RockCoCougars

My guess is that Casey must be a favorite of the Milwaukee BBWAA- he must be easy to get a quote from. In that case, they should have voted him the 'Good Guy', and given the MVP to either Weeks or Hart. McGehee had a nice season, but would probably be 5th on my ballot.

I think it's a little premature to say that with two years remaining on the deal. I'll be the first to admit that Wolf earned his money in his last 10 or so starts, and if you look at his season stats as a whole, he was 'OK' for the money. That said, he was mediocre to bad for the rest of the season. With two years left and Wolf not getting any younger, it's far too soon to call this one a 'good signing'.

Toronto, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Orioles

Good. That's one aging expensive pitcher off the market, which means less temptation for Melvin.

Ask a Cleveland fan. One of my buddies is a big Indians fan, and from the sounds of it Wedge is basically a younger version of Ned Yost, in how he mishandles game decisions and the bullpen on a regular basis.

To kinda quote Jerry Maguire, 'He lost them at hello'. Say what you want about the 2008 team backing into the playoffs, losing C.C., whatever. At the time, it seemed that the team had very good chemistry with Sveum. The players really seemed to be having fun out there. Flash forward to this season, where it looked like they were mostly going through he motions.

I'm not so sure. My guess is that he would have taken the Seattle job had it been offered. Seattle is far from a luxury car- sure you have the King and an aging Ichiro to go with a couple of stud prospects, but outside of that the cupboard looks pretty bare to me. I think right now, both sides are feeling things out as to how the egos would fit together. At the same time, I'm wondering if perhaps Valentine is holding out hope that the Mets may bring him back. I'm pretty convinced that he wants to manage again, and the Brewers have a lot more talent than most teams looking for a manager. Obviously Valentine isn't going to Pittsubrgh, but I would have to think that the Brewers job has to be fairly attractive.

That could partially be due to the fact that he has the cushy ESPN gig. He could be desperate to manage and just feigning apathy, using the TV job to leverage the most earnings possible out of whatever job he takes. On the other hand, he could be truly apathetic towards managing and is just interviewing for jobs to get more money out of ESPN. Because he was actually in discussions with the trainwreck that is the Florida Marlins, I would guess that the former is the case- but he's in a position where he doesn't necessarily have to manage. Sitting in a TV studio for a few hours 4-5 a few nights a week is a lot easier than the 162 game grind. My guess is that if Attanasio wanted him and paid him well, he would come. Considering the team is coming off a bad season and probably cutting a little payroll while possibly trading the team's most popular player this winter, hiring Valentine would be a relatively cheap PR coup for the team. It makes sense on a lot of levels. The two big issues that I see are how well the egos of Attanasio and Valentine mesh, and how comfortable Melvin would feel working with a strong personality like Valentine.

From the transcript, it sounds like they are going to continue talking, which I would take as a good thing. If Valentine truly wasn't interested in the job, it probably would have been one and done. The 'might' comment probably stems from the fact that nothing has been formalized yet. I take the burning desire thing with a grain of salt as well because it's not like Valentine is sitting at home doing nothing, is a base coach or a minor league managing job- he has what I'm assuming is a fairly lucrative job right in his backyard with ESPN. I'm sure that his current gig pays much more 'per hour' than any managerial job would, with much less stress. Come on Mark, pretend like Valentine is Suppan and wine and dine him a little. Money shouldn't be an issue, use the money that Doug would waste on a throwaway player, and make him one of the highest paid managers in baseball. The last thing this fanbase needs is a boring, vanilla retread like Bob Melvin. On that note, does anyone else get the feeling that Hardicourt is lobbbying pretty hard for Bob Melvin?

Well, I believe that the Brewers are required to conduct at least one interview with a minority candidate. That said, I don't think Cora should be dismissed as the 'token' candidate. From all I've read on him, he's pretty intriguing to me. He doesn't fit Melvin's qualifications, but not many of the realistic candidates do. For example, in my view, Bob Melvin is not a 'winner' in any sense of the word. Cora is number two on my list next to Valentine. Though it seems that quite a few first time managers step in and have pretty much immediate success, I'm a little bit leery about hiring a new first time guy due to the dynamics on this team. However, I don't want a retread in the vein of Wedge, Melvin, Hurdle, Brenly or the like even though those guys have 'playoff experience'. I'm also a skeptic when it comes to plucking first time guys from 'winning programs' as is all the rage in the NFL. For example, Ron Roenicke may be an expert on the 'Angel way', but does that translate into success with this group of guys? I'd say that's a question mark at best. I think that personality is the most important aspect of this hire, and both Valentine and Cora seem to have the feisty, aggressive, energetic persona that I feel these players need.

I agree. If this happens, it is great news on two fronts. Firstly, probably the least appealing managerial candidate to me is off the market- so bullet dodged (now, hopefully the Cubs or another team hires Bob Melvin). Secondly, what was likely the primary competition for Valentine is out of the way.

Since it seems that Sveum or Randolph aren't even going to get an opportunity to interview, I'd agree with you on your order of preference.

We have to get past this inferiority complex. Granted, Milwaukee may not be appealing to today's athlete because of the lack of nightlife and endorsement opportunities. I can't see that as being as much of an issue to a 60 some year old guy, Milwaukee is a pretty pleasant place to spend a summer. Valentine was willing to manage in the remote outpost of Chiba City, Japan, so why not Milwaukee? Going further, in my opinion- based on talent alone, the Brewers job should be one of the most, if not the most appealing jobs open right now. I think that the Brewers have much more already in place than the other teams linked with Valentine, plus they have an owner that has shown that he is willing to spend to improve the team. You also have to consider the fact that there would be much less pressure to win in Milwaukee as opposed to some of the big markets (basically the polar opposite of what he saw in New York). Managerial salaries aren't anything out of line, and offering a three year deal for Latroy Hawkins money would probably get the job done. I would guess that in Valentine's case the Mariners may have a leg up because of their Japanese connection and the fact that he briefly played there. Obviously, his dream job is the Dodgers job, but that's not going to be open anytime in the near future.

Best wishes to Bob. I did not know that he had a staph infection. That's pretty serious stuff, but he's a tough guy. Hopefully he can use the off season to get some much needed r&r (along with recovery/rehab), and he can get back into the booth for Opening Day.

Hopefully this is true. Come on Mark, let's get this done, money shouldn't be an issue.

I hope that the Pirates swoop Wedge up. Just the thought of him as Brewers manager makes me throw up in my mouth a little. Hurdle is back in baseball. He's the Rangers hitting coach. I don't see him as a solid candidate, but I'm getting increasingly concerned that Doug Melvin does. Joey Cora is starting to sound better and better to me as more names come out.

I'm starting to get a sinking feeling that Melvin is waiting on Clint Hurdle. Experienced...check. N.L. experience....check. A 'winner'...well he did go to a World Series in between a bunch of 4th and 5th place finishes- so check, I guess. Relates well to players.....according to reports, he related very well with a 'faction' of the team in Colorado, so I'm unsure. Texas Rangers experience....bonus points. As for Bob Melvin, I don't know why he always seems to be the candidate de jour in Milwaukee. He may be a good 'baseball mind', but that hasn't translated into results. Should the Brewers really be the team to give the guy a third chance in seven years? I would say no. I just saw the name Eric Wedge. Please God no!

While I think Sveum should be the guy for 2011 at least (considering if you have another season like 2010, you will have a new GM to hire 'their guy' as manager), I don't want him to be a puppet for management. He has to be allowed to make his own choices. As I said above, my suspicions are that starting Suppan in Game 4 was 'strongly suggested' by the suits. When the team announced that he would take the mound for that game, everyone groaned because the move just didn't make sense. Suppan had basically been throwing batting practice since May (though I will give him some credit for gutting out the Friday Cubs game- as nervewracking as it was to watch). Sveum probably wanted the full time job so badly that he had to toe the line, but once the lead off home run was hit, the season was effectively over.

I'm still not 100% sold that was all Sveum's call.I'd bet my car that it was not Sveum's call. Mark A. wanted his 'big game pitcher' to justify his contract. He had used smoke and mirrors to limit the Cubs the previous Friday, so I'm sure Mark thought that he could do it again as he was his biggest fan. Though there is obviously no proof of this, Attanasio obviously meddled in the Yost firing so I have no doubt that he had some say in this matter.

As I said in another post, many thought that Macha was just reserved and stoic, while I always detected a smug arrogance about how he conducted himself. His 'parting shots', so to speak, belie that. I'm sure that we will hear the other side of the story soon, and I'm glad that he's gone.

Sounds like Cora may have the inside track. I'm kind of on the fence about him, but if the Brewers are interested, they had better swoop him up before the Mariners do. He was a very popular player in Seattle.

Sandberg did just that- and in my opinion, that makes him more qualified than Samuel. I think any former player could be a base and/or bench coach in the majors, and even if they served on a winning team, it doesn't mean that they learned anything to prepare for a managerial position . I would guess that the headaches that a manager faces (at any level of pro ball) are much more frequent and complex than those of a base/bench coach. As this club is put together, managing the 'personalities' should be one of the top priorities of the new manager. If you hire from outside the organization,I think these guys need someone who commands respect, and frankly I don't see a first-time MLB manager doing so (outside of maybe Sandberg solely based on his HOF playing career).

I see Samuel put up a .333 record as interim manager in Baltimore this season. That and a .500 record in one season at a AA squad does not make me feel that he's a viable candidate. The fact that he has chosen to coach in the majors rather than manage in the minors tell me that he wasn't willing to pay his dues. Going further, I'm not interested in hiring a manager based on the needs of Gomez and Escobar.

Does Samuel have any managing experience whatsoever, or is his experience limited to being a professional butt-slapper (base coach)? I didn't think that I could hear a name that would be worse than Brenly, but Samuel may be.

Multiple folks are saying this. The Brewers have to be one of the better teams at NOT hiring retreads. The Macha hire doesn't make me gun-shy of guys with MLB managerial experience. Terry Francona's won a couple World Series in Boston after winning nothing in Philly. Charlie Manuel won in Philly after not winning in Cleveland. Let's see... Ken Macha - "retread" Ned Yost - rookie mgr Jerry Royster - rookie mgr Davey Lopes - rookie mgr Phil Garner - rookie mgr Tom Trebelhorn - rookie mgr George Bamberger, 2nd time - "retread" ... the last time before Macha the Brewers hired a re-tread was for the '85 season, and his previous experience was managing the Brewers. Only Trebelhorn had a winning record, and only Garner & Yost also had above .500 seasons. Bamberger turned the franchise around, Kuenn won a pennant, Buck Rodgers was a winner, Garner had a winning season, Treb had a winning record, Dave Bristol was a retread. That is why I was a Harry Dalton fan, outside of Lach, all were first timers and pretty successful. If we cannot pay a Showalter or a Torre, go with a new guy. Davey Lopes was a politically correct hire, Royster a fill in--Crandall a familiar face, Alex Grammas? Now---he gives us wonder on why not to hire a new guy as a manager. Point taken. The Brewers also don't hire from within. Since I don't consider guys like Lefebvre (remember him?) and Royster to be former Brewer managers due to their interim status, you have to go back nearly 25 years to Trebelhorn to find the last internal hire. I'm pretty sure he wasn't expected to get the full time gig either, until the team finished like 7-2 under his watch. As far as I know, Trebelhorn, Kuenn, Rodgers and Crandall were the only managers in franchise history who were internal hires, and at least 3 of them started on an interim basis.