I think the difference between Jimy and Coop is also a reflection of media. Cooper is open, to a fault, with the media, wears his emotions on his sleeve and is all around accessible. Jimy, however, was cynical and aloof with the media (managers decision, etc...). The media's criticisms of Jimy intensified when he wouldn't give them answers or explanations. None of it actully had to do with the baseball decisions Jimy made. The other side of the coin is that a great deal of the criticisms about Coop is not what he didn't say, but what he actually said, and even worse, what he actually does.
The Jimah equation is actually a good thing to compare to Cooper's situation in terms of being let go. Jimah, while not a media darling, lost the fans (and not the clubhouse) because it was perceived by the unwashed masses that Houston was a contender. Having Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio all on one team meant he had a great team. So the great unwashed decided that any team made up of those players has absolutely no business hovering on or below .500, instead the very idea was repulsive. I don't think the media propagated that idea in the mind of the fans, fans did that to themselves. Jimah's lack of openess meant there was no way it could be communicated to fans that he was likeable, a good manager and well respected by the team. Far from it and much of that is Jimah's fault for his lack of skills with the media.
So fans boo'ed... loudly, at what was a crowning achievement by Drayton McLane... getting an All-Star game to his new stadium. That was a convergence of all things bad for Jimah. Media wasn't going to protect a man who gave them nothing to use to protect him. Fans don't know much above wins/loses and Jimah was not winning with what was considered a great team. Jimah got fired.
Cooper has no such expectations from fans or the media. In fact, the media by and large like Coop because he'll provide good copy when he has the want to throw a player under a bus (his own emotional outburst are now getting to be well known so as a media person, you don't want to blink because he just may provide great copy!). The Astros themselves know they can't let Cooper go if the position of most who observe is that Cooper isn't managing a great team by any stretch of the imagination. If they did a play out of the whole firing thing, they probably did a few mock ESPN reports and roundtables (probably a few Astros brass throwing out a pundit's view... "Pretend I'm Steve Phillips, this is what I would say... blah, blah, blah").
It probably wasn't too pretty to consider what backlash they would receive. Eventually though, the media will finally get what some others are saying in terms of the Emperor's new clothes. When is anyone's guess though.
