Houston fires Cooper as manager

The Houston Astros fired Manager Cecil Cooper on Monday with 13 games left in another disappointing season.

Third-base coach Dave Clark was named interim manager. The Astros were 70-79 headed into Monday's home against St. Louis.

"We're tasked with evaluating all aspects of our situation," General Manager Ed Wade said. "At the end of the day, we're going to try to address those off-field issues that exist. We're not walking away from it. The issue we had to address here, in the short term, was the managerial issue and that's why we moved forward today."

The 59-year-old Cooper was hired Aug. 27, 2007, to replace Phil Garner. Houston went 171-170 under Cooper, who was the bench coach under Garner from 2005 to 2007.

Prospect charged with murder

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - A top prospect for the San Francisco Giants has been charged with murder in the death of a 25-year-old man last weekend at a bar in his Caribbean homeland.

Angel Villalona, who was signed by the Giants in 2006 and received a club-record $2.1 million bonus, wore a bulletproof vest Monday to his hearing at a court in the city of La Romana. He pleaded innocent to the murder charge.

The 19-year-old Villalona could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty in the Saturday night shooting death of Mario Felix de Jesus Velete.

BLUE JAYS: Shortstop Marco Scutaro will likely miss the rest of the season after an MRI on Monday revealed a tear in his right heel.

Scutaro left Sunday's game at Tampa Bay in the sixth inning after he felt something pop in his sore heel while charging a grounder.

CUBS: The Cubs are trying to move past the latest distraction in a disappointing season.

Volatile outfielder Milton Bradley was suspended for the rest of the year Sunday, a day after criticizing the team in a newspaper interview. Manager Lou Piniella said Monday it will be General Manager Jim Hendry's decision whether the Cubs bring back Bradley next season.

The 31-year-old Bradley has two years remaining on a $30 million, three-year contract he signed with Chicago as a free agent last offseason.