New Manager for the Stros...

[Baseball Guru]

Jimy Williams, fired by the Red Sox in August, became the Astros' 13th manager Thursday, a day after
agreeing to a three-year contract with general manager Gerry Hunsicker.

[Baseball Guru]

Astros Hire Manager Jimy Williams

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ
AP Sports Writer

November 1, 2001, 9:56 AM EST

HOUSTON -- Jimy Williams was quick to accept the Houston Astros' offer to
manage the club -- and sidestep a question about the team's playoff woes
under Larry Dierker.

Williams, fired by the Boston Red Sox in August, became the Astros' 13th
manager Thursday, a day after agreeing to a three-year contract with general
manager Gerry Hunsicker.

"Gerry called and offered the job and I said I'd sleep on it," Williams said. "I
called him back in 45 minutes and told him I was a fast sleeper."

Dierker resigned two weeks ago after leading the Astros to four division titles in
five years but losing in the first round of the playoffs each time.

Williams, who led the Red Sox to the playoffs in 1998 and 1999, wouldn't
promise the Astros would improve on their 2-12 playoff record under Dierker.

"If you start making statements that you can't back up, you're in trouble,"
Williams said.

Williams was fired during his fifth season as Red Sox manager. He had a
414-352 record. The Red Sox dropped out of first place in the AL East after the
All-Star break and Williams was dismissed after the team lost six of seven
games.

Williams had a celebrated feud with Red Sox outfielder Carl Everett during his
final season in Boston and Dierker departed saying he couldn't get some of the
Astros to buy into his managing ideas.

Williams would offer no clues how he would handle the Astros clubhouse.

"We all have challenges and that's great because it means we're still alive,"
Williams said. "Any challenge that we have will remain in the clubhouse. That's
where it will stay."

He did offer a hint.

"Be on time, play hard, don't embarrass yourself or the Houston Astros, you're probably pretty safe,"
Williams said.

"When you talk to players, here's how they think: Something happens during the course of the game and
maybe they don't necessarily agree with what the manager did, they'll say to themselves, `What is the
hell is he doing?'

"But you know, I say to them, `You know what, sometimes I watch you guys play out there and I say,
`What the hell is he doing?' So we're equal. We're just trying to win. The main thing is to be solid in the
clubhouse. Keep things together in the clubhouse."

Jeff Bagwell told Houston television station KRIV he expects a tough, fair manager who will communicate
with veterans like himself, Craig Biggio and Brad Ausmus.

"What he's saying is that we can learn from him and he can learn from us," Bagwell said. "He's the
manager. He's not going to sit there and yell at us and say `Hey Biggio, Bagwell, Ausmus, this is the way
it's going to be.'

"He'll try to get a little input but most of all he's going to make the decisions."

Hunsicker thinks the Astros are close to being a successful playoff team.

"There are not many teams out there that have done what we've done," Hunsicker said Thursday, "so we
needed somebody to take us to that next level."

The Red Sox reached the American League championship series in 1999, where they lost to the New
York Yankees. Williams was AL manager of the year in 1999.

In his previous job, Williams was fired by the Toronto Blue Jays in his fourth season as their manager in
1989, when the team started 12-24.

Hunsicker praised Williams' ability with young players, which fits in with the Astros youthful roster.

"He still feels you can teach at the major league level," Hunsicker said. "So many managers talk about
what you can't do as opposed to Jimy, who feels you can still teach in the big leagues and he talks about
what he will do.

"My goal is to give Jimy the right kind of players and if we both do our jobs, we can go to the World
Series."

The Astros also interviewed third-base coach Mike Cubbage, Double-A Round Rock manager Jackie
Moore, Triple-A New Orleans manager Tony Pena, former major league manager Jim Fregosi, and
Milwaukee bench coach Jerry Royster.

[RockieBill]

Although the Braves ate them up (and always seem to), the Astros were fun to watch, especially after the AS break. If Williams can figure out a way around Atlanta, Houston might actually mix it up in the NL.

(Why doesn't he spell his last name "Wiliams"? Just wondering...)

[Cyberlibrarian]

Well, I guess he figures that "James" only has one M, so why not "Jimy?" :confused:

[Baseball Guru]

Either that or he is just lazy:biggrin: You know us Jameses;) we are pretty lazy:P

[PopTop]

"Gerry called and offered the job and I said I'd sleep on it," Williams said. "I called him back in 45 minutes and told him I was a fast sleeper."

Williams, who led the Red Sox to the playoffs in 1998 and 1999, wouldn't promise the Astros would improve on their 2-12 playoff record under Dierker. "If you start making statements that you can't back up, you're in trouble," Williams said.

Hunsicker thinks the Astros are close to being a successful playoff team.

"There are not many teams out there that have done what we've done," Hunsicker said Thursday, "so we needed somebody to take us to that next level. My goal is to give Jimy the right kind of players and if we both do our jobs, we can go to the World Series."

The Astros also interviewed third-base coach Mike Cubbage, Double-A Round Rock manager Jackie Moore, Triple-A New Orleans manager Tony Pena, former major league manager Jim Fregosi, and Milwaukee bench coach Jerry Royster.


Kinda' funny that this is one of the earliest threads in this forum. I'd have to say that either Jimy, Gerry or both have failed.

[barzilla]

Wow, I take about 24 hours off and find we've gone in a timewarp. Incidentally, there are reports that Jimy will be fired on Wednesday. The brass is meeting so it makes a lot of sense. My view is that an announcement will be made by Thursday since the club has an extra day off.

[rockin500]

itd be the oppurtune time to do it.

[Toy Cannon]

itd be the oppurtune time to do it.
Ain't that the truth. It's enough to drive you to :drink1:

[barzilla]

Kinda' funny that this is one of the earliest threads in this forum. I'd have to say that either Jimy, Gerry or both have failed.

I think this deserves to be looked at more closely. Let's do it year by year

2002

The Astros came up short that year but let's recall that both Moises Alou and Vinny Castilla were allowed to leave via free agency. Yes, the Astros thought Darryl Ward and Morgan Ensberg would take their place. Of course, we all know that Alou was going to be better than Ward, but we thought Ensberg would hold his own. In the end I chalk this one up to Drayton McClane and miserliness.

2003

The Astros rotation looked rather thin at the beginning but Robertson and Redding had strong decisions and the team had a very strong bullpen. In other words, this was Jimy's dream club. The club finished minus seven games in the Pythagorean column, but the club also failed to get a significant piece in July. This one clearly belongs to Jimy although some blame could go to Gerry and Drayton for not adding a piece in July.

2004

The blame cannot go Gerry or Drayton this time around. Yes, they traded Billy Wagner for financial constraints, but the got Clemens, Pettitte, and traded for Beltran. Meanwhile, Richard Hidalgo doesn't get along with Jimy, struggles, and then is traded to the Mets. There, he hits twice as many home runs in half the games. At the all-star break they are .500 with more talent than they had in 2002 or 2003. Congratulations Jimy, you are left holding the cards again.

Now, do we assign blame for hiring Jimy? Sure, all GMs, VPs, and owners are responsible for who gets hired. The problem is that there is really no scientifc way to hire managers yet. Teams usually go by a manager's overall record and how they interview. I agree that interviewing is important but there are things you always want to look at. Here is Barzilla's master list:

1) Pythagorean rating
2) Look at offensive numbers
....a) Runs created versus runs scored
....b) number of sacrifice bunts
....c) stolen base numbers versus caught stealing
3) How does he handle his pitching staff
....a) number of innings for starting pitchers
....b) how often does he leave starters in for over 120 pitches
....c) how does he distribute innings to his relievers
....d) does he frequently bring relievers in in the middle of innings?
4) How does he use his bench?
....a) which players get the most plate appearances? Does he go by experience or talent? Does he use righty/lefty combos or does he go by talent?
....b) when does he start the subs and how many start at any one time?