Doug Melvin steps down as GM; moves into advisory role

[WV Brew]

Ray Montgomery a candidate for Red Sox job:

 

John Heymann Reports

 

Also Frank Wren. Certainly hope Monty doesn't leave but you can't blame him if he does.

[homer]

Kantrovitz was responsible for two drafts in STL.

 

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=stl&year=2012

 

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=stl&year=2013

[jerichoholicninja]

Ray Montgomery a candidate for Red Sox job:

 

John Heymann Reports

 

Also Frank Wren. Certainly hope Monty doesn't leave but you can't blame him if he does.

 

I can't see Montgomery going to Boston. Dembrowski is certainly just looking for a yes man that the media can blame instead of himself when his moves don't work out.

[BrewCrewForever]

Man, I would really hate to see Montgomery leave after what on paper looks like a really nice draft in 2015. Although a chance at a GM job would be tough to pass up. I to like all the rumored potential candidates being mentioned. Excited to see who it ends up being and their vision for building this club back into a contender. Although the org did a nice job in that first step with this years draft and trades.

[CheezWizHed]

Kantrovitz was responsible for two drafts in STL.

 

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=stl&year=2012

 

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=stl&year=2013

 

Is that a good or bad thing? The only name I recognize was Collymore (as a SS even). I only follow Brewer MiLB guys, so I'm not sure how any of these case look in the minors.

[LouisEly]

You haven't heard of Michael Wacha or Stephen Piscotty? Those two plus Kyle Barraclaugh are already in the majors from the 2012 draft. The rest could all flame out and it would still be a very good draft, especially considering that they didn't pick until #19.

 

2013, not so much. Gonzalez hasn't looked like anything special since moving up to AAA. Kaminsky is a decent prospect though. Don't know anything about the rest of the class.

[CheezWizHed]

Sorry, but not really. I don't watch anyone but the Brewers, so I'm normally behind until they become really big names. Thanks for the commentary on their draft.

[tmwiese55]

Wacha won the NLCS MVP I think in 2013 as a rookie. Piscotty just came up a month or two back but has been one of the hottest OFs in the league since coming up. After Wacha's performance in the 2013 playoffs everyone expected him to be a star but has been kind of limited by small injuries since

[ecjimg]

And of course Dbacks GM Dave Stewert has tweeted that he's surprised no one has asked permission to interview Assistant GM Dejon Watson. Meaning all the teams looking are racist. I just can't like a team run by an idiot like him and Tony LaRussa

[gregmag]

And of course Dbacks GM Dave Stewert has tweeted that he's surprised no one has asked permission to interview Assistant GM Dejon Watson. Meaning all the teams looking are racist. I just can't like a team run by an idiot like him and Tony LaRussa

The irony here is that LaRussa's Cardinals teams, in the latter part of his tenure, were whiter than their home uniforms. People here in St. Louis will forgive the Cardinals anything, but usually there's an annual "why don't the Cards have any black players" think piece. Getting Heyward was a big change.

 

I think you're wrong to accuse Dave Stewart of calling people racist with that tweet. First of all, would you have a problem if a white GM called people out for not interviewing his well-regarded young white assistant GM? If not, then what clear basis do you have for criticizing Stewart? Second, assuming Stewart is thinking about race to some extent (which I assume he is), what exactly is wrong with reminding people that there's a good African-American candidate out there for a job few African-Americans have held? Encouraging racial diversity doesn't equal calling people racist. Third, assuming Stewart thinks racism is a factor in MLB hiring for GMs, I bet he's thinking about systemic rather than malicious racism -- the kind of culture where white guys tend to play golf with, socialize with, work with other white guys, not because they necessarily have a racist bone in their bodies but because of circumstances, habits, and reinforced practices over time. IMHO most racism that matters in baseball (and elsewhere) is like that, not a sin but a social condition. The best cure for that kind of racism, which nobody (or almost nobody) affirmatively wants to exist, is simply to point it out. If that's what Stewart is doing, then good for him.

[homer]

And of course Dbacks GM Dave Stewert has tweeted that he's surprised no one has asked permission to interview Assistant GM Dejon Watson. Meaning all the teams looking are racist. I just can't like a team run by an idiot like him and Tony LaRussa

 

 

Stewart has never seen Tyrone Brooks apparently.

[xisxisxis]

And of course Dbacks GM Dave Stewert has tweeted that he's surprised no one has asked permission to interview Assistant GM Dejon Watson.

 

Ignoring his horrible record in talent evaluation as a GM and his other stupid twitter comments, Stewart just walked into a situation where he could be called on the carpet by his bosses. If I'm Stewart's boss I am going to ask him if his job as GM of the Diamondbacks is to make sure his valued assistants get jobs with other organizations or is it making sure the talent within the Diamondbacks is the best that it can be. Unless Watson is a [expletive deleted by moderator] assistant that he wants to get rid of and this is the easiest way (not likely), Dave Stewart is not doing his job for the Diamondbacks. If other agenda's are more important than making your employer better then as his boss I would ask him to explain how having Watson interview for other positions makes the diamondbacks better and if he doesn't have a good answer I would ask him to keep his mouth (and fingers) shut or I would show him the door. Is this that big of a deal? No, it's not big enough by itself, but he has been pretty poor so far as a GM and having an agenda other than making his team the best (front, back, side office and on the field) then he should have the freedom to lead any other agenda he wants on his own dime...

[trwi7]

And of course Dbacks GM Dave Stewert has tweeted that he's surprised no one has asked permission to interview Assistant GM Dejon Watson. Meaning all the teams looking are racist. I just can't like a team run by an idiot like him and Tony LaRussa

 

Do the D'Backs have any more black prospects they could trade away in order to clear a contract? I hope the Brewers would help them with that regardless of whether we hire a white or black GM.

[monty57]

Could we please stop putting racism discussions into nearly every thread? I love this site and don't want it to turn into a constant racism discussion. If I want that discussion there's basically every other site on the internet I can go to read that.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Could we please stop putting racism discussions into nearly every thread? I love this site and don't want it to turn into a constant racism discussion. If I want that discussion there's basically every other site on the internet I can go to read that.

 

 

Dave Stewart started it.

[gregmag]

Could we please stop putting racism discussions into nearly every thread? I love this site and don't want it to turn into a constant racism discussion. If I want that discussion there's basically every other site on the internet I can go to read that.

No. First of all, "nearly every thread" is a gross exaggeration, as far as I can tell. I'm not going to bring race up gratuitously -- I've made it my internal rule not to be the first to bring it up in any conversation -- but I'm going to respond to points about race if I want to, where it's relevant to baseball. If you don't like that line of discussion, you can ignore it, but you don't get to shut it down because it annoys or offends you. If it gets gratuitous, or out of the boundaries of baseball discussion, the mods can and (I assume) will shut it down.

[1992casey]

Race seems to be a little bit relevant. I wouldn't have picked up on it from Stewart's tweet, but it seems reasonable that others might. Right now, I don't see anything that's outside the boundaries of Fan Forum Etiquette, but if anyone feels that there's anything else to say on the matter, please keep those boundaries in mind.

[monty57]

Could we please stop putting racism discussions into nearly every thread? I love this site and don't want it to turn into a constant racism discussion. If I want that discussion there's basically every other site on the internet I can go to read that.

No. First of all, "nearly every thread" is a gross exaggeration, as far as I can tell. I'm not going to bring race up gratuitously -- I've made it my internal rule not to be the first to bring it up in any conversation -- but I'm going to respond to points about race if I want to, where it's relevant to baseball. If you don't like that line of discussion, you can ignore it, but you don't get to shut it down because it annoys or offends you. If it gets gratuitous, or out of the boundaries of baseball discussion, the mods can and (I assume) will shut it down.

 

There are a lot of meaningful things going on in the world. I come here to get away from that and discuss baseball. It is why the community here has made a point of keeping politics out of discussions. I am not offended by discussions about race, I just know that they get heated and really do not need to be included in a discussion about baseball unless you just want to be a "race baiter," trying to get people riled up. (I guess the internet term would be "Troll.") No one is going to solve racism by discussing it here, nor are they going to change anyone else's mind, they're just going to get people upset.

 

I've been coming here for over a decade, and don't remember any discussions about race until recently, when it seems to be happening fairly often. As I said, we can go virtually anywhere on the internet and there will be a discussion about race, I'd just like to come here to get away from the serious issues going on "out there."

 

As to the "you don't get to shut it down because it annoys or offends you" BS, you're acting like a child, and I think you're better than that.

[homer]

Hey guys let's discuss race as it pertains to the topic at hand, not as a subject in and of itself. Thanks.

[Bombers]

@Ken_Rosenthal: Sources: #Rays VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will interview for #Brewers’ GM job tomorrow.

[And That]

Young A's exec Dan Kantrovitz is seen by many as a favorite for the Brewers GM job. He's a "very strong" candidate, is the way one person put it. Kantrovitz, like Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, went to Brown, as Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com pointed out, and it doesn't hurt he also went to Harvard, where Attanasio's wife Debbie went. Attanasio is also close to A's owner Lew Wolff, a Los Angeles neighbor. Kantrovitz is an analytics expert, which fits what Attanasio seeks. Some other prospective names, even ones with a numbers bent, have been deemed "not analytical enough."

 

From Jon Heyman. H/t to MLBTraderumors.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Young A's exec Dan Kantrovitz is seen by many as a favorite for the Brewers GM job. He's a "very strong" candidate, is the way one person put it. Kantrovitz, like Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, went to Brown, as Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com pointed out, and it doesn't hurt he also went to Harvard, where Attanasio's wife Debbie went. Attanasio is also close to A's owner Lew Wolff, a Los Angeles neighbor. Kantrovitz is an analytics expert, which fits what Attanasio seeks. Some other prospective names, even ones with a numbers bent, have been deemed "not analytical enough."

 

From Jon Heyman. H/t to MLBTraderumors.

 

Well it appears that he checks all the boxes from what we know about the profile they're looking for and has a few other positives going for him: Young, analytical background, Ivy League educated, familar with the division (honing his craft in St. Louis), worked with small & mid-market teams, with the Brown & Harvard connections with the owner's family to boot.

 

I'm not hating anything so far.

[patrickgpe]

i know Attanasio is a very analytical and deliberate person, but then what are they waiting for? There are 6 GM job openings. I think if they think this is their guy and feel that the other candidates they have interviewed do not meet their requirements. , they should pounce on him.

 

They hired Melvin at the end of the season, so there is precedent.

[CheezWizHed]

Could be a billion things:

- There could be other candidates they want to explore

- He might have other options he wants to explore

- They might be working out the contract or terms

- He might have tested positive for PEDs on his urine test...

[markedman5]

This is a huge hire...take your time and get it right.