HOUSTON -- The third time was the charm for Brad Mills, who now has the chore of helping rebuild the Houston Astros.

On Tuesday, Mills, 52, interviewed for a third time with general manager Ed Wade and other front office members of the organization and walked away with his first major league manager's job.

Mills was introduced at a news conference at Minute Maid Park Tuesday afternoon.

"I can't wait to get started," Mills said. "It's definitely an opportunity. You have a city like Houston, a ballpark like (Minute Maid), an organization like the Astros organization -- it's a special time. I'm really looking forward to being involved with them and continuing on a winning atmosphere."

Mills said he is confident the team can start winning.

"They're going to compete right away. And with the talent they have and are able to put on the field right now, it's going to be exciting to work with. Putting that together and molding it, that's going to be special," he said.

Mills has served as the Red Sox bench coach for the past six seasons and, overall, has been a major league coach for 11 years, including stops as a minor league manager with the Cubs, Dodgers and Rockies organizations.

Former Astros manager Phil Garner and Interim Manager Dave Clark were also the other finalists. Manny Acta was offered the job over the weekend, but chose instead to accept the manager's job with the Cleveland Indians.

The Astros fired Cecil Cooper on Sept 21. 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, and he spoke for a second time with the team on Tuesday. Clark was guaranteed a position on Houston's staff if he was not hired as the manager.

Mills will have work to do. The Astros have endured two losing seasons in the four years since reaching the World Series in 2005, and Mills is the fourth manager hired since the middle of the 2004 season.

Houston was 49-46 on July 22, one game out of first place in the NL Central, then lost 42 of their last 67 games as the starting pitching deteriorated.

Pitcher Roy Oswalt's season was cut short by back problems and he'll spend the offseason working to recover in time for spring training. The Astros' ace won a career-low eight games in 30 starts, finished with a career-high 4.12 ERA and set a team record with 16 no-decisions.

Houston also signed free agents Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz to bolster the rotation and both gambles fizzled. Ortiz was 3-6 in 13 starts and was cut on July 30, while Hampton went 7-10 in 21 outings before tearing a rotator cuff in his shoulder in August.

The offense was also subpar, ranking 27th in runs scored (3.97 per game) and 25th in on-base percentage (.319).

Leadoff man Michael Bourn hit .285 and led the NL with 61 stolen bases and cleanup hitter Carlos Lee ranked 10th in the NL with 102 RBIs.

But slugger Lance Berkman, another holdover from the World Series team with Oswalt, hit .274 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs, among the lowest numbers of his career. Kaz Matsui, signed through next season, hit only .250. Miguel Tejada, who will become a free agent, hit .313 for the season, but slumped in August and grounded into 29 double plays in 2009.

Late last season, the Astros got glimpses of young players who will contribute next season. Rookie Bud Norris went 6-3 in 10 starts and will compete for a spot in the rotation at spring training, and infielders Tommy Manzella and Edwin Maysonet will push for playing time.