Reactions to Cruz' dismissal

So in the absence of anything worth talking about this morning, other than the Arizona Fall League kickoff and the impending managerial interviews, let's recap some of the comments made about Jose Cruz' dismissal as first base coach.

Richard Justice:
If you're only upset because he was a good hitter 30 years ago and he once gave your kid an autograph, I'm not shedding tears. If that's all you can come up with, his firing is a chance for the Astros to get better. My memory of him will be his leaving the ballpark so quickly after games that I wondered if he had his uniform on underneath his street clothes.

Paul Bradley
As for the firing of Cruz, the only thing that I can think of is that the ‘brain trust’ (I actually did LOL when I wrote that!) wants to bring in some fresh faces and invoke some new ideas. But this decision would have been better left alone...There also should be some blame heaped on president of baseball operations Tal Smith. What has he done the last four or five years to contribute to the team becoming a champion? It was under his watch that the clubs minor league system has fallen to the depths of embarrassment. And it was under his watch that they have gone from World Series participant to the back pages of the sports section. It’s pretty sad when the Houston Cougars and the lowly Texans can steal your thunder!

INDCWBY:
Wow! You know what, I see me not watching another Astros game for a very long time. Jose Cruz didn't fail the Astros, the Front Office and the Owner failed the Astros!

Petin:
Shocked? Yes! Saddened? Extremely. Infuriated? To say the least. But on the brighter side of things, I have a real suggestion for the replacement 1st base coach...THE HAMBURGLAR...That's right, a little incentive for "El Caballo Gordito" To actually run one out, I bet he'll pick up some speed for that! What A sad, shameful day for the Astros'fans!

David in Spring:
Say it ain't so, Jose! How can the Astros dump a player who has more hits than Joe DiMaggio?! Yeah that's right, the Yankee Clipper. Look it up as Casey would say. Cheo is more than just a first base coach. His numbers are better than many HOFers. The great baseball historian and sabermetrics founder, Bill James, considers Cheo one of the best players of all time and one of the most underratred. And it is obvious that the bums running the Astros have no clue. A man of Cheo's stature has earned the right to retire on his own terms. Baseball is an ugly business. But nice guys don't have to finish last or get dumped because the GM is looking for excuses for not spending the owner's money wisely.