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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - SALEM, VA-

The Salem Avalanche, Advanced Class-A affiliate of the Houston
Astros, announced that the Astros have assigned Pitching Coach Gary Ruby and
Hitting Coach Keith Bodie to Salem for the 2008 season.
 
 
 
 Gary Ruby will once again join his long-time friend - Astros General Manager
 Ed Wade - when he joins the Astros minor league coaching staff in Salem.
 Ruby and Wade first worked together in 1988 when Wade was the GM of the
 Phillies. Ruby, a former pitching coach for the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre Red
 Barons (Class-AAA, Philadelphia), most recently served as the minor league
 pitching coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2002 through 2007.
 
        
 
 Keith Bodie was selected by the New York Mets in the 1974 amateur draft as a
 third round pick, but he never reached the majors. Bodie managed in the
 minor leagues for 13 seasons, most recently with the Harrisburg Senators
 (Class-AA, Washington) in 2005. Bodie began his coaching career with Houston
 in 1984 with the Auburn Astros, and then moved to the Columbus Astros in
 1985. From 1994 to 1999, he was the minor league coordinator for the San
 Francisco Giants. He earned a brief September call-up as a coach in 2001
 after having managed the Wichita Wranglers (Class-AA, Kansas City). It was
 the first time in 28 years of pro baseball that he was in a major league
 clubhouse during the season.
 
 
 
 In 1981, Bodie played alongside Avalanche Manager Jim Pankovits and Astros'
 minor league field coordinator Tom Wiedenbauer with the Tucson Toros
 (Class-AAA, Houston).
 
 
 
 Bodie replaces Alex Eckelman, previously announced as Hitting Coach in
 November, 2007, on Pankovits' staff.