How much credit does Dale Sveum deserve?

[GormanHarvey]

Personally, I think he deserves a ton. He was put in a tough spot when he took over a struggling team that lacked confidence after the Philly debacle. Since then, he has handled everything in stride and with sheer professionalism - despite what a mess the starting pitching was/is not to mention injuries to Kapler and later Durham. In my mind he has made all the right calls. He seems to have something that I never thought Ned had - a true feel for the game. A prime example was tonight when he stuck with McClung, especially in the 9th. He could tell how bad Seth wanted it and the conviction he had. Also, when he let CC go back out for the 7th. To me he just has a feel for the game, this team, and the players that Ned never seemed to have and I am pumped about it! What do you guys think?

 

PS I'm kind of drunk - had to celebrate what a great day today was!

 

 

(mod note: added to Designated Threads List; also note that the Who's the manager in 2009? thread has been designated for discussion of Dale's 2009 managerial performance. --1992)

[sbrylski]

He has done quite well with the pitching staff, though over a small number of games like this a few good performances will make any manager look like a genius.

 

But yes, its encouraging. Though its very early, its looking like I may like how he handles pitchers way better than Ned (hard not too), but I'll dislike his offensive strategy just as much or more.

[GAME05]

i thought leaving McClung in to finish the game was more to save the bullpen for the next two games since we had a big enough lead that he could have handled the 9th if there were no problems. this way he can rely on the bullpen pretty heavily Saturday and Sunday in most any situation. maybe Sheets has to leave early Saturday because his arm really isn't that great, or CC needs to leave early on Sunday since he's been so (willingly) overworked.

 

Sveum has made some tough moves in his short term, but i think that's more a credit to the talent and desire of his players that they've so far performed in this short term. it's not a knock on Sveum at all, but i'm not calling him genius yet, either.

 

I kinda think Yost would have been making the same moves.

[dlk9s]

I think he's done a great job with the pitching staff. He has seemed to manage inning by inning, doing whatever he can to get the team through the next three outs. I'm not sure I buy Cameron in the lead-off spot, but I do appreciate Sveum trying to do something different when what had been done before wasn't working very well.

[uwisfan]

the biggest thing Sveum has done so far is "not be yost".. that itself has been huge for this club

[greeg35]

I don't think Yost would have stuck with McClung in that situation.

[craigharmann]

However, I think Soup would have went back out there for the 6th with Ned.

[Ennder]

Other than the hit and run with Weeks/Hart the other night I've been pretty happy with Sveum. He might bunt a little bit too much but the players he has had bunt were in situations where they stink at hitting(Hall vs a righty etc) so I can't complain too much.

 

I'd agree though that the biggest difference is probably the fact he isn't Yost.

[jeffy]

I would also say...though its very early, its looking like I may like how he handles pitchers better than Ned, but I'll dislike his offensive strategy.

 

Overall, I think I'd take that tradeoff as long as the bunting and running into outs is not too overdone. I don't want to see JJ Hardy bunting very often and I never want to see that happen with 2 strikes again.

[Never Outhustled]

I agree with the majority that Sveum's biggest strength is he's not Yost. The players have started to relax, and theres a ton of talent on this roster.

 

As a stratigest, I don't think Sveum has come close to maximizing the talent available. How did he not pinch run for Lamb the other day? Lamb was the go ahead run, wasn't going to be staying in the game, and he has a speedster who useless with the bat watsing on the bench in Gwynn. Why hasn't he got Branyan involved yet? That his statring 3B. Why bunt after a pitcher just walked the 1st 2 guys of an inning?

 

After the season, the Brewers should hire the best available manager regardless of where Sveum leads us. OK, unless we win it all.

[Fatter than Joey]

I agree with the majority that Sveum's biggest strength is he's not Yost. The players have started to relax, and theres a ton of talent on this roster.

 

Agreed as well. I can certainly give Dale a ton of credit and newfound respect for handling the job situation very well. Having a manager of a playoff team getting fired after 150 games is pretty unprecedented -- Dale has seemed to handle that aspect of things (from a pure "jobsite" angle) very well. Making a career transition with 12 games to go in the season has to be hard -- kudos to Dale for handling this.

 

I certainly agree that the players have seem to have been playing with a lot more life and fire under Dale, and perhaps Yost had these guys so tight, Archie Bell and the Drells would have been embarrassed. However, while things are going better, it doesn't translate to me that Dale is a super manager -- only not the abomination that Yost was.

 

As a stratigest, I don't think Sveum has come close to maximizing the talent available.

 

Yep, Dale makes me scratch my head -- probably more than Yost did -- but again Sveum seems much less toxic than Yost was. I hate all the bunting and aggressive baserunning, the Brewers talent level seems to be good enough to overcome the buffoonery of Sveum, but not good enough to survive the suffocating, otherworldly, eleventh plague that was the managerial practices of Ned Yost.

 

After the season, the Brewers should hire the best available manager regardless of where Sveum leads us. OK, unless we win it all.

 

Yep -- I think Sveum has earned himself an interview -- but I certainly want to see a wide open hiring process, regardless of how the Brewers fare in 2008.

 

(Good post X!)

[mikevan1818]

Personally, I think the way Dale is managing the offense right now ('smallball' - if you will) is more of a correlation to how our offense has looked the last month. In that is where I see the major difference between Ned and Dale. Ned in my eyes seemed to 'stay the coarse' too long. Dale saw that the players were not batting as well as they have in the past. So, when we get a base runner - we need to take advantage of it because the way many of our players are going base runners are a premium. Ned was too stubborn to try new things - and playing differently (i.e. batting people in the same part of the lineup, not moving runners, bunting, using specific pitchers for specific innings, etc.).

 

But I guess time will tell if what I'm saying is right - or if this is actually Dales managing style. A few more players are going to have to break out of their slumps to find out.

[brewizard]

I don't think Yost would have stuck with McClung in that situation.

 

Ding ding! You are correct, sir! Soup pitched on gas fumes for five innings, and McClung just brought gas. Sveum was smart AND lucky sticking with McClung. Shoot. McClung scored!

 

But I do think Sveum seems to have a better sense of the pitching...

[WF24]

Managing a pitching staff is one of the most important things as a manager, and so far Dale has done a good job of that. Ned was terrible at handle his staff. Offensively Dale is getting what he can out of a struggle offensive team, which seems to be working. So he deserves a lot of credit for what he has done. If he can make the playoffs, he definitely deserves an interview.

[Thurston Fluff]

How he does in 12 games is a lot different than what he would do in 162. He is doing fine for a stretch run like he's in but if he managed the same all year long his small ball would reduce the runs scored. I can't really tell what he'd do handling a pitching staff all year since he couldn't possibly do what he is now all year long.

It's easy to pile on Ned but keep in mind there is no way Sveum could do what he is doing now if it wouldn't have been for Ned keeping his pen from being over worked in August and his starters working in order as opposed to having his top guys go every five no matter what. So he may be doing fine now but some of that has to go to Ned setting him up to be able to do what he is now. Hate him all you want but he is as responsible for what Sveum is able to do now as anyone.

That said Ned's problem appeared to be he couldn't handle the team late in the season like Sveum is. Sveum should get some credit for that. Just not all of it.

[sweepscc]

I don't want to focus on any negatives since it's been so long since the Brewers have been in the playoffs, so if we get there Sveum and the rest of the guys on the roster are gods, imo. But we've won one series since Sveum has been manager and that was over the Pitt Pirates who Yost owned this year. Personally I think Yost would have us in the same position today but I don't care anymore cause WE'RE TWO GAMES AWAY BABY!

[Ennder]

It's easy to pile on Ned but keep in mind there is no way Sveum could do what he is doing now if it wouldn't have been for Ned keeping his pen from being over worked in August and his starters working in order as opposed to having his top guys go every five no matter what. So he may be doing fine now but some of that has to go to Ned setting him up to be able to do what he is now. Hate him all you want but he is as responsible for what Sveum is able to do now as anyone.

That said Ned's problem appeared to be he couldn't handle the team late in the season like Sveum is. Sveum should get some credit for that. Just not all of it.

 

The entire reason our rotation is a shambles right now is because of Yosts mismanagement of the starters and leaving them in too long in situations that didn't call for it. I could have told you that Sheets and Parra would struggle after about 175 IP IP this year because neither of them have gone a full season in the last few years. These two should have been babied not pushed hard.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Personally, I think he's done a helluva job. He's managed the staff well, used Rickie in the right way, and has made the most of an extremely difficult situation with the rotation.

 

But there was a quote from Braun that seals the deal for me- "It's the greatest feeling in the world," said Braun. "To be able to do that in that situation, especially with the emotion we're playing with now, it doesn't get any better than that."

 

I think Dale knows this is an emotional, young team, and he's letting them ride with it. It seems he's there to be a calming influence without always hammering on an even keel.

[giffted1]

Dale has done a nice job with the pitching staff but has also hurt the team with his devotion to small ball and selection of Garth Iorg to coach third. People will say that Dale Sveum turned the team around, but I think it all started with Prince getting hot. And as Robin Yount pointed out, Prince was finding his stroke already during the Phillies series. Prince got hot, the offense started putting up more runs, and everyone played looser as a result. The credit goes to the players, IMO.

[GormanHarvey]

Dale has done a nice job with the pitching staff but has also hurt the team with his devotion to small ball and selection of Garth Iorg to coach third. People will say that Dale Sveum turned the team around, but I think it all started with Prince getting hot. And as Robin Yount pointed out, Prince was finding his stroke already during the Phillies series. Prince got hot, the offense started putting up more runs, and everyone played looser as a result. The credit goes to the players, IMO.

I'm not sure the selection of Iorg was soley Dale's. I may be wrong, but from what I heard due to the small amount of games left in the season the Brewers wanted it to be an in-house selection, which obviously would have limited his choices. Iorg has been terrible, but I think he has the most experience coaching 3rd base out of any of the coaching staff that was currently with the team when Dale replaced Ned, if I"m not mistaken...

[fallingleaves]

Like others on the board, I have been impressed with Sveum in his short tenure. Although some may question why Cameron is leading off, I agree veteran bats are needed at the top of the order to feed the bats of Braun and Fielder. His honest approach is something this often delirious team needed.

[Ennder]

I don't think Cameron makes a good leadoff hitter but I don't think we have a better option either. Kind of the same reason Weeks has been our leadoff hitter for so long, there just isn't anyone else that fits the role.

[silversurferr]

Sveum is doing a good job with the staff. That was the biggest beef I had with Yost, particularly his bullheaded over-dependence on his "eighth inning guy" or "experienced veterans." (Eg., leaving Shouse in to pitch to Burell!?! Yikes.)

[logan82]

I give him no credit whatsoever. The players started to hit. We started to win again. Pretty simple in my mind.

[GormanHarvey]

I give him no credit whatsoever. The players started to hit. We started to win again. Pretty simple in my mind.

Why even have a manager then?