Cooper dismissed as Astros manager - 09/21/09

Cooper dismissed as Astros manager
Third-base coach Clark to serve as interim skipper

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com

09/21/09 3:50 PM ET

The Astros have dismissed manager Cecil Cooper, general manager Ed Wade announced via news release on Monday afternoon. For the remaining two weeks of the season, third-base coach Dave Clark will serve as the interim manager.

The Astros are scheduled to hold a 4 p.m. CT press conference at Minute Maid Park.

"Cecil Cooper has given his all to the Houston Astros," Wade said in the release. "Decisions like this are never easy, but we believe that a change in direction on the field is in order. By making the move today, we will have the ability to evaluate other facets of our operation as we move into the offseason."

According to the release, Wade will begin a full search for a new manager in the offseason, and Clark will be considered a candidate. The 2010 coaching staff will be determined after the new manager is hired.

Cooper has been managing the Astros since Aug. 27, 2007, and compiled a 171-170 record. As of Monday, the Astros had lost seven straight to fall to 70-79 and 16 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central.

Prior to being named manager, the 59-year-old Cooper served as the Astros' bench coach since the start of the '05 season.

Clark, 47, joined the Astros' Major League coaching staff this season and will be serving his first stint as a big league manager. In 2008, he served as manager of Triple-A Round Rock.

Al Pedrique, the Astros' Minor League field coordinator, will replace Clark as Houston's third-base coach through the end of the season and resume his field coordinator duties thereafter.

Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.