The Brewers' Next Manager; Latest -- Valentine may have inside track to the job; Cora, Melvin, Roenicke also finalists

[Sage]

@Ken_Rosenthal

Keep hearing Bobby Valentine is finalist for the #Brewers, along with Bob Melvin and Cora. But would Brewers pay V? And would he go? #MLB

 

That was Rosenthal's tweet. Let's not be taking it out of context. The only person who has mentioned Bobby V as the 4th finalist lately is Tom H, so that's probably where Rosenthal "keeps hearing" that Valentine is a finalist. I highly doubt that it's true. There is simply no way that this would be kept quiet for this long.

[crewcrazy]

And Rosenthal's success rate on rumors isn't exactly high, either.

 

I wouldn't be opposed to the idea if he came, but the extra money you'd have to throw at him probably wouldn't be worth the marginal improvement he would provide.

[owbc]

I'm sure Mark A. would love to have Valentine, but does he really want the job? Is he going to give it 100% or jump ship when a better job pops up in a few years?

 

In terms of pure managerial skills, Valentine probably isn't the best choice, but if he can bring much needed national attention and free agents, it will be worth it.

[DannoMac21]

I would love to have Valentine. I'm hoping for either Valentine or Roenicke...I'll be very pleased with either.

[greeg35]

I talked briefly with FoxSports' Ken Rosenthal at World Series media day today and broached the possibility with him that Valentine is in the running for the Brewers' job. We agreed it would be difficult to keep that quiet but it can't be completely discounted until we hear otherwise. And I see that Rosenthal later tweeted that he keeps hearing Valentine's name pop up, so he might have picked up additional info. I also talked with some ESPN folks who couldn't discount the possibility.

 

 

That's from Handricourt's blog. Sounds to me like Rosenthal saying Valentine's name keeps "popping up" could be referring to his conversation with Handricourt about Valentine...seems like it could be a self-contained rumor (probably the best way to start a good one!). Not that it couldn't be true; but I'm not buying my Valentine jersey yet.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I would love Valentine. I'm starting to like this list a lot. Melvin would be a let down at this point though. The other 3 finalists sound a lot better to me. I'm just afraid that this will get me too excited, and I will be disappointed when Melvin is inevitably hired.

[brewmann04]

I agree Bobby V would be the guy the Mark A would be looking to make a major step in bringing some big name to the Crew. However he still need melvin to get him some Pitching.

[thumperden]

Just trying to have fun, John Briggs. I am heartened by the fact that the Brewers have been proactive, deliberate, and thorough in their search. Regardless, of whom the manager ends up being, they all appear to have attributes that can help fit to the team's strengths.

 

Out of the four candidates, I think Bobby Valentine will sell more tickets and that certainly can't be discounted as a hiring factor, considering the market size and attendance drop off last season. I don't think any of the four will be a bad hire.

[bacon06]

I can't take anything Ken Rosenthal says seriously because of that half smirk he constantly wears. Is he kidding or telling the truth? I can never tell.

[brewmann04]

I will be a bit disapointed if now Bob Melvin get the Job here over Bobby V.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I will be a bit disapointed if now Bob Melvin get the Job here over Bobby V.

I'll be a lot more than disappointed. I'll be furious. I wouldn't mind Cora or Roenicke though. That would maybe be slightly disappointing if Bobby V actually is an option, but I don't know how realistic that is, so I couldn't be mad.

[PrinceFielderx1]

What kind of a manager in Valentine? Does he stress small ball and fundamentals and situational hitting. Is he an aggressive manager? How does he compare to Ken Macha? I don't know much about him.

[brewmann04]

he a guy that i remember that does not take crap and gets best out of his players

[Gore21]

Hey, long time lurker here. I live in central Wisconsin and have been watching the Brewers since 02 when I first got satellite. Been lurking long enough that I was watching live when Brewerfan.net was mentioned on ESPN News because everyone got excited by the 24-10 start (tied with Boston for best in MLB) back in 07 and everyone said we should trade for ________ (big time players). I'm a Brewers, Bucks, Badgers and 49ers fan but football is my passion. I am excited to watch the Bucks this year though. Hopefully they can finish in the top 5 in the East and at least make it to the second round.

 

Anyways, can you make polls on these forums? If you can someone should make a poll with what manager you want.

Bobby

Valentine

Bob Melvin

Joey Cora

Ron Roenicke

Other - wanted someone who isn't a finalist

 

I'd really like to see what the board's thoughts are.

[Gore21]

Valentine

has told folks he was very impressed with the Brewers people but isn't

necessarily expecting to get the job. Foxsports.com first reported

Valentine was a finalist.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/10/26/valentine.brewers/index.html?xid=CBSSports#ixzz13XFKkOK7

[Principessa21]

It doesn't seem Bf.net allows polls right now. There would be an option when you start a new thread. I would post the question in the Issues and Events section.

[1992casey]

Per member request, I'm adding this poll to this topic.

[1992casey]

Anyways, can you make polls on these forums?

 

Mods can create polls. I've added one to this topic's lead.

[Invader3K]

If these four are what we are actually down to, I don't have a major beef with any of them. I know many here don't like Bob Melvin, but I'm not really that adverse to him becoming the next manager. I guess I basically think most baseball managers are the same, and only amount to a difference of maybe 2-3 wins per season. I really don't see Melvin coming in and being somehow so terrible that he's sinking our season. It doesn't matter anyway unless the starting pitching improves significantly. Roenicke and Cora both seem like good options; but then again, I don't know how much stock you can really put into either of them right now. It's not like either is a proven MLB manager with a track record.

 

I think I would like to see Valentine get the job, just for the hype and excitement it would bring back to the Brewers; but I'm still skeptical. This just seems to be Haudricourt and Rosenthal confirming each other's guesses. Not a lot of "juice" behind these reports yet.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wow, really... I'm the only vote for Melvin so far. I knew I'd be in the minority, but man.

[Gobias Industries]

Wow, really... I'm the only vote for Melvin so far. I knew I'd be in the minority, but man.

I'm quite surprised you'd want Melvin. I always thought you thought all retreads are pretty much the same.

[RockCoCougars]

I think managers/coaches have a big impact on a team's performance. Love him or hate him, but do you think that some of those Cardinals teams in recent years would have been nearly as good with Macha and Castro as opposed to LaRussa and Duncan? That's an extreme example, but even if you feel that managers make only a 2-3 game difference per season, think about how many teams fall 2 or 3 games short of the playoffs at the end of the year.

[thumperden]

If all things are relatively equal as has been suggested here (2-3 wins) among whomever is the manager, it would seem to be a prudent investment to get the guy who'll bring more excitement to the table and run more people through the turnstiles. That person is Bobby Valentine. Oh yes, and he's another Texas Ranger reference too. How convenient...

 

When is the decision date on this hire? After the World Series I suppose?

[TGJforPrez]

Can some on here explain their disdain for Bob Melvin? I am not saying that he would be my pick, but from the research I did on him, he was was liked by his players in Arizona. I also just found a scouting report by Keith Law on their match up against the Rockies in the NLCS a few years back and he wrote "Bob Melvin knows how to manage his 'pen in close games, so it's on the starters to keep the games tight." This I find to be one of the most important roles of a manager. And I the manager doesn't affect team performance a lot, but he took two average Diamondback teams to the playoffs including an NLCS birth (including sweeping our hated rivals down to the south of us).

[TooLiveBrew]

Wow, really... I'm the only vote for Melvin so far. I knew I'd be in the minority, but man.

I'm quite surprised you'd want Melvin. I always thought you thought all retreads are pretty much the same.

I think most managers (not just retreads) are pretty much the same. Iirc there are a couple/few comments in the thread that people who know DBacks fans say that the AZ fans tended to like Melvin, and that he was a good in-game guy.

 

Valentine is an intriguing hire, but I know nothing about his managerial tendencies. I looked through his past teams & where they sat relative to their league(s), and couldn't get a feel for how small-ball he is, etc. I really have no problem at all with Valentine, but ideally I'd rather have a guy get hired because he's actually a good manager, not just because he's entertaining or funny. I'm not claiming I know Valentine isn't a good manager, just saying that all I know about him so far is the wrapping paper, and not the contents. With Melvin, there's at least something to point at him being a good choice, strategically.

 

Plus DHonks's comment back in the A.J. Hinch gets fired thread has always stuck with me, assuming that since Hinch replaced Melvin, Melvin was not of the "frat boys... running the show" down in AZ. Hah, actually in re-reading that thread, there are two specific comments that state that he loves the sac bunt & that he's a terrible in-game manager. *Sigh* Oh well.

 

At least I can safely say I really don't know much about any of the potential hires. I do trust that Doug won't hire a small-ball guy, since that's been an emphasis of his to avoid. Hopefully he doesn't break from that now. It really sounds like Roenicke is a small-ball manager, and I have my suspicions that Cora would be too. But all I can really go on are assumptions at this point.