12:55pm: MLB.com's Brian McTaggart says the Astros are still considering Dave Clark.
11:41am: Phil Garner, Manny Acta or Brad Mills will be the next Astros manager, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. Astros owner Drayton McLane says he expects a decision early next week; for now the club is doing final reference checks for Acta and Mills (none are required for Garner, who already managed the Astros). McLane doesn't expect to interview any more candidates at this point.
This means Jim Fregosi, Bob Melvin, Bobby Valentine and others are no longer in the mix for the job. Acta, who was fired by the Nats this summer, is also a candidate to manage in Cleveland.
