I just have this bad feeling that Counsell will be the next GM and that would be a huge mistake. Montgomery seemed to do a decent job in Arizona and he is very well regarded so I am more than willing to give him a chance.
Maybe they can create a role in between the front office and ownership for Counsell to reside that will keep Attanasio from meddling but not give him specific power. GM reports to CC who reports to MA. I dont want to say a Theo/Jed or Friedman/Zaidi setup because I wouldn't want CC to be that powerful. I dont know, but I'm with you in that I dont think Counsell is the answer with how little experience he has.
What the hell has Craig Counsell done to be given any job with authority. Honestly I don't give a fuck that he is a local guy that stuff is nonsense to me. Its not like he is a Brewers legend like Robin Yount. Counsell was a scrub utility player that was lucky enough to play on two World Series teams but he hasn't done anything to get the GM job. The manager job is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things so if he wants to manage these losers let him but I don't want him in charge of making trades or drafting players. Attanasio also needs to take a look in the mirror because he is every bit as responsible for this mess as Doug Melvin.
Instead of worrying about ticket sales this owner should just lower payroll and trade away any veteran with value. If this team isn't going to win 90 games they can win 60 instead of the 75-80 that they were winning before this season.
For those keeping score at home, the Brewers just went a whole month and did not win a single series. Wonder if that's ever happened before.
Here's the video of the inside-the-park home run: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...es-as-cubs-defense-falls-apart-215140203.html
This fucking team is going to start winning some games and convince ownership not to rebuild. The only way to eventually escape mediocrity is for this team to lose 90 plus games and to trade any veteran they can for prospects. This means dealing both Gomez who is only signed through 2016 and Lucroy who is only signed through 2017.
On the one hand Roenicke gets canned, on the other reports from other teams that Gomez and Lucroy are untouchable.
I am happy that Roenicke is gone but the biggest problem with this organization is an incompetent GM and a meddling owner. Unless Melvin is replaced at the end of the season and Attanasio stops signing scrub free agents nothing will change. This team needs to finally take a long view way of building the organization which means revamping the scouting department and staying out of the free agent market. Roenicke killed this team in 2011 when he made indefensible moves like starting Mark Kotsay in CF in a playoff game. At this point with this roster it doesn't matter who the manager is. Attanasio needs to take a good hard look in the mirror and realize that he is the problem. This team needs a clean break which means Melvin needs to go and the Gomez and Lucroy need to go so this rebuild only takes 2-3 years instead of 5-10. The days of assembling a roster of older name players that are washed up and trading away top prospects like Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and Jake Odorizzi for short term solutions like Greinke have to end.
There is talk of Councell getting a multi year deal to manage, which makes me think Melvin might not be going anywhere. If there was a change at GM coming you would think they would get to pick the new manager.
This is just pure stupidity from the owner. The same idiot owner that gave Roenicke an extension before this season. Changing managers makes absolutely no difference when the GM is incompetent.
If this is true the only hope is for Melvin to be moved upstairs to team president with Montgomery being the new GM. Melvin has been a GM for more than 20 years between his time in Texas and Milwaukee. His teams have won a grand total of one playoff series yet this owner places no blame on him.
Sounds like Counsell is getting a 3 year contract. My guess is that we will probably be bunting every inning since that is the way Counsell played. This organization is a complete mess and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I thought Counsell came off well at the introductory press conference. As long as he doesn't insist on small ball he should be an upgrade over Roenicke. Funny that Melvin wouldn't even discuss his own job situation only saying that he has a job until told otherwise. I think Doug may want to leave the organization after the season. I would be ok with him as team president past this season but don't want him running the team day to day.
Given this teams track record, they will probably light up Kershaw for 6 runs in 4 IP, but also get shut out by Frias on Wednesday.
I can just see this team ending up with 78 wins or so and the rebuild being put off once again. I hate to root against the Brewers but I want meaningful change and that wont occur until the team tanks an entire season.
Outstanding article. The Brewers desperately need to trade both Gomez and Lucroy. They aren't getting anything worthwhile for scrubs like Lohse and Ramirez. This owner needs to change his ways or this team is going to own last place for the next 5 years. The haul that the Brewers can get for Gomez and Lucroy would make this rebuild much shorter than it would be if we keep either of them. I also think we should be looking to move Segura who has 3.5 years of control left as Arcia is the future for this team.
That paragraph really tells you everything you need to know. I would love to get Corey Seager from the Dodgers for Lucroy.
I dont hate the Greinke deal because it gave them the only worthwhile Brewers season of my adult life, and now he's probably my favorite player in baseball. Maximizing the years with Fielder isnt the end of the world but I am in agreement that in general it's a bad way to go about roster construction. It always comes back to the draft. If they dont have one disastrous draft after another the aftermath of a deal like that isntas bad as we have now. If there is a trade that bothers me it's the Marcum deal. Give away a guy that just was traded for Josh Donaldson and get a #4 starter that is now long out of baseball
I know Lowery hasn't done much but he was the most valuable chip traded away at the time of the trade.
That Marcum deal never made any sense but then again Melvin loves his pitchers with 85 MPH fastballs.
If you actually have a clue how to develop your own starting pitching you aren't forced to trade for short time answers like Greinke and CC. You know like draft Sonny Gray instead of Jungmann and Bradley. Instead we are forced to make this shortsighted moves and stuck signing guys like Suppan, Lohse, and Garza all because this GM cant identify pitching talent.
From everything I read it definitely sounds like Melvin will be moving upstairs and a new GM will be in place after the season. I wonder if Montgomery has the job locked up or if they will go outside the organization. I doubt Montgomery would have left Arizona unless he was promised the job so lets hope he does well.
From here on out we just have to root for individual performances to show promise, and for Doug to move upstairs into some VP of baseball operations role away from the day to day and replace him with someone with a mind from this century. In many ways that first month could have been the best possible outcome.
Those trade chips need to include Gomez and Lucroy because they aren't getting anything worthwhile for the likes of Lohse, Broxton, and Ramirez.
The other player is 18 and hasn't even pitched a game in this country yet so I don't think he will be in Milwaukee anytime soon.
If The Brewers had dumped Melvin say after 2013, would someone like Zaidi ever have considered Milwaukee or would he have only left for a big gig like LA?
I don't think the Brewers would have any trouble landing a good GM. The franchise has a good fanbase and an owner willing to spend well for a small market franchise. The biggest obstacle would be that the owner is too hands on and has overruled his GM several times to sign middling free agents and a top candidate may have a problem with that.