Astros manager Cecil Cooper has been fired by the Astros, the team announced today.
Third base coach Dave Clark will serve as interim manager the final 13 games of the season.
"Coop is a very solid baseball guy and gave his heart and soul for this organization," general manager Ed Wade said. "Unfortunately, I got to a point where it was appropriate to make this change and make it now. It gives us a couple of weeks to go ahead and evaluate some other facets of our operation at the field level and hopefully use that time to try to make the right decisions going forward.
"We appreciate everything that Coop has done for us, but a change we felt was in order at this point in time."
The Astros have lost seven straight and eight of their last 10 games.
With Sunday's loss they dropped to 70-79 and were eliminated from playoff contention.
"It's tough because Cooper is such a good guy," outfielder Hunter Pence said. "He's a good guy all around. It's not his fault that — he didn't go out there and do any of the playing — we didn't play well enough. It's just one of those things; it's the way baseball works."
Cooper, who took over the Astros late in 2007, went 171-170. Prior to being named manager he served as the team's bench coach for nearly three seasons.
Clark has never been a major league manager. He is in his first season on the Astros' major-league coaching staff. Clark served as manager of the Astros' Class AA Corpus Christi affiliate from 2005-07 and Class AAA Round Rock in 2008.
"You're dealing with a veteran-type ballclub," Clark said. "The only thing that you can basically change is the attitude for the most part. I've always been that guy who firmly believed that the team takes on the attitude of the manager - of the leader of that team - and of the coaching staff."
Al Pedrique, the Astros minor league field coordinator, will replace Clark as third base coach.
Wade said the team will conduct a search during the offseason and Clark is considered a candidate for the job.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/6629571.html
