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

[RockCoCougars]

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.

We can blame him for start #30, which was unearned and a complete joke.

[PKBadger]

Hire Ryne Sandberg. Take a chance on a new guy, and piss off Cubs fans in the process = Win.

[SeriesFinale]

I really kinda liked Macha's calm, grandfatherly demeanor, which is the same reason why he wasn't a good fit for this team.

[thablingster]

Thanks for playing, Ken. Well, if nothing else he exerted his will into the very last game. Haudricourt reported Macha yanked Braun because he didn't run out a popout today.

 

I'd prefer the Brewers refrain from going to the well of baseball manager retreads, but we'll see what happens. This should be a very interesting offseason.

[brewizard]

From this article:

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AkDJ7LUi.V6UZb.B_RDbiSgRvLYF?slug=ap-brewers-macha

 

“He [Doug Melvin] said he’s sorry if I heard it on the radio,” Macha said.

 

Yet another classy Doug Melvin move. Doug, you are a truly awful GM. I can't believe how bad you are at dealing with your people. You have made it an organization wide problem.

 

I never liked Macha much, but whacking him via leaked reports on the radio? Classy!

 

Ugh! The way this organization has been run over the last couple years has made it very difficult to be a fan!

[Fatter than Joey]

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.

 

Gomez is what he is -- I don't think hiring the next manager should have anything to do with the hopes of improving Gomez.

[Invader3K]

A lot of the complaints about Macha just seem like nit picking in general. If he really did "lose the players," then I can understand letting him go. I also understand this move was inevitable.

 

That said, I don't think he did a bad job with what he was given. The starting pitching flat out sucked this season and last. No manager was going to make the playoffs with these staffs.

[WestSideWillie]

when an older manager wins, he is a "stabilizing influence", "maturity the team needs", veteran who has been

through "the ropes" such as Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, Buck Showalter, and Cito Gaston. When an older manager

loses, he cannot "connect", "communicate" or "relate" to the younger players. I think Macha's down side was over-rated

much like his up-side. I hope Mark A and Doug do not bring in the "usual suspects" and go out side the managerial box

and sign Pat Listach, Brewers rookie of the year in 1992 and now a third base coach in Washington.

[crewcrazy]

I do think Macha is better suited to a veteran team that doesn't need as much day-to-day attention or interaction, and I do agree that he was dealt a bad hand from the start. Yes, the team went to the playoffs the year before he took over, but the team he got was far from the one that won the wildcard.

 

The fact that the JS broke the story before Melvin could tell Macha shouldn't be held against the front office, in my opinion. It was just great reporting that got the information and got the story out before Melvin could make a call. If Macha felt wronged by it, I doubt he would still be going to his meeting with Melvin today.

[Invader3K]

I really doubt Macha was surprised at all.

[monty57]

Story's up on milwaukeebrewers.com. I like the quote that when Prince went out for his curtain call in the final game, Macha asked if he should go out too.

 

Good call by WestSideWillie that Pat Listach should at least be given a good look at managing the Brewers. I agree with the posters that say we need someone who will connect with the players, and I think Macha was bad at this, as was evidenced to me when he routinely threw his players under the bus to the media, and his comment that he didn't sit down to talk with his players until early on this season (as opposed to last season). When he first arrived, he was quoted in a "the players need to adjust to me, not the other way around" style.

 

I promised myself going into this season that I wouldn't let Macha upset me as much as he did in 2009, so I've turned a blind eye to him lately, but it is definitely time for someone else.

[craigharmann]

I think most of us could have broken the story sometime during the last few weeks. I doubt anyone, including Kent is surprised. Listach would be a good choice.

[Invader3K]

Why does everyone think Pat Listach would be good? I know he seems to be liked and used to play for the Brewers, but I'm not sure what qualifies him as a good MLB manager.

Macha with some of his own thoughts on his tenure, via Witrado: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/104276948.html Some interesting excerpts:

“When you sit down and build your club … you really got to compare your club to the other teams that have won,” Macha said. “How do we stack up with say St. Louis? We signed Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins. … Yeah we filled some holes, but are we on the same level with (Chris) Carpenter and (Adam) Wainright? So maybe the expectations were a little high but you still have to win.

“We lacked that No. 1 guy going out there. That’s my thoughts. If you could put someone at the top (of the rotation) and move everybody else down, you’d give yourself a much better chance to win.”

Macha also acknowledged his trying relationships with stars Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder while noting that several other players he had good relationships with thanked him after yesterday’s season finale, including Corey Hart, Casey McGehee and Wolf among plenty of others.

[Thurston Fluff]

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

 

Exactly. This is his third major league manager and none of them got different results than Macha. Gotta put it on the player there.

 

I thought he was consistent and for the most part handled the playing time well. I didn't start out liking him and never actually liked his style but am not willing to blame everything on him. The part I didn't like was how he handled the pitchers. He pulled the starters too early too often and tended to overuse particular relievers too often in stretches.

Overall in his two yeas he failed to get the team to play up to their projected potential so I agree he should be replaced.

[giffted1]

Yet another classy Doug Melvin move. Doug, you are a truly awful GM. I can't believe how bad you are at dealing with your people. You have made it an organization wide problem.

 

I never liked Macha much, but whacking him via leaked reports on the radio? Classy!

 

Ugh! The way this organization has been run over the last couple years has made it very difficult to be a fan!

There are a lot of valid criticisms of Melvin (free agent signings, trades), but I have no idea where this one is coming from. He may waste money on bad pitching, but he is all class.

[JoeHova]

Why does everyone think Pat Listach would be good? I know he seems to be liked and used to play for the Brewers, but I'm not sure what qualifies him as a good MLB manager.

I'm not saying I want him hired or anything but he was the PCL manager of the year in 2008 and had a winning record all 3 years that he managed in the minors (I'm not counting 2002 because I don't know how many games he managed that year when he apparently took over at some point). Here's his resume, he's been coaching/managing since 2000 (mostly in the PCL) and has been the Nationals' 3rd base coach the past 2 seasons.

[chuckiehacks]

Listach would be a good choice.

When is this organization going to stop celebrating 1992?

 

I'd like to see Listach at least get a look. Anything other than a re-tread at this point. This team leads a leader in the manager's office, there aren't really any vocal leaders on this team. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think it needs to be part of the criteria we look for in a new manager.

 

[bacon06]

http://brewersbeat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/10/macha_gets_moving_help.html

 

Macha appears to be a pretty stand up guy, he just isn't a good baseball manager.

[Invader3K]

Yet another classy Doug Melvin move. Doug, you are a truly awful GM. I can't believe how bad you are at dealing with your people. You have made it an organization wide problem.

 

I never liked Macha much, but whacking him via leaked reports on the radio? Classy! Ugh! The way this organization has been run over the last couple years has made it very difficult to be a fan!

 

Come on. This is just silly. Macha was not, "whacked via leaked reports on the radio." Macha's quotes don't seem to indicate Melvin handled him in an unprofessional manner at all. Here's a quote from Adam McCalvy's latest piece:

 

After the 45-minute sit-down, Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash helped Macha load up a rented SUV for the drive home to Pittsburgh.

 

"I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad sign," Macha joked. "Maybe they wanted me out of town. I thought that was pretty funny."

 

Yes, clearly Melvin was unprofessional, meeting with him for 45 minutes and then helping the guy move out. What a jerk.

 

Honestly, your post just comes off as bitter trolling.

[RockCoCougars]

I'm not very high on Listach. Maybe it's because I still have a bad taste in my mouth as to how badly he tanked as a player after he got the contract extension. I guess I don't see what he brings (outside of being younger) that Money doesn't. Money also has a great track record in the minors and knows many of the players.

[Invader3K]

I wonder why Money doesn't get mentioned more as a managerial candidate. Maybe it's his age, or maybe he would rather stay working with younger guys in the minors.

[craigharmann]

Why does everyone think Pat Listach would be good? I know he seems to be liked and used to play for the Brewers, but I'm not sure what qualifies him as a good MLB manager.

So, going with that logic, what qualified Ned Yost to be a manager? Or Macha even, for that matter. He was alright in Oakland, but nothing spectacular.

[RockCoCougars]

I'm not sure that I'd call Macha a 'stand up guy' after reading his parting words. Excuses, backhanded compliments..... and how many guys you can you throw under the bus in a few paragraphs? He's always came off as smug to me, and I'm glad he's packed the truck back to Pittsburgh.

[bjkrautk]

I'm not very high on Listach. Maybe it's because I still have a bad taste in my mouth as to how badly he tanked as a player after he got the contract extension. I guess I don't see what he brings (outside of being younger) that Money doesn't. Money also has a great track record in the minors and knows many of the players.

The suspension in the aftermath of the Nyjer Morgan - Marlins meltdown will probably make the interview process a bit more tricky for Listach, but he does have AAA managing experience, and he's done just about everything he can to qualify himself for a MLB manager's job.

 

 

Of course, the Brewers are finally ready to search for a manager now that my perennial candidate finally has a job. Buck Showalter actually got the Orioles to win more than they lost over the back ~ 60 games (34-23) in a very tough division. I'm sure Willie Randolph will receive an interview, since he's got managing experience and has worked with the current players as a coach. Regardless, it will be interesting to see who does get to interview for the job.

[BrewCrewForever]

I was not a huge Macha fan, but I don't think he did the worst job. I actually think overall his in-game managerial moves were usually well done. My problem with him was he did not seem to be able to get the most out of his players and get anyone to really overachieve. Also his handling of young players specifically Gamel was awful. It also doesn't bode well when your two best players don't get along with you very well.

 

I am not saying the Brewers should go out and get a big rah, rah guy. But someone with a little more personality than Macha might be a good thing for this team.