MA is on his way.....

[The stache]

I can't really blame him for riding it out at this point. Changes do need to be made but we really can't do much until closer to midseason.

 

Like hell. Fire the idiot manager and general manager. Whoever comes in can't possibly do a worse job, and (gasp) they might even do better.

 

I'm the biggest Brewers fan there is. Ask me when the last time I turned on a Brewers game was? I can't even remember when that happened, because I'm so FED UP with this team. Our happy-go lucky "um, I can't figure out what to do" owner while our 2-13 team continues to sink to the levels of mediocrity unseen in Milwaukee since we brought the Pilots over from Seattle. 2-13 is historically bad, and with Lucroy and Gomez out, there are no signs it will get better anytime soon.

 

I posted a year ago how terrible Doug Melvin is as a General Manager. I watched him flounder in Texas. I posted the stats to show how inept his teams have been, the one playoff series he's won in nearly 3 decades in a management position in Major League Baseball. Yet Doug Melvin remains, like a cancer slowly eating away at what was once a fun-to-watch, if not great, franchise.

 

Somebody post a picture of a little clown car. Because that is what our leadership have become. Our owner, general manager and manager are three clowns, and I imagine them all sitting in a locked room, asking each other "what do we do now?"

 

"I don't know, what do we do now?"

 

2-13. Two and freaking THIRTEEN! Nearly 1/10 of the season has passed, and we have won TWO lousy games. We are on a pace to go 22-140. And if we did (we can't finish that badly, can we?), I wouldn't even look forward to the first round pick we'd get, because Doug Melvin would screw that up, too.

[logan82]

The manager is paid for this year and next year. Firing him won't help much. Get rid of him at the end of the season. It might appease some fans but I don't believe in doing things just to appease fans.

 

Now is the time to start looking for a new GM but I doubt most teams are looking to trade much yet so we can wait on him for a month or two. Besides, most GM candidates we would want are probably attached to another franchise right now so we would have to wait till the offseason to hire one, and the drafting and moves of late have been good. Not as many moves as I would have liked but they were moves in the right direction.

 

Edit: To expand on what I said.

 

 

 

The draft last year was awesome. We brought in a good amount of high upside talent. We signed one of the best international players in Lara. We traded Gallardo for some young prospects. We traded a pitcher who we really had no use for and were frustrated with in Estrada for a 1B who has been one of the best hitters in the league against RHP over the last few years.

 

I would have liked to see more moves like the Gallardo trade but the last year was a step in the right direction. All the bad stuff this year is an accumulation of all the bad crap that has been going on since 2011. If the franchise kept running things like they have in the very recent past, I think we would be moving in the right direction.

[brewmann04]

Hopefully we see more trades come July and the Brewers can add some prospects.

[BrewCrewForever]

I've never quite figured out how the Owner who fired Yost with a mere week left in the season can be so excruciatingly patient with Roenicke/Melvin.

 

Exactly. He must have had a major change in his way of thinking from what he did in 2008 to now. It's like he's afraid to fire someone now when he canned Yost and canned Macha.

[JohnBriggs12]

I can't believe how out of touch MA is with his own fan base. The phrasing and tone of his vote of confidence or whatever that was sounded like, "Don't worry folks, I'm not here to fire the beloved Doug and/or Ron." Is he serious? Polls are what 4 or 5 to 1 in favor of firing both and he's completely oblivious to it.

This after a game that was a classic example of Roenicke's in-game weakness as a manager. Gives up an out to move a runner to third with one out against the guy who led the league in strikeouts last year then brings in K-Rod, rather than Smith with Votto due up in the inning.

 

Time to stop buying tickets folks and force his hand a bit.

[Pugger]

I suppose he doesn't want to throw his GM and manager under the bus in public but if he doesn't see that changes in management have to come about Mark is no better than Selig was.

[patrickgpe]

i know a lot of brewer fans are calling for doug's and ron's head but it isn't going to change what is fundamentally wrong with this team. Its not going to heal Johnny Lu's toe or return Lohse to form. I see no point in letting Narron move up a seat for the last 5 months of the season. If the brewers want to bring in someone like Counsell on an interim basis to see if they improve, I'm all for that. The same thing with firing Doug, is Gord Ash going to do anything different than DM? I doubt it.

[JohnBriggs12]

I suppose he doesn't want to throw his GM and manager under the bus in public but if he doesn't see that changes in management have to come about Mark is no better than Selig was.

 

They are 11-35 since last August 26, by far the worst 46 game stretch in the 45 year history of the team. Not only should he be throwing both under a bus publically, he should be driving that bus and backing up and doing it over and over. He even had the nerve to use the word "accountability" without holding anyone accountable.

[stoutdude04]

I can't believe how out of touch MA is with his own fan base. The phrasing and tone of his vote of confidence or whatever that was sounded like, "Don't worry folks, I'm not here to fire the beloved Doug and/or Ron." Is he serious? Polls are what 4 or 5 to 1 in favor of firing both and he's completely oblivious to it.

This after a game that was a classic example of Roenicke's in-game weakness as a manager. Gives up an out to move a runner to third with one out against the guy who led the league in strikeouts last year then brings in K-Rod, rather than Smith with Votto due up in the inning.

 

Time to stop buying tickets folks and force his hand a bit.

 

Yep. I said the same thing about both MA and Ron.

 

Unbelievable that he went with K-rod that inning.

[JohnBriggs12]

i know a lot of brewer fans are calling for doug's and ron's head but it isn't going to change what is fundamentally wrong with this team. Its not going to heal Johnny Lu's toe or return Lohse to form. I see no point in letting Narron move up a seat for the last 5 months of the season. If the brewers want to bring in someone like Counsell on an interim basis to see if they improve, i'm all for that. The same thing with firing Doug, is Gord Ash going to do anything different than DM? I doubt it.

 

That's not the point Patrick. Lots of teams have injuries but they don't play .133 ball. You don't replace Roenicke with Narron who's attached to his hip and should be fired as well. You replace him on an interim basis with Sedar who predates Roenicke in the organization. You tell Melvin he's done after the trading deadline and if he wishes to stay on to shepherd the franchise, fine. If not let Ash handle those chores with the understanding he's done too later on.

[TooLiveBrew]

i know a lot of brewer fans are calling for doug's and ron's head but it isn't going to change what is fundamentally wrong with this team. Its not going to heal Johnny Lu's toe or return Lohse to form. I see no point in letting Narron move up a seat for the last 5 months of the season. If the brewers want to bring in someone like Counsell on an interim basis to see if they improve, i'm all for that. The same thing with firing Doug, is Gord Ash going to do anything different than DM? I doubt it.

 

That's not the point Patrick. Lots of teams have injuries but they don't play .133 ball. You don't replace Roenicke with Narron who's attached to his hip and should be fired as well. You replace him on an interim basis with Sedar who predates Roenicke in the organization. You tell Melvin he's done after the trading deadline and if he wishes to stay on to shepherd the franchise, fine. If not let Ash handle those chores with the understanding he's done too later on.

If you want him gone at the end of the season, you 100% do not want him to be the one to oversee any selling at & before the trade deadline.

[patrickgpe]

i know a lot of brewer fans are calling for doug's and ron's head but it isn't going to change what is fundamentally wrong with this team. Its not going to heal Johnny Lu's toe or return Lohse to form. I see no point in letting Narron move up a seat for the last 5 months of the season. If the brewers want to bring in someone like Counsell on an interim basis to see if they improve, i'm all for that. The same thing with firing Doug, is Gord Ash going to do anything different than DM? I doubt it.

 

That's not the point Patrick. Lots of teams have injuries but they don't play .133 ball. You don't replace Roenicke with Narron who's attached to his hip and should be fired as well. You replace him on an interim basis with Sedar who predates Roenicke in the organization. You tell Melvin he's done after the trading deadline and if he wishes to stay on to shepherd the franchise, fine. If not let Ash handle those chores with the understanding he's done too later on.

 

Sedar should be fired; he is not a good 3rd base coach. I believe he is Doug Melvin's snitch on the coaching staff and thats why he has been here so long. I would rather let guerrero or coles take over for the season, as they have managed a lot of the younger players in the minors.

[JohnBriggs12]

i know a lot of brewer fans are calling for doug's and ron's head but it isn't going to change what is fundamentally wrong with this team. Its not going to heal Johnny Lu's toe or return Lohse to form. I see no point in letting Narron move up a seat for the last 5 months of the season. If the brewers want to bring in someone like Counsell on an interim basis to see if they improve, i'm all for that. The same thing with firing Doug, is Gord Ash going to do anything different than DM? I doubt it.

 

That's not the point Patrick. Lots of teams have injuries but they don't play .133 ball. You don't replace Roenicke with Narron who's attached to his hip and should be fired as well. You replace him on an interim basis with Sedar who predates Roenicke in the organization. You tell Melvin he's done after the trading deadline and if he wishes to stay on to shepherd the franchise, fine. If not let Ash handle those chores with the understanding he's done too later on.

 

Sedar should be fired; he is not a good 3rd base coach. I believe he is Doug Melvin's snitch on the coaching staff and thats why he has been here so long. I would rather let guerrero or coles take over for the season, as they have managed a lot of the younger players in the minors.

 

Alex Grammas was a great 3rd base coach but a horrific manager. One has nothing to do with the other. Sedar is probably best equipped for a run as interim manager. Yes he's a "house guy", but he knows the roster better than anyone, and I'm sure he's got ideas that aren't in lock step with Roenicke's thinking and he'll probably lighten up the clubhouse some. Plus he's probably fine with being interim. I'd move Guerrero to bench coach, and find a couple guys off the street. Bring Davey Nelson in to coach 1B and find Don Money and bring him in to coach 3B.

[JohnBriggs12]

i know a lot of brewer fans are calling for doug's and ron's head but it isn't going to change what is fundamentally wrong with this team. Its not going to heal Johnny Lu's toe or return Lohse to form. I see no point in letting Narron move up a seat for the last 5 months of the season. If the brewers want to bring in someone like Counsell on an interim basis to see if they improve, i'm all for that. The same thing with firing Doug, is Gord Ash going to do anything different than DM? I doubt it.

 

That's not the point Patrick. Lots of teams have injuries but they don't play .133 ball. You don't replace Roenicke with Narron who's attached to his hip and should be fired as well. You replace him on an interim basis with Sedar who predates Roenicke in the organization. You tell Melvin he's done after the trading deadline and if he wishes to stay on to shepherd the franchise, fine. If not let Ash handle those chores with the understanding he's done too later on.

If you want him gone at the end of the season, you 100% do not want him to be the one to oversee any selling at & before the trade deadline.

 

The Cubs did that very thing with Hendry in 2011. He was told before the draft that year that he was done after the trade deadline. He drafted Baez that year. He made one minor deal before the deadline trading away Fukudome for a couple prospects from Cleveland that never panned out. The rest of their roster at the time wasn't tradeable because of big contracts.

 

Point is that a professional and a baseball lifer, like Melvin, likely has the integrity to live up to his contract. You don't change GM's a month before the draft or with the trading deadline looming. That doesn't mean you can't do him the courtesy of telling him he won't be retained. They are right in the midst of finalizing scouting reports and setting up draft scenarios. In addition to what we see regarding trades and drafting etc, there's a lot of nuts and bolts to the job that need to be tended to also.

[brewcrewdue80]

This is BS that MA "supports" both Melvin and Roenicke. When in attendance their decisions cost Milw the game last night right in front of his eyes. Not the players' performances to date. Jimmy Nelson pitches a heckuva game deserving of a win, if his opponent hadn't been a Cy Young candidate in Cueto. But here we are go to the 9th inning all of the bullpen capable to be used. and Roenicke summons KRod. The team's closer, to extend the game with another 0 put on the board. KRod, the closer that Melvin gave a 2yr 13mil contract to. And that player failed. But the only reason he had the opportunity to fail is because Melvin signed him, and Roenicke summoned him to pitch. But MA you support these two and it's the players underperforming and accountable for this start. Nevermind Roenicke's erroneous decision making with the bullpen in this game, or the one calling upon Broxton (another Melvin acquisition) to pitch an 8th in game earlier in the season when he said Smith was a better option. He's costing the team wins and you wonder who's accountable for this team's start?

[3and2Fastball]

I believe that Ray Montgomery was hired to be a heir apparent to Melvin and the plan all along has been for Melvin to retire at the end of the season.

 

Also, it happens regularly for owners to give a "vote of confidence" to a coach/manager before firing them within days of that comment.

 

The offer to extend the contract of Melvin is likely just PR to say thanks to Doug for his years of hard work.

 

At least that is what I'm hoping is happening

[patrickgpe]

i heard that too, but then why would you bring him in to run 1 draft and then have to replace him, doesn't make much sense.

[Ennder]

I've never quite figured out how the Owner who fired Yost with a mere week left in the season can be so excruciatingly patient with Roenicke/Melvin.

 

 

Maybe he realized he made a mistake with Yost, the manager who was in the World Series a year ago.

 

And who managed the World Series so poorly that Royals fans were shouting for his head~. Royals got hot at the right time and they had a bullpen even Yost couldn't mess up, it was a pretty good situation for him. Yost was a bad manager for the Brewers regardless of how he is now though.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I just can't understand why everyone is so bent out of shape and headhunting. This is the same group that had a huge unsustainable hot streak last year and now they have an unsustainable cold one going. It would have been nice to just keep the .500 pace through the end of last season and get into the playoffs, but the bad streak was truly that bad. I think it's just setting in it's the end of the window. If it is, they did what was rational this off season. Keep the core and add a couple things without trading prospects to maximize the year. Trade some depth for prospects then see how it plays out. Now that it's clear they are toast, wait for the deadline and clean house. They have options. You just can't do much on April 23rd.

 

Mark tried to maximize the window. He gave DM orders and he did his best to execute. The drafting and develop hit a dry spell, but seems to have more promise the last couple years. We are where we are. Blood letting and running the team like talk radio is just venting. They just need to figure out if DM is the right guy to guide them through the rebuild. I could care less about the manager. Unless there is a tangible financial benefit to bring in someone else, or just showing the fans they can do something without wreaking havoc on the clubhouse, who cares. RR didn't matter much when they were good and he certainly doesn't now that they stink. He's pretty much like most of them with a better demeanor. Doesn't stray much from conventional wisdom, won't embarrass you in the press and seems to have respect of his players. Unless they really want to go with an outside the box innovator, why waste the money on a new manager. We could be stuck with a knob like the guy in Cincy. No thanks.

[TheCrew07]

All of this talk about GMs drafting players in baseball... shouldn't we be past that by now? The Scouting Director conducts the amateur draft, not the GM.

[superfly]

KRod, the closer that Melvin gave a 2yr 13mil contract to. And that player failed. But the only reason he had the opportunity to fail is because Melvin signed him, and Roenicke summoned him to pitch.

 

I am pretty sure that MA himself is the guy that gave KRod that contract, not Melvin. It's pretty well documented that he gets in bed with Scott Boras and does deals himself of this magnitude.

[dlk9s]

MA seems totally oblivious to the fact that established, veteran players eventually turn into worn out, washed up old guys.

 

Or he doesn't feel the need to blast everyone on the team publicly.

[brewcrewdue80]

KRod, the closer that Melvin gave a 2yr 13mil contract to. And that player failed. But the only reason he had the opportunity to fail is because Melvin signed him, and Roenicke summoned him to pitch.

 

I am pretty sure that MA himself is the guy that gave KRod that contract, not Melvin. It's pretty well documented that he gets in bed with Scott Boras and does deals himself of this magnitude.

 

You can believe that. I don't in the KRod signing. The Brewers were looking for a RP/potential closer. This wasn't the Lohse signing where it came way late. Show me your link that has you believing this.

[PeaveyFury]

All of this talk about GMs drafting players in baseball... shouldn't we be past that by now? The Scouting Director conducts the amateur draft, not the GM.

 

This I agree with. The Brewers are where they are now in no small part due to Jack Z.'s poor drafting of pitching and Bruce Seid's (rip) poor drafting of almost everything, sad to say.

[superfly]

 

Show me your link that has you believing this.

 

I think it's pretty clear cut actually. Coming from two different sources (one Milwaukee, one national), and we know Mark has a history of this with other signees too. Not sure why you are so skeptical.

 

 

 

 

Brewers talking to Scott Boras about Francisco Rodriguez

Bill Baer Feb 22, 2015, 10:28 PM EDT

 

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has been discussing free agent reliever Francisco Rodriguez with his agent, Scott Boras. Per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, manager Ron Roenicke said, “Scott keeps calling Mark.”

 

The Brewers’ interest in Rodriguez is not exactly a surprise, as “K-Rod” has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Brewers and the club as an obvious need at the back end of their bullpen.

 

The Brewers were believed to have serious interest in trading for Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, but the two sides couldn’t agree on exactly how much of the veteran’s salary would be covered. Rodriguez is believed to be asking for a $10 million salary for the 2015 season. Though that would be marginally cheaper than Papelbon’s $13 million salary, Rodriguez wouldn’t cost the Brewers any minor league talent and their commitment to him would be for only one season.

 

Rodriguez, 33, tossed 68 innings to the tune of a 3.04 ERA along with 44 saves and a 73/18 K/BB ratio last season.

 

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/22/brewers-talking-to-scott-boras-about-francisco-rodriguez/