HOUSTON — Bob Melvin thinks the Houston Astros are in better shape than the Diamondbacks were when he became their manager in November 2004.
Melvin met with the Astros about their managerial job on Friday, the fifth of 10 candidates that the team is scheduled to interview. Former Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta was due to meet with the team later Friday.
The Astros fired Cecil Cooper on Sept. 21 and finished 74-88, their second losing record in three years. The 47-year-old Melvin took over the Diamondbacks after a 51-111 season and said that team required more extensive rebuilding than Houston does now.
“We actually had to transition away from some of the veteran guys in Arizona and go to a younger group,” Melvin said. “In a situation like this, where you have some veterans and some really good players, you’re probably a little farther along.”
The Astros’ payroll ranked among the top 10 in the majors last season, but Melvin said veterans like Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt form a solid foundation. Houston will likely turn to younger players to fill key spots next season and Melvin said his job would be to strike the right balance.
“Nowadays, that’s the best mix, to have a younger group of guys that brings you that energy and so forth, with a mix of veteran guys that’ve been through the wars before,” he said. “If you can get the two groups to act as one, you have the best of both worlds.”
Arizona improved by 26 victories in 2005 and two years later, Melvin guided a team with one of the smallest payrolls in the majors to a division title and earned NL manager of the year honors.
The Diamondbacks led the NL West for most of 2008, then hit a crippling slump in late August and lost the division to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Melvin was fired in May after the Diamondbacks started 12-17.
“Once you get let go, there’s a catch-22 with that,” he said. “You get let go, but now you have some experience.”
Before he became a manager, Melvin worked for two seasons as a bench coach for Phil Garner, who will interview with the Astros on Saturday, two years after the team fired him.
The two remain close friends and Garner was driving Melvin to the airport on Friday afternoon.
“I owe a lot of my career to him,” Melvin said. “We have a long history together.”
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