In news broken by Astros.com social media guru Alyson Footer, Houston pitching coach Brad Arnsberg was fired today over “philosophical differences.” Doug Brocail will take over as the next pitching coach, and the Astros have set a press conference up for 4:10 PM CT to discuss the change.
Houston pitchers have a cumulative 4.69 ERA, good for second-to-last in the National League. Mostly because Brett Myers, J.A. Happ, and the entire bullpen have been flammable all season. Or, in layman’s terms, “things anyone could have seen coming besides Ed Wade.”
Brocail had retired after the 2010 season and was working in as a special assistant to Ed Wade. The move comes as a surprise because the management staff had seemed to be fairly reverent of Arnsberg’s abilities as a coach. Arnsberg was credited heavily for turning around Brett Myers last season, and with great praise comes the great responsibility of keeping that going. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards this year for Arnsberg.