Lance Berkman News

Are you ready to be a champion? You are? I hope you know that championships are expensive, and, uh, well, the local baseball team is in kind of a bind.

Astros first baseman Lance Berkman admitted Tuesday afternoon he didn't know very much about his new boss, but that was exactly what made the announcement that Brad Mills was the new Astros manager so exciting.

With the World Series underway and the hated Yankees back in the Fall Classic, fans will have to wait on word concerning MLB news and the Houston Astros.

An hour before and two hours after Brad Mills was introduced as Astros skipper not a single person made their way to the Astros ticket counter at Minute Maid Park.

At last count, fans from 15 states and four foreign countries had signed the "guestbook". It's a Free Blog Weekend.

Manny Acta. Brad Mills. Phil Garner. Dave Clark. These four, uninspiring names are supposedly the Four.

Ed Wade made the perfect baseball when he sent Brad Lidge to the Phillies for Michael Bourn two years ago.

The Astros commenced their interviews for a manager Wednesday at Minute Maid Park by sitting down with two men familiar to the organization -- interim manager Dave Clark and Minor League field coordinator Al Pedrique.

Bob Melvin and Manny Acta, two men who were fired as managers in the first half of last season, interviewed with the Astros on Friday for their full-time managerial position with hopes of leading the way in Houston next year.

Bob Melvin sees the Houston Astros being in better shape than the Diamondbacks were when he became their manager in November 2004.

Lance Berkman made his way to Kissimmee, Fla. in the summer of 1997 with something to prove.

As if 13 years in the Astrodome wasn't enough torture. So Jose Cruz is no longer the first-base coach of the Houston Astros.

Upon hearing the Astros were in search of a full-time manager with plenty of experience, Phil Garner last week called president of baseball operations Tal Smith to give an endorsement of Bob Melvin, who had coached under Garner in Milwaukee.

Mercifully, the Houston Astros 2009 season is over. 74 wins, 88 losses; a very disappointing year in the National League Central.

The Houston Astros season ended with a fitting thud Oct. 4 in a 4-0 loss to the New York Mets.

Fittingly perhaps, the Astros ended their 2009 season by suffering a sweep against one of only seven teams in the majors that had a worse record.

TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT ; WUBA Spanish. Ticket info: The Phillies have about 1,500 tickets remaining for tonight's game.

Astros general manager Ed Wade will have plenty on his plate this offseason, with the No.

Thursday: Astros 5, Phillies 3. Record: 74-85. Today: At New York Mets , 6:10 p.m. Pitchers: W. Rodriguez vs.

It's October. He is in Philadelphia. The place was packed and loud, the way it always seemed to him to be.