Will Attanasio become our Peter Angelos or (George/Hank) Steinbrenner?

[BrewCrewRising]

In the Doug Melvin thread there was a lot discussion about whether or not Melvin was completely responsible for all the decisions he made that seem to have been less than successful. In some of those cases, it does seem as if Attanasio may have been had a little bit of influence.

 

Ken Rosenthal suggested that Melvin, if he's smart, may think about resisting an extension with the team since it's not like he gets as free a hand as a GM might like.

 

I have to admit I wonder if Attanasio isn't meddling a little bit more than most owners do. I hope he doesn't turn out to be a dud owner. I look at our 26 going on 27 years of playoff drought, and I seethe with burning disgust with what Selig subjected Brewers fans to.

 

I hope that Attanasio isn't as meddling as it seems. You scream for a new manager, a new GM, even new ushers, but when you get a dud owner, you sort of have to resign yourself to your fate. And this stretch of fate has gone on too long for Brewers fans.

[sbrylski]

I don't really care to much if he meddles a bit, if he's willing to sink a bunch of money into the team as he has been. As long as he doesn't get too carried away, and I don't see any reason to think he would.

[Thurston Fluff]

I don't think he's a dud owner but he better be able to come through with the promise of fielding a consistently competitive team. That's how we will eventually break through to the post season. I don't want to go into rebuild with a smaller payroll for a couple years for the next one year run. I want to be like the Cards, Twins, Astros etc who put out one competitive team after another rarely falling below .500. Next year will be a big test in that regard. If he's willing to maintain payroll we can compete. After all the worst Cards team to win the division had the best year of the whole LaRussa era.

[kramnoj]

Attanasio is clearly an involved owner. I don't know if most owners have daily conversations with their GM. To that extent, yes, I'm sure he is close to the level of Angelos and Steinbrenner. But Angelos and Steinbrenner have had very different success. Steinbrenner has 6 WS. Angelos has two playoff appearances since 1993 and hasn't had a winning team for over a decade. Rosenthal made the point that Angelos overrode one trade and hasn't trusted his baseball people since.

 

I'm sure Attanasio will be heavily involved, but I hope that he relies on his baseball people to stand up to him if they think he is pushing for a bad decision.

[BrewCrewRising]

I'm sure Attanasio will be heavily involved, but I hope that he relies on his baseball people to stand up to him if they think he is pushing for a bad decision.

This is where it almost gets dangerous though. Suppose DM thinks, "Wow, he really wants Suppan! Suppan is OK, but in my own mind, I think it's not the best route to take. Do I stand my ground here? I suppose we could do worse than Suppan."

 

I guess we don't really know. DM is overall pretty classy, that much is for sure. He's not going to shirk his responsibilities, so we're never really going to know who had whose hand in what.

[Thurston Fluff]

involved is different than meddling. If he asks questions fine. If he starts to give "input" about certain players not related to affordability then he may cross the line to meddling. The fact that he retained everyone from the previous ownership does show he's willing to evaluate people before he makes a change. So that to me is a positive.

[logan82]

Even though he has sunk money into the team, it isn't enough to make up for more than one or two bad signings like the Suppan deal. If he is willing to put up his own money separate from the budget that's one thing. It doesn't seem that is what the plan is. I know he put up his money to buy the franchise, but I would have a hard time believing that he would even come out behind selling the franchise.

[bsglorydays]

Attanasio made an Angelos decision this week when he fired Yost. Sure, Yost was probably going to get canned at the end of the season anyway. But, what Attanasio did (I'm not convinced a "baseball man" like Melvin would not have made the move, so I'm saying it was Mark A.'s decision) set the team back in the next few years, in my opinion. Here's why:

 

Let's say the Brewers miss the playoffs this year, and they open a managerial search. If there is a "quality" veteran manager on the market, why would he want to come to the Brewers? He could be having a great year, but a couple of bad weeks (none of which could be pinned on the manager - its not like the Brewers were losing a bunch of close games) could cost him his job.

 

The Brewers made a managerial change for one reason and one reason only - to shake up the team. Making that move in mid-September was a bone-headed move that will cost the team this year and beyond. They are already too far removed from the firing to get any benefit from it for this year. If anything, you could argue that Iorg coaching at 3B - the result of Yost's dismissal &

Sveum moving to manager - has already had a significant impact on one loss (Thursday's game vs CHC when he sent Hardy home with nobody out, only to see Hardy get gunned by 20 feet).

[owbc]

Every owner has his advantages and flaws.

 

It's early, but Attanasio seems to be very interested in pleasing the fans. Perhaps too interested. The Brewers have a very impatient fan base and they don't need to have an impatient owner as well. Attanasio clearly played a role in the Yost decision, and the result of that is that Yost's job security was controlled by public opinion. Of course, you have to make the paying customers happy, but managers are easily scapegoated and Brewers fans are desperate for a playoff appearance.

 

The right decision would have been to let Yost finish out his last 12 games and fire him after the season. Yost admitted that he didn't have the answers, but why would Sveum have the answers either? In fact, it now is looking like Yost was right--the players are slowly starting to work their way out of the slump--just like they did in late May/June.

 

I really hope the Brewers can get within 1 game of WC by the end of the weekend. If they have a legitimate shot, the crowds will be encouraging instead of condescending and they just might get enough momentum to make a final run.

[BrewCrewForever]

I have not problem with Mark Attanasio whatsoever. Without him here the last 4 years who knows where we are at.

[kramnoj]

Attanasio clearly played a role in the Yost decision, and the result of that is that Yost's job security was controlled by public opinion.

 

This is stated with far too much certainty and no evidence to support it. There was no benefit for Attanasio to fire Yost if he was catering to the public. Thousands of fans didn't buy tickets to see the Pirates because Yost was fired.

[bklynbrewcrew]

If Attanasio was gonna fire Yost because of fan pressure he would have done it after last season when most fans wanted him gone.

[jeffy]

"Nothing at all we do is rash. It's all reasoned and thoughtful," Attanasio said.

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

 

http://www.ajc.com/search...N_Brewers_Yost_Fired.html

[olsonnet]

I don't want to go into rebuild with a smaller payroll for a couple years for the next one year run.

Unfortunately I see this team going in that direction. The payroll the next year or two will likely be much, much lower than it was this year. We won't sign any big ticket free agents and other than maybe a Cameron-level signing, not many changes will happen. Someone like Hardy or Fielder might be traded for some pitching help, but the new players next year will likely be the younger guys and some low to mid level FAs. And then in 2011 or 2012 when the next crop of younger players is ready and guys like Braun are nearing the end of their contracts, we'll make another 1-2 year run like we did last year and this year and see how it goes. I'd be shocked if this team is in playoff contention at anytime during September during the next 2 years. These last 2 years was our window, and now we wait for another window in a few years.

[brewmann04]

you are so right maybe you all be happy with Wendy again.( guys we have a good owner let not forget that)

[snyttri]

Isn't Mark A. in the same industry as Bear Stearns, Shearson and Merrill Lynch? If his business is also worth pennies on the dollar the Brewers and his son's band may be the only thing keeping food on the Attanasios table. Let's hope a bad season doesn't result in a food basket from brewerfan.net to the Attanasios next Christmas.

[jeffy]

Attanasio made an Angelos decision this week when he fired Yost.

 

The Brewers made a managerial change for one reason and one reason only - to shake up the team. Making that move in mid-September was a bone-headed move that will cost the team this year and beyond.

I think the firing was pretty clearly Attanasio's decision, based on Melvin saying things like "I'm not sure I have all the answers, and I'm not sure this is the right one, either..." How much closer can he come to saying that he agrees with you that this was a bone-headed move.

 

I think I would have to agree with the column linked below that with less than two weeks left in the season you can't fire the manager. It conveys a feeling of panic and that's not the mindset players should take to the field when they are in the midst of a playoff race.

 

http://www.htrnews.com/ap...0921/MAN02/809210464/1378

 

As he says there: There were plenty of reasons to fire Yost before the season started or midway through the year, but when the schedule reached September, the Brewers should have unfortunately stuck with the girl they brought to the dance.

 

The first mistake was extending him last year in the midst of a collapse, I guess since that "vote of confidence" did not work Mark figured he'd try the opposite this year. Either that or Melvin convinced him to do it, so he did...and then spent this entire season looking for a reason to fire Yost.

 

I think most veteran managers are going to see this the way Bobby Cox does:

 

"I was flabbergasted," Cox said. "I couldn't believe what happened. I just think it's awful. I've never heard of anything like that."

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/a...mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb

 

I also wonder if Sveum has hurt his own future chances of getting hired as a coach. Is it possible that other manager's will think that he should have turned down the interim manager opportunity, given the timing?

[Invader3K]

Isn't Mark A. in the same industry as Bear Stearns, Shearson and Merrill Lynch? If his business is also worth pennies on the dollar the Brewers and his son's band may be the only thing keeping food on the Attanasios table. Let's hope a bad season doesn't result in a food basket from brewerfan.net to the Attanasios next Christmas.

 

You're joking right?

[rluzinski]

"I don't really care to much if he meddles a bit, if he's willing to sink a bunch of money into the team as he has been."

 

How about if Mark A. is only reason that Suppan and Gagne are even on the team? Gagne's performance was worth $0 and Suppan maybe $3 mil? A meddling owner can easily burn through whatever financial advantage he might have over another owner. No idea if Mark A. is one but if I had to guess...

[PilprinBuddha]

It's amazing to me to read threads like this which people complain about an owner who spends money and is involved. For years we begged for exactly this type of an owner. Would I have fired Yost - probably not, but since his firing I am wondering why he wasn't fird sooner. I have a number of baseball people talk about his oddities and poor strategies (like pitchers batting 8th - that really worked http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif)

 

I am thrilled we pulled out all the stops - What's the worst that can happen? We miss the playoffs? Its not like we haven't done that before.

[windiv07]

Will Attanasio become our Peter Angelos or (George/Hank) Steinbrenner?

For the sake of MLB in Milwaukee, I certainly hope so. He has already shown he has the stones.

 

Besides...who here thinks we'd have made the playoffs with Yost at the helm?

[Invader3K]

How about if Mark A. is only reason that Suppan and Gagne are even on the team?

You have no evidence to support that claim, even though you and others continually suggest it.

[logan82]

It's amazing to me to read threads like this which people complain about an owner who spends money and is involved.

 

It isn't like he is spending more money than the team brings in.(I know this year he is, but our payroll will probably fall next year) I think there is a good chance we would have a similar payroll no matter who owned the team.

 

You have no evidence to support that claim, even though you and others continually suggest it.

 

Those contracts stand out as deals that don't make sense for a team running on a budget. They are really out of character for everything Melvin has done with this team.

[paul253]

If he's going to be that type of owner, we'll see this offseason. I think its become clear what this team needs to do in the offseason...we need at least one good starting pitcher, some more bullpen help, and we need a contact hitter that isnt prone to homerun or bust like everyone else. They can definitely afford Sheets, and i think they could afford Sabathia if they really pushed it, but if he doesnt make a really competitive offer to both I am going to be very disappointed. This team is not going anywhere next year with Parra as a number 2 pitcher.

[jeffy]

Besides...who here thinks we'd have made the playoffs with Yost at the helm?

 

At this point, the question should be: who thinks they could have gone 2-4 in their last 6, if Yost had not been fired? The results so far could be much worse, so firing Yost at the time they did has probably been neutral, at best.

 

He should have been let go after the 2007 season, given how little confidence ownership really had in him.