It was on this day in 2007 that J.R. Towles set a new Astros team record by recording eight RBIs in one game, an 18-1 Houston win over the Cardinals. The Astros had high hopes for Towles as their catcher of the future, but Towles never developed, hitting just .187/.267/.315 in 484 plate appearances from 2007-2011. The catcher spent this season playing for the Twins' Triple-A affiliate.
Here's the latest out of Houston…
- Rays bench coach Dave Martinez and Red Sox bench coach Tim Bogar "are [the] front runners" to become the next Astros manager, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Astros were known to want their new manager in place by next week, though that could be delayed if their choice was working for a team going to the postseason. Interim manager Tony DeFrancesco, Nationals third base coach Bo Porter and Larry Bowa have all also interviewed for the job, with Bowa already dropping out of contention.
- The Astros announced the acquisition of left-hander Theron Geith from the Rays, completing the August 31 trade that sent Ben Francisco to Tampa Bay. Geith, 23, was a 39th-round pick for the Rays in the 2011 draft and posted a 2.98 ERA, an 8.1 K/9 and a 4.45 K/BB ratio in 31 relief appearances for high-A ball Charlotte this season.
- You can keep up on all the breaking news out of Houston on MLBTR's Astros-specific Facebook page, Twitter and RSS feeds.
If they have narrowed down to Bogar and Martinez, I would go with Bogar as well. He played on some excellent Astros teams in the late 90s when they won 3 division titles so at least he has a history with the team. Also he played with Biggio at that time and since Biggio is part of the selection committee, I wouldn’t doubt it if Bogar has a leg up.
Something to think about, Martinez has worked under Maddon for a while now. Means he is very familiar with SABR Baseball. I see him as the favorite
Scioscia to Maddon to Da. Martinez. I’m down with The Beard On The Bench.
Welcome to the Houston system, Theron Greyjoy!
Too bad the Astros couldn’t acquire Charlize Theron. Then the fans would have something to watch while the team sucked.
It could get very confusing in the Astros dugout if Dave Martinez, Fernando Martinez and J.D. Martinez are all there, particularly if Dave would still be the best hitter of the three.
Maybe we can coax the 3 Kevin Browns and Gregg/Greg Olson out of retirement.
i would love to see Dave Martinez as our manager. yes, Bogar has ties to the Astros in the past but Martinez has been under the wing of maybe the best manager of the past 5, 6 years. like someone already pointed out, you follow the lines back & Martinez has the pedigree i want to be in charge of the Astros