Gamel's future

[Ayt]

He says, "He's a little bit of a flake." Listen to the interview. In context it is far from a slam from Macha.

How is that not a slam? If I heard that I'd wonder what the heck was wrong with my manager and why he had a problem with me.

 

If I had any bosses or co-workers say that about me I'd want them to say it to my face and explain themselves.

[paul253]

Say hello, Adam Heether.

 

Thats a good point, but wouldn't we have to re-sign him? If I were Adam Heether, no way would I sign with Milwaukee. Not only did they completely blow him off this season by not promoting him, but with the way Escobar and Gamel are being treated by Macha, Heether would have to think he would never get an at bat. I'd love to have him as a utility guy next season, but if we have to sign him in order for that to happen I would not be optimistic.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I know everyone is up in arms that Gamel isn't playing right now, but the Brewers seem to have a plan for him. Take extra work during the day, don't put any added pressure on him after struggling at Nashville in the second half and save him up for winter ball where he will have plenty of plaing time. He's still a big part of the future and rightfully so. If they feel playing him right now won't help his development, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[pingman]

right now Gamel is a strike out machine; no need to further destroy his confidence & value...IMHO he's in a funk that lowers his trade value ....he's making Rob Deer look like a contact hitter!

 

winter league is very important to Gamel's future, and trade-value....he desperately needs a return-to-form

 

MacGehee is next year's opening day 3rd-sacker. period.

[rluzinski]

How much is Oswalt even worth in a trade? He might be a 3.75 ERA at this point in his career and is under contract for:

 

2010: $15

2011: $16

2012: $16 (option with $2 buyout)

 

He's getting paid about what he's worth to an average team. It would still take some talent to motivate the Astros to trade him, of course. But if it took McGahee, Hardy and $15 mil to get him, I don't think that's a move worth making. Melvin is going to have to do much better to make the Brewers into a legit contender in 2010

[BrewCrewForever]

I'm really wondering if Gamel is in the Brewers future plans, you would think he would be starting once or twice a week.

[wibadgers23]

In almost three weeks since being recalled, Gamel has had 8 at-bats. One of our top prospects has 8 at-bats in a month when you're supposed to be playing your top prospects, especially when you're not in playoff contention. I'm more convinced than ever that it's some sort of an off the field issue that we don't know about that's limiting his playing time. How else can you explain Craig Counsell getting starts over him in late September?

[yogallardo43]

I just don't understand why Counsell is starting anymore. It really makes no sense. Playing him does absolutely nothing for this team.

[logan82]

It is really odd that they are not trying so little to work Gamel in. I would think that if they had plans at all for Gamel they would at least make an effort to get him in the games. As it is right now, they are just burning service time.

[craigharmann]

I just don't understand why Counsell is starting anymore.

Craig Counsell packs the seats! Plain and simple.

[Invader3K]

Well, you guys talk like Counsell is bad. He's had a tremendous year, and still playing well (went 3-for-5 last night). Though like I said earlier, I think he's proved he can still be a valuable player on a team, and assuming he's willing to take a similar salary next season, should be back with the team. I don't think it would hurt to at least give Gamel four or five starts before the end of the year. It just seems like the Brewers have other plans.

[Ennder]

They are pushing for .500 and think Counsell gives them a better shot to win than Gamel. Seems pretty logical to me even though I personally could care less if they finished .500 or better so I'd rather just play Gamel.

[trwi7]

Doug Melvin wrote:

---

When we brought him up, we might have done him a disservice. We might have been better to let him stay down there and play the whole year, but he did get the experience and you hope that he learns from it.

Gord Ash wrote:

---

It's tough to sit for two or three days, get an at-bat and be effective. That's why you don't put young guys in those roles.

Gord Ash wrote:

---

I think the only thing we might have done differently is that when it became clear he wasn't going to play a lot, we could have sent him back a little quicker.

Link

 

It's about time they say what many of us were saying since late May.

[Never Outhustled]

The most logical thing would have been to just let him play when he was here. He was very good, his numbers are just skewed by all the PH and DH ABs he got. Young players rarely adjust well to DHing, and nobody ever hits well as a PH. As a 3B, Gamel has a 836 OPS this year. I'll take that any day. Its quite impressive given his erratic playing time.

[greeg35]

I agree with Money's point that he has to mature to the point where he can deal with adversity a little better. From what I've seen/heard of him, he has a lot of growing up to do. That said, its the Brewers job to know that and to handle him accordingly...they didn't

[TheCrew07]

It's about time they say what many of us were saying since late May.

I second that, but I also don't think the competition between McGehee and Gamel is as clear cut as they make it. If Gamel doesn't go Parra us he'll be an impact player, McGehee is very good at his best, an .867 OPS is nothing to sneeze at, but I still think Gamel deserves a fair shot at the job.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wait, the Brewers screwed up in handling Gamel?!?!?!

 

Like trwi said, this is stuff this board was talking about months ago. Really disappointing to read that the Brewers' front office is only aware they made these mistakes now.

 

 

That's why you don't put young guys in those roles

It's funny though -- the Brewers' F.O. hired the guy that put him in "those roles" ... and at the time apparently had no problem with him playing in "those roles". It's almost like this organization had no plan for Gamel! Crazy!

[logan82]

Does Macha talk to anybody or does he just sit in his office and wait for people to come to him? What was the discussion when Gamel cvame up?

"Hey Ken we're gonna bring up our top prospect so he can start at 3B."

"Thanks Doug, but I don't want to be put in a zim-zam."

"Well, we are going to bring him up anyway. I think he should get regular play time. Maybe rest McGehee cause he knee hurts, and that."

"I'll see what I can do." click

 

It really sounds like management and Macha had different ideas when Gamel was brought up. If anything Melvin and Macha seem to not be on the same page.

[wibadgers23]

Gamel gets rewarded for his three run homer the other day by continuing to ride the bench. Maybe it's just me, but considering McGehee is playing on a bad knee and needs surgery in the offseason, wouldn't right now be a pretty good time to give Gamel a few starts? Although at this point, a few starts probably doesn't make a big difference.

[MNBrew]

I'm certainly no Einstein, but McGehee's continued strong play and ROY candidacy are legit reasons to keep him in the lineup.

 

It is possible that Gamel is the long-term plan. And if so, then perhaps McGehee is the chip they look to deal over the winter for a good return. And to do that, bigger numbers and higher ranking in the ROY voting should increase his value and sweeten the potential return.

 

And in the meantime, Gamel is still going to need 6 more full seasons on the roster to be FA-eligible (under control at least through 2015), regardless of whether or not he was called up for this month or didn't play much those weeks after interleague play was done.

 

Now, I'm not saying that's the plan. But I am saying I really think Doug Melvin is pretty darn smart and good at his job, and I'm inclined to trust his instincts. Macha, I'm not as sure about him, but . . . Anyway, just advancing a scenario/explanation.

 

It really does seem unusual that the Brewers' infield is almost an embarrassment of riches: MVP caliber offensive stud (Fielder), excellent everyday contributors in various roles (Lopez - leadoff, McGehee - run producer), solid veteran bench/utility guys (Counsell, plus other guys at other times), reasonably established young players with high ceilings (both with something to prove in the way of comebacks - Hardy & Weeks), and top prospects getting their feet wet to varying degrees (Escobar, Gamel). It sure will be interesting to see how Melvin handles all those players/circumstances this winter.

[TooLiveBrew]

I am saying I really think Doug Melvin is pretty darn smart and good at his job, and I'm inclined to trust his instincts. Macha, I'm not as sure about him, but . . . Anyway, just advancing a scenario/explanation.

 

While I agree, the Gamel situation this season really made me tone down my praise for Melvin. If you hire a manager, and he won't play the guys you want in the lineup, did you really do a good job in hiring your manager? So far, Macha has had nothing but Melvin's full support -- and that, combined with how badly Gamel was handled, makes me tone down my love for Melvin as well.

 

 

"Well, we are going to bring him up anyway. I think he should get regular play time. Maybe rest McGehee cause he knee hurts, and that."

"I'll see what I can do."

 

That's from logan's most recent post in this topic. I think it underscores my main problem with how Gamel was handled this season. If you call your top hitting prospect up, with no plan to ensure that he has a full-time role -- that's a problem. And if you call up your top hitting prospect, fully intend for him to have a full-time role, but your manager won't comply (& you don't seem to care much) -- that's a problem too.

 

The only way it could have made more sense for Gamel to get a lot of playing time this season in the bigs is if McGehee's injury was season-ending. There were so many ways to get Gamel the 3B job full-time this year, and you really don't even have to get too creative. At the expense of repeating myself yet again, I just can't describe how disappointed I am in the way the Brewers handled Gamel this season.

[mletto157]

When they brought Gamel up, I fully thought that it was because Weeks got hurt and they planned on playing McGehee/Counsell more at 2B and having Gamel as the everyday 3B. That's what made sense to me since it seemed like the best way to replace the lost production from not having Weeks in the lineup. Apparently Macha didn't think so... Now, once they acquired Lopez, it seemed like a no brainer to send Gamel back down since obviously they weren't playing him like they should anyway. But IMO having Lopez at 2B and Gamel at 3B with McGehee/Counsell as the backups would have been a pretty good solution; probably even out-producting what they had prior to the Weeks injury.

[Never Outhustled]

It was great to see Gamel finish strong. He ended up with a 760 OPS, above average for the position. As I said earlier, his numbers are skewed by the PH ABs that nowhere does well in, and DH ABs, a role young players rarely do well in. Gamels OPS as a 3B was 864. Yeah, I'll take that. He needs to be our starting 3B next year.

[bklynbrewcrew]

X, I agree with you completely but I think its a lock that Gamel will be traded now that Macha is back. I also believe that Melvin is gonna be fooled by McGehee having a career year.

[yoshii8]

I hope that Gamel isn't traded this off-season, and I don't think he will unless we get great value on him. I do however think that McGehee has earned a starting role next season. I was very impressed by him, and think that he might have figured "it" out, and will be more of the player he was last season than what his minor league stats indicate.

I also think it is very important that the Brewers do not trade Gamel, just in case McGehee reverts back to the guy w/ a career .741 minor league OPS. I think Gamel would benefit from more time at AAA, a still will be a very good MLB player.