Astros hire Mills as manager

Brad Mills is the new manager of the Houston Astros. The 52-year-old Mills has been Terry Francona's bench coach in Boston for the past six seasons. He'll manage in the majors for the first time, though he's managed a total of 11 seasons in the minors, with affiliates for the Chicago Cubs (1987-92), Colorado Rockies (1993-96) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2002). The Astros fired Cecil Cooper on Sept 21. Third-base coach Dave Clark served as interim manager for the final 13 games and Houston finished 74-88. Clark was one of 10 candidates to interview for the full-time position.