Dale Sveum Death Watch

[endaround]

Another scoreless game means that its time to fire the hitting coach! I think that Sveum has 2 games to hope the Brewers come around or his return to Milwaukee will be to pack his stuff.

[logan82]

Probably true. Not really his fault but there needs to be a lamb.

 

I want to make very clear I hate making moves just to "shake things up." It gives many fans a warm fuzzy feeling but I feel really accomplishes nothing.

[PrinceEatMeat]

If it continues, we have to do something to turn things around. That could be the move. I just wonder who would be brought in to replace him.

[DougJones43]

I really think all we really need is a guy who stresses hitting the ball up the middle and to the opposite field.

 

Oh wait...

[pitchleague]

But the players love Dale, don't they? Maybe they'd all revolt and just bunt every AB until Dale is returned to power.

 

Seriously, I thought of this as well tonight. It's starting to get to the point of a closed door meeting, a players-only meeting, the dreaded "vote of confidence", or someone getting the axe. This has just been a terrible road trip and, really, a terrible start to the season. Statistics be damned, it's been terrible to watch as a fan.

[bill hAll Star]

One of these days we'll stop shuffling the deck chairs on the titanic and fire Melvin.

 

McGehee is an average to above average at times hitter that is cold (he does this fairly often). Hart is much of the same but coming off injury.

 

However, Boggs/Almonte/Reed, Betancourt, and Gomez have never been very good hitters in their career and they can't even seem to work a pitcher out a bit when he's hot. Kotsay's got an OK bat for the deep bench but he's a statue in RF.

 

I'm not going to include Nieves in the above statement because I won't call what he does "hitting".

 

In his "go for it" year, I would have much preferred Renteria, Punto, or Orlando Cabrera at SS. Plush/Gomez...if Plush was healthy I would have taken it but I still would have preferred finding a guy with a reliable bat out there. That said, I won't chastise Doug too much for that especially since he got Plush.

 

If Sveum goes, maybe we have a little hot spurt because of the fire lit...but overall I don't see it doing much difference.

[AJAY]

I just think the Brewers need two more Jeff Cirillo or Fernando Vina type of hitters in the lineup. I know the stats people love OPS, but I still think it is important to have at least a few high average hitters who make pitchers work and are tough outs. In my opinion, that adds a lot to the offense and makes it more efficient.

 

I can't prove it statistically, but I just feel like the Brewers hitters don't complement each other well in terms of their hitting styles. Weeks, McGehee, and Hart all seem to be of the same mold, but we don't have anyone who reliably sets the table for Braun and Fielder.

 

It has always been my personal belief that Doug Melvin can spot individual talent, but he doesn't have a good feel for how players compliment each other and fit together as a unit. Something always seems off with this team every year, and I am getting a little frustrated.

[bill hAll Star]

AJAY, I don't think anyone is going to complain about a Vina, Cirillo, or (I'll add this one) Loretta. Yes, most of us on here are OPS guys, but a big part of that is OBP. I agree (without looking at stats) that Vina, Cirillo, and Loretta could all work the pitcher. But you know what else? They could all get on base, too. I'd love any of those 3 guys in the 2 hole. We'd have a plethora of extra runs this year from the 2 guy being on base for Braun or Fielder.

 

I don't think anyone disagrees with that assessment even if they are OPS guys, AJAY. Having simply OBP guys is just fine when you've already got some pop in your lineup. And being able to work the pitcher goes hand-in-hand with those OBP numbers usually. Always a great bonus. The Yankees roster outside of their sluggers are filled with these guys and they basically just try to KO a pitcher via pitch count if they can't slug him to death.

 

Those guys are all around .360 in their careers, and that is excellent. That's 70 points higher than Yuni and Gomez.

[DHonks]

endaround, I like the topic...coming from you, shouldn't this be in blue???

 

Seriously, I fully agree with AJAY. The teams of the 90s with Nilsson, Cirillo, Vina, and Loretta were capable of collecting 2 hits each on any night. It seems like we have a team full of Jose Valentin's or Jeromy Burnitz's. We could use a couple of hitters in the mold of those guys...plus, they were all (except Nilsson) plus defenders.

[Invader3K]

Sveum was a great hitting coach last year, and now suddenly he should be fired? I know this topic is probably somewhat tongue in cheek, but stilll...yeah, I don't think Sveum should be fired.

[JET15]

Sveum has got to go out and perform a massive slump buster for the team. No question

[owbc]

Not Sveum's fault at all. But firing someone who has been with the franchise for so long and has said repeatedly how much he loves being in Milwaukee would really "shake things up". And not in a good way.

 

Ultimately, the 2010 Brewers are failing because they had too many guys miss Spring Training, there are too many "bad" hitters in the lineup, and the defense is terrible. They gave away too many games when they were play well, and now they can't even get close to a win when they are slumping.

 

I surely hope for the sake of the franchise that things get better soon. Specifically, they absolutely have to win a game either today or Sunday, otherwise the Greinke home debut is setting up to be one of the most embarrassing home games in franchise history considering the hype for it back in March.

[PKBadger]

George Webb predicts that the Brewers will lose 12 in a row.

 

If this happens, burgers cost 2x normal price.

[Thurston Fluff]

Seriously, I fully agree with AJAY. The teams of the 90s with Nilsson, Cirillo, Vina, and Loretta were capable of collecting 2 hits each on any night.

 

Yea those guys lead some great teams to great records.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif I get what you're saying but the first two treads I read today I saw pining for the 90's Bando years and Macha. This is going to be a better season than those years. We are in a slump. In the last few years the team fired how many hitting coaches, pitching coaches, first base coaches, and third base coaches? Not to mention three managers. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is not sane. Nor does it help win more. I know fire Melvin. That will solve it all. It won't. Not until we stop the change for the sake of change, or the proverbial shake things up, mantra's will we be different than the Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

To address the actual point of hitters Gamel is going to be a nice addition sometime soon.

[RockCoCougars]

Sveum isn't going anywhere. He's outlasted two regimes already, and I don't think that this brief funk will cause his ouster.

 

By the way, those 90's teams were pretty stocked offensively. Especially when Seitzer, Vaughn and Jaha were there. Too bad that Eldred got hurt and Ricky Bones was the ace (and I use that term loosely) of the pitching staff for a few years.

[Thurston Fluff]

I agree. Those 90's teams had every bit as good an offense as we do now. I still have not forgiven Garner for destroying Eldred.

[greeg35]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/121440619.html

 

 

Sveum chimes in

[DuWayne Steurer]

I think this would have to go on for months, and I also think it would require players complaining about Sveum for him to get fired at this point. As ugly as it is, this past week slump is a result of 2 things.

 

1.) A few guys having down weeks.

 

2.) Having a lineup that routinely includes 2 or more guys who OBP below .300

 

When you have guys like Gomez, Nieves, Betancourt, etc, etc, getting regular playing time, that only compounds the offensive woes if some of your regular thumpers go into a slump. Sveum isn't going to change that.

[alwz4gbp]

But the players love Dale, don't they? Maybe they'd all revolt and just bunt every AB until Dale is returned to power.

 

Seriously, I thought of this as well tonight. It's starting to get to the point of a closed door meeting, a players-only meeting, the dreaded "vote of confidence", or someone getting the axe. This has just been a terrible road trip and, really, a terrible start to the season. Statistics be damned, it's been terrible to watch as a fan.

He got the dreaded vote of confidence yesterday. RR mentioned that Dale was doing a good job and sending the hitters to the plate with a good plan and good scouting of the pitchers they'll be facing. This is just gettin ugly. Not even fun to watch.

 

[dlk9s]

Not Sveum's fault at all. But firing someone who has been with the franchise for so long and has said repeatedly how much he loves being in Milwaukee would really "shake things up". And not in a good way.

I agree with this. Plus, from what I've heard, the players really like Sveum. It would not be good for morale if he was fired at this point. I suppose that maybe, possibly, his firing could be a kick in the butt to the offense in the "Oh my god, Dale was fired...nobody is safe so we'd better start playing better" sense, but I doubt it.

[RightFieldCoder]

The problem is that all of the players are safe. None of them is going to lose a dime or a day of work from their current contracts. I don't see how firing a coach does anything but make the other coaches desperate for a win. Desperate enough to do nutty things.

[brewmann04]

I think we need hitter who can hit ,the Hitting coach is overated this is the Major leagues. If Braun and Prince stay in a slump this team will sink faster than the Titanic.