RockCoCougars

I'm must say that I'm pretty disappointed about this after the Valentine rumors. Not even considering the fact that this guy basically goes against all of Melvin's stated criteria (experienced, winning record, familiar with the N.L., younger and able to connect with the players), this is a very bland hire. I don't know why, but this smacks of the Davey Lopes hiring to me. If money was truly the issue with Valentine, my head is going to explode when they overpay a middle reliever or veteran bench guy 2 or 3 million bucks a year. You have to wonder if they 'went on the cheap', because Melvin is on a very short leash.

No worries. My point was mostly that though many have written the Brewers off already for next season, I think they have a good shot at being competitive if they make a few smart moves. I think the first would be to hire Valentine. Both the Giants and the Rangers were seen as one dimensional teams (one all hitting with no pitching and vice versa).

To quote Dennis Green, "you play to win the game". I suffered through enough rebuilding during the 90's and 00's. This team definitely has the offense to compete. If they aren't horrible on defense, can pick up one legit starter and 'get lucky' with another starter to step up, they should be competitive. Greinke is probably the best guy out there that is a possibility. If Weeks can be extended, I have no problem including Lawrie in a deal for Greinke. First of all, as 30 some years as a Brewer fan as taught me, no prospect is a sure thing. Secondly, the Brewers have a surplus of offense, and Lawrie is probably their most valuable trading chip. This doesn't even mention the fact that his stats in the minors have been less than stellar, and he doesn't even have a position decided for the long term. If my instincts are correct, and he ends up in the outfield, I don't see too much risk in trading him as outfielders are fairly easy to find (especially considering that Braun, Cain and Hart are under team control for quite a while). If he was still catching, I'd be much less inclined to trade him. Actually, I think that it was Herm Edwards with the "you play to win the game" quote. I apologize to him for not giving proper credit.

That's my point. Did anyone see that coming in March? What was their team ERA in 2008 and 2009? The point that I was trying to make is that 'poor pitching' was used as an excuse for Macha's failure as a manager. Texas was coming off several years of poor pitching. Hindsight is 20/20, but think about which team had a better rotation on paper in March, Milwaukee or Texas (I'm not counting Suppan, because that was a politcal farce). Too bad Melvin let Maddux walk, mostly over money from what I've heard. This could be Exhibit A for why sometimes it's a smart move to pay for managerial/coaching talent.

Valentine is a name manager, that's for sure. The reason that I like him is that he's a known quantity. I've always liked his style going back to Texas. Back then, he took a moribund franchise to respectability with a lot of young players. I remember how he did things like pull pitchers in spring training if they walked two guys in a row, etc. He may be an outspoken egomaniac that rubs some people the wrong way, but the bottom line is that he is extremely competitive, and will not hesitate to kick guys in their rears to get them going (I don't see him 'not talking' with Braun or Prince for most of a season as Macha claimed to do). Valentine wants to win, and though I'm sure Macha wanted to win, he didn't seem too broken up about losses. Another thing that I like about him is all the positive quotes that I've seen from the guys who played with and for him over the years. Finally, a lot of Mets fans want to see him brought back, that says something to me as well. Regardless of what people say, I feel this team has most of the horses in place to be competitive in this division, with a few tweaks this winter, they would be right in the hunt. With a little luck, if things go right, anything can happen. Did anyone see the Giants with 'that lineup' or the Rangers with 'that pitching staff' playing each other in the World Series this year? As for the other candidates, Cora and Roenicke are complete unknowns. They could be great managers, but they could also flop miserably. I'd be more willing to take a chance with them if the team had sub 70 win talent on paper. Bob Melvin is a known quantity, but I don't think that his track record warrants his getting the job.

I didn't say that Melvin is making all terrible choices, but like Sal Bando, his track record for picking up mid-level or 'bargain basement' ($5 million or less per) free agents is pretty pathetic. You get what you pay for with guys like Riske, Looper, Davis, Hawkins, Kendall, Zaun and the like. Off the top of my head, the only two such signings that I can think of that panned out nicely were Hoffman (year 1) and Counsell (second stint, year 1). That said, Melvin deserves many props for bringing guys out of no where like Axford, Turnbow, Podsednik, Clark, Davis and Kolb (the first time), McGehee, Loe, etc. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough like that out there, especially in the bullpen. The Brewers have a long history of finding very good players as non-roster invites (Seitzer, Fletcher, Doug Jones, Randolph, Kapler, Cirillo, Edmonds just to name a few) Why waste money on multi-year deals for mediocrity in November/December? Wait until February, pick up a few non roster invites that fall through the cracks and see if any of them stick. The point that I'm trying to make is do you want Valentine as the manager or a cheaper guy, using the savings to pay a $2 million free agent like Zaun or Counsell? I'll take Valentine in a heartbeat

Melvin has a much better track record with scrap heap pickups than he does with these $2 to $5 million per anum guys. Let him stick with the cheap guys instead of wasting money on the open market. Anyone should have known that Riske was a stupid deal when it was made, as was Hawkins. You don't give multi-year contracts to aging middle relievers. I was strongly opposed to the Riske deal and mildly opposed to the Hawkins deal (at least it was only two years). The bullpen should be cheap this year, take a couple million of the savings and get a decent manager, as opposed to wasting 2 or 3 million on some thirtysomething reliever with middling stuff coming of a career year .

Yeah, that $7 million could go a long way toward signing an impact player like David Riske for three years (about half his contract) or LaTroy Hawkins for two.

Kohl wants the home opener on a weekend and the season never opens on a weekend so we always start on the road. That's what I figured. Thanks.

Gooden isn't that bad. I'd certainly rather have him then watch Villanueva play no defense AND jack up threes. Though this may have been discussed elsewhere in this thread, does anyone know why is it that the Bucks never open up at home? I may have missed something, but I can't remember a season opener at home going back to the early 90's at least.

I've been to Brewers playoff games, World Series games, milestone games (like Robin's 3,000), but that was the funnest sporting event that I ever attended and nothing else has been close. I'll never forget how the upper deck at County was shaking during that rally. The concourses and the parking lot were crazy, high fives all around. You would have thought that the Brewers had just won the series. Ironically enough, Bobby Valentine was manager of Texas at the time, and he made the ill-fated decision to put Greg Harris in the game. I also seem to remember him making some controversial possibly disparaging comments about the Brewers that weekend. I remember that he had everyone riled up pretty good.

This is exactly why it's going to take big bucks to lure Valentine back into managing. I don't think it's because his heart is not in it or he is only doing it for the money. The fact is that he has a cushy job at ESPN right now. He basically works in his hometown, and I would imagine makes a nice chunk of change for working part-time. When you hire guys like this, you generally have to break out the checkbook. Look what the Lions gave Matt Millen to run the franchise into the ground. Other guys like Cowher, Fratello, etc. could probably have any coaching job they want for much more than they currently make, but they don't want to go back to the grind right now for whatever reason.

I'd be for it, if it wasn't for too much money. I'd probably give him a Kendall type 2 year deal. What did Kendall earn here, about $4 million-ish a year? A one year deal would be even better. I can't see Pierzynski getting too much more than that on the open market.

In the event that Prince is moved, I'd be very interested in Berkman. He seems like a perfect medium-risk high reward type guy. I don't think he's coming here though, because it just makes too much sense for him to sign with the Rangers. I'd prefer to keep Gamel and move McGehee, if you could find a small market team that would like a 'proven' big-leaguer as part of a deal for a legit starter (I'm talking to you, K.C. - come on-'Casey', 'K.C.'- sounds like a perfect match....). As for those wanting Dunn, I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole. He is going to be demanding a big money contract, and with his frame and age, I would say that he has only a few years left in him- at least as a position player.

I'd say it's somewhat statistically significant that over the past 3 seasons, a team stocked with right-handed hitting is a below .500 club against RH starting pitchers, but has a winning percentage over .550 when playing against a team starting a lefty. Unfortunately for the Brewers, about 70% of the time they are facing a righty. If you look at these stats, it seems to fly in the face of assembling the best team and winning possible. I'd say you should have at least 2 or 3 guys in your regular lineup that are left handed or switch hitters, because it allows you to alternate a few lefties and righties in your batting order. Most teams carry around 2 left handed relievers, but the Brewers make it easy for them because the only legit lefty they have in the lineup is Prince. This is one of the reasons that he's pitched around so much. In the later innings, teams can leave a righty reliever in because the Brewers either have a string of righties coming to the plate or (insert name of mediocre hitter) pinch lefty pinch hitter on the bench. It makes it easier on the opposing managers, because they don't necessarily have to burn their LOOGY (and in turn another guy). They can just pitch around Prince.

Because in general, right handed hitters do not hit right handed pitching as well, and vice versa. This is born out by the fact that the Brewers were approximately 10 games under .500 vs. RH starters during 2008-2010 while finishing about 15 over .500 during the same timeframe. Unfortunately for the Brewers, they are facing right handers over 70 percent of the time. I would say a good break even number would be 3 lefties in the regular lineup, or possibly two with Fielder in the mix.

Just give him the money, and get on with it. Where there's smoke there's fire, and despite the quotes from yesterday, my guess is this thing is pretty far along. Because nothing is signed yet, neither side is going to make any strong statements to the media. Who cares if Valentine is in it partially for the money? Everything is about money, and most of us wouldn't be toiling at our jobs if we were making little or nothing. Right now he has a cushy, well paying job basically in his hometown. I'm sure that he makes great money to show up in the studio on a part-time basis. If you were looking for a job, would you act serious about it around your current employer until the 'ink was dry'? I wouldn't. I really don't think that he's the type of guy to take a job for the money and then phone it in. I highly doubt that you would see him leaning against a pole half asleep a la Macha, he's too competitive.

I think that you need to get another left handed bat in the lineup regardless of what you do with Prince. You can't consistently start a lineup with 7 right handed hitters. I'd like to see Gamel given a chance somewhere before he is sold low. I'd prefer to sell high on McGehee and keep Prince at least until the deadline. This would open third up for Gamel. However, I think Gamel could handle first base without too much of a problem.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see that happen.

All hope of prying one of the pitchers from the Giants pretty much died when they made the playoffs. Once they made the World Series, they were blown to heck- win or lose. I was hoping that their offense would sputter down the stretch and they'd lose a lot of pitcher's duels, missing the playoffs. I figured if that would have happened, a deal built around Fiedler and Cain may have had a chance, but that's not happening now.

I'd rather give Valentine $3 million something a year than give it to stiffs like David Riske or LaTroy Hawkins. Melvin shouldn't have to waste any money on the bullpen this year, maybe invite a couple of vets to spring training or pick up someone on a cheap million dollar one year deal. Any other manager would get in the million dollar range anyway- it's Attanasio's money, so what's an extra $2 million? Who would you rather have, Valentine or Macha and Zaun or Counsell? As someone else mentioned how Girardi is asking for less after the division titles and what not, you have to consider the fact that with that pitching staff, you or I could have probably done just as well.

I think managers/coaches have a big impact on a team's performance. Love him or hate him, but do you think that some of those Cardinals teams in recent years would have been nearly as good with Macha and Castro as opposed to LaRussa and Duncan? That's an extreme example, but even if you feel that managers make only a 2-3 game difference per season, think about how many teams fall 2 or 3 games short of the playoffs at the end of the year.

Hopefully this is true. I had kind of lost hope after Hardicourt's source told him that Valentine was out of the mix. Bobby V. would be a much needed shot in the arm for a talented and under performing team (yes I know that the starting pitching was mostly brutal for the first 100 games or so last season). I feel that hiring Valentine would parallel the Bucks George Karl back in the day. Yes, he pretty much left the franchise in chaos (but only partially because Harris made some incredibly idiotic decisions as well), but there were a couple of fun seasons in between.

I like what you guys have posted about Roenicke, so I'd be cool with him. However, I wouldn't put too much stock in the lack of comment from Roenicke. All that means is that the press was able to get a hold of him. He's is probably a finalist, and not sure whether he will get the job or not. If you are asked for a quote from the press in that case, less is more.

I'd prefer Cora at this point, Roenecke seems a little vanilla to me for whatever reason. That said, I'm starting to fear that the candidate who fits Melvin's 'criteria the best is Melvin. He's experienced managing a N.L. club, and could be spun as a 'winner' by Melvin. I can just hear him saying "Well he was manager of the year a few years back in Arizona. He's been in the playoffs." I'd guess that the longer this drags on, the mystery candidate comes more into play. Why are they waiting so long with so many clubs interviewing the same pool of guys? Maybe they are waiting for the World Series to finish for Hurdle, or to make some type of splash.