anyone else seeing big changes ahead? Latest: Mark A says Melvin is going to be here a long time, Macha will not be fired Monday

[RockCoCougars]

In response to the thread title, apparently, Mark Attanasio does not:

 

McCalvy: Attanasio was clear, Doug Melvin has total job security and there's no chance of a managerial change on Monday.

 

Edit: More comments here.

Ugh. Ugly situation brewin'... Mark A goes on to say that it will take more than just one bad season for Melvin to be fired, too...

 

Perhaps if Mark A won't listen to fans complaining then maybe he'll pay more attention when fans stop showing up at Miller Park

 

I don't care how clear Attanasio was, what was he supposed to say- "Yes, we are deciding who will be our interim manager who we will introduce on Monday." If the Crew doesn't win these two games, I say Macha is toast. If these guys get embarrassed for the rest of the weekend and Macha is retained, I will lose a lot of respect for Attanasio, especially considering how Ned was treated.

[TooLiveBrew]

Well all he said was Macha wouldn't be fired on Monday, not that his job is safe

[chuckiehacks]

Here's the meat of Attanasio's quote about Doug Melvin, via Adam McCalvy:

"Doug Melvin is very, very secure. You're not going to see any GM changes here. Absolutely not. Doug Melvin has built up too much credibility. You're going to have to a lot more than even a bad season for him to have any issues with his job security. To all of our fans, look, it feels great to get it off your chest, but you're going to have to be dealing with our general manager for a long time."

DFA Attanasio.

[Ennder]

I sure hope Mark doesn't start making moves just because fans like to overreact to everything. I'm fine with someone not liking Melvin but he certainly isn't the must be fired category of GMs either. If they find a really good replacement I dont' mind them making a change but there needs to be a plan in place first and not just firing him because the team is underperforming. I could really care less what happens to Macha, they'll replace him and I'll just dislike a new guy probably~.

[pitchleague]

Mark pretty much reiterated this information during the 3rd inning of the game on TV. They're not looking at making changes in management at this time. Semi-disappointing but, like Mark said, when he first bought the team they started 24-10 and then fizzled so it's a loooonnnngggg season and a lot can still happen.

[bklynbrewcrew]

What owner tells the fans that they are going to have to deal with the general manager for a long time. This guy is really going to alienate the fans with comments like this. It wont be long before the stadium starts to look like Cleveland and Pittsburgh where there are entirely empty sections.

[TooLiveBrew]

This guy is really going to alienate the fans with comments like this. It wont be long before the stadium starts to look like Cleveland and Pittsburgh where there are entirely empty sections.

 

I sincerely doubt it, especially the first statement.

[The Truth]

What owner tells the fans that they are going to have to deal with the general manager for a long time. This guy is really going to alienate the fans with comments like this. It wont be long before the stadium starts to look like Cleveland and Pittsburgh where there are entirely empty sections.

Agreed and that is what it will take: lots of empty seats. Mark A is a money manager at heart and when the losing starts affecting the bottom line he'll make changes. The way this team is playing and being managed I for one will not be rushing out to buy any more tickets with our hard earned money and I'm sure many other fans feel the same way.

 

 

[owbc]

I expect to see attendance around 2.2 million next year--which would still be good for 6th or 7th best in club history. With attendance declining across the National League, a drop would not be that big of a deal. The Brewers had their few big years, but Miller Park remains an excellent facility and fans will continue to show up. The ballpark experience is about much more than the actual game--and furthermore, the team isn't going to lose 90% of the games the rest of the year. There will still be winning streaks and long stretches of decent play, which will improve the morale of the fans from the current state.

[bklynbrewcrew]

In this economy you better put a compelling team on the field or the fanbase will just stop coming. I wonder if Attanassio tells his clients that they are going to have to deal with a poor investment manager when the results are less than stellar. This team is well on its way to a terrible season and keeping Melvin and Macha is not going to change that in a positive way.

[endaround]

I bet he tells his clients the sure way to loose money is to panic and make moves just because.

[DHonks]

I just don't get the double standard. They are well over .500, on the cusp of the playoffs and fire the manager that helped them get there. Then they are drastically underachieving and the manager is given a vote of confidence?

[Beast Light]

I just don't get the double standard. They are well over .500, on the cusp of the playoffs and fire the manager that helped them get there. Then they are drastically underachieving and the manager is given a vote of confidence?

I find this to be puzzling as well.

 

I also have to admit that Mark's comments about fans having to "deal" with Melvin for a long time really rubbed me the wrong way. If you want to say his job is safe, fine, but to say it like that?

 

 

[RockCoCougars]

I just don't get the double standard. They are well over .500, on the cusp of the playoffs and fire the manager that helped them get there. Then they are drastically underachieving and the manager is given a vote of confidence?

Remember, Melvin has a 'thing' for Macha, going back to the days where they were minor league teammates. I'm sure he is still lobbying hard with Attanasio on his behalf. That's all we need is cronyism on this sinking ship. Melvin wanted Macha before he hired Yost, and thank god he turned the job down. If Macha had taken the job, Weeks would probably be playing elsewhere a la Brandon Phillips, and Braun and Fielder would have been mishandled too. The more I watch how Macha operates, the more I realize that Yost wasn't really that bad outside of how he handled the bullpen. Macha on the other hand is terrible in both strategy and demeanor, you can just sense that the players just don't want to play for the guy. He's a terrible manager, and he never would have won in Oakland had he not had 3 studs in the rotation.

 

For what it's worth, despite the lip service we have been getting, I still say Macha is gone on Monday or Tuesday morning.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Mark A is a pathetic at best business man

Between the multiple mansions and owning a pro baseball team, I think he's done OK for himself.

[monty57]

Francisco was no longer closing and then Melvin compounded matters throwing in Cruz to get Nix.

 

Capuano already had TJ surgery and was dealt once along with De La Rosa. Stud prospects rarely get dealt twice. Throw in the fact that De La Rosa was dealt again for a backup middle infielder too.

 

Define often? I could list over 20 decent younger pitchers or pitching prospects off the top of my head. In fact, I bet the Brewers could have Wandy Rodriguez instead of the junk we got from Houston for an All Star LF.

 

I want to know if we turned back the clock to the classic game on FSN right now(Weeks/Fielder first homer game 2005), how many of us would be happy if we were told we would have 1 playoff appearance winning only one game in it? Then tell people that we would have CC Sabathia as a starting pitcher and that would still be the same.

 

I guarantee that there would be a lot of GM's that could've had the same results.

 

Just going from memory her but:

 

- If we wanted Cruz back, I believe he was placed on waivers by Texas a year or two after the trade and no GM in the entire league picked him up. The following season he broke out.

- Capuano had a decent tenure here, regardless of the fact he had already had TJ suregery. A good percentage of MLB pitchers have had TJ surgery

- JDLR had already been traded that same offseason from the Red Sox to Arizona, and Arizona did not want to give him up. Melvin insisted on his being part of the trade. He was a pretty highly rated prospect. He was dealt for Graffanino when we were in a playoff hunt. We had nowhere to hide JDLR on the roster and needed Graffy due to injury

- We didn't trade Lee to Houston, we traded him to Texas, who were unable to retain his services after the season, when he signed with Houston for a ridiculous contract which is a big reason Houston is unable to compete and has players such as Roy Oswalt asking to be traded. Everyone knew we had to trade him, so picking up a very solid reliever for 1.5 seasons wasn't a bad return.

-Please list the 20 "decent young pitchers or pitching prospects" who have been traded since the Lee trade. I know there have been some, but I'd be pretty impressed if you could list 20 off the top of your head.

 

I really like the state of pitching in the lower levels of the minors, but we've been here before as an organization in the summer of 2003, we had studs from Huntsville all the way down to Helena. 2 years later Jones and Parra were hurt, Hendrickson was ineffective, Wilhelmsen was out of baseball, Eveland was struggling, Sarfate couldn't throw strikes... our pitching depth seemed to evaporate overnight.

 

Doesn't this kind of show just how unlucky we've been in the pitching front. Sure there are some things we could/should have done in the FA & trade markets in the past that would make us a better team today, but if 1 or 2 of these players had lived up to his potential, our pitching situation would be vastly different today and we would not have had to pick up aging free agents to fill in the rotation.

 

 

 

 

[The Truth]

I just don't get the double standard. They are well over .500, on the cusp of the playoffs and fire the manager that helped them get there. Then they are drastically underachieving and the manager is given a vote of confidence?

 

It is Melvin, apparently, who seems willing to sink or swim with Ken Macha. Attanasio's analogy of playing the stock market (you don't just start selling just because stocks go down) is telling. A baseball season, or a small window left of the Fielder era, is much shorter than the long-term goals one has when playing the stock market.

 

With the mistakes Melvin has made, however, there isn't a manager alive who could get this team into the World Series this year. A manager who could at least get us going in the right direction and properly develop the younger players would be a step in the right direction, however

[wibadgers23]

I figured if the Brewers got swept this weekend, there would be a 99% chance of Macha getting fired on Monday. So much for that.

[jtsteward]

I will not pay any more for the Brewers until Melvin is fired. Mark A is a pathetic at best business man especially supporting a GM that slams the teams best player in the media. Thanks Mark.

 

5 years of disappointment with one playoff win. How did Mark A get his money, lottery or sheer luck?

Oh how tides have changed in 43 games. If we were 27-16 I doubt highly Mark's business intellegence would be in question. I would tend to DISAGREE. The man has brought people to the ballpark the past 5 years and I continue to support him 100%. Where I do agree with most fans is, Mark will have to continue his business model and keep everyone's butts in the seats.The man has increased payroll, the # of wins for the club, amenities at the ballpark and much more. I do hope that his judgement continues to stay on par of how he has run things in the past to continue the success of the franchise. (Do I need to remind anyone we finished 37.5 games out the year before he took over, I know it's not all Mark but wow.)

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

In this economy you better put a compelling team on the field or the fanbase will just stop coming. I wonder if Attanassio tells his clients that they are going to have to deal with a poor investment manager when the results are less than stellar. This team is well on its way to a terrible season and keeping Melvin and Macha is not going to change that in a positive way.

If you believe in the investment manager long term, the best time to go with him is during a cold streak since most revert to their long term average. Most investors tend to chase performance and get whipsawed. That's one of many reasons Mark is loaded and most other people (including myself) aren't. My guess is that is his philosophy. Melvin is a long term hire and that is not going to change when a few of his bets have gone wrong. If he felt something was structurally broken within the organization that's when he'd make a change in GM. We could debate the long term structure since the criticism on developing pitchers has some validity, but I wouldn't make a change at this point and it doesn't sound like Mark would either.

[paul253]

Doesn't this kind of show just how unlucky we've been in the pitching

front. Sure there are some things we could/should have done in the FA

& trade markets in the past that would make us a better team today,

but if 1 or 2 of these players had lived up to his potential, our

pitching situation would be vastly different today and we would not have

had to pick up aging free agents to fill in the rotation.

At some point you need to stop blaming luck and start considering the fact that the Brewers drafted and/or relied on the wrong guys. Back when Mark Rogers was drafted, it seemed like everyone and their mom wanted Homer Bailey who was considered a better prospect. Well we didn't take him and even though Rogers still has a shot to be decent, I think everyone would trade Rogers for Bailey in a heartbeat. Eric Arnett.....I know it's early but my lord. Here is a first round pick, a college pitcher, and he is consistently getting hammered by low A ball hitters. I realize there's a chance he could turn it around, but it's starting to look like they blew that pick. Evan Frederickson. The guy couldn't throw strikes in college and we take him as a first round sup pick and guess what, he still can't throw strikes. Cody Adams was a dud. Seth Lintz a dud (I mention those two specifically b/c of how high they were drafted and how unsuccessful they were). All of the top pitching prospects they traded for (JDLR, Jackson, Capellan) were duds. His FA starting pitcher signings have been duds. And we expect him to improve the team with a Prince Fielder trade? I am as vocal as anyone about the need to trade Fielder, but can anyone else see him trading Prince for a reliever, a backup outfielder, and a soft tossing left-handed pitching prospect?

[LouisEly]

Well all he said was Macha wouldn't be fired on Monday, not that his job is safe

 

Bingo. He can easily be fired Sunday after the game.

 

you can just sense that the players just don't want to play for the guy

That's my biggest concern, and the reason I want a change. It is easy to look at the surface and say that it's the player's fault and not the managers... but why? Could it be because the players aren't motivated by the manager? Or could it be because the players aren't put in positions to succeed by the manager?

 

I bet he tells his clients the sure way to loose money is to panic and make moves just because.

 

Any money manager or financial planner will tell you that, because in finance and business that generally is true. But when you are dealing with managing and motivating people, sometimes making a change for the sake of change - especially when the people are stinking up the joint - often yields positive results.

 

They can't get any worse... so they really have nothing to lose at this point.

[RockCoCougars]

Well, 7 of 8 got Yost fired- with two weeks left in the season, none the less. Now we have Macha (who has accomplished far less with far more than Yost) who has lost 11 of 12 and is looking 12 of 13 square in the face. Let's face it, he has to go if for no other reason than to change things up a bit. He's not coming back next year anyway, so you may as well see what Randolph can do. This year, you can blame the bullpen, last year you can blame the starting pitching, etc., etc. The fact is that it's Macha's job to utilize his talent in the best possible way, and I don't feel that he's doing that. Obviously, there is some questionable talent on the roster as well, and that falls to Melvin and is directly attributable to some of his mistakes. He needs to be held accountable for that at the end of the season, what 'held accountable' means, I don't know exactly at this point. Personally, every good start that Sheets makes pushes me closer to the 'fire Melvin' crowd.

[PeaveyFury]

Personally, every good start that Sheets makes pushes me closer to the 'fire Melvin' crowd.

 

Better starts for him his last few times out, but his ERA is still near 6.

[logan82]

There has been a definite shift in drafting over the last couple years. I think we will need a couple years to see if Melvin has made the right moves over the last few years. In any case, I think there is almost no way Melvin is fired before the draft.

Once again what does Melvin have to do with the draft? Seid makes all of the selections, just like Jack Z made all of the selections before him.

So you are admitting it isn't Melvin's fault we didn't draft any pitchers for our system then.

 

I could really care less what happens to Macha, they'll replace him and

I'll just dislike a new guy probably~.

 

 

Most fans will unless the guy wins a world series and probably will even then.

 

In this economy you better put a compelling team on the field or the

fanbase will just stop coming.

 

That is true in any economy. We didn't exactly have great attendance until the last few years and I believe the economy was pretty decent in the couple years before that.