Houston -- An hour before and two hours after Brad Mills was introduced as Astros skipper not a single person made their way to the Astros ticket counter at Minute Maid Park.

Phil Garner would of sent a few if he was hired but Mills? No sir. Not today and probably to be honest, not anytime soon by today's his hiring. He is an unknown in the fans eyes so you won't need an uptick on the sales side with today's news.

That said, and let's be clear, a Manny Acta hiring ( still not sure why he was offered) wouldn't of caused a spark either.

Acta has Major League experience but hasn't won. I know, your saying "Randy you bonehead it was the Nationals ".... I say, it doesn't matter. Drayton is a smart guy business-wise. Why give an unproven manager a 3 year deal with an option? Acta deserved the 2 year offer he got as would the rest of them except Garner. Instead, Acta said no thanks to our decision makers on Texas Avenue and took his act to Cleveland. Who knows if he'll pan out. Thus far, his track record says he won't.

On the fan index meter, there is barely a pulse in this fine city when it comes to our little Astros organization. Too many bad decisions, not enough wins, pricy tickets and oh....those horrible concessions. Have I ever told ya about that flat coke and cold hot dogs for 10 bucks I waste at the ballyard each summer? They better watch it or I'll be forced to plunk down the 8 bucks to eat in the media barn upstairs. I love me some fried chicken and all but come on...just saying. 8 bucks for that? Well, ok I guess the ice cream makes it all worth it I suppose.

I had a conversation on the phone with Lance Berkman early this afternoon as he was hitting a skeet range with his brother in law. They have a big weekend ahead of them. Of course eventually I asked Lance about what he thought of the Mills hiring and he was pretty much to the point.

"You know I really know nothing about Brad Mills. Really I don't. This process started with the Astros wanting a guy with major league managerial experience. I look forward to meeting him though."

Translation: Lance was about as puzzled as the rest of us at this hire.

I love the rush of a coaching search for us media types. It's actually fun to chase afer these fellas around. Our viewers aren't on the edge of their seats but as someone who contributes to Uncle D's hopper, I certainly am along with thousands of others who have to decide if season tickets are worth it.

My phone has been burning up since the season ended and this process began. Daily calls to Ed Wade and others inside the Astros organization, to candidates, candidates agents, and in one case a friend of one of the projected final 5 candidates to get some scoopage and a funny story to boot. Too bad he didn't get the gig or this column would be taking another direction!

Wade, Drayton and the gang are professionals though. They know I have a job to do so late night calls ,early morning rings and constant texts and emails are taken well. Now how much info they are willing to give up, which isn't much during these searches, is another story. That's when it gets fun. I've found after all of these years of covering coaching hires, that there's not a lot of "company loyalty" during searches when you pester those under the same workplace roof. A lot of , " I'll tell you this, but don't use my name ok?" and "alright I'll talk to ya, now where are we going to lunch?'"

Translation: guess who is buying?

Alright, back to Mills. He is an unknown to most fans and outsiders but inside baseball circles he's a well respected name with a good baseball pedigree and no nonsense approach. He's been Terry Francona's right hand man for the past 6 seasons , many years as big league coach and has 11 years on the minor league circuit as a skipper.

Oh , and those organizational skills.. Mills has those too. He, not Francona, ran Spring Training for the Red Sox all these yeas. He'll run a tight ship in Kissimmee this spring as well.

Memo to Carlos Lee: HUSTLE and act like you care.

Memo to Roy Oswalt: no more whining. Just win games for us hoss. And where's my invite to the new restaurant of yours ?

Mills said today, " I'll bring experience and I'll bring a fresh voice."

Fans you should welcome that with open arms. This organization has taken a "wheels off" tumble in recent years and are now paying the price for mistakes not only on the field but up in the front office under the watch of Drayton and Tal Smith. It's Ed Wade's job to get it fixed. He has his people in place now and Mills is one of those he is comfortable with.

No excuses now but don't expect 2010 to be a fun season. The Astros won't contend again until 2012 and if we are lucky 2011 .

This is a patchwork club with a big band-aid on it. The left side of the infield is a big question mark because baseball insiders feel Manzella (SS) and Johnson (3B) won't pan out especially offensively. Then there is the rotation. Is Roy starting to decline or can he get motivated again? Is Lance Berkman, now in his early 30's, still going to be a big time productive player or is he declining? Will Kid Castro take the catching reigns in 2010 and start the process?

Lots of questions with the Astros but smile today and know there is hope.

I'll miss Coop but there's another good man with a focus that now has the keys to the Astros club. Dave Clark, who didn't get the job but will remain as 3rd base coach, says he's ready to get to work and roll up his sleeves for Mills. Hitting coach Sean Berry, a friend and California neighbor of Mills, told me today he's fired up as well.

The road back to the playoffs started around 3pm today.