That Other Sports Team In Town -- Who's Running It?

I know I’ve asked this question before, but I feel that it needs asking again. So, seriously, who’s running the Houston Astros?

I ask because it came out yesterday that Cecil Cooper has been pitching injured pitchers, even though he knows they’re injured, because they say that they want to pitch. Several weeks ago, it was reported that the Astros had to put Jose Valverde on the disabled list because even though Cooper knew he was injured, he kept pitching him because Valverde insisted he could pitch.

And now it’s Geoff Geary.

Though the Chron couldn’t get Cooper to admit to how long
Geary’s been injured, it appears that he’s been injured several weeks.
He’s got biceps tendonitis, yet he’s still been pitching. And he’s
been pitching because, according to Cooper, who is supposed to be the
manager, “the guy said he could pitch.”

But if the guy’s injured, it shouldn’t matter what he says. What should
matter is that the guy’s injured. The manager shouldn’t let what the
guy says influence his decision. The only opinion that should matter is
what the medical staff says. And if the medical staff says that a guy
is injured, that should be the end of the story.

The Astros pitching isn’t that good — seriously, when your ace is
Wandy Rodriguez the pitching staff isn’t good — and continuing to use
injured pitchers doesn’t make it any better. But what really makes me
mad about this continued use of injured pitchers is that it’s making me
agree with Jesus Ortiz at the Chron. And if you guys have read my stuff in the past, you know that I don’t like agreeing with Ortiz.

And Cooper, I don’t care if the guy’s trying to be like Superman.
You’re supposed to be the adult. No adult would let a kid put on a
cape, climb up to the roof, and jump off because the kid thought he was
Superman. The adult is supposed to stop that kind of activity, not
encourage it. Especially when the adult knows that the kid isn’t
Superman. And Cooper, you’re supposed to know that Geoff Geary isn’t
Superman — Jimmy Olsen, maybe, but definitely not Superman — so don’t
encourage him.

So, I ask. Is it really too much to expect that some kind of adult run
the Houston Astros? These guys have enough enablers when it comes to
their agents, they don’t need another enabler running the team. So come
on Cooper. Do your job.

For once.