Reid Nichols' "Non-Visit" to High Desert

[MassBrew]

Well, no one from Brewerfan.net has sat down with Reid Nichols since his hire, nor have we attempted to coordinate a visit quite yet. We wished him well upon his hiring. It certainly made sense to let him get settled in, which surely must have happened by now. Hopefully down the road we'll get a chance to chat with him, and allow us to get to know more about his philosophies in player development.

 

So it might be unfair or unwise to allow a single article to cloud one's judgment of his long-term ability to guide the farm system. But this article should at least stir up some water cooler discussion at Miller Park Tuesday morning:

 

From Saturday's Victor Valley Daily Press in Victorville / Adelanto:

 

Milwaukee's Giving Mavs Cold Shoulder

by Michael Rothstein

Staff Writer

 

When the new Milwaukee Brewers front office entered after the 2002 season, the majority of personal connections between the Brewers and High Desert Mavericks disappeared.

 

This is according to High Desert General Manager Brent Miles, who held this capacity during both Greg Riddoch's days as Milwaukee's Director of Player Development and now for the tenure of Reid Nichols' stay.

 

"We value relationships and are big on relationships," Miles said. "We want to be with an affiliate who we have a good, solid relationship. We definitely had that with the old regime.

 

"I'm not going to say that there is no chance that we can never have that with the new regime but currently we don't have the kind of relationship we had with the Brewers in the past."

 

Miles said the one person who he keeps in constant contact with is Assistant Director of Player Development Scott Martens. Martens was a holdover from the Riddoch era in Milwaukee.

 

Miles also said the Maverick front office had a solid relationship with Administrator of Baseball Operations Kate Geenen, but Geenen left Milwaukee mid-season.

 

"We have a great relationship with Scott," Miles said, "but from there on out you can say that our relationship is non-existent with the farm director."

 

When Nichols was in High Desert in early July, he failed to speak with Miles or anyone else in the front office.

 

The Mavericks don't expect to receive talent to win California League championships yearly, Miles said. They do expect, though, to remain competitive. With a 5-22 record in the second half and a 30-67 mark overall, the opposite occurred.

 

The Mavericks have no say in which players they receive and barring a miracle, High Desert will finish under .500 in five of the six halves as a Milwaukee affiliate.

 

"Obviously the last three halves, it shows we haven't been competitive," Miles said. "That's not there and that is frustrating."

[DiscoStu]

It sounds like there are huge communication issues with the Brewers and their affiliates when it comes to player development.

It doesnt make a ton of sense for the Brewers to not talk to the front offices of their affiliates.

 

It sounds like the High Desert isnt ideal for pitchers with the altitude and the heat but there are much, much worse situations and stadiums for the Brewers to end up in.

 

In any case, if all of this is true then it doesnt excuse the fact that there is no communication between parent club and affiliate.

 

Stu

[cressj]

I would be surprised if the Brewers go back to HD after their contract expires next year. I don't think they like how it affects their pitchers and wonder if they will try to get into the Carolina league instead.

[deeswan]

I don't know if there are huge communication issues. We don't seem to hear any grumblings from Beloit or Huntsville. I'm sure a big part of it is just frustration at the way High Desert has played this year and the skipping of HD by some prospects (Jones altogether, Clark & Johnson left early). Given the dearth of prospects at High Desert there probably isn't much to talk about there anyway.

[clancyphile]

A move to the Carolina League by the Brewers A+ affiliate would be welcomed on my part.

 

If they go to the Potomac Cannons, I'd buy the season tickets. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[DiscoStu]

Obviously, in HD there are communication issues for what ever reason. No matter what the reason, it still doesn't seem like good practice to not speak with your affiliates, even if it is just one or two.

 

And maybe the reason we haven't heard anything from Huntsville or Beloit is the fact that they are winning.

[deeswan]

And maybe the reason we haven't heard anything from Huntsville or Beloit is the fact that they are winning.

 

Exactly my point. IMO, I don't think we'd be hearing about this stuff from HD or Indy if their teams were winning. The affiliates have seen a management change and are now not competitive, so I don't think anyone should be surprised that they are popping off about the new management.

[DiscoStu]

From just reading about it, it doesn't sound like they are"popping" off to the media.

 

It sounds like HD has legitimate concerns and frustrations thats all.

[Al the Thinking Man]

I believe the Carolina League is generally respected as the "best" of the A+ leagues. I welcome a change just to get away from the goofy stats that HD promotes, ala AA El Paso & AAA Denver.

[deeswan]

From just reading about it, it doesn't sound like they are"popping" off to the media.

 

It sounds like HD has legitimate concerns and frustrations thats all.

 

Maybe they are legitimate, maybe not. We don't know and we've only heard HD's side of the argument. My point is just that you have to take their complaints with a grain of salt right now, as they are very frustrated with the performance of the team. So far this year we've heard complaints from HD and Indy, none (that I can recall) from Huntsville or Beloit. Doesn't that at least make you wonder how legitimate the complaints are?