Onward to the future, who is your preferred 2024 field manager

[nate82]

1 minute ago, sveumrules said:

We clearly need a manager who has proven he can win a World Series in a small market...

N E D Y O S T

With Yuni B as the pitching, hitting and bench coach!!!!!!

WS here we come!!!!!

[brewerfan82]

If Ross is still getting paid by the Cubs, then my vote is to pick him up for free and beat the Cubs next year while they pay for our new manager.

Regardless, hopefully we finish ahead of them in the standings next year and today ends up feeling like something somewhere between a nothing burger and a dodged bullet.

[WV Brew]

I'd like to see Victor Estevez.  Great job at Carolina last year with no big prospects really.  Young, bilingual and aggressive.  I have grown tired of all the DPs waiting for the 3-run HR.

[sveumrules]

Just now, WV Brew said:

I'd like to see Victor Estevez.  Great job at Carolina last year with no big prospects really.  Young, bilingual and aggressive.  I have grown tired of all the DPs waiting for the 3-run HR.

Not sure what any new manager is going to be able to do about the double plays.

Our two best hitters - Yelich (57.3%) and Contreras (55.0%) - ranked 2nd and 3rd among all qualified hitters in ground ball percentage last year.

Those two accounted for 38 of the Brewers 144 double plays in 2023, about 26.4%. 

At the same time, 51 of the Brewers 144 double plays came from players no longer with the club, or unlikely to be in 2024 - Tellez (11), Anderson (10), Santana (8, in only two months), Caratini (8), Donaldson (4), Canha (3), Voit (3), Brosseau (2) and Tapia/Urias (1 each).

[brooks_quichenick]

My preferred choice would be Stephen Vogt 🙃

[shanedog19]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

I think it will be Villanueva.  I believe they have been grooming him for awhile now.

I wouldn’t mind Seitzer or DeRosa.  

I like the idea of Villanueva. Our team has a large contingency from the Latin community, and I think Villanueva would be a natural fit. He's played and coached in the organization, and is young and not far removed from his playing days. I think he may be my #1 choice and hope he gets consideration.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Between the departures in back to back years of Stearns and Counsell, if the hire is someone really cheap, it just makes the team that much easier to sell, I'll say that. Clear them books

[brewers888]

8 minutes ago, True Blue Brew Crew said:

Between the departures in back to back years of Stearns and Counsell, if the hire is someone really cheap, it just makes the team that much easier to sell, I'll say that. Clear them books

The team is a relatively easy sale regardless of whether they spent an extra few million on a manager. I would love to see Attanasio sell to someone with much deeper pockets but I'd be surprised if it actually happens. 

[SDBrew fan]

I like the idea of promoting Walker McKinven.  It sounds like the players respect him and value his input.  I think he's a good teacher, as commented by the pitchers and catchers.  He's also young and can grow with the young roster.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

2 minutes ago, brewers888 said:

The team is a relatively easy sale regardless of whether they spent an extra few million on a manager. I would love to see Attanasio sell to someone with much deeper pockets but I'd be surprised if it actually happens. 

New owners love to bring in their own people. The Brewers are about to have a sweet stadium lease, a top 5 farm system, only one average to below average long term player contract, a low overall payroll, next to zero long term contracts, and a manager making peanuts. If Attanasio wasn't doing this by design, he just might wake up one morning and realize how attractive all of this is to rich peers looking to buy a team.

Why do any of the things Attanasio has done these past couple years? Let highly competent people leave. No long term deals offered even to current players, much less free agents. Payroll declining. These past 2-3 years have been a complete 180 from the way Attanasio operated the Brewers since he bought them up until around 2020-2021.

Most of you probably aren't convinced Attanasio is positioning them to sell, but it's impossible not to see how attractive they are to others who are looking to buy right now. Complete blank slate with young cheap talent stocked and loaded.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

I would expect someone who has never managed in MLB before and will sign for a bottom tier salary to be the next manager. In other words, someone who can easily be fired without huge future $$$ liability.

[sveumrules]

4 minutes ago, True Blue Brew Crew said:

Why do any of the things Attanasio has done these past couple years? Let highly competent people leave.

Stearns wanted to go to his favorite team growing up.

Counsell was offered industry leading compensation, which the Cubs blew away by over two million per year.

If someone has their mind made up on wanting to work elsewhere, or are determined to go solely to the highest bidder, there isn't a whole lot Mark A can do about it.

[brewers888]

7 minutes ago, True Blue Brew Crew said:

New owners love to bring in their own people. The Brewers are about to have a sweet stadium lease, a top 5 farm system, only one average to below average long term player contract, a low overall payroll, next to zero long term contracts, and a manager making peanuts. If Attanasio wasn't doing this by design, he just might wake up one morning and realize how attractive all of this is to rich peers looking to buy a team.

Why do any of the things Attanasio has done these past couple years? Let highly competent people leave. No long term deals offered even to current players, much less free agents. Payroll declining. These past 2-3 years have been a complete 180 from the way Attanasio operated the Brewers since he bought them up until around 2020-2021.

Most of you probably aren't convinced Attanasio is positioning them to sell, but it's impossible not to see how attractive they are to others who are looking to buy right now. Complete blank slate with young cheap talent stocked and loaded.

I could see your scenario as plausible and hope it plays out that way because this owner has taken the team as far as he possibly can being one of the least wealthy owners in the sport. Maybe Elon Musk or someone like him is a baseball fan because we sure need someone that rich and brilliant to save us.

[brewers888]

2 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Stearns wanted to go to his favorite team growing up.

Counsell was offered industry leading compensation, which the Cubs blew away by over two million per year.

If someone has their mind made up on wanting to work elsewhere, or are determined to go solely to the highest bidder, there isn't a whole lot Mark A can do about it.

This owner has been cutting payroll and he hasn't given out any long term contracts the last few years. Him selling the team while unlikely is certainly possible and what I am hoping for.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

2 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Stearns wanted to go to his favorite team growing up.

Counsell was offered industry leading compensation, which the Cubs blew away by over two million per year.

If someone has their mind made up on wanting to work elsewhere, or are determined to go solely to the highest bidder, there isn't a whole lot Mark A can do about it.

You won't even consider the possibility that Stearns and Counsell knew of Mark's plans and that's why they were both even looking elsewhere in the first place. They can't come out and say why so they give the reasons they have. Then it all comes out later. 

But in hindsight, with CC especially, that dude said and did things suggesting he'd never leave. And then all the sudden, something changed...

[homer]

There's a different thread dedicated to the theory that Mark A might want to sell the team.

Let's keep this one about potential managerial candidates.

[JefferyLeonard]

7 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Stearns wanted to go to his favorite team growing up.

Counsell was offered industry leading compensation, which the Cubs blew away by over two million per year.

If someone has their mind made up on wanting to work elsewhere, or are determined to go solely to the highest bidder, there isn't a whole lot Mark A can do about it.

Okay now I am 100% convinced you're a member of the Brewers organization. Because the next time you say something with even a hint of negativity towards the organization will be the first. It sure seems you think they can do no wrong ever and you're always "no big deal" when they don't offer huge contracts etc because you get fed the ******** they spew(and eat it up) that "this is all we can do, small market wahhh wahh wahh". It's nauseating to be quite honest

[Ro Mueller]

Kapler or Shildt sound like decent options based on 5 minutes of desktop research.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

I like the Seitzer idea. Was hoping for Vogt but that ship sailed before this even went final

[HarveysWBs]

3 minutes ago, JefferyLeonard said:

Okay now I am 100% convinced you're a member of the Brewers organization. Because the next time you say something with even a hint of negativity towards the organization will be the first. It sure seems you think they can do no wrong ever and you're always "no big deal" when they don't offer huge contracts etc because you get fed the ******** they spew(and eat it up) that "this is all we can do, small market wahhh wahh wahh". It's nauseating to be quite honest

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

Molitor. Still just 67, managed a small market club before; former MOY. Prestige hire.

I watched Molitor manage in Minnesota. Love him but not as a manager. He absolutely thrashed the late innings bullpen guys.

He has all the traits I like on paper but watching him destroy a bullpen by July makes me never want to see him in a dugout again. 

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Looking at recent manager contracts, it looks like the Brewers could get someone for as little as around $1 million per if they hired a first timer. Probably going to be at least a 3 year deal, perhaps a 2 year deal with an option. Could make a hire with as little as a $2-3 million commitment. As opposed to a supposed $27.5 million commitment to Counsell.

[sveumrules]

22 minutes ago, JefferyLeonard said:

Okay now I am 100% convinced you're a member of the Brewers organization. Because the next time you say something with even a hint of negativity towards the organization will be the first. It sure seems you think they can do no wrong ever and you're always "no big deal" when they don't offer huge contracts etc because you get fed the ******** they spew(and eat it up) that "this is all we can do, small market wahhh wahh wahh". It's nauseating to be quite honest

The new manager the Brewers hire will either be better, worse, or about the same as Counsell.

I’ll reserve judgement until they’ve played some games next year.

Right now there is no way to know if this will be a positive, negative or marginal transaction.

Anyone acting like they already know the future is just projecting their own biases and pre-conceived notions.

[CheeseheadInQC]

No clue who it will be, but hiring someone who hasn't managed doesn't mean it's a budget signing, although some already seem to be framing it that way (what experience did Counsell have managing?). I just feel anymore, since the analytics revolution, there are so many parts that need to work together that predicting who is going to work well for a particular team is largely a fool's errand.  (Outside of LaRussa to the White Sox. That was laughably doomed from the start)

Despite the fact that I follow baseball more closely than football and basketball, I feel less confident having an opinion on this hire than I would the Packers or Bucks. There's just a level of stuff I don't know lurking beneath the usual amount of fan ignorance at the surface.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Rick Sweet would make sense as a cheap option who would provide a comfort level and continuity for the youngsters