D-backs' Melvin fired, A.J. Hinch to take his place

[pitchleague]

Well, Bob Melvin, that is.

 

Story here

 

Kind of surprised to see this so soon. I know that they're struggling but, this is kind of out of left field, if you ask me.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wait, you mean the Bob Melvin that ESPN & Fox Sports have told me is the Brewers' GM? That dude sucks anyway.

[kramnoj]

I wonder if, in some small way, Manny's suspension has a role in this. Manny being gone for 50 games won't be worth 5 games, or 9 games, but it certainly does open that division up a bit when it seemed like they were building a formidable lead.

[azcheesehead]

This doesn't surprise me one bit. He's a TERRIBLE game manager. I have been to at least 7 Dbacks games this year. (Hey, come on, I am stuck in AZ and have tix to all THREE Brewers games down here in Sept.) Anyways, on more than one occasion this year he has emptied his ENTIRE bench before the 9th inning leaving RPs to hit in key situations. And if you think Yost was bad with his bullpen? I invite you to think back to last week when he left Scot Schoenweis in against Mike Cameron who promptly put a ball over the LF fence. This was a long time coming, trust me.

[Ennder]

Arizona has underproduced their talent level for a while now so not too big of a surprise.

[RobertR]

IIRC, Bob Melvin was none too popular when he was fired in Seattle. As I recall he was one of those managers that was completely enamored with the sacrifice bunt.

 

Robert

[homer]

Arizona has underproduced their talent level for a while now so not too big of a surprise.

 

I dunno. They finished 11 ahead of their pythagorean in 2007 which some attribute to the manager. They've had some issues with injuries this year; namely Webb and Drew (and Scherzer started the year on the DL). I don't think he's getting a fair shake given that they've been above .500 with a young club the last two years.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

Don't do that to me my heart just about stopped when I saw the headline!

[JoeHova]

I think Melvin kind of deserved to be fired. I wouldn't say that the D'Backs have massively underperformed throughout his tenure, but they have to be getting worried about the lack of development of some of their players. Also, I assume Josh Byrnes is trying to save his job. His position might be pretty precarious considering some of the moves he's made recently (mostly the Eric Byrnes extension, followed by dumping Carlos Quentin. Any time you can lock up an overrated 32 year old and trade his better, younger replacement, you've got to make that move).

[patrickgpe]

definitely though acta would be the first manager fired.

[joepepsi]

I never bought into the idea their youngsters were loaded with talent. Upton and Drew are very good, but the rest of them are free swinging outmakers. The Brewers' core of young players has far out performed the D-Backs group, but the National media has seldom noticed.

[JJHardy7]

Should the thread title maybe be changed to reflect which Melvin got fired? It had me going for a second http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[pitchleague]

Should the thread title maybe be changed to reflect which Melvin got fired? It had me going for a second http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

that was the whole point! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Heck, I'm surprised that it took as long as it did for somebody to make the requisite "heart attack" comment usually associated with threads like this.

[RU Rah Rah]

There seems to be a rash of these misleading thread titles lately -- Jim Powell arrested, etc.

[hawing]

Well, with a Cubs series starting tonight, for the sake of our collective health, I'll kill pitchleague's joy and edit the subject line.

Besides, he's been fired, so "to be fired" is no longer quite accurate.

 

Edit: And his successor has been named.

[DHonks]

wow, AJ Hinch has been named manager? How many times can the Dbacks slight Chip Hale? Chip's had a great minor league managing career and been a big league coach. Hasn't Hinch been the farm director for the last few years? I did a little work for them in minor league camp a few years back, and Hinch was off to take "front office BP" with the other Frat Boys (walking around with unbuttoned golf shirts, funky colored shorts, and visors on) they have running the show, while Chip was putting in 12-15 hour days with the minor leaguers.

[craigharmann]

I guess the D-Backs want someone who can relate to the players. When I saw his name, I thought it sounded familiar. Didn't realize that it was the same former MLB journeyman catcher. I guess former catchers do make good managers? Or at least that's the prevailing wisdom?

[hauser42]

I agree with DHonks I dont know why Hale was passed over. All I have ever read on him was he was a real smart baseball guy, sure he could have connected with younger players with his minor league background.

 

D-Backs may be at some fault for rushing players up to the majors when they were far from finished products. To me Justin Upton could have used more time in the minors to get rid of his flaws.