Melvin and Roenicke Get Extensions

[PrinceEatMeat]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/150659935.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

 

Well deserved for both in my opinion. Melvin through 2015, and Roenicke through 2014 w/ option for 2015.

[monty57]

Funny, I thought they signed extensions in the offseason. I must have just been remembering a story that said Attanasio was discussing extensions with them.

[3and2Fastball]

If that means that Melvin will build for the future a little bit instead of every season being "all in/win now" then I'm all for it. The last thing we need in this particular season is Doug Melvin thinking this is his last year and then "really going for it" at the Trade Deadline

 

Read the writing on the wall Doug and be a seller in July, get us some great young players for the future

[patrickgpe]

yeah well deserved. Also gives RR some insurance if this season continues on the current path that he doesn't have to manage for his job.

 

Its very rare in these days that a team would keep the same GM for 13 seasons if Melvin finishes this deal, a very good testament to what he has done to this franchise.

[fondybrewfan]

Echo the sentiments that both are well deserved.

 

Melvin has struck a good balance of being in Win Now mode while also keeping significant members of the team around long term. To date he hasn't traded a minor leaguer that amounted to anything (Lawrie might be the first).

 

RR seems to be a great leader/motivator and has developed his in game managing quite a bit over his first Year +.

 

This season has started out a little rough; but with all the injuries and terrible performances there isn't a whole lot RR or Melvin can do at this point. Just ride it out and hope the likes of Weeks, Morgan, Aram, Gallardo, Wolf, Etc just figure it out

[3and2Fastball]

I cannot really blame anything from this season on Roenicke & Melvin because of the injuries. I still think McGehee for Veras was an amazing trade. I'm pretty annoyed that Izturis is all we have at SS now, Melvin really rolled the dice on that one and came up (literally) empty.

 

I agree that they both deserve extensions.

 

I find it amusing/ironic that a few games after Ron Roenicke realized that the Catcher didn't have to be permanently attached to the #8 slot, he received a contract extension! I know the two aren't related, but it'd be pretty funny if they were...

[chadomac]

I'm sure the brass didn't expect to announce these extensions during a time when this team is absolutely awful.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I cannot really blame anything from this season on Roenicke & Melvin because of the injuries. I still think McGehee for Veras was an amazing trade. I'm pretty annoyed that Izturis is all we have at SS now, Melvin really rolled the dice on that one and came up (literally) empty.

 

I agree that they both deserve extensions.

 

I find it amusing/ironic that a few games after Ron Roenicke realized that the Catcher didn't have to be permanently attached to the #8 slot, he received a contract extension! I know the two aren't related, but it'd be pretty funny if they were...

 

I can't fault Melvin for only having Izturis as backup SS. There just weren't many options out there. He didn't wanna overpay for a backup. Can't fault him at all for that. If a better backup SS would've been out there for a reasonable price he would've signed him. Just wasn't there. Obviously there's a lot of people here that will argue that he should've kept Hairston, but I'm not one of them. He just wasn't worth that kind of money, and he likely wouldn't have come back anyway because LA offered more playing time.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I'm sure the brass didn't expect to announce these extensions during a time when this team is absolutely awful.

 

Yeah, it ended up being really bad timing, but they had been working on it since ST. Didn't really have control over when it would get done. Oh well. At least it's some good news at this point.

[monkeyman343434]

I think the Roenicke extension is horrible. He has shown no signs of giving younger guys a shot at all. How is a team like the Brewers going to be successful when the manager won't play the young/cheap guys?

 

I'm also a bit skeptical of Melvin at this point. Going into the season with Gonzalez the only real SS anywhere near the MLB roster was just plain stupid, especially when the two infield bench players were Ishikawa and Izturis. If he was going with Gonzalez at SS, why wasn't a guy like JHJ brought back, who could actually fill in at 3b/ss/2b with a decent bat? I understand he signed a 2 year $6M deal with LAD, but if you're going to role the dice on a 35 year old SS, why not bring in another 35 year old with a bat to back him up. Also, could have then not signed Aramis and let him and Green get the ab's at 3B. Oh wait, we have a manager who won't play young players.

 

Sorry for the rant, but I do not like how Roenicke manages and don't like how it seems Melvin and him aren't on the same page with players and playing time with some.

[monty57]

If that means that Melvin will build for the future a little bit instead of every season being "all in/win now" then I'm all for it. The last thing we need in this particular season is Doug Melvin thinking this is his last year and then "really going for it" at the Trade Deadline

 

Read the writing on the wall Doug and be a seller in July, get us some great young players for the future

 

Exactly, I don't think it was coincidence that Melvin set up the team to (presumably) be at it's best during the final two years of his career, and then fall off a cliff. With this extension, Melvin has to at least look beyond this season, which may allow him to realize that trading Greinke, Marcum, K-Rod, etc could be a better move than holding them and losing them at the end of the season.

[logan82]

I think the Roenicke extension is horrible. He has shown no signs of giving younger guys a shot at all. How is a team like the Brewers going to be successful when the manager won't play the young/cheap guys?

Agree with that. He tinkers way to much with the offense. I also think he is terrible at judging non-star level talent.

 

I am not sure I would have signed either to an extension. I would have wanted to see what Melvin did this coming offseason before signing him to an extension.

[jerichoholicninja]

Melvin yay.

Roenicke nay.

[Ennder]

I'm fine with both, it really doesn't matter what the team does if it doesn't win 100 games a year people are going to complain about them and most of the complaints are going to be about things that aren't realistic in the first place. We have a team that expects to be over .500 every season, I don't remember having that feeling any time in recent history. Sure we could probably find better guys but we could find much much worse guys too.

 

I'd probably rather wait on Roenicke just because he hasn't even put in a year and half yet but don't really have a huge issue with it either.

[yfinn6]

I'm fine with both, it really doesn't matter what the team does if it doesn't win 100 games a year people are going to complain about them and most of the complaints are going to be about things that aren't realistic in the first place. We have a team that expects to be over .500 every season, I don't remember having that feeling any time in recent history. Sure we could probably find better guys but we could find much much worse guys too.

 

I'd probably rather wait on Roenicke just because he hasn't even put in a year and half yet but don't really have a huge issue with it either.

 

Exactly.

 

There are always going to be people out there who want a different manager.. until they watch every game he manages and then will want someone else because that manager brought in the wrong pitcher, started the wrong player, etc. Not sure how many managers took the Brewers to an NLCS before RR (I think it was one) but apparently RR doesn't get a pass. I don't really understand it. Would you rather see Taylor Green get some more starts? Sure. Every team has decisions like this to be made but we just don't see it like we do with the Brewers because we pay so close attention.

 

RR is doing fine. He's got the team on his side and by all accounts he's got his players' backs. He doesn't trash them in the media.. he stays calm yet isn't totally clueless like many thought Yost was.

 

Remember wanting Bobby V? He lost his team in about the first two or three weeks. No thanks.

 

*edit for color - I know it was only one, and we all do, too.

[FVBrewerFan]

With the talent they had last year most any High School baseball coach could have taken this team to the NLCS. Almost no injuries, just not many decisions to make ever day. In fact, the biggest decisions he had to make were mistakes. 1)Stuck with McGehee all year. and 2) Messed up the starters in the NLCS. Now it may have not made a difference in the end, but we'll never know.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think RR is horrible, clueless, or worthless. At the same time I don't think he should be given an extension until he proves he can produce in less than ideal conditions. Like this year for example.

[yfinn6]

With the talent they had last year most any High School baseball coach could have taken this team to the NLCS. Almost no injuries, just not many decisions to make ever day. In fact, the biggest decisions he had to make were mistakes. 1)Stuck with McGehee all year. and 2) Messed up the starters in the NLCS. Now it may have not made a difference in the end, but we'll never know.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think RR is horrible, clueless, or worthless. At the same time I don't think he should be given an extension until he proves he can produce in less than ideal conditions. Like this year for example.

 

Always one of my favorite responses in a thread about managers whether on this site or another.

 

Terry Francona won a World Series with Boston yet couldn't get them into the playoffs with a roster that had arguably more talent than the Brewers, or most in baseball for that matter. At what point do we give a manager credit for keeping a team positive during the slumps as well as keeping them level-headed during a hot streak?

 

Who else besides McGehee were on the 25 man roster? Counsell? Gamel was playing everyday in AAA as he should have been and Taylor Green was too. Once Hairston was acquired we could argue he should have been played more, but wasn't RR playing the best cards he was dealt?

 

My point is that every team has holes, AAAA position players/pitchers and the manager is going to play the best players he's got. The roster construction issues should be put on Doug Melvin, but he gets a pass while RR doesn't.

[1992casey]

In addition to the extension, Doug got a promotion. He's now "President of Baseball Operations and General Manager."

[PeaveyFury]

I am not sure I would have signed either to an extension. I would have wanted to see what Melvin did this coming offseason before signing him to an extension.

 

As Melvin's contract ended at the end of this season, you wouldn't have gotten that chance.

[Oldcity]

Seems like Roenicke is a good manager in all the areas fans can't see. I don't like his in-game managing at all, namely all the godforsaken bunts, but it's hard to say which is more important. I preferred Macha's game strategy to Roenicke's by quite a bit, but I wouldn't want Macha to manage over RRR. Doesn't seem to do much good to have a manager the players dislike.

[yfinn6]

Seems like Roenicke is a good manager in all the areas fans can't see. I don't like his in-game managing at all, namely all the godforsaken bunts, but it's hard to say which is more important. I preferred Macha's game strategy to Roenicke's by quite a bit, but I wouldn't want Macha to manage over RRR. Doesn't seem to do much good to have a manager the players dislike.

 

You said it better than I was able to.

[The stache]

My chief complaint with Roenicke to this point has been his lack of flexibility when it comes to the lineup. Our offense is sputtering along because the top of the order has not been producing. More specifically, the people in front of Ryan Braun in the lineup have not been getting on base. Weeks and Morgan are both batting below .200, and their OBPs are in the very low .300s. I am not calling for Weeks to be benched, but he should be dropped down in the order until he finds his stroke.

 

It is far too early to gauge the long term implications of losing players like Lawrie, Cain, Odorizzi, etc. I am quite happy we won 96 games, and a playoff series, and I realize that we wouldn't have gotten there without Greinke and Marcum. If we are able to sign Zack, then I think the trades will have been worth it, regardless of what those prospects end up doing. Any time you can add a former Cy Young winner, somebody just now entering his prime, you do it. If it turns out that we lose Greinke, I will not be happy.

 

Melvin must now work on restocking our minor league talent. Last year's draft was a good first step, and now we have some solid young pitching on the way with Peralta, Thornburg, Jungmann and Bradley, among others. The positional players, specifically shortstop, need to be addressed soon.

[TooLiveBrew]

Melvin yay.

Roenicke nay.

I'm exactly the opposite.

 

I'm ready for Melvin's tenure as GM to be over, he just isn't a long-term builder, he's a win-now/patcher. He's gotten decent to good results with that style, but he's left the Brewers in a really bad position in doing so. I would've rather had a new GM be the one to come in & clean up this mess; I just fear Melvin will continue to make bad long-term decisions.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Melvin yay.

Roenicke nay.

I'm exactly the opposite.

 

I'm ready for Melvin's tenure as GM to be over, he just isn't a long-term builder, he's a win-now/patcher. He's gotten decent to good results with that style, but he's left the Brewers in a really bad position in doing so. I would've rather had a new GM be the one to come in & clean up this mess; I just fear Melvin will continue to make bad long-term decisions.

 

Are you forgetting that Melvin came in at the end of the '02 season, proceeded to clean up that mess he was given, and then build the team back up into a winner? Why can't he do that again if put in that position? I'm not sure it'll come to the point where a total rebuild is necessary, but he's shown he can build a winner. The win-now approach actually has a lot to do with Attanasio's influence. The guy loves winning. It's not all Melvin. I approve the win-now approach he's used the last few years. It got us the best season of my lifetime, and a deep playoff run. In the next few years I might think differently, but we'll just wait and see. There's talk that because Melvin was named President of Baseball Operations, that he'll be allowed to pick his successor. He would likely be GM until he decides to step down, and then pick his guy, and continue to stay in the front office. Attanasio really likes him, and trusts him to run things.

[TooLiveBrew]

Are you forgetting that Melvin came in at the end of the '02 season, proceeded to clean up that mess he was given, and then build the team back up into a winner? Why can't he do that again if put in that position? I'm not sure it'll come to the point where a total rebuild is necessary, but he's shown he can build a winner. The win-now approach actually has a lot to do with Attanasio's influence. The guy loves winning. It's not all Melvin. I approve the win-now approach he's used the last few years. It got us the best season of my lifetime, and a deep playoff run. In the next few years I might think differently, but we'll just wait and see. There's talk that because Melvin was named President of Baseball Operations, that he'll be allowed to pick his successor. He would likely be GM until he decides to step down, and then pick his guy, and continue to stay in the front office. Attanasio really likes him, and trusts him to run things.

Yes, I'm completely forgetting that.

 

I figured posting something like what I did would open this oh-too-familiar Pandora's Box. You can be both a huge Brewers fan & still believe the team would/could be better off with a different GM.