Could be wrong, but it seems like it would be a first-time guy or maybe Lawless is auditioning for next year. The Astros haven't broken the bank for anything since Crane took over so it's hard to see them shelling out money for a manager.

Qualifications for the next manager likely will include low salary, willingness to go along with the current lab rat experiment, desperation to be a manager. Desperation is the only way I could see someone like Manny Acta or someone with MLB managing experience getting the nod.

The trade of Cosart not long after the Appel dustup along with the dumping of Porter in season suggests that the next manager will have to follow Luhnow's way or the highway. The Cosart trade nor the Porter firing are not necessarily unjustified if viewed as events in a vacuum. But you could argue the timing of both moves suggests that Luhnow has a bit of a Napoleonic complex.