Some credit to Peterson

[NYChez]

I realize that this is a bottom line business, and therefore Peterson will be walking out the door with Macha in early October. However, I really believe that Peterson's spiel on mechanics and keeping pitchers healthy works. It's pretty amazing how healthy our guys without "pre-existing conditions" (Davis and Hawkins) have been this season.

Not only have Narveson, Bush, Wolf, Parra, and Gallardo gone the whole season (and made virtually every start when in the rotation) without missing any time due to arm-related problems ... for the most part (recognizing Gallaro's hiccup) they have gotten more effective as the year has gone on - which typically hasn't been the case with Brewer pitchers.

I believe that our pitchers coming up that have good stuff (unlike most of the guys mentioned above), like Jeffress, Rogers, Odorizzi, Braddock, Axford, etc., would be well served by the Brewers keeping Peterson on the payroll. It might help with free agents, too. I get some comfort when a pitcher gets a health sign-off from Peterson before signing a big contract.

Since Peterson will likely never get another MLB pitching coach job, perhaps he would be willing to stay tied to the Brewer organization and help with the development of talented, healthy arms.

[Invader3K]

I thought Peterson signed a two or three year deal?

[Patrick425]

Do you have some inside information that Macha is leaving? It' wouldn't surprise me if he does, but you make it sound like it's already been decided and made public.

[Never Outhustled]

 

I realize that this is a bottom line business, and therefore Peterson will be walking out the door with Macha in early October.

Peterson's job is not in jeopardy in any way, shape, or form. Has a Brewers pitcher starting pitcher under-achieved? Attanosio has already put the blame of our pitching woes squarely on the shoulders of the man who deserves it, Doug Melvin. Peterson is one of the strengths of this organization.

[hawing]

If Rick Peterson's approach is such a sea change for the organization, I wouldn't expect an instant turnaround in the pitching fortunes, and would like to see him get more time than just 2010 to implement the changes.

[logan82]

A lot of the things Petterson supposedly implemented were already in place. That is why he signed with us. I am not sure if his job is in jeopardy but I don't think he deserves to much credit either.

 

Has a Brewers pitcher starting pitcher under-achieved?

 

Has any pitcher improved?

[dadofandrew]

I think he has a 3 year deal. They could pay him to run the system if a manager has a Duncan like relationship with a coach, but I assume he'll stay as part of the agreement.

[BrewCrewForever]

I feel confident that Peterson will stay if Macha stays or goes. As a matter of fact it would not surprise me if Peterson is the only guy on the staff kept around. The only other two I could see are Sveum and Sedar. I think Peterson has been pretty good and with a few more talented pitchers could be very good. It seems the organization has really bought into his theories and the bio mechanics stuff.

[Sage]

I feel confident that Peterson will stay if Macha stays or goes. As a matter of fact it would not surprise me if Peterson is the only guy on the staff kept around. The only other two I could see are Sveum and Sedar. I think Peterson has been pretty good and with a few more talented pitchers could be very good. It seems the organization has really bought into his theories and the bio mechanics stuff.

Precisely my thoughts. Peterson is probably the one guy we can (almost) guarantee will not be fired this offseason. Consider, also, how bad the Brewers would look for firing a guy after one season or less at a coaching position two years in a row (the "or less" comes from firing Bill Castro last season).

[owbc]

Peterson is very likely to stay around. I think he has helped our pitchers improve, but his real skill is helping them avoid injuries which will not show up statistically for a few years.

 

As I have previously stated, I believe our defense is significantly dragging down the pitching staff.

[trwi7]

Ken Rosenthal (take with a huge grain of salt) says it's uncertain whether Peterson will return.

[MNBrew]

I realize that this is a bottom line business, and therefore Peterson will be walking out the door with Macha in early October.

Peterson's job is not in jeopardy in any way, shape, or form. Has a Brewers pitcher starting pitcher under-achieved? Attanosio has already put the blame of our pitching woes squarely on the shoulders of the man who deserves it, Doug Melvin. Peterson is one of the strengths of this organization.

Man, X, you sure don't miss any opportunity these days to blast Melvin as the root of all evil, do you?

 

I, for one, think you're totally off. On just one point in support of Melvin, you can't make good pitchers want to go somewhere they don't have any interest in being. How's Melvin supposed to do that? Overpay? That's half the rest of that problem already. What was Melvin supposed to do while the minor league cupboard of certified ML-ready talent was grossly understocked going through the winter?

 

Shoot, Randy Wolf's body of work since June (minus that terrible bullpen-saving Pirates outing) is quite impressive. Given the fixes Peterson helped bring about, that signing's looking to be pretty solid. And that can help change the a good part of the view on Melvin's "success rate" last winter -- especially in proportion to the money spent on Wolf's deal, which now should hardly look like a total waste.

 

I also give Melvin good credit for seeing the pitching problem across the organization, realizing & then implementing the necessary steps to begin fixing the problem system-wide. Like what Dean Taylor first inherited as GM or Yost as manager -- it's NOT an easy or instant fix. But this new organization-wide approach to pitching sure seems to have a much better chance of fixing the problem than of perpetuating past issues.

 

I don't care for Macha, but I don't think Randolph, Sveum, or especially Peterson should be going anywhere. Sedar & Fischer? I'm not sure I really care. But especially w/ Peterson, systemic & philosophical change takes time to affect proof in the form of results. Changing directions in the form of a 3rd pitching coach in 3 years would seem downright dumb.

[Never Outhustled]

Man, X, you sure don't miss any opportunity these days to blast Melvin as the root of all evil, do you?

Is it really a big leap of faith to blame a GM for losing teams?

And by the way, where did I blast him? I simply pointed out that the owner put the blame on him.

I, for one, think you're totally off. On just one point in support of Melvin, you can't make good pitchers want to go somewhere they don't have any interest in being. How's Melvin supposed to do that? Overpay? That's half the rest of that problem already. What was Melvin supposed to do while the minor league cupboard of certified ML-ready talent was grossly understocked going through the winter?

Gee, he could maybe trade for a pitcher. He hasn't traded for a single pitcher in over 2 years. Pretty unbelievable for a team that new it was in a pitching crisis since the day CC signed with the Yankees.

 

Give Peterson some power arms to work with, then evaluate him.

 

I also give Melvin good credit for seeing the pitching problem across the organization, realizing & then implementing the necessary steps to begin fixing the problem system-wide.

I would too if he would have done it 7 years ago. Waiting 8 years into his tenure seems a little too late.

[Nottso]

I'm pretty down on Melvin myself. When Dean Taylor was hired, he said "The big club will not win in 2 or 3 years. The entire organization is in a shambles, and needs to be rebuilt from the bottom up" (or words to that effect). Many of us were ecstatic. Finally we had a guy that was willing to tell it like it was, and take the proper steps to fix it. Of course, when the big team wasn't winning within a couple of years, Taylor was shown the door. But in that short time, our farm system had gone from being one of the worst in all of baseball, to being pretty darn good. Melvin inherited a pretty decent farm, with what appeared to be a plan for success already in place, yet here we are 8 years later and we're still scrambling for starting pitching.

 

I realize that every pick doesn't work out, and that pitchers are probably the biggest "crap shoot" of all; but we seem to be struggling with this big, gaping hole throughout the system, and have been for a number of years now. The small/mid market thing means we absolutely have to develop our own players, with the occasional trade such as Sabathia, or big-ticket free agent signing to make a push when the opportunity presents itself. Over-paying for aging free agents is never going to be a good plan. I'm okay with Wolf thus far, but others have been disastrous. Suppan, Davis, Riske, Gagne, Hawkins, Hoffman to a degree, etc, etc, etc, on and on and on.

 

Now we've drafted a lot of pitching, which is needed, but will we now experience a drought in home-grown position players? How many times will this pendulum swing back and forth before we achieve some kind of balance?

 

I'm not looking to debate Taylor vs Melvin as GM, but if my memory is right Taylor did do an excellent job with the farm. Of course, my senility has been acting up lately, so maybe I'm remembering it all wrong. If I am, I'm sure I'll be corrected (and gladly).

[Invader3K]

Taylor definitely laid at least some of the groundwork for when Melvin took over, so you're correct in that, Nottso.

[Thurston Fluff]

And by the way, where did I blast him? I simply pointed out that the owner put the blame on him.

 

That would be the same ownership that has said he's doing a good job and has proven himself to be a good GM correct?

I suspect Peterson will get more time to get things straightened out. He's the right fit for what the organization as a whole is doing and the pitchers could use some stability after 4 pitching coaches in three seasons.

[logan82]

Now we've drafted a lot of pitching, which is needed, but will we now experience a drought in home-grown position players? How many times will this pendulum swing back and forth before we achieve some kind of balance?

 

We don't have any Fielder level bats in the system but we have several guys who should at the very least be average hitters in the majors. Lawrie and Gamel should be ready very soon but it looks like there is a year or two gap after those two.

 

We would have some kind of balance right now if every top pitcher, other than Gallardo, taken over the last 6 years had not been delayed or flamed out for one reason or another.

[thebruce44]

I realize that this is a bottom line business, and therefore Peterson will be walking out the door with Macha in early October.

Peterson's job is not in jeopardy in any way, shape, or form. Has a Brewers pitcher starting pitcher under-achieved? Attanosio has already put the blame of our pitching woes squarely on the shoulders of the man who deserves it, Doug Melvin. Peterson is one of the strengths of this organization.

I'd love to see a link where Attanasio says, or even implies, that our pitching problems rest squarely on Doug. Or are you just projecting your feelings onto someone you know little about?

[kramnoj]

I think the closest thing Attanasio has said, and really the strongest thing he can say publicly while still supporting Melvin is "The organization has been offense-driven. There has been a reticence to gamble on pitching (by trading regular players). We have to come up with an answer." http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/101731208.html

[uwisfan]

I'm not really worried about minor league position players right now. I mean, the only time the org has had to go out and spend real money on a position player via draft/trade in the past 5 years was to get a CF. Prior to that, they've had to dip in quite a bit and have been routinely subpar in doing so.

 

First, anyone getting drafted next year would reach the majors between 2 and 5 years from time of draft.

LF Braun has 5 years left

C Lucroy - 6 years

CF Cain - 6 years

SS Escobar - 4 years

3B/1B McGehee - 4 years

3B/RF Gamel - 6 years?

RF/1B Corey Hart - 3 years

2B Brett Lawrie - 6-7 years

 

So, most of our positions are covered for the next 6 years already, and the few that arent are still locked up for at least 3 years. Right now, there isnt room for major-league ready prospects as we saw with Gamel this year and Escobar the year before.

 

By the time we need someone to fill the next openings, they might not even be in the org yet because it is so far away.

 

Looking at the minors (beyond Gamel & Lawrie), I think there are several that should develop into MLB starters by the time they finish with the Brewers (though some will be blocked & traded). Some candidates:

- Kentrail Davis

- Khris Davis

- Scooter Gennet

- Erik Komatsu

- Cody Hawn

- Angel Salome

- Luis Cruz

- Taylor Green

- Logan Schafer

- Cutter Dykstra

 

There is no sure-fire allstar on that list like a Fielder or Braun, but there should be legitimate, cheap starting talent somewhere in that group

[logan82]

First, anyone getting drafted next year would reach the majors between 2 and 5 years from time of draft.

SS Escobar - 5 years

3B/RF Gamel - 5 Years

I don't think these guys are going to be starters.

- Angel Salome - Maybe if he was still a catcher but I am not sure he has a future with this organization. I think his best hope is to get picked up by another team. He passed through waivers earlier this summer.

 

- Luis Cruz - career minor leaguer. He is already 26 and will be 27 before the start of next year. This year was his bes MiLB season and he only hit .309/.414/.723. I think he makes Escobar look like a slugger.

 

- Taylor Green - I hope he develops but he seems too have stalled. Mostly because of injuries. He just asked to be tried out at catcher. I think he has been passed up by other players.

 

Some of the other guys you listed are not even above A+ ball and it is just to early to tell yet.

[WestSideWillie]

for making the post-season with the Texas Rangers. In Milwaukee, the Brewers went from 13th in the National League in ERA in his first season to second at 3.85 in 2008. He had done wonders with Texas----For $50k or so more, Attanasio could have kept him and who knows what could have happened. As such, Brewers went cheap with Bill Castro, then over-paid for Peterson. Peterson was also interviewed for the Rangers job at that time. I doubt if Cy Young could've gotten anything out of Davis, Suppan, Hoffman and Hawkins, even with his cyber workouts. Considering where some of the pitching came from: Kameron Loe from the Japanese Minor Leagues, Kintzler from Independent A ball, and scrap heap pickup Marco Estrada, maybe I should ease up and consider Peterson a miracle worker. No coach has been able to get much from Manny Parra, DeFelice, Villanueva. Well, Congrats to Mike once again, good luck in the post-season for him and the Rangers, he is a class act.