Leyva won't be back

[1992casey]

Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio have been known to be very candid at times, so while not knowing can be frustrating, I have to feel that they have good reason not to elaborate on this firing.

 

If there's company policy involved in this case, I'd say it fits into the Brewers' general pattern of not bashing a guy on his way out the door. That wasn't the case before the Melvin era, and I do think it's good that the team treats its former employees that way.

[DougJones43]

to just say it's none of your business, now hand over your money, is not good policy IMO.

 

Don't forget telling them they haven't earned the right to question your product. Can you imagine if other businesses acted the way the Brewers have?

 

"Excuse me sir, this bread I bought from you has mold on it. When was the expiration date?"

"That's none of your damn business. Until you've regulalry eaten delicious bread, you will eat our stale moldy bread and be happy we sold you anything at all....Oh what, you're not satisfied? Well then, why don't you just put a couch right here in the bakery and bake the bread yourself!"

[logan82]

I would compare it more to the business firing their baker and not telling you why.

[DougJones43]

I would compare it more to the business firing their baker and not telling you why.

 

Yeah. Or firing an assistant baker without explanation, leaving the lunatic head baker who puts glass shards in the muffins in charge, and then expecting you to keep shopping there.

[TooLiveBrew]

I miss that Rich Dauer called his extreme l/r shifts the "Alien defense." That always made it seem cooler.

 

Note proper alignment v. Adam Dunn -

 

http://www.spiritualgenome.com/cropchakras2.jpg

[ecjimg]

Well, when I saw the coaches (Svuem, Skaalen, Sedar and Maddux) hanging in a chicago bar (with Schroeder).....Leyva was at a different table far from them. Guess he wasnt one of the "cool kids". Neither was Brian Anderson.

[MNBrew]

I disagree; the fans have a right to know what's going on with their team.

kgbaseball, I often agree with your perpsectives. But in this case, I disagree.

When it comes to following the team, they're certainly "our team." But when it comes to the business/personnel side of things, unless you're in on the ownership or an employee in some fashion, it's not "our team" at all. They have an obligation to do what they think is best for the team and the organization. We can disagree -- that's totally our right, because that's merely an opinion.

 

Furthermore, really, really, really wanting to know what's going on with the team still does not entitle us to know anything. Interest does not inherently equate to or entitle anyone to knowledge no matter how hard you want to justify it.

 

If you read further down in the brewers.com article, Leyva himself talked of having to do the same thing when he was a manager, and thus he completely understands that it's the manager's prerogative. And in that context, he doesn't question the move at all. He's just moving on and looking for the next job. He's leaving with his head held high and not crying foul. I think that tells us something about class, both on his part and on the part of the Brewers. . . . It's just too bad we've become so accustomed to NY Yankee-style coverage, where every ounce of laundry, dirty or otherwise, HAS to be put into print.

[MNBrew]

Add another one to the list of guys that "aren't on the same wavelength" as Ned. First it was Dauer. Then Yount (unless you believe the story that he just wanted to spend more time with his family) and now Leyva.

Is this a conspiracy theory, or is there bona fide evidence that that's why Yount left? Yount resisted overtures from almost every team for years for family reasons. The only reason he felt he could say yes to the Diamondbacks when he did was because he already lived in the town. After one season of living back in Milwaukee, away from his family, he realized he didn't want to be away. He already had a 20-year major league career of living away from his family. I don't blame the guy at all.

I totally love my job and can't really envision doing anything else. But I still don't like the part about how much time it takes me away from home. It's a normal reaction. Why does Yount's reasoning for the past 15 years suddenly become invalid and a cover up?

 

[iluvlamp]

Sorry but I am being thread lazy. so... Leyva was the problem?

[Katuluu]

Yeah. Or firing an assistant baker without explanation, leaving the lunatic head baker who puts glass shards in the muffins in charge, and then expecting you to keep shopping there.

Yes, Ned is purposely trying to damage your health with every move he makes.

[DougJones43]

Yeah. Or firing an assistant baker without explanation, leaving the lunatic head baker who puts glass shards in the muffins in charge, and then expecting you to keep shopping there.

Yes, Ned is purposely trying to damage your health with every move he makes.

 

It was a joke. Maybe not a good one, but obviously not meant to be taken seriously.

[Katuluu]

No, it was a horrible metaphor.

[DougJones43]

No, it was a horrible metaphor.

You're telling me that I posted that, and was completely serious? Okay. Obviously, you would know my intentions better than me, and obviously I honestly believe Ned Yost is just like a baker who would put shards of glass in muffins.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't think it's worth getting worked up over. Coaches come and go all the time all over baseball. Leyva was probably hired not because he was all that great but was the best available at the time. Now they want to make a change. Who knows how he and Yost got along.

 

Kremblas is in a delicate spot now. It's obvious from his hire that Yost's leash does not extend all the way to the end of 08. If this team isn't playing to expectations into late June, I think they'll make a change and Kremblas will get the job at least on an interim basis.

[logan82]

Probably should have said idiot head baker who can't tell the difference between salt and sugar.

[Fatter than Joey]

This is sort of interesting -- Generally speaking, I don't pretend to understand all the jobs coaches do, or how to evaluate them. Going into 2007, I really only had opinions on 2 of our coaches.

 

1. Bill Castro -- It seems to me he does a great job, and I like him personally.

2. Nick Leyva -- I liked his addition as he brought some degree of MLB coaching/managing experience, that guys like Sedar, Maddux, Sveum and Skaalen didn't have. We all know Yost is a Cox disciple, however Leyva worked the NL champion-Herzog Cardinals, and managed the Phillies, so I had hoped some additional ideas and philosophies would be added to the mix.

 

The move makes perfect sense to me, going along with the short leash theory

 

I really hope that DM is not running his team into 2008 with Yost on a short-leash. However, Leyva is the textbook interim manager IMO. Generally speaking interim managing is not an optimal situation, but a guy like Leyva would be a great "keep the seat warm" guy -- probably better than Kremblas. I know that a lot of people take solace by pointing out we had a manager fired in 1982, however that team was loaded with veterans and WAY more able to manage themselves than the 2008 team will be.

 

Actually those who don't like Yost should see this as a positive. Especially if they hire Kremblas. Then he will be with the big club all year and ready to step in if Yost gets fired mid season

 

I disagree -- I want no part of a mid-season firing -- and when Yost does get fired, I want a serious hiring effort made, rather than shuttling someone up from AAA. I'm not saying Kremblas isn't the guy, but I would only feel good about his hiring if he interviewed the best out of a list of potential candidates.

 

People who support Yost should look at a promotion to MLB for Kremblas as a negative because all the Yost detractors will be saying that Kremblas is right there to take over at any time.

 

Perhaps. Shouldn't Yost be able to hire his staff though? -- Why would Yost bring Kremblas aboard to reward him? -- I can't imagine Yost being cool with the idea of promoting his potential replacement. Yost's job is to win MLB games in 2008, not reward organizational coaches. I would tend to conclude that if Kremblas is brought aboard that would be a signal of DM taking control of some of the reins from Yost, and if I were a Nedophile, I guess that would make me nervous.

 

If there is something in particular Nick didn't do well, you don't talk about it publicly. He's looking for another job.

 

I agree -- and I suspect Nick called Yost out on the table during the last weeks of 2007 (or something like that), and Ned decided that "Nick didn't field his position well, and the math wasn't on his side".

 

Leyva was caught off-guard by the news on Tuesday afternoon, and said Yost told him they were not on the "same wavelength."

 

Ned Yost has been flatlining since 2005, so this probably means Leyva can cancel his EEGs.

[DougJones43]

Probably should have said idiot head baker who can't tell the difference between salt and sugar.

 

You're right. I'll have to work on toning down the absurdity of my humor-based comparisons in order to more accurately portray the real situation, and not upset Katuluu.

[Fatter than Joey]

You are talking about a public figure and entity. You don't want to get a reputation as being an organization that bad mouths people when they leave.

 

I think though DM sort of back-handed Leyva by insinuating there were aspects of his job he didn't do well. I am not sure why that needs to be publically stated

[Katuluu]

You're telling me that I posted that, and was completely serious? Okay.

Whether or not you were being facetious is irrelevant. You continually post about your distaste in having Yost as the manager, and you chose to use a ridiculous and extreme metaphor to emphasize your point. Spewing vitriolic bile isn't helping your argument any, and it certainly isn't going to change the fact that Yost is coming back next year.

 

But then I guess you expected everyone to laugh at the thought of Yost putting glass in our brat buns. That Yost, he so cray-zay. Tee hee.

[Fatter than Joey]

I'll have to work on toning down the absurdity of my humor-based comparisons in order to more accurately portray the real situation, and not upset Katuluu.

 

I think Ned is more of a "I mixed up the Ex-Lax with the chocolate chips" baker

[Katuluu]

You're right. I'll have to work on toning down the absurdity of my humor-based comparisons in order to more accurately portray the real situation, and not upset Katuluu.

If you can be less absurd I can assure you it would be better received.

[valpocrewsader]

I would say he's a "forgets the yeast" baker. Has all the right ingredients but can't get them to rise to the occassion in the end.

[DougJones43]

If you can be less absurd I can assure you it would be better received.

 

 

I don't know that you're in any position to judge what 2,000+ people find entertaining, or how they receive my posting. Maybe I'm the only one who thought it was funny, and maybe there are a lot of people here who don't like my posts. It doesn't really bother me one way or the other, and I don't know that it's really relevant or necessary for you to give me advice on how to be "better received" here.

 

The majority of my posts regarding Ned have been completely legitimate. I try have serious discussions 95% of the time, and I think most people here would back me up on that one. But, I'm not going to go any further in defending myself. Obviously, you feel my joking around in this particular situation crossed some kind of line, so I will stop.

[mothershipconnection]

I don't get why fans expect full disclosure on absolutely everything. Cripes, Melvin could have kidney stones and people would call him deceptive for not disclosing whether they were uric acid stones or calcium phosphate stones. I'm sure they have a reason for letting Leyva go, and they don't owe it to us to tell us everything. Say, for example, he and Ned simply didn't get along. Neither was wrong, neither was right, but it just wasn't working. Now, assume Leyva is a decent guy who needs a new gig - do you go around saying "he and Ned constantly fought about baseball philosophy"? Nope, you wish him the best and hire someone new. When you fire a guy and are a jerk or give too much info in the media, that person will often fire back and a huge mud-slinging bashfest is started. I see no reason why anyone involved would want to provoke that. This is, after all, a 3rd base coach people are getting bent out of shape about.

 

How huge of a difference did Leyva honestly make? If it's not big, and if his replacement isn't an obvious step down - then it's just being a pain in the rear to "demand answers". Maybe they really just let him go because they already wanted Kremblas because of his history with the young players. When someone can provide a legitimate answer as to why Nick Leyva is superior to his replacement, they have a right to make a big deal out of this.

[DougJones43]

I don't get why fans expect full disclosure on absolutely everything.

For the record, my issue with this has been more with injury stuff. I feel that they haven't been very forthcoming at times about certain things in that regard. I understand that there might be some competetive advantage they are trying to gain by withholding information about player availability, but at the same time, paying fans probably deserve to know what's going on with the health of the players they are paying to see.

 

And there is something disconcerting about coaches leaving the team year after year for vague or unknown reasons.