Yup the facepalm is back and probably should of been back a lot sooner, but this is as good a time as any.
This isn't really a facepalm because of the Brad Arnsberg firing, this is a facepalm for the entire organization. As an Astro fan I'm taking this back to the Cecil Cooper days. Really?
Maybe that should of been the mantra for the entire organization not just Cecil Cooper who did have his own issues managing and in the clubhouse but was essentially just another scapegoat.
I say "Really?" because as a professional baseball team these guys could not seem to work it out. This hasn't been going on for a year now or even months, it's only been going on for weeks. Weeks! That sounds more like a tiff rather than "philosophical differences."
Philosophy should of been figured out in the interview process, which in my understanding is pretty extensive, any philosophical differences should of been hashed out then.
No this is about egos getting the better of people.
I'm not totally absolving Arnsberg of responsibility either, he's had his own issues in Florida and Toronto didn't seem to upset about his departure. Still for all the that has been written about Brad Mills strengths in running the club house and communicating, what we have here is a failure to communicate.
This is where the fans suffer.
As fans we debate, we argue, we fight especially during times when this team looks more like a Minor League team than a Major League one. It's what we do, it kills time, it helps us through the work day and it's what we enjoy, but when you see your team doing it, it brings everything to a new low.
I only do this on a part time basis I have a family to support, I have a job to do. The Astros are supposed to be my outlet they're that foundation pushing for greater things, but when I hear someone is let go because of a tiff I begin to lose faith. They're supposed to be better than this.
Maybe Doug Brocail comes in and does a better job than Arnsberg, maybe he doesn't. What I do know is that the Astros lost a good man today, probably over something even simpler than Philosophy. When things are going great everyone's happy, when they're not the finger pointing begins and with a new owner on the horizon this screams of desperation.