Ken Macha won't be back - option for 2011 not picked up

[Rightomac13]

TH is reporting that sources have told him Macha's option will not be picked up.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/104246488.html

[azcheesehead]

Not his fault entirely. It's hard to polish a turd.

[Point Beer Is Best]

His option isn't being picked up, so he wasn't "fired" but he won't be back nonetheless.

[RockCoCougars]

Not his fault entirely. It's hard to polish a turd.

I disagree, and think that your analogy of the team is a little off. Basically, Macha inherited a playoff team and put out two mid-90's Garner-esque type records- with twice the talent, mind you. You can cry and pout about losing Sheets and Sabathia, but he did have at least one legit pitcher in the rotation in Gallardo. Though some here appear to relate to and enjoy Macha's stoicism and game strategy, I get the feeling that he lost this clubhouse very early on. I'm not even going to go into how poor this team was on fundamentals.

[Funketown]

Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later. I wonder who the next manager we can complain about will be...

[azcheesehead]

RockCo-

 

How many GMs get to pick THREE managers? Melvin handed him two TERRIBLE rotations. The bullpen is less than mediocre. Thus, the turd comparison. His position players did their jobs for the most part. I think he handled the young players pretty well. Don't you agree that he faced a constant uphill battle in his two years with bad pitching? You highlight it perfectly when you say that he had ONLY ONE legit pitcher in Gallardo. How is a team supposed to be consistent with ONE LEGIT PITCHER in the rotation?

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

This is a great day for Wisconsin.... next up, time to axe Mr. No Pitching and get a real GM

[brewmann04]

wonder any word about the staff hope Fischler gets show the door.To say Macha didn't do enough wonder how many guys would have done better with this rotation.

[thumperden]

I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. There are many teams with openings after this season, and without the owner spending the money to get a big-name skipper, it's a possibility that the Brewers may have to settle for a manager with fewer credentials than Macha. I'm not sure I like this situation at the moment, unless they have their sights on somebody already that they think they can acquire.

 

This is certainly a huge story if true. I can see why they'd not pick up the option, but again, this is a cause for huge concern in my opinion.

[Hofbraunhaus]

This isn't really surprising but it makes me very happy.

[Weirdos19]

The main problem I have is the lack of motion on the bases. We may have the fastest team in the NL and we did nothing to steal or even move runners.

 

Amazing that we have zero pitching and the offense is the first complaint from me.

[JimH5]

I can't think of a compelling reason to bring him back. . .but until they name a replacement, it's an incomplete transaction.

[Fatter than Joey]

We may have the fastest team in the NL and we did nothing to steal or even move runners.

 

Including getting on base -- our speed demons didnt do a good job with the OBP.

[Yeti73]

The initial reaction to "who to bring in next" would be that Willie is well-liked and knows the team well. This team isn't that far away and 2011 is a big year, so it may not make sense to bring in a whole new regime. That said, I don't know how much cred Dale or Willie has after being a part of the previous regime.

[craigharmann]

In other news......Brett Favre is old. Seriously, though, happy to see the Macha experiment done. Good luck to DM in finding the right guy. Probably his last hire.

[Blindcheck]

I would not be opposed to hiring a younger manager without a track record...Surround him with solid Baseball men and see if he can light a fire under this squad.

 

it seems to me that this team plays better when they are fired up...but often seemed to tak a business like apporach to the game, which doesn't fit the players we have personality.

 

I think we need to bring in a manager thar relates to the players and brings out their peronalities....i think the right manager could get a lot out of Gomez, for example...

[LouisEly]

http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/d5f256f9dd8b333419ecc1269b06812926803e5.gif http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/1ed15b9a8d3e15c8adce582459023e9a7997d6c.gif

 

 

Macha lost the clubhouse a long time ago. You could see it in their non-verbal cues that they were going through the motions. You'd be surprised how much motivation influences performance.

 

Hopefully they will bring in someone who will stand up for his players when needed as well as hold them accountable for their performance/mistakes.

[hawing]

I think we need to bring in a manager that relates to the players and brings out their personalities....i think the right manager could get a lot out of Gomez, for example...

It did feel like Ken was anti-swagger, for lack of a better term. This might line up decently with my own personality, but did not fit the players'. I'm not saying I need to see daily shockwave celebrations, but when there is a personality gap seemingly from the start...I think it didn't help matters.

 

I know swagger and confidence and clubhouse atmosphere aren't quantifiable, and maybe winning leads to swagger instead of the other way around, but something about the tone of the team changed under Macha and I don't think he helped matters. I appreciate some of what Ken brought to the Brewers, but in the end I don't think he was a good match for this team.

 

I agree with JimH5, though - I don't want to judge the decision until we know who's taking Ken's place.

[logan82]

Meh, big deal. The next guy is going to suck as well. We are probably going to get stuck with another "baseball guy" who will manage pretty much the same as Macha.

 

 

i think the right manager could get a lot out of Gomez, for example...

 

I don't. Gomez has no plate discipline despite getting only sporadic playing time each of the last 2 years. It is up to Gomez to improve and he has shown no signs of doing so.

 

Basically, Macha inherited a playoff team and put out two mid-90's Garner-esque type records- with twice the talent, mind you. You can cry and pout about losing Sheets and Sabathia, but he did have at least one legit pitcher in the rotation in Gallardo.

 

Macha was stuck with no starting pitching for 2 years. The only guy he had that pitched well was Gallardo. The rest was chaff. Macha didn't inherit a playoff team.

[Blindcheck]

Gomez is generally the type of ball player that I despise...however, he is one of the guys on the team that can create havoc on the bases and change an individual game...He can distract pitchers, steal bases, etc...and just disrupt the focus of the pitchers on the other teams...

 

I do think he can improve his plate discipline...but it will take a manager that penalizes him when he loses focus at the plate and goes away from his game plan at the plate.....You can't keep running him out there and expect him to change...

[homer]

If Gomez can't play for Gardenhire, then who is he going to play for?

[tomwopat]

Is Ned Yost available?

[RockCoCougars]

Macha was stuck with no starting pitching for 2 years. The only guy he had that pitched well was Gallardo. The rest was chaff. Macha didn't inherit a playoff team.

True, but Macha filled out the lineup card didn't he? If so, he was the one who started Jeff Suppan 30 times last season. He was also the one who let Capuano rot in the bullpen for about two months as well this season. Going further, no one put a gun to his head, earlier this season to stubbornly keep going to Hawkins and/or Hoffman in April and May when it was clear they were not able to get the job done. Guys like McClung and Villanueva were doghoused and buried for doing much less damage.

 

Mind you, I'm not absolving Melvin of guilt in this fiasco either. Due to pulling the team out of the mess that Dean Taylor created, he's earned one more season in my view. It's put up or shut up you're gone next year

[TooLiveBrew]

He was also the one who let Capuano rot in the bullpen for about two months as well this season.

 

The guy coming back from his second TJ surgery. I don't hold this against Macha in the slightest.

[logan82]

do think he can improve his plate discipline...but it will take a

manager that penalizes him when he loses focus at the plate and goes

away from his game plan at the plate.....You can't keep running him out

there and expect him to change...

 

Gomez has just over on seasons worth of PA(665) over the last 2 seasons. I know he was injured but as of right now, he hasn't changed his approach despite 2 different managers making him sit the bench for a good portion of the season. The only penalty that might get through to him would be a demotion to AAA.

 

If so, he was the one who started Jeff Suppan 30 times last season.

 

Considering we didn't have 5 guys who were clearly better than Suppan, that isn't something we can really hold against Macha. Might as well blame him for Looper while we are at it.