Pollyanna Ronnicky

[Ennder]

Oh yeah that does bring back to mind how awful Macha was at baserunning. Yes running into outs is awful but just never running at all when you have a relatively fast team is just as bad. You need to find the proper balance.

[3and2Fastball]

In general I think Roenicke is OK. If he hadn't started Kotsay in CF in a playoff game I might even like him. He makes some moves that are head-scratchers but nearly every MLB manager does that over the course of a 162 game season. I think his hands have been somewhat tied due to the player personnel decisions made by Doug Melvin.

 

My favorite Brewers manager in recent memory was Ned Yost and even though Yost made perplexing decisions regarding the bullpen and pitching in general, I loved his intensity and I think a credible argument can be made that Yost was better than Sveum, Macha & Roenicke

[fondybrewfan]

I have no problems with RR at all. In comparison to the likes of Macha and Yost I much prefer RR's style. His hands are tied a bit at the moment given the injuries but he seems to have managed the circumstances pretty well. He, like all managers from time to time, has some questionable in game calls.

 

His entire bullpen has basically sucked for two straight years now; there isn't much a manager can do if he has basically zero trustworthy options out there. Its Melvin's job to actually get him some talent back there. I think he has been been dealt some awfully crappy pitching and he has done what he could. His offenses have been pretty good and I like his aggressive baserunning style even if he does squeeze a little too much.

[Ennder]

In general I think Roenicke is OK. If he hadn't started Kotsay in CF in a playoff game I might even like him. He makes some moves that are head-scratchers but nearly every MLB manager does that over the course of a 162 game season. I think his hands have been somewhat tied due to the player personnel decisions made by Doug Melvin.

 

My favorite Brewers manager in recent memory was Ned Yost and even though Yost made perplexing decisions regarding the bullpen and pitching in general, I loved his intensity and I think a credible argument can be made that Yost was better than Sveum, Macha & Roenicke

 

I agree with a lot of this but not the Yost part. Yost would make moves that aren't just head scratching but if you gave me a list of 5 plausible moves you could make and asked me to rank them he'd still pick #6 which is so outrageously bad that I never even considered it. Things like bringing in a guy we are using as a LOOGY to face a RHB etc. I will generally be pretty lenient with manager moves because we rarely know the full story and most moves are pretty razor thin when it comes to right or wrong, but Yost consistently made moves that I thought were the only clearly wrong move you could make.

[logan82]

Macha would be good for a good team but is a cancer on a bad team. RR seems like he is a good manager for a team that is losing quite a bit.

 

There are options on the roster to Yuni and Gonzalez at 1B now. No real reason to start either there. At the very least platoon Yuni at 1B with Lalli.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

Nah, Hitman_Hart, if you knew me from back when I had been posting actively, you'd know how much I hate ESPN and ESPN types like Valentine. i would prefer someone who knows the game inside and out is well-respected like a Tom Kelly, or a Jim Leyland type.

 

Ronnicky seems more concerned with staying the course and appearing calm and playing the game the right way like a sportsman and all that crap - even if it's at the expense of winning the championship. I truly believe that.

 

Without sounding like a douche and please don't take this the wrong way those of you who are of this faith, but is Ronnicky like hard-core Christian or something? It could explain a lot...

[Kelbysdaddy]

Roenicke is a really average manager.

 

Macha was a completely tool when it came to the actual managing of players, there is more to the job than the on field part and he completely failed at the rest of it.

 

Yost was just awful at the in game part.

 

Roenicke is easily the best overall manager we have had in the Braun era.

Macha > Roenicke

WHAT??? Macha was the worst manager the brewers have ever had. He had no clue what the strengths of that team were. He had no guts AT ALL. I used to get so mad watching him just stand in the dugout with that stupid smug look on his face. I can only remember him arguing anything like 3 times. He didn't understand his team and had no desire to figure them out. He was total garbage. I think roenickes problem is that he is too cautious for the style he wants to play. He has also given guys too long a leash due to what they can do, instead of what they are doing (ax,weeks,nyjer). A team like these brewers needs a gutty, scrappy coach. Someone like Bob melvin would be great with this team

[JimH5]

Nah, Hitman_Hart, if you knew me from back when I had been posting actively, you'd know how much I hate ESPN and ESPN types like Valentine. i would prefer someone who knows the game inside and out is well-respected like a Tom Kelly, or a Jim Leyland type.

 

Ronnicky seems more concerned with staying the course and appearing calm and playing the game the right way like a sportsman and all that crap - even if it's at the expense of winning the championship. I truly believe that.

 

Without sounding like a douche and please don't take this the wrong way those of you who are of this faith, but is Ronnicky like hard-core Christian or something? It could explain a lot...

 

 

A little tough to "not take that the wrong way." This isn't the place to denigrate any religion.

 

I also wish Roenicke would show some other emotion other than the golly-gee-whiz one which seems to constantly come from his interviews. I'd like to see him rip someone once in awhile, but it's early May, and he's got to be with those players for 5 more months, so I can see why it might be best to not get fiery. I don't know of any manager who goes off on his team this early in the year.

 

He reminds me of Tom Trebelhorn with his attaboy optimism. Sometimes I wish we had a grouchy old coot, but maybe that's just because I am one.

[Invader3K]

I still can't believe some are romanticizing Ken Macha's tenure as Brewers manager. I felt like he didn't maximize the teams' talents (the base running issues that have been mentioned) and he obviously completely lost the team towards the end.

 

As far as Ned Yost, my biggest problem with him was that it seemed like he managed the game based more on what he hoped his players would do, rather than what they could reasonably be expected to do. I can't remember how many times we'd see a pitcher with a high pitch count, and two outs, and obviously out of gas. Yost would sit there and leave him in to get lit up, just hoping he'd figure out a way to miraculously get out of it so he wouldn't have to use a reliever at that point.

[LouisEly]

Well, it's a long season. If you have too many blowups this early in the season the team will tune you out. Like others have said, it isn't RR's fault he has to choose between Yuni/Gonzalez/Lalli at 1B, RR isn't the one constantly swinging at pitches down and outside of the zone, and RR isn't the person walking the #7/#8 hitters. He isn't perfect, but his hands are tied a bit. You can't lose Ramirez and Hart for most of the first 5 weeks and expect to put a lot of runs on the board.

 

While I was an early member of the Axford bandwagon in his minor league days, my question is this - who is responsible for making the ultimate decision about whether he is sent down, RR or Melvin? The injuries to Gamel/Hart/Ramirez/Green/Narveson have caused a 40-man roster crunch, but Axford has two options left - why isn't he sent down to figure out his stuff? Sanchez is on the 40-man and could easily take his place for a few weeks.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

Jim H

 

How many years have you "Internet-known" me? We go back to the Fastball.com days. Don't I get a benefit of a doubt?

 

I meant, even after my disclaimers, that maybe Ronnicky was too GOOD a person. Ned Flanders is an example. Great guy. But maybe he's not willing to go all LaRussa/Billy Martin, opting more for sportsmanship and kind words and whatnots over the killer instinct profile

 

Have I ever come close to denigrating a religion here? Ever before? And which religion did I specify? NONE! Because it doesn't matter which one. Go ahead and use "spiritual" then.

 

C'mon...

[nate82]

Macha was horrible and was worse than Yost. Mat Gamel being where he is today is thanks to Macha. Macha was just not a good manager I doubt he would have played Segura at all last year and would have him platooning with Gonzalez or Bianchi. Macha was bad with the Brewers and he was bad with the A's.

 

The problem with this team and last years is that there is no leadership on this team at all. Weeks has become the annointed leader after Prince left and Braun really hasn't stepped up to be the teams leader. Braun is very much like David Wright both are great players they are just not the types to lead a team. This is normally something that is not all that important in baseball but this team has no one that is going to get after another teammate.

[danzig6767]

This team is giving me cancer.

 

I am so damned sick of ****** like Pete Kozma, Shane Robinson and Daniel Descalso standing on top of the plate, with ZERO chance of getting brushed back, because Ronnicky's pitchers don't do that sort of thing of course. I'm not calling for throwing at these .200 hitters. But as Freese and Furcal did in the 2011 NLCS, once they can relax and extend their arms across the plate at any pitch, they're in charge.

 

And after the game what does Ronnicky say today? "We didn't play bad all 4 games"

 

Those same Cardinals hitters lit up Texas in the World Series, especially Freese.

[TooLiveBrew]

I realize people may disagree with and even hate some of his strategy & managerial decisions... but if there's anything Roenicke isn't, it's stupid/a doofus/etc. He's a bright guy, and I hate seeing that kind of hyperbole thrown around after a bad run of results.

Roenicke a bright guy? Lol. I've watched just about every Brewer game since he's been the manager and the guy is a grade A moron.

That's the kind of exaggeration that makes this kind of discussion unpalatable. If you think he's a moron, I don't think you understand what that word means.

 

If you think he sometimes makes bad or terrible decisions, I can't say I disagree with you.

[JimH5]

Jim H

 

How many years have you "Internet-known" me? We go back to the Fastball.com days. Don't I get a benefit of a doubt?

 

I meant, even after my disclaimers, that maybe Ronnicky was too GOOD a person. Ned Flanders is an example. Great guy. But maybe he's not willing to go all LaRussa/Billy Martin, opting more for sportsmanship and kind words and whatnots over the killer instinct profile

 

Have I ever come close to denigrating a religion here? Ever before? And which religion did I specify? NONE! Because it doesn't matter which one. Go ahead and use "spiritual" then.

 

C'mon...

 

 

Indeed, Geno. I've internet-known you a long time and was delighted to see you back here. You're a smart and funny guy. You write interesting and thought provoking posts, and I enjoy seeing what you have to say. This isn't going to change that.

 

I just thought I read into your post that Roenicke bugs you by being a wuss, and you were questioning if his faith had anything to do with it.

 

To me, it seemed weird to see you preface your statement with, "not to be a douche about it, but. . ." and then follow it up with something that sounded to me to be douchey. Like wondering if a hardcore Christian was unable to do an effective job at managing a baseball team. And that was what set me off.

 

A sidenote. . .there was a thing in the paper today about some Milwaukeean working with the cast of The Book of Mormon, which I understand to be a very funny musical. It just dawned on me how mean-spirited it is to mock other people for having a different spiritual view than my own. So I think I read your post with that sense of guilt/enlightenment, etc. bouncing around in my head.

 

But enough of the God talk. Let's get back to more bad stuff about Ron.

 

I heard he doesn't even sing in church! He just mouths the words!!

[adambr2]

No matter what anyone else says about Roenicke, I'll never get over the starting of Kotsay at CF in the NLCS. It was unforgivable. He tried to get too cute, and he paid the price. I don't think people fully appreciate how bad of a decision it was to start Kotsay in CF.

 

I'm not going to call him a moron or anything, but I will call him stubborn. I don't think he can be convinced that there are better ways to do certain things than the way he does them.

 

He's a good clubhouse manager. He's another Yost. I don't know what makes him better than Yost, aside from having more talent on his teams.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

I was thinking about it and I think a Terry Francona type would be good for the Brewers. A Bob Melvin type would be good for the team as well. I don't think his lineups are bad. I do question his management of the pen at times. Even then it's not that bad. But the most annoyning thing about him is his love of the bunt. I don't want to see good hitters like Aoki and Segura bunting. Those are guys that you let swing away. I am fine with his squeeze attempts. I just think he should use them a little less, that way it is more surprising. What I just flat out can't stand about him is his lack of fire. I don't like that he doesn't back his guys up against an umpire. I don't like that he's stubbornly loyal to players. Axford and Weeks should have been demoted by now. I think he's average. He's not bad but he's not good either. His stubborness will lose you some games, but he's capable of winning you some. I'd give him a C grade. It's just my preference that the team hires a manager with some fire in him. I don't want a hardcore fiery Bobby Valentine type. That is too much. I just want a manager that knows when to fire up the players and yell at an ump and when not to. RRR is the extreme of passive. RRR is a like grandpa. He's calm and passive and doesn't like to yell. Our manager is a grandpa

[Thurston Fluff]

Is there a law stating manager complaints are mandatory every time the team struggles for a week? It just seems to predictable not to be mandatory.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

Can I also ask why we always hire managers with no major league experience?

 

Given our tiniest TV market and finite resources, in 2011, we got a once-in-a-generation collection of talent. A limited window of opportunity. And i just can't get past the notion that, in the NLCS, a veteran manager would have dug in against the umps with their bizarre strike zones, against the bullying, brush-back/bean-balling LaRussa, and argued a call or 2. Could have changed the series

 

But no. We only have championship talent before they leave Milwaukee for more money, every 20 years or so and we entrust this rare convergence of talent to a timid rookie manager

 

Maybe in 2031 or so, when we're 95-100 win caliber again we'll have a tough aggressive manager to close the job