Trembley is necessary for the Astros rebuild

After a 111-loss season, a coaching staff shakeup is expected to happen. Bullpen coach Dennis Martinez and first base coach Dave Clark were fired, while pitching coach Doug Brocail has been reassigned in the organization. Next out was bench coach Eduardo Perez who is now looking at a possible reassignment within the organization as well.

The only two guys who are known to be safe for sure are manager Bo Porter and now new bench coach Dave Trembley.

Trembley served this past season as third base coach for the 'Stros with good reviews. The TCB staff loved Trembley's aggressiveness with his runners compared to other coaches in years past.

But after one year, he is done with that role. Could it be because of his performance? That's a possibility, but he never drew much negative criticism while doing the job.

It could just come down to the fact that the guy is going to turn 62 years old on Halloween night this year. After spending over 30 years in baseball, he just might not be physically able to do it.

The third possibility is just that Porter and the Astros think he would be a great bench coach.

Trembley became a good friend of my father, Mark, due to the fact that when Harrisburg got a AA baseball team in 1987, Trembley was named the manager while my dad was hired as a broadcaster. In the first year of existence for the team, the Senators won the Eastern League championship behind the ultra positive skipper.

Trembley's road from there went all over the place, including managing back in the Eastern League with the Bowie Baysox in 2003, while my dad was now the assistant general manager and part-time broadcaster for Harrisburg.

Finally, Trembley's hard work paid off in 2007 with a trip to the big leagues to manage the downtrodden Baltimore Orioles. Ironically, Trembley's big break came during a year that Harrisburg got new ownership.

The new ownership's first move? Cutting the assistant general manager in charge of baseball operations - my dad. My family found out on our first day back from vacation in October of 2007. As you can imagine, a job in baseball is pretty freakin' awesome, no matter what level it is. You get to be around an amazing game that brings joy to so many people.

My dad was heartbroken. And three years later, Trembley would experience that same feeling when he found out that he was fired as Orioles manager through the ESPN BottomLine.

If you haven't read Brian T. Smith's piece on Trembley from earlier this year yet, I highly encourage you to do that now by clicking here. The piece does a wonderful job of chronicling Trembley's battle with tough times after his dismissal from Baltimore and how he has rebounded to become a huge influence on the Astros.

Unlike Trembley, my dad never got back into baseball, but still gets asked if he's with the Senators more often than you'd think seeing that it will be seven years later this month.

And of course there are still times he longs for his days with the AA club of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos and now, the Washington Nationals. Those days of broadcasting over 2,000 games. Or interviewing a sobbing Milton Bradley after the greatest home run in Minor League Baseball history.

Trembley surely longed for his own favorite baseball days when he was out of baseball for a short time before being hired in the Atlanta Braves organization in 2011.

Fast forward to July 30 of this past season, and I was in Baltimore for an Astros and Orioles game with my dad. We had the good fortune of being hooked up with press passes. We got down to the field, and who noticed my dad right away? Mr. Trembley himself.

With it being only two days after Smith's article being published, I had a pretty good idea that I would be speaking with a pretty optimistic guy, but I was still surprised.

A smile never left Trembley's face for the entire 10-minute conversation.

Of course I wanted to pick his brain about my favorite team, but him and my dad had a lot of catching up to do. Trembley's son who was introduced to us had just graduated college, and was looking to get into baseball himself. You could tell the father was proud.

A lot of the conversation revolved around how both of these guys were taken from the jobs they love and how they've rebounded from it. Trembley beamed while talking about how happy he is to be back in Major League Baseball.

Negativity was easy to find this season for Houston. And there's no guarantee that 2014 will be any easier for Porter and Trembley's club.

We all know think the future is bright for the Astros, but there still have to be people to usher Houston back to winning ways. Trembley has been through the tough times and unfortunately wasn't rewarded for his work. Nothing can be taken away from the job that Buck Showalter has done in turning around the Orioles, but Trembley surely had to have a little influence on shaping guys like Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters.

Establishing a positive and winning culture is a must in Houston. The Astros need a guy like Dave Trembley and more people like him.

On the night that I met Dave Trembley, also the night of the only Astros game I saw in person this season, Jonathan Villar stole home. Trembley applauded the young shortstop from his third base coaching box.

On behalf of The Crawfish Boxes, we're glad you're with this team, Dave Trembley. Rub some of that positive energy off on your players and see where the 2014 season takes you.