In Richard Justice's blog post this morning, he pimps Phil Garner pretty hard:
Now it's Garner's time again. He's the right man for the job. He's not the only right man for the job. Bob Melvin and Manny Acta would be terrific hires. Yet none of them brings the experience and the credibility Garner brings to the job.
He knows the organization, knows the players, knows the owner. He has great, great people skills.
The Astros need someone to straighten out the clubhouse culture. To get Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman to hustle more. To get Berkman to accept a mantle of leadership. To get Roy Oswalt happier. The Astros have lost the concept of team in the post-Bagwell and Biggio era, and Garner would be perfect to help bring it back.
I like how we've all started talking about Berkman and Lee like they aren't here to answer questions like, "Why didn't you hustle more?" "What about accepting leadership scares you?" "Bagwell and Biggio set a great aura around this team. How in the world did you let that completely fade in two years?"
It's not like Berkman and Lee are hibernating, and Justice can't go wake them up or they'll be angry.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
