Ron Roenicke to return in 2014

[TURBO]

The Brewers announced that manager Ron Roenicke and his entire staff will return for the 2014 season.

 

In a difficult season that was mired by superstar Ryan Braun's suspension, and injuries to several key players, Roenicke did a nice job keeping the team together. It will be his fourth season at the helm of the Brewers.

 

Source: Danny Knobler on Twitter Sep 28 - 3:47 PM

[Invader3K]

I don't mind it, since the odds of finding someone better right now are probably low. Give him one more year to see what he does with a (hopefully) better performing overall pitching staff and suspension-free Ryan Braun.

[craigharmann]

Boo!!!!

[brewmann04]

Wow surprised all the coaches will be back

[pitchleague]

Just to be contrarian, YAY!

[MNBrew]

I think the hate for Roenicke on this site tends to spiral out of control. He's not perfect, quite obviously, but I like him as the Brewers manager and I'm quite glad he & his staff are returning.

 

I'm not a Kranitz fan, but I'm not convinced he's the problem re: the pitching. The rotation that was bad in the first half & especially putrid in May also was largely quite solid the entire 2nd half.

 

In the end, it's a boring result and mostly non-news to my thinking. There were many obvious issues with the Brewers in 2013, but I think a good 90-95% of the problem lies in injuries and players failing to execute what they've been well-taught (including a certain someone and his banned-substance episode).

[nate82]

Apparently Roenicke was to be fired at some point this season according to some posters here.

[JohnBriggs12]

Roenicke did a better job managing this team than he did with the team that won 96 games. He deserves to be back.

[logan82]

Like he was going to get fired with the built in injury excuse this year.

 

He is a bad manager but we are probably stuck with him until Doug is fired.

[JohnBriggs12]

I have a hard time understanding how a fan base that has endured Ned Yost and Ken Macha can really be that down on Roenicke. My biggest beef with him this year was thinking Alex Gonzalez was a viable option at 1B and I'm not entirely sure that was his idea. This team could have tanked and been ripped apart when Braun was suspended. They are above .500 since, in large part to Roenicke's deft handling of a roster full of unheralded rookies with a few veterans sprinkled in. They became a team that was better than the sum of its parts.

[TURBO]

For me, "because" we endured Ned Yost and Ken Macha, I expected better... I think he is the worst of the three, but my opinion is no secret to these parts.

 

Having to watch him at the helm of another season disgusts me, and ruins all excitement I have for the 2014 season.

 

Sticking with RRR makes me believe that MA and DM are happy with him, and that they think he does a good job, and are not willing to make an improvement for the better of the team and it's future. Spinning our wheels just plain sucks.

 

This is my last post on the matter...

[jerichoholicninja]

Vomit. Dale Svuem will probably be available and they stick with this crap.

[brewmann04]

I thin RR did a good job with all the issues but thought some of the coaches would have been let go. well they get another year to see what they can do,

[bjkrautk]

This team could have tanked and been ripped apart when Braun was suspended. They are above .500 since, in large part to Roenicke's deft handling of a roster full of unheralded rookies with a few veterans sprinkled in. They became a team that was better than the sum of its parts.

 

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on RRR. The organization pretty much threw in the towel on 2013 when all of the 1b went down in spring. Didn't / couldn't find a replacement for the heart of the lineup, they only ended up getting about a half-season out of their cleanup hitter in the other corner IF spot, and a lot of the SP they were counting on couldn't repeat their 2012 performances (Rogers, Fiers, early-season Peralta).

 

 

...then their All-Star outfielder was suspended for nearly half the season.

 

The 2013 Brewers weren't a great team, but it would have been so very easy after all of this to simply throw in the towel and play out the spring. Instead, a number of guys from the minor league system (which is not exactly highly-ranked) came up, played hard and mostly made the most out of their opportunities - Davis, Gennett, and Gindl specifically. It is admittedly damning with faint praise to say this team could have been so much worse, but better faint praise than none at all.

 

(Rightly or wrongly, I also give RRR credit for allowing Gomez to develop into the hitter that Carlos wanted to be rather than trying to shoehorn him into the leadoff-type his speed would suggest.)

[Fear The Chorizo]

I have a difficult time pinning the Brewers' failures in 2013 on Roenicke - in fact, I'd think both Roenicke and Melvin are now tied together, and how 2014 goes will have alot to say about whether they both stay or go after next season. I'd say the team's struggles were more Melvin's fault that Roenicke's - Ron can't fill a lineup card out with competent corner infielders if Melvin doesn't give him any to choose from. The injuries to Hart, Gamel, and Ramirez stunk, but so did Melvin's plan to fill those positions when it became obvious those injuries were long-term issues. The Braun distraction was just icing on the cake, because those injuries and the pitching injuires/inconsistencies during the season's 1st half had already cratered the season.

 

I think the team will need to improve at the big league level and more importantly the organization needs to show growth/potential in the minor leagues, or Melvin will be on the hot seat. I'm not sure what his contract status is, but Mark A. may want to urge him into an early retirement if next year gets off to a poor start at all levels of the franchise.

[reillymcshane]

I want Roenicke to do the following:

 

- Stop bunting so friggin' much. We give away way too many outs with bunts. There's a time and a place for it, but we waste too many at bats with bunts.

- Stop playing horrible players with no upside like Yuni. I'd rather see a young guy who is an unknown than known, crappy commodities.

- Stop obsessing about 'veterans' and let young guys play without fear of getting yanked the moment they have a few bad games. I'm so sick of hearing him say things like 'That wouldn't be fair for (insert player's name) to be put in a difficult position'. Are you kidding me? Young players are drooling at the chance to make a mark. So instead of letting a young player get an at bat or pitch a late inning, he trots out the 'veteran' - just because he's a veteran. I understand you want to give young players confidence and give them a platform to succeed, but his reliance on veterans - even horrible ones - is sometimes ridiculous.

 

I'm sure there are other things about the guy I want changed, but these are a few. I doubt anything will change, but I can hope.

[logan82]

This team could have tanked and been ripped apart when Braun was suspended. They are above .500 since, in large part to Roenicke's deft handling of a roster full of unheralded rookies with a few veterans sprinkled in. They became a team that was better than the sum of its parts.

So are you saying the manager is good with a young inexperienced team but can't handle a good team?

[fondybrewfan]

If 96 wins and 2 wins from the World Series is not handling a good team then yes he can't handle a good team

[adambr2]

I have a hard time understanding how a fan base that has endured Ned Yost and Ken Macha can really be that down on Roenicke. My biggest beef with him this year was thinking Alex Gonzalez was a viable option at 1B and I'm not entirely sure that was his idea. This team could have tanked and been ripped apart when Braun was suspended. They are above .500 since, in large part to Roenicke's deft handling of a roster full of unheralded rookies with a few veterans sprinkled in. They became a team that was better than the sum of its parts.

 

I see more Yost in Roenicke than I ever have before. I think Roenicke gets more out of limited talent, but less out of good talent. With his most talented team in 2011, TLR managed circles around him in the NLCS.

 

While he certainly did an admirable job keeping the team together post Braun suspension, he was also the man at the helm in the team's worst month in franchise history. It's hard for me to fathom how a team with Gallardo, Lohse, Braun, Ramirez, and Lucroy could pull this off. This was also during the time when Segura and Gomez were playing at MVP levels.

 

I just don't have a lot of faith in him, but I don't think the problems start with him. Unfortunately, I think it's likely that the .500ish play since May will turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing as it's going to convince the organization that they are closer than they really are and that a blowup isn't necessary.

[BruisedCrew]

 

While he certainly did an admirable job keeping the team together post Braun suspension, he was also the man at the helm in the team's worst month in franchise history. It's hard for me to fathom how a team with Gallardo, Lohse, Braun, Ramirez, and Lucroy could pull this off. This was also during the time when Segura and Gomez were playing at MVP levels.

 

It is easy to understand if you look at how those players performed in May, especially the pitchers. Lohse 6.51 ERA, Gallardo 5.97 ERA (throw in Peralta's 7.71 ERA for good measure.)

 

Are you saying that poor performances by those veteran players, including the fact that Ramirez and Braun were at much less than full strength with injuries, was Roenicke's fault?

[brewcrewdue80]

Read the IGT's simply put the RRR hate comes from seeing so and so Yuni/Weeks in the lineups and the run on contact thrown out at home play. The Once again we make outs on the bases seems to have happened almost every 2-3games. Yeah Great Managing right there. According to BRef the team lost 7runs vs. the average player overall as a team in baserunning. Wow, like I said it seemed 2-3 times a week I would see outs on the bases. And can somebody explain this stat that Carlos Gomez was only worth +1 Run on the bases? So yeah must be a pointless stat. Gomez goes 40-7 on SBs gets 1 added run on the bases. Mike Trout goes 33-7 on SBs gets 6Runs added on the Bases. LOL makes perfect sense.

 

I don't get the need to have to announce he's returning as manager immediately following the season. What if a surprise manager is fired from a competitive team? I'd have waited for some of the dust to settle before making my decision to bring him back.

[BruisedCrew]

Putting stolen bases/caught stealing aside for a moment, the Brewers did have more runners thrown out on the bases (according to Baseball Reference) than any other major league team. They had 65 thrown out compared to a league average of 55 per team and a low of 43 (the Mets).

 

So, if your perception is that the Brewers had a runner thrown out on the bases every 2-3 games that would be about right. But, the reason this didn't cost the Brewers that many runs compared to an average team is that all teams have runners thrown out on the bases. Plus, not all runners thrown out on the bases cost a team runs. To use the simple example of the hated contact play, take a runner on third with one out, which seems to be the most common situation in which the play is used. If, instead of trying to score, the baserunner had held at third, the team would be left with a runner at third with 2 outs and, depending on the next hitter, the team would still not score a run something like 70-80% of the time. So, 10 runners thrown out at home on the contact play may cost the team roughly 2-3 runs.

 

Other situations in which runners are thrown out (such as those in which there would not be an out at another base) are more costly, but put it all together and 10 extra outs on the bases costing 7 runs or so seems about right. Over the course of the season, those 7 runs or so may translate into 1 more win. In other words, the runners getting thrown out on the bases have an almost imperceptible impact on the team's record, compared to the value of getting a lot more runners on base in the first place.

 

As for stolen bases, according to Baseball Reference, the Brewers had the fewest basestealing opportunities in the NL this year. An opportunity is defined as a runner on first or second base with an open base ahead of the runner. That's a reflection of an offense that simply didn't put a lot of men on base. Even with those reduced opportunities, the Brewers led the NL in stolen bases by a wide margin with 142 SB's compared to a second best of 118 and a league average of 84. They also led the league in runners caught stealing at 50, compared to a league average of 33, and their successful stolen base percentage of 74% ranked 5th in the league, slightly above the league average of 72%.

 

My rough conclusion from all of this is that the Brewers may have hurt themselves a little by being aggressive on the bases in non-steal situations, but probably helped themselves a little by being aggressive stealing bases, even though they had a lot of runners caught stealing. But, like I said before, it is my opinion that the total net result of the baserunning outs that fans often get upset about had very little, if any, effect on the team's overall record.

[BruisedCrew]

And can somebody explain this stat that Carlos Gomez was only worth +1 Run on the bases? So yeah must be a pointless stat. Gomez goes 40-7 on SBs gets 1 added run on the bases. Mike Trout goes 33-7 on SBs gets 6Runs added on the Bases. LOL makes perfect sense.

 

 

I'm not sure of the source of this stat, and won't try to totally explain it, but I suspect that Trout gets more value for baserunning than Gomez because of things other than stolen bases. A total analysis of baserunning impact would include a runner's ability to take an extra base on balls in play (such as taking 2 bases on a single or 3 bases on a double) and how often he gets thrown out on the bases in non-base stealing situations. At a quick glance, Gomez was thrown out 10 times in these situations compared to only 5 for Trout, so that would negatively affect Gomez's numbers. Trout also took an extra base 59% of the time compared to only 44% for Gomez. So, by these measures, Trout would be considered a better baserunner.

 

Personally, I take some of these stats with a grain of salt because the ability of a runner to take an extra base is often affected more by the type and location of the hit than the ability of the baserunner. Considering that the Brewers led the league in infield hits, the opportunities for runners to take extra bases may have been affected by that.