Macha and his players not on same page? (Latest: Macha to return with 2011 club option)

[MJLiverock]

Weeks hasn't been near the disappointment of Parra in my view. Weeks has at least had some decent years even if injury shortened. He put up a .374 OBP and an over .800 OPS in 2007. His career line of .351/.415/.767 isn't too bad for a second baseman. Putting up that very line this year would make him around the 10th best offensive second baseman in the majors, certainly not replacement level or worthy of benching.

 

Parra has a 5.16 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP, 1.75 K:BB. His 322 innings are a brief sample but not very good at all. No where near a #2 starter or #3 as was hoped. More like borderline replacement level.

 

A team can stick with a struggling young hitter in the lineup longer because an 0-4 night doesn't guarantee you a loss but a bad pitcher raises the odds of that loss a lot higher. The Brewers pretty much have to score 5-6 runs on average anytime Parra starts if they want to win.

[TCSM]

Parra started off last season very well in my opinion and unfortunately started fading off near the second half which could have been due to the amount of innings he pitched. Just like Parra, Weeks has his high moments (beginning of this season as well as the random streaks during the other years). Just like Parra, Weeks has his low moments, but just as many. Yet people over the years are quick to defend Weeks knowing he is replaceable (Lopez). Sure his OBP and OPS are above average, and I understand that, but his "skill" level is very replaceable in my opinion.

 

Parra on the other hand I believe has more talent than Weeks at their respectable positions. There are very few lefties who throw 95-96 who have the ability to paint the corners with a mixture of a split fastball and a nasty curve. Parra's only problem is mental.

[Nottso]

I wonder if the quick turnover of pitching coaches may have hurt Manny. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that when Castro took over from Maddux there was a "whole new philosophy" regarding the staff and pitching in general. Did the same thing happen when Castro got the axe? I can see where that could have quite an effect on a young pitcher. He's told to do things a certain way for quite a while, then the second guy says "no that's wrong, do it my way," and then the third guy either wants him to go back to the first way or might even have a whole 'nother set of ideas of his own. It's got to be somewhat frustrating, no?

[RockCoCougars]

Weeks hasn't been near the disappointment of Parra in my view.

Agreed. I feel that Parra is highly overrated here. He throws hard and is left handed. What else has he shown? Granted, he had a couple of good months last year, but my guess is that those were likely smoke and mirrors. Parra would be a great 5 starter, but he can't be counted on to be a 2 or 3.

[mletto157]

If Parra maintains his overall performance from this season, he should probably be moved to the bullpen or DFAed.

 

If he maintains his pitching from this year, we should expect an ERA in the 4's. He has been very unlucky this season and that will always be seen in a largely luck driven stat like ERA.

 

Granted, he had a couple of good months last year, but my guess is that those were likely smoke and mirrors.

 

So his one unlucky season this year leads you to this conclusion? Not his one good season last year, or his track record of success in the minors?

[MJLiverock]

I don't know that it is luck so much as lack of control. Parra has walked 71 guys in 130 innings and has a WHIP of 1.84. Allowing nearly 2 baserunners per inning isn't going to result in a good ERA unless you have a lot of good luck.

 

His lack of control has also limited him from pitching deeper into games so when he gives up 3 runs in 5 innings and gets pulled because his pitch count is over 100 already he gets a 5.40 ERA. If could just last that extra inning (without more runs) then your scenario of a 4.50 ERA is acheivable. I think he needs to work on his command which is more to blame than bad luck.

[logan82]

A lot of those same things could be said about Gallardo. Walks a lot of guys, doesn't go deep into games.

[mletto157]

Although in MiLB he always had good command. So this should be easily correctable. I'm thinking he's trying to nibble too much. With as much power he has in his pitches, he doesn't need to nibble - and never was like that in the minors.

[MJLiverock]

Gallardo has been able to offset some of his walk issues with a much higher K rate and better BABIP. Gallardo's BABIP against is around the .285 mark this year and last. Parra K's over 2, nearly 3 less per 9 and has a BABIP of around .367 this year, .347 career. Their HR rates are pretty similar at about 1 per 9.

 

Both could use more command but Yovanni has been able to overcome the walks with K's and seemingly easier to field balls thus far in their short ML careers but both are walking to many hitters.

[mletto157]

You think .367 is a BABIP that should be expected from Parra going forward? I have to believe that is likely to regress next year.

[MJLiverock]

He was in the .335 area before this season too so it isn't like he went from Gallardo range of .285 up to .362 (I incorrectly typed .367 earlier). Parra was in the .310-.315 range in the minors so being at .347 career in the majors isn't a huge shock especially given his inability to command the strike zone.

 

Gallardo ranged from .265-.300 BABIP in the minors so .285 may be a little low for him but he hasn't seen his K rate fall off a cliff so maybe he has better movement allowing him to keep the hits down.

[Ennder]

Parra will not succeed unless he gets his walks down, of course everything else in his history points to the fact that he should indeed get them down in the future.

 

Even with the horrible walks his xFIP this year was 4.75 since he has the perfect skillset, high K, high GB% pitcher.

 

As for Weeks the argument has always been a different one, how important AVG is vs walks. If Weeks were average defensively he'd have been one of the better 2B in baseball so far in his career, but some people just look at the low AVG and think he stinks.

[RockCoCougars]

So his one unlucky season this year leads you to this conclusion? Not his one good season last year, or his track record of success in the minors?

I wouldn't call last season a good season. A good first half maybe, but he pitched just as he did this year in the second half. I'm not sold on him as anything more than a bottom of the rotation type pitcher.

[Ennder]

Parra had a .707 OPS against and 4.25 ERA last August so I think what you mean is last September he was bad in his 17 IP.

 

He was shaky but ok in April/May, very strong June-August and then bad in Sept last year and most of that bad was just from HR. In the 2nd half last year he had 9.4 k/9 and 2.76 K/BB which are both very good, he walked 25 in 66 IP which is not bad at all.

 

The most likely scenario is last September he got a tired arm from pitching too many innings and it carried into this season which isn't abnormal at all. I mean it was pretty foolish the way we used him last year given his injury history. How that reflects on next season is a good question though, my guess is he has some sort of arm problems mid season and everyone blames him for it instead of the management that has continually abused our pitching over the past 6 years or so.

[logan82]

In other words, Parra should be shut down now instead of making things worse.

[markedman5]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_heyman/09/23/brewers.future/index.html?section=si_latest

[bklynbrewcrew]

I really hope that Heyman is wrong and Melvin dumps Macha.

[Roderick]

Once again, Looper, coming off a 4.16 ERA season signed for $4.75M with the mutual option for $6.5M if he reaches 30 starts. Now he has a 4.9 ERA season and we're just going to bring him back and settle for him because we don't have depth? Sorry, not good enough for me at least. We have four main stays in the rotation going into next year. Gallardo, Parra, Suppan and Bush. Look to make a trade using Hardy and McGehee and see what you can get. Sign a guy like Smoltz, Penny or Bedard. There's no reason to settle for Looper.

 

I am making a couple of assumptions when I recommend exercising the option. 1. Players salaries are going to start blazing right past inflation again - making $5.5M the ballpark for a guy like Looper that is aging but makes every start. 2. The Brewers won't be able to get a #2-#3 type starter that is relatively inexpensive and under control for at least two years for what I feel they are willing to trade away without tacking on substantial minor leaguers that I assume Melvin won't ship away. 3. I assume the Brewers won't give Hart/Gerut the CF job and will either have to spend some of their chips on trading for a cheaper CF or resigning Cameron which basically uses up the $90M Brewers budget. Has anyone seen anything regarding MA going higher on the budget?

 

Now if you feel that salaries aren't going to go up in the tight 2010 free agent starting pitcher market at least 15% or you feel that Hart, Hardy, etc have more trade value and/or that Melvin is willing to ship away some of his top 10 prospect(s) in a trade or you assume the Brewers will up the budget to sign a FA or go with a cheap CF then I fully agree not to exercise Looper's option as we will know that we have someone better.

 

I would make one more comment to be bantered about. If they re-upped Looper and afterwards signed/traded for a better pitcher, they could have Looper take over over for one of Villy/McClung in the pen. Cutting either would save $1.5-$2M. If Looper was in the pen he would be able to push harder knowing he only was only going 2-3 innings instead of 5-6 innings and probably do better that what he has shown this year. So while Looper would be overpaid for a bullpen job (his $5.5M cost versus the $2M) , you could consider that $3.5M extra as insurance that the Brewers don't get anyone better via trade/free agency, while providing an upgrade on the spot starter role. Agree or disagree?

 

Side question - how much insurance are teams usually going to be able to get on a player? If I am developing what I see as the Brewers budget, how much do you think they will get on a payoff for Riske? I assume they probably have half of the salary covered. But that is just a guess.

[craigharmann]

For the love of all that is good and holy, DM needs to tell Macha after the game tomorrow, that he's no longer the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. The decisions that he has made have not been anywhere close to decisions made by a manager of a team that is was in the playoffs last year. I don't think it matters if DM could put Wright at 3rd, Jimmy Rollins at short, Joe Mauer at catcher, and just about any other good player on the roster, Macha would find some way to screw things up. And I think DM knows that if next year turns out as crappily as this year, he's done. So, he better be ridding himself of the mistake that is Macha ASAP!!

[Never Outhustled]

I'm building hope that no news about Macha means there could be change Brewing. Its odd that they told us there would be an announcement, and then there's nothing. Why wait? The only reason to wait is if he's getting canned. He has been a colossal disappointment.

[logan82]

I don't like Macha. He has such a blah personality. He has annoyed me with his approach to the running game, sac bunting and IBB. However, I hardly think our record this season is his fault or hiring a different guy for next year is going to make a difference. It would be a good PR move to pawn off this bad year on Macha, nothing more.

[AJAY]

My concern is that the Brewers have recently had the reputation of being a great place to play because of the wonderful chemistry in the locker room. If the reputation is now changing because Macha is so unpopular, then I believe it becomes much harder to attract good players here. I am not comfortable with Macha's reputation because we also heard similar rumblings in Oakland too. I really wouldn't mind seeing a change just to get someone who can relate to players better.

 

Like I also said before, Macha is also incredibly boring and also doesn't do anything to sell the team or create excitement in the fan base. I wouldn't mind a little more fire and passion that mirrors the energy level of the fan base.

[wibadgers23]

I'm building hope that no news about Macha means there could be change Brewing. Its odd that they told us there would be an announcement, and then there's nothing. Why wait? The only reason to wait is if he's getting canned. He has been a colossal disappointment.

I wonder if its a case of Melvin and Attanasio being at odds over whether to bring him back or not. I also find it strange that an announcement hasn't been made yet. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

[Team Canada]

Sounds like Bobby V's looking to come back to MLB. C'mon Doug, do the right thing.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I saw that Valentine is talking with the Marlins. I wonder if Melvin would see his personality as being somewhat disruptive to the current clubhouse. Certainly he'd probably be more energetic and outgoing than Macha is.