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

[Sage]

Well, I have no life, so I decided to put together a potential coaching staff, should Bobby V become our next manager. What I did, was I went through all of his previous coaching staffs and took the guys who I thought would be the best for certain jobs (age was a huge factor, since most of his previous coaches are in their mid 60's to early 70's xD). So, here's what I came up with:

 

Manager: Bobby Valentine

Bench Coach: Mookie Wilson

Hitting Coach: Dale Sveum

Pitching Coach: Randy Niemann (if Rick Peterson ends up being fired or whatever)

1st Base Coach: Dave Engle

3rd Base Coach: Juan Lopez

 

Yeah, that's what happens when I get bored lol

[MNBrew]

I was told that Attanasio has been attending to an important matter and hasn't had time to reconvene with GM Doug Melvin and assistant Gord Ash, making it impossible for a decision to be made.

 

 

Ugh, we have a meddling owner. Even if you don't think Melvin is a good GM he should still be making decisions about who is hired as the manager.

Is your opinion of Attanasio really that narrow & negative that you'd see his having some input in the managerial hiring as being a sign of him being a meddler?

 

The problem we had for so long, esp. after Bud officially became Commissioner, was that the ownership seemingly did so little. Now we have an owner who's a bit more active. But active & meddling aren't the same thing.

 

Logan, you may have other reasons behind your opinion -- and it's an opinion you're perfectly entitled to -- but I just don't see Mark A. as a meddler.

[AJAY]

Saw these two notes from Tom Haudricourt in the "comments" section of his latest blog post . . .

 

 

(1) Doug Melvin is backing Bobby Valentine but he needs Mark A. to sign off on it. That means Valentine has to be considered affordable, which could be a point of contention. We might see how bad Valentine wants to manage. If he is offered the job and tries to break the bank, it won't happen. If he is offered the job and is reasonable with his salary demands, it will happen. Obviously, none of the other three candidates would quibble over salary. They'd just be happy to get the job.

 

(2) Valentine is not using a representative, so you can forget the conspiracy theory that he is playing word games about talking to the Brewers. I'm not saying that Valentine will not be the Brewers' next manager. But I can guarantee you he has not been made an offer yet that is being kept secret.

[thumperden]

Well, this is encouraging info for Valentine supporters like me. Although, I'm not holding my breath. I really think he's the right guy for the clubhouse as well as on the field. The press will love his quotability, but perhaps not his volatility. He would definitely keep things interesting.

[AJAY]

Nothing major, but the NY Post also had a little blurb . . .

 

The

Brewers have done a lot of background work on Valentine and have

interviewed him twice -- once in New York and once in Los Angeles -- a

sign of how serious they are about hiring Valentine.

 

 

[1992casey]

Test post

 

Mods, please don't hide this. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[1992casey]

Test post.

 

Mods, please don't hide this. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Patrick425]

Saw these two notes from Tom Haudricourt in the "comments" section of his latest blog post . . .

 

 

(1) Doug Melvin is backing Bobby Valentine but he needs Mark A. to sign off on it. That means Valentine has to be considered affordable, which could be a point of contention. We might see how bad Valentine wants to manage. If he is offered the job and tries to break the bank, it won't happen. If he is offered the job and is reasonable with his salary demands, it will happen. Obviously, none of the other three candidates would quibble over salary. They'd just be happy to get the job.

I like this line of thought. I hope it's true.

[Invader3K]

I agree, Patrick. The Brewers have built up some leverage for themselves, in that they have three other well regarded candidates on hand if Valentine isn't serious about working for a reasonable salary

[Baldkin]

How much is too much to pay for a manager?

 

15 mil over 3 years? Way too much.

I'd even say, 10 mil over 3 years is way too much. That's at least 7 million that could be better spent on the product that's on the field... or, to put it another way.... that would be cutting the team's payroll by about 3.5%.

[Patrick425]

How much is too much to pay for a manager?

I think it depends on the market and the manager. If other teams are offering a manager $3 or $4 million per year, then maybe he's worth that much. I have not heard any reports of this in regards to Valentine.

[Invader3K]

That's at least 7 million that could be better spent on the product that's on the field... or, to put it another way.... that would be cutting the team's payroll by about 3.5%.

So you are saying you would pay a manager no more than $1 million per year?

I still don't think about $3 million a year is that much. Maybe MLB managers are just underpaid compared to their counterparts in other sports.

 

[RockCoCougars]

I'd even say, 10 mil over 3 years is way too much. That's at least 7 million that could be better spent on the product that's on the field... or, to put it another way.... that would be cutting the team's payroll by about 3.5%.

Yeah, that $7 million could go a long way toward signing an impact player like David Riske for three years (about half his contract) or LaTroy Hawkins for two.

[GAME05]

lets just bring Jerry Royster back. if managers shouldn't be paid much then we won't be getting the best ones. or, if they truly don't make much of a difference, wouldn't we therefore have no right to criticize Yost or Macha for any moves they make?

[logan82]

I'd even say, 10 mil over 3 years is way too much. That's at least 7 million that could be better spent on the product that's on the field... or, to put it another way.... that would be cutting the team's payroll by about 3.5%.

Yeah, that $7 million could go a long way toward signing an impact player like David Riske for three years (about half his contract) or LaTroy Hawkins for two.

People keep bringing up bad signings. You guys do realize we have signed good players for that kind of money too. Cherry picking a couple injured guys and trying to prove your point is pretty weak.

[RockCoCougars]

People keep bringing up bad signings. You guys do realize we have signed good players for that kind of money too. Cherry picking a couple injured guys and trying to prove your point is pretty weak.

Melvin has a much better track record with scrap heap pickups than he does with these $2 to $5 million per anum guys. Let him stick with the cheap guys instead of wasting money on the open market. Anyone should have known that Riske was a stupid deal when it was made, as was Hawkins. You don't give multi-year contracts to aging middle relievers. I was strongly opposed to the Riske deal and mildly opposed to the Hawkins deal (at least it was only two years). The bullpen should be cheap this year, take a couple million of the savings and get a decent manager, as opposed to wasting 2 or 3 million on some thirtysomething reliever with middling stuff coming of a career year .

[Menace II Sobriety]

Melvin has a much better track record with scrap heap pickups than he does with these $2 to $5 million per anum guys. Let him stick with the cheap guys instead of wasting money on the open market. Anyone should have known that Riske was a stupid deal when it was made, as was Hawkins. You don't give multi-year contracts to aging middle relievers. I was strongly opposed to the Riske deal and mildly opposed to the Hawkins deal (at least it was only two years). The bullpen should be cheap this year, take a couple million of the savings and get a decent manager, as opposed to wasting 2 or 3 million on some thirtysomething reliever with middling stuff coming of a career year .

I think it can be argued that the Hawkins signing was much worse than the Riske signing. Hawkins was overkill with a good bullpen with plenty of young talent coming up in the near future. Hawkins was supposed to be the 7th/8th inning guy but many assumed other players would assume that role. To me the Hawkins signing was more about a few extra million to spend and a guy willing to come to Milwaukee.

 

With Riske he was lights out before he signed. I would like to see how at the time before the recession when older players were still getting huge paydays anyone knew it was a bad signing.

 

2001	CLE	26	0	2	0	1	0	3	0	0	27.1	20	7	6	3	18	29	1.98	1.39	.206
2002	CLE	51	0	2	2	1	0	5	0	0	51.1	49	32	30	8	35	65	5.26	1.64	.257
2003	CLE	68	0	2	2	8	5	17	0	0	74.2	52	21	19	9	20	82	2.29	0.96	.196
2004	CLE	72	0	7	3	5	7	9	0	0	77.1	69	32	32	11	41	78	3.72	1.42	.240
2005	CLE	58	0	3	4	1	0	0	0	0	72.2	55	28	25	11	15	48	3.10	0.96	.208
2006	BOS	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9.2	8	4	4	2	3	5	3.72	1.14	.222
2006	CWS	33	0	1	1	0	1	2	0	0	34.1	32	16	15	4	14	23	3.93	1.34	.246
2007	KC	65	0	1	4	4	4	16	0	0	69.2	61	19	19	8	27	52	2.45	1.26	.240

He put up great numbers in the AL, and signed on to a team that we thought was going to be a contender for years to come. At the time he could have been the piece to the puzzle that pushed this bad bullpen forward.

 

I agree that paying Bobby V the money is worth it if management deems fit. 1 or 1.5 million extra a year will not stop this team from signing a single player in the near or long term future of this team. Mark A. wants us the fans to forget about the last 2 years this team has put up and focus on the future. Over the tenure of his ownership it would be a small investment to keep the fans from losing faith.

[GAME05]

hasn't Valentine been around baseball for more years than LaRussa? that would mean he knows more about 'class' than St. Louis does.

[logan82]

If Melvin is making so many terrible choices why would we want to give him less leeway to make mistakes?

[RockCoCougars]

I didn't say that Melvin is making all terrible choices, but like Sal Bando, his track record for picking up mid-level or 'bargain basement' ($5 million or less per) free agents is pretty pathetic. You get what you pay for with guys like Riske, Looper, Davis, Hawkins, Kendall, Zaun and the like. Off the top of my head, the only two such signings that I can think of that panned out nicely were Hoffman (year 1) and Counsell (second stint, year 1). That said, Melvin deserves many props for bringing guys out of no where like Axford, Turnbow, Podsednik, Clark, Davis and Kolb (the first time), McGehee, Loe, etc. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough like that out there, especially in the bullpen. The Brewers have a long history of finding very good players as non-roster invites (Seitzer, Fletcher, Doug Jones, Randolph, Kapler, Cirillo, Edmonds just to name a few) Why waste money on multi-year deals for mediocrity in November/December? Wait until February, pick up a few non roster invites that fall through the cracks and see if any of them stick. The point that I'm trying to make is do you want Valentine as the manager or a cheaper guy, using the savings to pay a $2 million free agent like Zaun or Counsell? I'll take Valentine in a heartbeat

[crewcrazy]

I agree with logan that just because Melvin has made some bad signings with that type of money doesn't mean Attanasio should just take it away from him. Also, that's money that could be better used in the areas of player development, draft signing bonuses, or international signing bonuses. When you're a team like the Brewers, neglecting those areas would outweigh the benefits of getting someone like Valentine to manage the big league club at a premium price.

[TheCrew07]

I saw a quote from Melvin stating that Valentine is, "Very eager to get back to managing." I think all this talk that he is reluctant to come back is a bit suspect. He did interview with both the Marlins and Orioles earlier this year. Those instance just didn't work out for whatever reason.

And why would you be taking Doug Melvin's word on anything? That looks like typical PR spin to me.

[Invader3K]

Well, it doesn't really matter either way, does it? I'm sure Bobby Valentine, if he has any interest in coming to Milwaukee whatsoever, is putting on his best face for the Brewers during conversations.

 

Anyway, with the World Series being over, I wonder how long until we hear an official announcement on this.

[BrewCrewForever]

I think we will know who the Manager is by the end of this week.

[JohnBriggs12]

Hiring "name managers" sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn't.

 

Lou Piniella didn't do anything for Tampa Bay and though he got the Cubs to the playoffs for 2 years, how did that end up?

 

My concern is that Valentine would be more a marketing tool for a team that's a tough sell than anything else. The last time the Brewers tried marketing the manager was 1993 after the team lost Molitor and Bosio to free agency. They had Garner doing ads saying how 2nd place was not satisfying etc. How did that work out?