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

[Invader3K]

According to Tom Haudricourt, Macha will indeed be back next year, and the Brewers have added a club option for 2011 as well.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/63476917.html

 

St. Louis - Brewers general manager Doug Melvin confirmed Sunday morning what had become increasingly obvious in recent days, that manager Ken Macha would be returning in 2010 for the second year of his two-year contract.

 

But, in an added twist, Melvin added an option to Macha's contract for the 2011 season. Otherwise, Macha would have returned with "lame duck" status for next year.

 

"He didn't ask for (the option)," said Melvin. "He said, "It doesn't matter to me. I don't do this job for security. I do it to win ball games.

 

"The option tells him I do support him in his role as manager."

 

Melvin also invited back bench coach Willie Randolph, hitting coach Dale Sveum, third base coach Brad Fischer and first base coach Ed Sedar.

 

Melvin said he is not offering contracts at this time to interim pitching coach Chris Bosio and bullpen coach Stan Kyles but would consider them for positions in the organization, including their current roles.

 

Let the firestorm begin!

[bklynbrewcrew]

Melvin is making a huge mistake and now deserves to be fired along with Macha. Obviously this organization is at the point where they are just spinning their wheels. This dope has done nothing to warrant coming back next season. I also expect that this means that Looper is coming back and Gamel will be traded. I would also expect that gritty battling awesome catcher Kendall to be our starter again next season. Solid job guys!

[wibadgers23]

Can't say I'm happy with the decision to bring him back, but I suspect Macha will be on thin ice the entire season. Any kind of a letdown and he'll be out. Anybody who wanted to see Mat Gamel be a regular starter next season will probably have to wait another year though.

[Hammer]

Ken Macha does not belong in Milwaukee. He belongs in a New York or LA where he has a stable of vets to play. Not a good move by Mr. Melvin...and it probably signals his demise as well.

[craigharmann]

Well that sucks. I can't say much more.

[markedman5]

Also Kyles(sp) and Bosio not returning per Anderson.

 

I would guess that Castro can have the bullpen job again if he wants it.

[Ennder]

Can't say I love Macha but if this is the worst move Melvin ever makes as a GM from this point on he will be the best GM in baseball from this point on. It really isn't a big deal. I'd still gladly keep Macha another year if the alternative was Yost as an example.

[BrewCrewForever]

I'm fine with Macha coming back. I can't say I have agreed with all of his player moves this season as far as pitching and lineups, but I think he does a better job overall then Yost did. I think he deserves at least next season. See what he can do with a decent pitching staff.

[RockCoCougars]

Obviously Melvin stood his ground on this one. To protect "his" guy, he better go out and get some decent pitching this offseason, or Macha will be the odds-on favorite to be the first manager fired next year. By the way, just say no to Castro in the bullpen.... The guy has run his course.

[pretendastronaut]

Wait, Fischer was invited back? That's probably the most annoying news out of that announcement.

[Flood Pants]

Macha is puzzling. He seems to want to be a "stat guy", and that shows in his decisions not to bunt much or steal many bases. Yet, he makes moves that no manager, stathead or otherwise, in the right mind should make (i.e. batting Kendall leadoff). He seems confused about his own philosophy. If he wants to be a stat guy, great! If Melvin wants a stat guy, great! I want one too. But he needs to more consistently be a stat guy.

 

We could certainly do worse than Macha as manager again. Heck, as long as he never intentionally walks Ryan Howard with Brian Shouse on the moud, we're cool.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Bobby valentine is out there begging to manage a team and we keep Macha. This is an incredibly stupid decision. How does a small market team keep a manager who hates playing the young guys.

[PeaveyFury]

Bobby valentine is out there begging to manage a team and we keep Macha. This is an incredibly stupid decision.

 

Bobby has been begging for a while. The fact that no one seems interested in hiring him seems indicative of something.

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

It seemed like Macha didn't really get a feel for this team until the last month of the season. I think he spent most of the season using people in ways that they were used previously. It was like he was renting the team instead of taking ownership of the situation. It will be interesting to see what he does next season.

[hawing]

We could certainly do worse than Macha as manager again. Heck, as long as he never intentionally walks Ryan Howard with Brian Shouse on the moud, we're cool.

That's probably a low risk. Also, welcome, Flood Pants; and excellent avatar.

 

I approached this off-season open to the idea of Macha staying and open to the idea of someone else managing, so I can live with this. Had the field manager been the only change made between the 2008 and 2009 Brewers, it would be clearer that Ken was the problem, but there were too many other variables to pin the step back all on him.

[Diskono]

Changing managers every season usually doesn't work out very well. The team has underperformed (or so we believe) under two different managers, so that kind of leads me to believe that the players are more to blame. There have been a lot of things I haven't liked about Macha, but I'd rather give him another year than make another change.

 

Does anyone find it odd that this announcement is even a story though? He's under contract for next season, always has been. I kind of read these Haudricourt/McCalvey blog updates as "News Flash: Macha has not been fired yet".

[patrickgpe]

i agree pretendastronaut, i was shocked to see Fischer was invited back as there were numerous times were players were thrown out by atleast 2 steps at homeplate and he held up people that could have scored.

 

Regarding managers, we saw last year that pickings were slim as far as experienced managers. To fire Macha and bring a hot rookie manager doesn't make much sense as the window is closing for the brewers and i don't want the new manager to waste a year learning. We all were fine with Macha until the wheels fell off in the second half. I am not going to let the injuries cloud my judgment of him. I do wish though he was more willing to play the younger players.

[Thurston Fluff]

I'm not a huge fan of Macha but I don't think he was the problem this year. Generally speaking I don't think managers make all that much difference. Not so much so that we should have a revolving door looking for the perfect one. It hurts more to have constant change than it does to have one slightly less perfect than another.

[joepepsi]

You can break the season down however suits your point, but basically the team was terrible from June 1-August 12, when they went 25-38. From August 13th on, they were .500, and as we all know they went 30-20 in the Spring. They probably weren't going to make the playoffs given the way the Rockies took off, but I think it's clear Parra's and Bush's struggles coupled with the lack of reasonable replacements is what killed the season.

 

Macha may or may not be a bonehead, but he's not the reason they were out of the race by early August.

[JohnBriggs12]

GM's generally get 2 manager hires. If the 2nd doesn't work, the GM is out with the manager.

 

Macha got 80 wins with the worst rotation in the league. In retrospect, that's remarkable. Yost would have had a hard time getting to 75 with this team.

[patrickgpe]

that i do agree with, the fact that he was forced to start at one point during the year, Seth McClung, Carlos Villaneuva, Mike Burns, and Chris Naverson is an indictment of Melvin and not Macha.

[Mr QL]

I'm not particularly happy with this but hard to blame him for the pitching. I figured Melvin wouldn't drop the ax because he would be next in line of accountability.

[PeaveyFury]

Macha got 80 wins with the worst rotation in the league. In retrospect, that's remarkable.

 

When put in those terms, I agree. The pitching was a trainwreck and they were still right around .500.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Getting to 80 wins considering the unbelievable seasons that Fielder and Braun produced is not exactly an accomplishment.

[logan82]

Regarding managers, we saw last year that pickings were slim as far as experienced managers. To fire Macha and bring a hot rookie manager doesn't make much sense as the window is closing for the brewers and i don't want the new manager to waste a year learning.

 

I would much rather have a new manager than a retread. Experience is way down the list of things to look for in a manager.