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(7/14/04 1:12 pm)
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 Astros Fire Williams, Hire Garner
ESPN.com news services
HOUSTON -- The struggling Astros fired manager Jimy Williams on Wednesday, replacing him with Phil Garner, according to Houston broadcast outlets.
The Astros have called a 2 p.m. ET news conference to announce the move.
Williams' job security had been the subject of speculation for about a month, from right about the time Houston's surprising tailspin down the NL Central standings began.
Garner, an Astros infielder during 1981-87, was hired as Milwaukee's manager in 1992, leading the Brewers to a 92-70 record and a second-place finish in the AL East. That proved to be his only winning season as a manager, and Garner was ultimately fired by Milwaukee after 112 games in 1999.
The Tigers hired Garner in 2000, going 145-179 over the next two seasons before firing him after they lost the first six games of the 2002 season.
Garner, 55, and his family have kept a home in the Houston area since his playing days with the Astros.
The firing of Williams, 60, appears to be a last-ditch effort to rescue a season that started with expectations of the club's first World Series appearance in its 42-year history.
Houston went into the All-Star break the loser of six of its final eight games, finishing the first half of the season in fifth place in the NL Central. The Astros are 10½ games behind division leader St. Louis -- the first time they've faced a double-digit deficit in the standings at the break in 11 seasons.
That's a remarkable disappointment for a team that was a preseason favorite to go to the World Series and was tops in the division for the first month and a half of the season.
Williams has guided the Astros to two second-place finishes, losing the division race last season in the final week. Much more was expected this season with the offseason signings of former New York Yankees teammates Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
The Astros have been surprisingly punchless on offense, ranking only 19th in the majors in scoring. Their highly touted pitching staff has struggled as both Pettitte and Wade Miller have spent time on the disabled list. And Carlos Beltran hasn't been the quick fix they expected -- the All-Star center fielder is hitting .263.
At Tuesday night's All-Star Game, Williams was booed by the crowd during pregame introductions. That likely didn't escape the notice of McLane or Hunsicker.
After the game, Williams lingered in the coaches' room of the clubhouse for nearly an hour and sent a message to the assembled media outside through team spokesman Jay Lucas.
"As far as the speculation that's out there, we don't have a comment and Jimy doesn't have a comment," Lucas said. "He's just going to go home."
Hunsicker has repeatedly emphasized that the club has loaded up solely for an autumn finish -- Beltran is a free agent, Clemens was coaxed out of retirement, Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio are in the final years of their contracts and Jeff Bagwell is nearing the end of his career.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
 
O & A ALWAYS WIN IN THE END
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