Jeff Luhnow surprised the baseball world this past weekend, relieving Brad Mills from his duties as manager of the Houston Astros.
Houston will be looking for a new manager after the 2012 season is completed. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman has already compiled a short list of permanent managerial candidates in Houston, and it's no surprise that a couple of the candidates have ties to the St. Louis Cardinals, where Luhnow served as an executive for years.
Joe Pettini, Chris Maloney and Jim Riggleman are viewed as three potential candidates for the Astros' permament managerial job after the late Saturday dismissal of Brad Mills as manager.
Pettini, who is currently Houston's bench coach, served as Tony La Russa's bench coach in St. Louis, and has earned two World Series rings -- both with the Cardinals.
Maloney is St. Louis' current first base coach.
Riggleman, meanwhile, has plenty of managing experience at the Major League level, and is currently serving as Cincinnati's AA manager.
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