Ken Macha Named New Brewers Manager: "The Manager's Job Is Not To Always Be Buddies With The Players"

That quote above was how Ken Macha answered the first question asked of him at the press conference today when Doug Melvin announced him as the 16th Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Let me just say WOW, what a breath of fresh air! I could never imagine Ned Yost saying something like that. Macha also talked about things like OBP, putting the best lineup on the field and if players are not producing, they won't play. He seems to be quite the opposite of Ned Yost and that is going to be a great thing for the Brewers.

Macha signed a 2 year contract with the Crew, that will make him the Manager through the 2010 season. Melvin and Macha both confirmed that Dale Sveum who was interim Manager after Yost was fired will come back on be part of the coaching staff. It just is not known if it will be as bench coach or 3B coach. Tomorrow Macha and Melvin will meet to discuss the coaching staff that will for sure include Ed Sedar, Bill Castro and now Sveum. It is not known yet if pitching coach Mike Maddux will be back. He has had some inquires from the Texas Rangers.

One thing I know for sure is Macha's record as the A's Manger speaks for itself; 368-280 (.568) record, including AL West crowns in 2003 and 2006. The A's were swept in the ALCS by the Tigers in 2006 which led to Macha's firing after that season. He spent this past season as a in-studio analyst for the Boston Red Sox on NESN in Boston. He has ties to the Red Sox, A's, Angels and Expos orginizations as a coach. He also played for the Pirates, Blue Jays and spent time playing in Japan. I think of the three candidates Melvin interviewed; Macha, Brenly and Randolph. Ken Macha was the best choice for this job and this team. I just hope he proves me right, I already have a bet with a guy at work who thinks that they Crew will not have a winning record under Macha. Get all your Macha info here.

Brewers Make First Big (And By Big, I Mean Really Small) Offseason Move

Today the Brewers claimed former Cubs 3B Casey McGehee off waivers and out righted Joe Dillon (who might possibly be the worst pinch hitter in the history of MLB, well not really but he was BAD in 2008). McGehee is a 26 year old right handed hitter who .296 with 12 HR and 92 RBI at AAA Iowa for the Cubs. During a September callup with the Cubs he batted .167 (4-24) in 9 games.

Not sure what this means really. I'm just glad to see Dillon gone, I wouldn't be surprised though if they signed Dillon to a minor league deal at some point. I suppose McGehee is a bit of insurance at 3B for a couple of reasons. Mike Lamb and Russell Branyan are free agents to be. Craig Counsell could be a free agent if they don't exercise his 2009 option, Mat Gamel may not be big league ready yet (might not even stay at 3B) and Bill Hall had a shitty year. At only 26 McGehee could have some upside and that coupled with the questions surrounding all the other guys they have that can play 3B is probably why Doug Melvin claimed McGehee.

Ryan Braun Shares Sexual Inuendos/"Ball" Jokes With Marissa Miller

This Internet only commercial was shot earlier this season at a park in Brookfield. It is for some Remington hair clippers. It has been out for awhile now, but I forgot to post it. If you have not seen it, here you go. Let me say Ryan Braun is my favorite current Brewers player. He is awesome and I have what you can call a "man crush" on him. But that being said, you can add him to the list of Brewers who should not and can not "act". (that list also includes: JJ Hardy, Bill Hall, Jeff Suppan and Chris Capuano. See: This) Without further ado, I give you Ryan Braun's acting/commerical ad debut!

And Then There Were Three

Brewers.com has confirmed the Brewers have and will only be interviewing three candidates for the Manager's job. And like we all already knew it is Bob Brenly, Ken Macha and Willie Randolph.

I guess my question to Doug Melvin is, why stop at three? I mean I understand you don't want this process to drag out to long. But the World Series is still going on and you can't announce anything until there after anyway. So why not interview two or three more candidates and then choose between 5 or 6 instead of only 3. I'm sure more then Brenly, Macha and Randolph have shown interest in the job, so why not see what those parties have to bring to the table? In the end I think Brenly gets the job simply based on the fact he won a ring. But that alone does not make him right for the job. Of the three I still like Macha best not sure if that is saying much though. But at least none are named Ned Yost, right?

News And Notes October 22nd Edition

Hmmm, where do I begin. Lots of news and notes to discuss tonight. First of all the World Series begins tonight. Rays vs. Phillies, I have to say I hate the Phillies and I love watching the Rays play. So I will go with the Rays in 7 games. Should be a great series, but in the end doesn't it just feel like the Rays should win it? I like their starting pitching more and even though the Phillies have a very devastating lineup, I think the Rays is even better. I mean Upton, Pena, Longoria and Crawford is as dangerous a 2-5 in all of MLB.

Well the moment all Brewers fans have been dreading for sometime now finally happen today. Scouting Director Jack Zduriencik finally landed a GM job. He was announced today as the new General Manager of the Seattle Mariners. Well deserved for Jack and we all saw it coming, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't suck. He was the main man responsible for drafting; Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, JJ Hardy, Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Mat Gamel, Alcides Escoar and I could go on and on. Best of luck to Jack, he is gonna need it in Seattle their team is a real mess right now.

You can add Willie Randolph to the lost of people that have interviewed for the Brewers Manager's job. Ken Macha was the first and that leaves Bob Brenly to interview later this week yet. According to Doug Melvin, he may stop after Brenly and decide between those three candidates. Bobby Valentine still an outside shot but that looks less likely every day. Macha is still my choice between the three candidates, but would take Randolph over Brenly. I have just heard too many negative things about Brenly being a terrible strategy Manager and getting "lucky" to win his ring. You can bet very shortly after the World Series ends that the Brewers will make the announcement.

Hardy To 3B To Make Room For Escobar At SS?

Driving on my way home from work today I heard an interview done by Homer on AM 540 ESPN in Milwaukee with GM Doug Melvin. They talked about lots of things of course including Manager discussion but one piece of information Melvin mentioned that made me very happy was that they have internally already discussed the possibility of moving JJ Hardy to 3B to make room for Alcides Escobar to become the starting SS. Of course they would have to talk to Hardy about this to see if he would be willing to make such a move considering he has become an elite SS and is in for a big payday sooner then later. I think for the Brewers this is the best move. We need a 3B, Hardy can play stellar defense there as well as put up offensive numbers you need from a 3B. We do have Mat Gamel ready to go, but his defense is questionable and he may end up in the OF or as the 1B if and when Fielder is traded or leaves when he reaches free agency. Escobar is going to a flat out stud defensive SS and his bat will also be great as either a leadoff or #2 hitter. Talk to Hardy give him a nice contract for making the move and you have a great left side of the IF for years to come. We shall see if it happens this year or possibly in 2010. Depends what they do with Fielder/Hardy this offseason as well as where they feel Gamel is defensively.

Macha And Brenly Already Interviewed?

According to Tom Haudricourt's Brewer Blog on Jsonline.com Ken Macha and Bob Brenly have both already interviewed with Doug Melvin for the Manager's job and Willie Randolph will be next. Buck Showalter, Bobby Valentine and Davey Johnson seem much more like long shots at this point. So basically you can almost bet that either Macha, Brenly or Randolph will be the next Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Many have called Brenly the worst Manager to ever win a World Series some eve to go as far as calling him "lucky" mostly because he had Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson on his pitching staff during their primes. Randolph reminds me to much of Yost, so I guess I'm giving my full endorsement to Ken Macha to be the next Brewers Manager. Although he was fired after only four seasons in Oakland he had four winning seasons including two divison titles. But failed to do anything in the playoffs and that is why he was fired.

One More Thing....

Jim Skaalen was also told to take a walk along with Sveum. No big loss there as far as I'm concerned. There has been no word on Ed Sedar, Mike Maddux or Bill Castro's futures. Garth Iorg who coached 3B when Sveum became interim Manager will go back to being a roving Minor League instructor for the Brewers. Of course with the ending of the Brewers/Sveum relationship that means no more Robin Yount as bench coach.

UPDATE: Ed Sedar, Mike Maddux and Bill Castro will all be back in the roles they have been in. So whoever Doug selects as Manager will get to pick his own bench coach, 3B coach and hitting coach.