This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

We had high hopes for Astros manager Phil Garner at the beginning of the season. By now, we'd expect him to be spittin' chaw, scratchin' his package and trying to manage his way into second place in our division. But somehow our team's new youth movement showed more youth than movement, and now we're already talking about next year. Anyway, at the moment Garner has a little more free time on his hands, and he'll spend some of it today with Michael Lewis at a signing of Lewis's new sports tome, Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life. The book is a tribute to Billy Fitzgerald, who coached Lewis's high school baseball team in New Orleans and played in the minor leagues with Garner. The pair will share thoughts on Fitzgerald and the book at noon. Brown Auditorium Theater, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7300 or visit www.mfah.org. Free with museum admission.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines a hootenanny as "a gathering at which folksingers entertain, often with the audience joining in." Local comedy troupe Massive Creativity is presenting its version of The Hootenanny as part of its "Really Big Show" series at Helios. The show features a guest monologist who'll share a true story inspired by an audience suggestion, which then inspires scenes performed by the ensemble. That will inspire another true monologue by the storyteller, and, well, you see the pattern, yes? Today's storyteller is comedian and occasional Press contributor Eric A.T. Dieckman. 8 p.m. 411 Westheimer. For information, visit www.massivecreativity.com. $10.