I suspect Garner will be gone by mid season, not because he is the root of the troubles, but because he, like all managers, is easily expendable, and if the Astros are still underacheiving and lifeless, they have to try something. Right?

I can't pin the Astros troubles on Garner. I question a lot of his decisions, but it is hard to argue that any particular decision this year would awaken the bats. Most of my major concerns are not related to in-game decisions, but I am never sure who controls a lot of the shots with the Astros. Is it Drayton, Tal, TP or Garner. Without knowing who, it is hard to determine who is the incompetant one(s).

I will say, not that I blame him, that Garner is not a confident manager right now: leaving Roy in for 9 even with a pretty good lead showed no faith in the pen and the squeeze showed no confidence in the bats. I don't really blame Garner for those moves, but I do think it sends a subtle signal to the players that the leader has no faith in them.