj strikes out entirely too much and displays little to no patience at this point in his career. i understand you’re “not wanting another everitt”, but believe it or not, adam everett made up for his lack of skill at the plate by being a stellar defensive shortstop. in our world series season of 2005, adam was a top fifteen shortstop despite being paid a scant $400,000.

if manzella can approach adam’s defensive output, he has the potential to be an even more effective player since his minor league numbers lead me to believe that he can at least be passable on offense. he’s not hanley ramirez, but is cheap, young-ish, and skilled defensively. giving away outs has been a problem with the astros this season, and having manzella in the lineup would lessen this problem going into 2010.