As a kid growing up in Houston I loved attending baseball games in the Astrodome.  Looking back, there are several things that I remember looking forward to the most. One was seeing the scoreboard light up when one of the Astro players hit a home run. I couldn’t wait to see that dancing cowboy shoot his bounding bullets and the steam-blowing bull get ready to charge.

Another thing that is engrained into my memory is the distinctive sound of Nolan Ryan’s grunts after he released each pitch. You could actually hear his ‘’uuuughhh’ echo throughout the Dome. I marveled at how much energy he put into each release of the ball. It almost looked like his arm might fly off with his next pitch. I was in awe of how hard he worked and I couldn't help but love his confidence, which often appeared to lean a little more towards cockiness. But it gave him a presence, like he was royalty as he stood on the mound.

I also enjoyed the intense rivalries the Astros had with the Reds and Dodgers. Those were the series that I made sure to attend for fear of missing a fight or incident between the teams. Back then the rivalries were fierce, they hated each other and weren’t afraid to show it. 

But I think for me, one of most anticipated things was when outfielder Jose Cruz came to bat. I made sure I didn’t have any food in my mouth and had my throat clear so I was ready when it was time to join the public address announcer in saying, ‘’now batting, number 25, left fielder, Jose Cruuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzz.”  Hearing the crowd enthusiastically chant his name gave me Goosebumps every time.  I was happy when the Astros brought him in as a coach so that I got the opportunity to yell ‘Jose Cruuuuuuuuuz’ for old time sake.

But now the Houston Astros have done the unthinkable. They have fired Jose Cruz. Let go the man who has been involved with ALL nine of Houston’s postseason appearances, three as a player and six as a coach.

First it was our beloved Ryan, now it is Cruz who is an Astro no more.

I suppose next they’ll get rid of Orbit and say it was his fault for the team’s misgivings this season.

It appears that owner Drayton McLane feels his team needs a face-lift, so instead of getting rid of the culprits that were the undoing of what once was a competent franchise, he discards one of the most popular figures in team history. Nice.

I can see the decision to fire Cecil Cooper. Coop was too much of a grouch to the media and in the P.R. department and he definitely didn’t do much to endear himself to the players. The best thing a manager can do is to find the patience in working with the media and win over the guys in the clubhouse. Cooper did neither and made it hard to put up a defense for his return.

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.

I can think of a NUMBER of other things they could have done to give the team a new look. First let’s talk about the horrific play-calling of TV broadcaster Bill Brown. He is has the personality of a can of bean dip.  He has been with the team for twenty-three seasons now and I have YET to learn anything of significance from the man. All he does is spit out stat after stat after stat. We love our stats in baseball, but I don’t need to hear you sit there and read the media material for two straight at-bats. Baseball can be slow enough without having to hear more scores from the American League. We’re in the National League and we could care less if the Royals are losing to the Twins. Brown is also nothing more than an ‘’Ed McMahon’’ type figure to his partner, Jim Deshaies.

I nearly puked one night after hearing him cackle every time Deshaies said anything of substance. He would describe a play and Brown would bust out like he had just heard the funniest punch-line of his life. One night I counted…eerrr…I tried to count all the times he laughed at what Deshaies said..and I finally got frustrated and quit counting in the fourth inning. I understand the concept of making your partner look good, but Brown takes to an obnoxious new level.

And If I had a nickel for every time I heard Brown say ‘’JD’’, I promise you today I would be a very wealthy man. I have heard “JD” so many times that often when I have trouble nodding off; I count “JD’s” till I fall asleep. Brown also rarely interjects anything of meaning about the game. His calls usually just point out the obvious. A monkey could do that.

If the Astros want to rid itself of some bilge water, Brown would be a good place to start.

While we’re on the subject of washed-up, past their time announcers, Milo Hamilton needs to go too! His dog and pony show has been lame for several years now. Even though people think it, nobody wants to say it – RETIRE ALREADY! How long of a swan song does a guy need? He can’t see the plays anymore and has to be corrected on a regular basis by his analysts Brett Dolan and Dave Raymond.

And since we’re cleaning house, what about the guy that made the decision sign Kaz Matsui? The person that thought that retread pitchers Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz were the solution to the starting pitching deficiencies.  I’m talking about general manager Ed Wade. He is the genius that decided that pitching and defense weren’t a priority and wasted what little allowance papa Drayton gave him on Hampton and Ortiz.

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!

It’s obvious that the Astros are a mess right now and they have no clue what direction they want to go. Simply put, they are the Union Station train with oranges on top that has derailed and is trying to navigate without a track.

Firing Cruz is not going to miraculously turn this team into a contender. Maybe there is more to the story than we know about with this firing.

There is no doubt that the facts will leak out in the coming days. But in the mean time I can’t resist but to do it one more time. All together now – JOSE CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ…….......for old times’ sake.