I do not personally agree with the firing of Brad Arnsberg; he worked wonders with the Toronto staff two years ago and did one helluva job last year. But I understand the move nonetheless. The Astros have arguably the worst bullpen and rotation in the league this year, so something had to be done. I'd rather see Wade others shown the door, but that's another story.
What I'm curious about is not why Arnsberg is out and why Dough Brocail is in. I'm curious about why Drayton McLane feels the need to question the firing. Per Richard Justice's twitter:
↵↵↵Since Brad Arnsberg has a year left on his contract, Drayton McLane telephoned Jim Crane to explain the firing.
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Maybe Brad Arnsberg is out because he's the pitching coach for one of the worst pitching staffs in the league. Maybe Jim Crane is willing to take a bite out of next year's payroll to see if this rotation can improve. After all, there's no were else to go but up.
↵Teams are hitting a .269 against Astros pitching. Such a batting average is second worst in the league. Their ERA of 4.69 is better than only the Cubs, and the Astros obviously rank last in blown saves and saves. The Astros pitching staff has also given up the second most amount of hits and total bases in the league.
↵So, Mr. McLane, if Jim Crane never got back to you, I can answer your buzzing question. Brad Arnsberg was simply being held accountable for his job.