Chron: Good Article on Phil Garner

This is why Jimy had to go

Scrap Iron knocks off all the rust
By RICHARD JUSTICE

Maybe the least- important thing the Astros got this weekend was three victories. Maybe somewhere amid the late-inning tension and inside pitches and clutch hits, something even more significant happened.

Maybe they became a team.

Did you see what happened immediately after Cubs reliever Mike Remlinger beaned Lance Berkman in the eighth inning Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field?

Jeff Kent ripped a single to left, and when he reached first base, turned toward Remlinger, stared and said something unprintable.

That wasn't the end of it.

An inning and a half later, new reliever Dan Wheeler retaliated for Carlos Beltran and Berkman getting hit by plunking Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee. The Astros had a seven-run lead at the time, and Wheeler was promptly ejected.

No matter.

With that one pitch, he sent a message that he wanted to be part of the team and that he intended to protect his teammates. Welcome aboard.


It starts with the boss
Some in baseball say such gestures mean nothing, that the good teams are the ones that produce in clutch situations.

Sure, but along the way, there's a process of team building that has to happen. The New York Yankees have tons of talent, but look beyond the payroll and superstars to how they actually win games.

They've come from behind 51 times this season. They've come from four or more runs down eight times.

That resilience is an indication the Yankees have a heartbeat. Joe Torre is baseball's best manager because he has been able to convince a bunch of guys with large salaries and even larger egos to play as one.

Phil Garner might have succeeded in giving the Astros a heartbeat.

In the first half of the season when they were absolutely lifeless, a veteran National League scout pointed to the two dugouts during a game against the Rangers.

On the Texas side, the young Rangers were on the top step rooting for one another and acting like kids. The Astros, meanwhile, were sitting back watching the action, maybe figuring they were too cool to cheer.

This weekend in Chicago, the Astros made it to the top step. Television cameras caught Garner and his coaching staff screaming, pumping their fists and exchanging high-fives. By Sunday afternoon, even the players had caught on.


Willing to show emotion
In the 42 games Garner has managed the Astros, his players have seen him throw and kick various objects, scream at a variety of people and run up and down the dugout exchanging handshakes and offering congratulations.

He's so emotional that he constantly reminds his coaching staff to help him keep track of game situations.

As he said one night: "If he hits a home run, I'm going to be too busy celebrating."

Nothing wrong with that. I once asked an NFL general manager why he considered Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher the league's best coach.

"Because winning games is the most important thing in his life," the guy said, "and he has an ability to communicate that to his players. If you're around him very much, you're afraid not to care as much as he does."

Garner has done more than that, too. He has made the Astros more aggressive on the bases, just as the coaches have been more aggressive in their instruction.

Garner would be the first to tell you that cheering and being proactive wouldn't mean a thing if the players who were supposed to produce hadn't started producing.

They finally have.

Beltran is a monster in the No. 2 hole. He's stealing bases, driving in runs and keeping constant pressure on opposing pitchers.

Maybe he finally has elevated the lineup the way the Astros thought he would when they made the trade for him in June.

And Jeff Bagwell is once more Jeff Bagwell. He was 10-for-18 with two home runs and seven RBIs in the four Chicago games.

He has vowed to rework his swing this winter to compensate for that bad shoulder, but this weekend he again looked like the guy headed for the Hall of Fame.

Speaking of Bagwell, did you see that kid from the Lamar National Little League team who copied his stance and swing?

Man, talk about a perfect imitation.

If he'd had some ragged facial hair and a pair of pants that didn't fit, he might have passed for the real deal.

Each time he came to bat, I imagined a few hundred people sitting down and writing letters to the editor urging Drayton McLane to show him the door.

With Bagwell and Beltran hitting, a lineup that had been mostly Berkman and Kent is suddenly tough to pitch to.

Carlos Hernandez has given the starting rotation depth, and general manager Gerry Hunsicker's tinkering has improved the bullpen.

Now four games back in the wild-card race, the Astros will at least play important games in September. Beginning tonight in Cincinnati, they play 14 straight against teams with losing records. Of their final 32 games, 23 are against losing teams. Their situation is made more difficult by the fact they trail three teams in the standings. And despite winning 11 of 14, it could all be tem-
porary.

Nevertheless, they've given themselves a chance.

A week ago, who would have thought that was even possible?


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This is why Jimy had to go...this team has been playing with no emotion all year...and IMHO is exactly why they have struggled.

Why not care enough to cheer....become enthusiastic.....it is contagious.

DD

 

I still don't think it was all Jimy's fault he was just low key, and we have low key players too.

Someone needs to provide enthusiasm, and if it is not the players, then by god it needs to be the coach.

DD