Houston Astros Fire Manager Brad Mills - Bleacher Report

The Houston Astros have fired manager Brad Mills after the team lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 12-4 on Saturday night.

According to MLB:

UPDATE: Sunday, August 19 at 11:07 a.m. EST

The Houston Astros have named Tony DeFrancesco as interim manager, according to Houston Chronicle's Zachary Levine.

---END of UPDATE---

The Houston Chronicle has also reported that hitting coach Mike Barnett and first base coach Bobby Meacham were let go at the same time. The report also states that the Astros will name replacements at 10 a.m. local time tomorrow at Minute Maid Park.

That Mills was fired shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone. The only surprising thing about this move is the timing. 

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal had reported back in early July that the team was likely to let Mills and his staff go at the end of the 2012 season. At that time, however, new general manager Jeff Luhnow had said:

Should the Astros have let Brad Mills stay until the end, or did the team make the right decision to make the change now?

Should the Astros have let Brad Mills stay until the end, or did the team make the right decision to make the change now?

• Should have kept Mills

• About time he's gone

• Total votes: 679

We haven’t talked about next year at all...I’m not even thinking about it at this point. Brad has done a good job. We get along well. There is no reason to make a change. At the end of the year is when I’m going to spend time looking at all aspects of the operation. 

But, losing can take its toll on the most patient of men, and apparently Luhnow had finally had enough. The Astros are easily the worst team in baseball, had lost seven of their last 10 games and had been getting beaten up on the scoreboard on a regular basis. 

It remains to be seen whether or not a new captain will be able to get this ship back on course in 2012. One thing is for sure, though: The Astros aren't going to be content with the status quo going forward. 

Things are changing in Houston, and methinks it's for the best. 

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