The minefield Houston Astros must navigate as manager search heats up

tread carefully

Last week manager Dusty Baker made it known that he's stepping away and will not be managing the Astros moving forward. With the Astros now looking for a manager, several reports dropped naming some possibilities for the position.

Also, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart released a report claiming owner Jim Crane and Jeff Bagwell will lead the managerial search, with GM Dana Brown also having a say in the process.

Which immediately caused a firestorm of outrage on social media, as Bagwell and Crane were viewed as the main reasons the Astros had such a disappointing offseason in 2022. Both were blamed for firing then GM James Click, which led to signing 3 free agents without a GM in place. And those free agents were Rafael Montero, Jose Abreu, and Michael Brantley. All deals Astros fans would come to regret after the 2023 season.

The other main point of tension involves Jeff Bagwell's friendship with former Astro catcher Brad Ausmus. This relationship played a role in Ausmus being a finalist for the GM position before Dana Brown was hired.

And guess who is now being reported as a top managerial candidate for the Astros? None other than Brad Ausmus.

With all of this in mind, who will/should the Astros target as the next manager of the club?

Be sure to watch the video above as we examine all the reported candidates, and share our picks for the job.

If you enjoy the videos, subscribe to SportsMapHouston on YouTube for our latest content.


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Rockets defeat the Spurs 127-100. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet had 21 points each and the Houston Rockets built a huge lead early and coasted to a 127-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.

Houston never trailed and had built a 25-point lead by halftime. The Rockets were up by 27 points when coach Ime Udoka cleared the bench with about 6½ minutes remaining.

Alperen Sengun added 16 points for the Rockets, who won for the fourth time in five games. VanVleet had 10 assists and seven rebounds — both season-highs — to go with his top scoring effort of the season.

Victor Wembanyama had 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Spurs, who lost a second straight game. They were playing a third consecutive game without coach Gregg Popovich, who is out indefinitely while recovering from an illness. Mitch Johnson is filling in as interim coach while the 75-year-old Popovich, who did not travel with the team on this road trip, is out.

Takeaways

Spurs: San Antonio’s defense suffered Wednesday in its first game without top on-ball defender Jeremy Sochan, who suffered a fractured left thumb that will require surgery in Monday’s game. Rookie Stephon Castle, who started in his place, will need to step up with Sochan likely out for an extended period.

Rockets: After failing to play consistently for four quarters in the last two games, Houston finally put together a complete game against the Spurs.

Key moment

The Rockets were up by 7 with about five minutes left in the first quarter before using a 7-0 run, with the first five points by VanVleet, to make it 22-8. The Spurs didn’t get closer than 10 points after that.

Key stat

The Rockets dominated inside, outscoring the Spurs 66-46 in the paint.

Up next

San Antonio hosts Portland on Thursday night and the Rockets visit Oklahoma City on Friday night.

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