bklynbrewcrew

Its so nice to watch a Brewers pitcher throw 95.

Great Parra is getting squeezed.

He hasnt been in KC long and Moore was dopey way before Arbuckle became an advisor. Arbuckle has a great track record drafting stars for the Phillies and that should remove any doubts about him. The truth is there is risk with any potential new GM. Dayton Moore was very highly regarded when KC hired him and he has turned out to be a complete train wreck as a GM.

Arbuckle should be the only guy considered along with Logan White who drafted all of the great young Dodger talent. These two have shown an ability to draft and develop and that is the number one criterior to look for in a GM.

Mike Arbuckle would be the perfect candidate to replace Melvin. Arbuckle was the man responsible for drafting the core of the Phillies championship teams. He drafted Utley, Howard, Rollins and Hamels and quit when he was passed over for Ruben Amaro. Arbuckle is an asst in KC now and would love a GM job. This guy seems like a great prospect and should be high on the list when and if Melvin goes.

We could do far worse than Melvin so I agree that if there isnt a clear upgrade we shouldnt make a move. Kevin Towers is a guy that would be a clear downgrade in my opinion. The Padres minor league system has been bad for many years and Towers is responsible for that.

I think we can all agree that Melvin has been far better than Taylor or Bando but that doesnt mean he shouldnt be replaced.

My point is and has been that the entire rotation other than Gallardo are all finesse pitchers that rely on location to be successful. These guys are all nibblers which cause high pitch counts and lack of innings pitched. It goes way beyond how hard they throw. Doug Davis for example has always walked tons of guys because he is afraid to be aggressive knowing that he doesnt have the pure stuff to challenge hitters on a regular basis. When most of the staff has average to below average stuff they also have to rely heavily on defense which has been flat out pitiful as well. When you add up finesse staff plus below average defense at almost every position on the diamond you tend to have bad results. Is it really surprising to anyone that older finesse pitchers playing in front of a bad defensive club is a situation that was doomed to fail from the start.

If he did break 85 I didnt see it but that doesnt change the fact that Bush has always been a soft tosser.

I dont blame coaching for the likes of Suppan, Davis, and Looper being bad. These guys are all soft tossers that werent very good to begin with. Throw in Dave Bush who cant even break 85 with his fastball and its easy to see why this rotation has been terrible the last few years. Building your staff around veteran SP who are all soft tossers is not a plan to use if you want to be a contending team.

Finally a move I can agree with. I was sure they would take this opportunity to give Suppan another chance. Hopefully manny pitches well and keeps the spot on a permanent basis as he has the best stuff on the roster.

It really is a great point to ask what exactly does Macha add to this team? With most managers we can at least point to some positive attributes but Macha has none whatsoever. This is a young team with players that like expressing themselves and Macha has just taken the enjoyment out of the game. He didnt want them untucking after wins, he has complained about "Hells Bells" being played when Hoffman enters the game and he even apologized to San Francisco when Fielder hit that walk off HR last season followed by the bowling pins celebration. How can anyone think that this personality will ever mesh well with a young team? It was a hiring that was doomed to fail right from the start and that falls squarely on the shoulders of Doug Melvin. Why exactly did Melvin only feel the need to interview Macha, randolph, and Brenly in the first place. These were three awful candidates to begin with yet Melvin felt that these were the only good candidates out there. That says an awful lot about Doug Melvin and his ability to find a good manager. The truth of the matter is firing Macha is not nearly enough to turn around this season because Doug Melvin has once again assembled a terrible pitching staff that no manager would be able to overcome and that is a far bigger issue than who is managing this team. Its really time to ask what direction this organization is headed. There have been no indications that the team has even started trade discussions with other clubs regarding Fielder and the blame for that is on Melvin and maybe even more Mark Attanassio. The owner is so worried about public perception that he will probably hold onto Fielder through next season and take the draft picks which would be disastrous for this franchise. It seems that this ownership is way too concerned about today and how the average person will see this franchise than about doing what is right for the next several seasons.

Its time to fire both Melvin and Macha. Melvin has to go because he has put together awful pitching staffs two years in a row and I just dont see that changing. As for Macha he adds nothing of significance to this team. He is completely lifeless and doesnt trust young players. Absolutely the wrong personality traits for a young team like the Brewers; the man literally sucks the life out of this team. As for Melvin I just dont trust him in handling potential Fielder trade negotiations. Doug will want to trade Prince for current major leaguers and pitchers like Capuano and Davis who have no upside. I want a GM that will trade Prince for high upside AA arms and not try to placate the fans by acquiring current major leaguers with no upside like Mench and Bush. I have a very bad feeling that we arent even gonna move Prince and will be losing him for two draft picks which is completely unacceptable as I do not see this team being in contention this year or next.

Why not hit McGehee 2nd so we have our 4 best hitters hitting 1-4 in the lineup. Escobar is not a number two hitter at this point and neither is Gomez.

As much as I want Macha gone I dont think it makes much difference at this point because the season is over because of the awful starting pitching. As for replacements I want no part of randolph who was awful for the Mets (living in NY I saw his ineptitude close up) and small ball sveum is equally clueless. Bobby Valentine and Davey Johnson are two guys that would add a lot to this team but Melvin is too clueless to do the right thing.

Ive lost all faith in this front office at this point. This organization totally mishandled Gamel and they dont take any blame for it. Mat Gamel is the type of inpact bat that we need to replace Prince but sadly he will probably never get the chance. Is it just me or is this minor league system average at best at this point and what does that say about the future. With no SP prospects that look like sure bets and only a few potential impact bats I could really see this team struggling for the next 2 or 3 years at least.

Is there any chance that Macha doesnt accompany the team to Cincinnatti tomorrow?

Bush cant throw any harder than 85 or so.

When exactly does Melvin pay the price for putting together the worst pitching staffs imaginable two years in a row.

Its time for a flat out rebuild. Replace Macha immediately and start trading off the veterans with value. We also must make a decision on Fielder, either he signs or we have to trade him now. There is no use in pretending that this team is a contender in any way.

Sounds like Ryan Braun's frustrations with the pitching staff from last year. Its pretty hard for the offensive players to not get demoralized when the pitching staff is getting lit up night after night after night. As for Prince he should be frustrated with himself as well since he hasnt exactly been hitting much so far this season.

Watching Edmonds play CF makes one really miss Gomez.

So we get embarrassed tonight on MLB network, tomorrow on Fox and Sunday night on ESPN. Sounds like fun. I hear espn pushed back sportscenter till 1 am when they heard Davis was pitching.

I think its more fair to look at the 10 plus years Melvin has been a GM than to point at a few promising arms in the minors. Doug Melvin has an extremly long track record that says he doesnt have a clue how to put together a good pitching staff and until he does I will be a skeptic.

I think you are right that he didnt draft Parra, my mistake. Are we supposed to ignore his very poor success rate to this point in identifying high upside starting pitchers. I cant give him credit for a bunch of kids that are not even close to helping this team. When the likes of Peralta and others reach the majors and have success I will be the first to give Melvin credit but that wont take away from the fact that he has been a GM for more than 10 years between Milwaukee and Texas and has shown a complete lack of ability to find power arms.