My Disdain for Brewer Managers---Why?

[bklynbrewcrew]

brewmann04]you guys better pray that if macha is fired he not replaced by Willie

This is my biggest issue as far as replacing Macha. I want absolutely no part of the strategically inept Randolph or small ball Sveum and I dont trust Melvin to hire the right guy since he has failed so miserably time after time both in Milwaukee and Texas. If Melvin had some sense he would be on the phone with Bobby V but I know thats just a pipe dream.

 

 

[RockCoCougars]

I really don't want Randolph to get the job either (though he'd probably be better than Macha). Ironically enough, I remember being quite upset when Lopes was hired instead of Randolph- but I digress. I wish they could go with Sveum again if the wheels start to come off, but that's not going to happen because of Randolph's presence.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I really don't want Randolph to get the job either (though he'd probably be better than Macha). Ironically enough, I remember being quite upset when Lopes was hired instead of Randolph- but I digress. I wish they could go with Sveum again if the wheels start to come off, but that's not going to happen because of Randolph's presence.

 

Do you really want Sveum when he believes in bunting in the first inning. Dale showed exactly what kind of manager he is when he took over from Ned and it was unimpressive to save the least. He is the ultimate believer in small ball and we dont need a manager looking to give away outs to try to squeeze out a run when we should be trying to score a lot more than that.

[RockCoCougars]

I really don't want Randolph to get the job either (though he'd probably be better than Macha). Ironically enough, I remember being quite upset when Lopes was hired instead of Randolph- but I digress. I wish they could go with Sveum again if the wheels start to come off, but that's not going to happen because of Randolph's presence.

 

Do you really want Sveum when he believes in bunting in the first inning. Dale showed exactly what kind of manager he is when he took over from Ned and it was unimpressive to save the least. He is the ultimate believer in small ball and we dont need a manager looking to give away outs to try to squeeze out a run when we should be trying to score a lot more than that.

I'm maybe the only 'small ball' guy on this board, so yes that's one of the big reasons that I like Sveum. The other being that I think this team needs a player's manager to loosen up that clubhouse a bit.

[bobskube]

I think I was just trying to say that I just don't like these managers. Why are they so unlikeable? How can I still like and back Rich Rodriguez after the worst two season run in Michigan football history and absolutely cringe when I see Macha manage. I am by no means a "meathead" and I don't need to see a ton of fire out of a manager but I would like to see the guy care once in awhile for god's sake.

 

Like I said, I have no idea what happens behind closed doors, but as a player I really couldn't respect what I see based on a "eye test." It makes you wonder why he was unemployed for a few years after he got canned in Oakland. I think Doug missed on this one. I do believe teams can change based on a managerial move like in 1982 with us and with the Rockies last year for example.

[Buckylovesbeer]

I dont mind small ball either, and it can work well in some situations. The Brewers cannot depend on the long ball to win every game. Therefore, we need a guy in charge who can go away from their own norm from time to time. I dont see Macha as that guy.

The topic of never bunting.....I dont see why they dont bunt more. Everybody manufactures a run from time to time. The crew has some guys with speed who should definately bunt more.....How many Gomez haters are there who post nightly on the IGT? Gomez could bunt for a hit a lot. Escobar too. If the crew depends on them to hit bombs, they are not going to win many games. You dont have to always "give up an out" when bunting.

 

But Macha seems to be against it. Like being against stealing bases last season. I wish he would be a bit more flexible! Do I know who to hire.....nope. No clue....I am still a little fuzzy on what this team really needs at this point. It seems to me that they just need to wake up before the hole they are digging is way too deep.

 

Someone else made a comment earlier on this topic about how Macha doesent seem to be suited to well to coach a team like this one. I wanted to say that I agree with that as well. He seems to be a guy made to coach a veteran team, not a young team......

[Buckylovesbeer]

And I stand corrected. Gomez is not a good bunter, as he proves in the first inning of the Friday 4-30 game. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[logan82]

The topic of never bunting.....I dont see why they dont bunt more. Everybody manufactures a run from time to time. The crew has some guys with speed who should definately bunt more.....How many Gomez haters are there who post nightly on the IGT? Gomez could bunt for a hit a lot. Escobar too. If the crew depends on them to hit bombs, they are not going to win many games. You dont have to always "give up an out" when bunting.

 

Nobody is against bunting. Mostly it is bunting in the early innings or more specifically the non-close and late instances. Bunting close and late can have some benefit as can bunting early if you don't do it very often. It is mainly the Sac bunting that people hate and Gomez trying to bunt for a hit because he does it to often. It needs to be a surprise.

[Buckylovesbeer]

I agree......I think the decisions that are being made during this administration can improve. Lets hope they do soon.

 

 

And after the poor showing in San Diego.......Macha, can you please show some emotion of some kind? He looks like he is going to fall asleep in the dugout!

[DHonks]

Well, at the start of the thread I predicted a 3-7 roadtrip would lead to Macha's dismissal. Three pathetic performances and a mediocre one, and we're 2-4 from my prediction. we'll see

[Invader3K]

Well, at the start of the thread I predicted a 3-7 roadtrip would lead to Macha's dismissal. Three pathetic performances and a mediocre one, and we're 2-4 from my prediction. we'll see

I'm beginning to agree with you. Like I was saying elsewhere, I'm not convinced Macha is a bad manager, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that he is not the right manager for this team.

 

Either way, something has to give soon. The general performance of this team lately has been nothing short of embarrassing.

[DHonks]

Invader,

part of my reasoning is my desire, the other part is that Attanasio and his co-owners are on the west coast, likely taking in a bunch of the games.

[TooLiveBrew]

Doesn't Attanasio live in SoCal? If so, his attending games wouldn't mean much (if anything) more than just that he was attending games.

[TabbertBB]

When was the last time the Brewers were ever shutout 3 out of 4 games?

And this team has offense? All we heard was that scoring runs was not going to be the problem.

[TooLiveBrew]

The team's OPS+ entering play today was 115... and while today's game was horrid, the offense was still well above league-avg. in the first month of the season.

[DHonks]

TooLiveBrew, yes, he lives in SoCal. My point was that he likely is seeing this first hand, and is in the midst of seeing a second straight lackluster season that we as Brewers fans haven't seen since Lopes/Royster. I think seeing this firsthand in his neck of the woods will only make the decision easier

[TheCrew07]

The team's OPS+ entering play today was 115... and while today's game was horrid, the offense was still well above league-avg. in the first month of the season.

How many other teams have gotten to play 2 series against the Pirates? Also, what's the OPS+ against the pitching staff this season?

[TooLiveBrew]

TooLiveBrew, yes, he lives in SoCal. My point was that he likely is seeing this first hand, and is in the midst of seeing a second straight lackluster season that we as Brewers fans haven't seen since Lopes/Royster. I think seeing this firsthand in his neck of the woods will only make the decision easier

I just don't think he will react that rashly. Like I posted in the "Too early to be demoralized?" thread, it's taken a poopstorm of massive stature for this team to be 10-15. It's hardly directly Macha's fault, but when a team doesn't play well the manager is always the lightning rod. I dislike many decisions Macha makes, but I will absolutely not suggest that firing the manager after the first month of the season will do anything positive. Would batting Gomez lower in the lineup & utilizing Edmonds/Hart in the 2-hole have meant winning two or three more games in April? Probably not. Would not starting Suppan twice (which was flat-out idiotic, imho) have guaranteed wins in both those games? Of course not.

It's April. Player performance is always all over the place, and you have things like San Diego leading the NL West. If the team were 15-10, you would absolutely not have a thread calling for a contract extension for Macha, so to be honest I really don't see what all the fuss is about aside from the fact that we're wacko-diehard fans & we've been waiting all winter for baseball! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif And one more rambling thought -- to the comments on Macha's lack of emotion, I really could care less if a manager is stoic or a spittle-flying-in-faces fireball. Overall if I had to pick one side of the spectrum over the other, it would be stoic. I actually think that's one of Macha's stronger qualities as a manager. Just because he doesn't turn red when he argues with the umps like Ned doesn't mean he doesn't back his players. Try to read his lips some time he argues a call. He doesn't tend to pull any punches over bad calls, but imo he just keeps his body language in control (which probably keeps him from getting ejected most times, honestly).

[TooLiveBrew]

The team's OPS+ entering play today was 115... and while today's game was horrid, the offense was still well above league-avg. in the first month of the season.

How many other teams have gotten to play 2 series against the Pirates? Also, what's the OPS+ against the pitching staff this season?

Not sure on the Pirates question. The team's pitching OPS+ entering play today was 84. I was just responding to a post specifically discussing the offense.

[TheCrew07]

Our staff only has an OPS + against of 84?

 

My point which I didn't expand upon is that outside of beating up on Pittsburgh our offense certainly hasn't set the world on fire. I was curious what our OPS against was as a pitching staff.

 

edit. I was just searching around for the answer to OPS+ against and stumbled onto the stat that the average age of our pitching staff is 31.1 years old. The last time it was over 30? 1985.

[TooLiveBrew]

Oh, whoops. Misread your question. 84 is the staff's ERA+. I am dumb.

[crewcrazy]

The team's OPS+ entering play today was 115... and while today's game was horrid, the offense was still well above league-avg. in the first month of the season.

How many other teams have gotten to play 2 series against the Pirates? Also, what's the OPS+ against the pitching staff this season?

This early in the season, the only other team that's played the Pirates twice is Los Angeles. In those 7 games, the Dodgers scored 5, 3, 10, 0, 6, 5, and 9 runs, which is an average of 5.43 runs per game (they went 4-3 in those series). The Pirates won't have another repeat opponent until the middle of May when they play the Reds again.

[Postseason2006]

I thought Macha was horrible last year at managing the bullpen but throwing Coffey yesterday in an 8-0 ballgame just was another reason why he should not be coach. He burned him out last year and it showed to end the season. Absolutely zero sense to put him in the game yesterday.

[sheethead]

To me, it seems like Macha has sucked the identity out of this team. The team has become an extension of Macha, which is predictably not fun to watch. Then again, Macha may very well be an extension of Melvin. This team makes me want to take a nap. Boring and dabbling in pathetic.

[adamb100]

I think many fans hate there managers in general. I'm sure cardinals fans dont like every move LaRussa makes.