What advice would you give?

[AJAY]

Suppose the Brewers hired you as a consultant and asked you to speak with individual players, coaches, and front-office staff. What advice would you give everyone?

 

Here are my thoughts . . .

 

Rickie Weeks - (1) Try for more bunt singles, take advantage of your speed (2) Stop waggling the bat and keep your hands still and quiet, (3) Lock yourself in a room for 48 hours and do nothing but watch video of Paul Molitor hitting at the plate. Swing more with your wrists and less with your arms.(4) Steal more bases. Run any chance you get, (5) Never take strike two, (6) Swing at the first pitch more often if it's good. Overall, be more aggressive.

 

Prince Fielder - Have some chicken, steaks, or burgers. I admire your concern about how animals are treated, but I am more concerned about the millions of fans in Wisconsin who have not seen the playoffs in 26 years. You can save the cows after your career is over..

 

Ryan Braun - Swing at strikes, take your walks. Watchout for the sliders that are low and / or away.

 

Bill Hall - Aim everything to rightcenterfield. Think opposite field. Shorten the swing with two strikes.

 

Eric Gagne - THROW STRIKES, QUIT WALKING PEOPLE. If you continue to fail, give back some of that money. Get on the mound and throw the ball instead of adjusting your pants, fixing your hat, pacing around, and wiping your forehead. Develop an "eye of the tiger" insead of showing us that lazy and uninspired body language.Watch Ben Sheets and look at how he gets right on the mound and is ready to throw.

 

Corey Hart - Keep doing what you are doing. But also steal more bases.

 

J.J. Hardy - ???? (I have no idea)

 

Ned Yost - (1) Switch up the batting order, try Corey Hart at lead off, drop Weeks lower in the order, (2) Quit being so positive and rosy all the time, acknowledge when there are problems, tell it like it is instead of defending everyone all the time, (3) HIT AND RUN MORE OFTEN, (4) Since our closer is not dominating, let the 8th inning guy pitch the 9th if his stuff looks good. You don't have to always bring in a closer if someone else is doing well. (5) Consider starting Joe Dillon at third base. We need better quality at-bats from this team.

 

Doug Melvin - (1) Hire Terry Ryan as a consultant, and start acquiring baseball players instead of softball players. (2) Appreciate and acquire more of the little guys who know how to handle the bat. We need more guys like Kevin Seitzer, Jeff Cirillo, Fernando Vina, Mark Loretta, etc. Don't be so enamored with sluggers. (3) Trade Matt LaPorta for young talented arms. Pitching wins, (4) Only give out big contracts to impact players and not guys like Suppan and Gagne.

 

Mark Attanasio - Please hire someone to re-paint Miller Park and remove that drab olive color. Get a nicer shade of green and bring some color to the ballpark.

[eanelson4]

This isn't so much of my thoughts as it is a reaction to yours:

 

1) I agree, trade LaPorta for pitching

2) I kind of like the color of MP. It goes well with the brick. It is almost the exact same color scheme as the renovated Lambeau and I find it beautiful, just my thoughts though.

[Fatter than Joey]

Prince Fielder

 

It's not what you eat, just eat less of it.

 

Eric Gagne - THROW STRIKES, QUIT WALKING PEOPLE.

 

Agreed.

 

Ned Yost

 

Resign in disgrace.

 

Doug Melvin

 

Learn how to evaluate defense and pitching better

 

Trenni

 

Please call Don1481 so he shuts up in chat about you http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Ennder]

Hardy is the guy who needs to swing at the first pitch more, seems like every AB he watches a fastball right down the middle and he is a fastball hitter so he cannot afford to be working from behind all the time.

 

The one thing I'd tell Weeks is to expand his strike zone with 2 strikes on him. He seems to always be watching strike 3 on the corner.

[PKBadger]

Jason Kendall - perhaps the reason that your SLG sucks is that you don't grip the bat tightly until 0.0000001 seconds before you have to swing. Stop doing that.

 

Ned Yost - switch to decaf.

[eanelson4]

you know - a new thought just came up!

 

Doug Melvin - DFA Yost

[bando1234]

Eric Gagne - THROW STRIKES

I know what you mean but it takes me back to my high school days when our pitcher( and a very good pitcher) father kept yelling throw strikes, cmon right down the middle now. Well after about 5 innings of this he lifted his hand in the air & yelled back at Dad, what the heck do you think Im trying to do. You want to show your stuff off. Dad was kept his mouth shut for the rest of that game.

[PlayerHader]

I second the notion that JJ needs to stop watching first pitch fastballs go by.

[razzzorsharp]

Parra and Villanueva, keep the ball down after the fifth inning.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I would advise the fans to take a 2 week trip to Europe and not even watch the Brewers for 2 weeks. You come back a little out of touch, but it kind of relaxes you a bit. Try it.

[Glennron]

I'm not really a big fan of the hit and run. Even if I was, there's not many ideal situations you can envision running it with the way the Brewers lineup is. You want a guy at the plate who doesn't strike out a lot. The only regulars who don't K at least a decent amount are Kendall and Hardy. Kendall likely won't be batting with someone fast on base (unless TGJ pinch hits/runs or something), which I guess leaves Hardy. I wouldn't really mind if they did it once in a while with Hardy up and someone like Hart on base, because Hardy seems to ground to the shortstop pretty frequently and Hart's quick enough to take a base if Hardy swings and misses, but you always run the risk of lining/flying into a double play.

I agree with your advice in general, though most of it is easier said than done. I would guess (hope) Braun realizes that he doesn't have the best plate discipline, but if he's been swinging away since his high school days or whatever it can't be that easy to change. I'm also sure Gagne doesn't try to throw strikes. I've always thought people who yell "Throw it over the plate!" were morons because it clearly won't help any.

[Postseason2006]

JJ is a fastball hitter. Does anyone know what % of his homers came on what pitch last year. Paul Molitor was arguably one of the best first pitch hitters ever.

[Gopher74]

Ned Yost - (1) Switch up the batting order, try Corey Hart at lead off, drop Weeks lower in the order, (2) Quit being so positive and rosy all the time, acknowledge when there are problems, tell it like it is instead of defending everyone all the time, (3) HIT AND RUN MORE OFTEN

 

I don't understand why people want Hart hitting leadoff instead of Weeks. Not only will Hart likely have a better OBP at the end of the year, but Hart is a far better hitter with RISP than Weeks. I also seem to remember one of the biggest complains about Yost was that he changes his order too much? I'd think people would like the consistency with his lineup.

I also don't understand why people think that Yost should, or would stop being positive. What's the benefit to that? To calling out his players in public? That's how you lose players real quick. I don't get why people think that would change anything for the better. All it would do would give people something less to complain about with regards to him...then again, I could easily see people saying that Yost is too negative and how the manager needs to have a positive outlook, ect..ect...

 

Doug Melvin - (1) Hire Terry Ryan as a consultant, and start acquiring baseball players instead of softball players. (2) Appreciate and acquire more of the little guys who know how to handle the bat. We need more guys like Kevin Seitzer, Jeff Cirillo, Fernando Vina, Mark Loretta, etc. Don't be so enamored with sluggers. (3) Trade Matt LaPorta for young talented arms. Pitching wins, (4) Only give out big contracts to impact players and not guys like Suppan and Gagne.

Drafting "sluggers" has served us pretty well. I'm not sure I'd want a player like any of those guys over Braun, Prince, Hart, LaPorta...ect..ect...

I think the one big criticism of Ryan was his inability to draft sluggers. Though, I don't know that he had a big impact on the draft, and I really don't know that bringing him in would help us in any way.

 

 

I have to say that the entire premise of this thread is a little weird to me. I mean, in most cases it's just "do better". In others it's you telling them that the way they do things isn't right. I mean, with all due respect, the idea of people on a message board giving advice as to building a team to Doug Melvin is a little presumptuous, don't you think? The guy who's helped put the Brewers back on the map and who built the Rangers into a perennial division winner/playoff contender in his career?

[danzig6767]

I mean, with all due respect, the idea of people on a message board giving advice as to building a team to Doug Melvin is a little presumptuous, don't you think? The guy who's helped put the Brewers back on the map and who built the Rangers into a perennial division winner/playoff contender in his career?

Melvin has done a solid job since he's been here, but i'd give Jack Zduriencik te biggest chunk of credit for putting the Brewers back on the map. He drafted

Prince/Braun/Hart/Weeks/Hardy/Gallardo/Parra

Sheets/Hall were inherited by Melvin

 

Doug brought in on this roster Suppan/Villanueva/Bush/Cameron/Kendall along with the bench and bullpen. Melvin also brought in Yost who was a solid choice i guess as a manager for a rebuilding team, but i think Ned was negative value to the team last year and Doug still chose to bring him back. Melvin took over a Brewers franchise in 2002 that wasn't in good shape and we obviously are much better off now, he is part of the reason for that and he's made his share of nice moves. With that said, given the large amount of cheap and high quality young talent that Jack Zduriencik has delivered Doug, the Brewers should be at worst a solid team based just on that alone. Look around baseball, the vast majority of GM's haven't had a pipeline of cheap young talent to work with like Melvin has.

Mix in that Attanasio has greatly increased the payroll Melvin has to work with, it's time that Doug surrounds that young talent he's been given with enough other pieces that get the Brewers in the playoffs.

 

[Menotti80]

nice to see you back rillo. i dont think i've heard from ewiz for a few weeks, did you take her to europe with you???

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[rluzinski]

If I were hired as a consultant, I would tell all the players to never listen to consultants and just take the advice of their coaching staff.

 

Ned Yost would get a talking to about some of his in game management strategies, though (not that he's much different than any other major league manager).

 

I'd tell Mark A. to stop smaking Melvin sign "big name" free agents to bloated contracts (e.g. Suppan, Gagne).

[Tbadder]

Man if Rickie learned to be a first class bunter and that 3rd baseman had to come in, and the way he pulls the ball, that's gotta be worth some points on the OBP and AVG. Great idea.

[joepepsi]

In the last couple weeks Hardy, Hall, Braun, Hart, Braun, and Fielder have all raised their batting average about 20-30 points. So I guess I'd tell them to keep up their current approach, be patient and the hits will start coming.

 

For Weeks, I'd say lay off those breaking balls and be content with taking your walks. Way back before the 1992 season Brady Anderson was a 28 year old failed talent, who in about 1000 major league at bats was hitting around .220. Before the season started Johnny Oates told Brady he didn't care about his batting average, just wanted him to bat leadoff every day, get on base however he could and score 100 runs that year. It was Brady's breakout year, 21 homers, 80 rbi's, 100 runs scored, 53 stolen bases, .271/.373/.449. I always thought Rickie would be some freakishly wonderful combination of Rickey Henderson and Gary Sheffield, but maybe he's really more Brady Anderson, mediocre average, excellent on base, solid slugging base stealer. That's not so bad. So my advice to Rickie is Be Like Brady.

[BCZF]

Get more Corey Harts...Cloning?

[Fear The Chorizo]

All the pitchers should watch 5 Cardinals games in a row - I'm not saying the Cards' staff is going to keep this trend up, but they are among the league leaders in fewest walks per game. If our pitchers watch the Cardinals win games by throwing quality strikes consistently and forcing teams to get multiple hits in an inning to score runs, maybe they'll realize that they could be just as successful and probably even better than the Cards' pitching, since as a staff I think the Brewers have pitchers with better "stuff"

[nate82]

Why does everyone want Corey Hart to be batting in the lead off spot? Hart just doesn't get enough walks to be a good lead off hitter. Last year he had less walks than Hall did. So far this year Hart has only 9 walks. Plus if you put Hart in the lead off spot who do you put in the 5 hole? Do you put Cameron, Hall, or Weeks there?

 

Hall is good and all but I believe the 6th spot is the best spot for him. Didn't he have his best year batting in the 6th and 7th spot in the lineup in 2006? I know its not the same lineup as that year but he did have success in that spot of the order. I believe the current lineup is the best lineup that could be made up with the current team we have.

[NievesNoNO]

1. Ned, loosen up man. Smile once in a great while. Tell your players to go and do what they do best and have fun.

2. When you're batting with one/some guys on base it's perfectly acceptable to try to hit the ball to the right side of the infield EVEN IF IT MEANS YOU WILL BE OUT. It's called sacrificing!!

3. Pitchers, please just make them hit the ball, except when you're ahead 0-2. Then try to strike them out. I know it sounds like a lot but you are a professional right?

4. Did I mention loosen up? You're a talented bunch, don't think so much.

[Never Outhustled]

Advice to Ned Yost: Quit. Find a new career in something you might be successful at. You've already managed too many seasons at the minor and major leagues, and all that losing isn't coincidence. Just move on with your life.

[don1481]

Fatter than Joey wrote:

---

Trenni

 

Please call Don1481 so he shuts up in chat about you http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

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I can't help it - all I see are fangs!