I Stand With Stan

Today the Milwaukee Brewers decided to make a move they hope will right the ship for their bullpen, firing the bullpen coach Stan Kyles. Much of the Brewer world is upset with this move, including myself. Kyles was a great person for the community, and although partially responsible for coaching his players has no direct influence on their performances.

Someone in the bullpen needed to suffer. After giving up 9 runs in a single game, everyone in baseball should have seen a move coming, but to fire the man who answers the phone and gets players ready seems like the wrong route. It is true, Kyles does have a role in working with bullpen pitchers. You can consider him the assistant pitching coach. But to fire someone in that bullpen who is not directly responsible for giving up run after run makes no sense. Kyles has not thrown a single pitch, he has not blown a single lead, he has not put the Brewers into insurmountable deficits, yet while he was surrounded by players who fit those criteria, he is the one without a job.

Congratulations to Kyles for taking the high road out of town. In his last moments with the media he basically said I understand why they did it. He didn’t whine about being the scapegoat. He didn’t complain like I am doing for him. Really if Stan doesn’t feel the need to fight this, the rest of the Brewers fandom should shut their mouths because when you get down to it, it’s only his battle to fight. I refuse to do that. As a fan it is offensive that they would take away the job of a coach, who has a family to support and does so much for this community, when you can get rid of one of the people directly responsible for the chaos. The pitchers get the message just as well if you get rid of one of them. Showing them that they can lose their job no matter how much credibility they have built up before this year.

I hope this move works. I hope every pitcher sitting in that bullpen, with the exception of Jim Henderson, sits out there and realizes that their poor performance is directly responsible for a man losing his job who didn’t deserve it. I hope they know that every home run they have allowed cost this man a profession he loves dearly. I hope they throw until their arms fall off and make this sacrifice at least worth something. I just hope if they do succeed no one takes it as a sign that this is the right move.

Congratulations to the Brewers front office for playing the villain. You had so many other options and chose the wrong one. I wouldn’t cut any of the coaches, but I would cut and send down almost all of the bullpen. If you’re going to punish someone, punish someone who is directly responsible.

-Brad

Macha > Roenicke (At Managing A Bullpen)

I have been a pretty avid supporter of Ron Roenicke as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers all season. I think he has done a good job for the most part and he seems like a chum fellow, but his management of the bullpen today and really as of late has been horrendous. Granted, he doesn't have the likes of Takashi Saito, Zach Braddock, Brandon Kintzler, Manny Parra, etc. Still, that is no excuse to continue to ignore righty/lefty splits and use Tim Dillard or Mark DiFelice, give Kameron Loe exclusive rights to the 8th inning and to leave LaTroy Hawkins rot in the pen when he could be used in a high leverage situation. He has made the mistakes a few different times already this season and one has to wonder at what point will he correct his bullpen mistakes and start making the right choices?

Does Roenicke ask for input from Rick Kranitz and Jerry Narron when making these decisions? If so, are they saying they are good or are they telling him different and Ron just goes with his own thought each time? I would be very curious to find out the answer to that question. If Kranitz and Narron have the same thoughts as Roenicke and they to are going along with some of these bullpen moves they are as much to blame. If Roenicke and his staff don't correct the mistakes with the bullpen management soon it could contine to cost the Brewers wins and ultimately the division. I would like to continue liking Ron, but if he keeps this shit up, I am going to have a hard time supporting him. Hate to say it, but it's the truth.

-Jason

Brewers 2009 Coaching Staff Complete

The final piece of the 2009 Brewers coaching staff has been put in the puzzle. It is Stan Kyles who will serve as bullpen coach. Kyles has been apart of the Brewers organization for the past 8 years and has served the past 4 as the pitching coach of the AAA Nashville Sounds. A nice promotion for a guy who has no big league coaching experience. So with that the Brewers staff looks as so for 2009:

Manager: Ken Macha

Bench Coach: Willie Randolph

Pitching Coach: Bill Castro

Hitting Coach: Dale Sveum

1B Coach: Ed Sedar

3B Coach: Brad Fischer

Bullpen Coach: Stan Kyles

I have to say I look sit and look at that staff of coaches and I think that it might be one of the strongest I have seen in the history of the club. And if you don't agree with that you have to agree it is the best since Doug Melvin became GM in 2003 or since Mark Attanasio bought the club in 2005. Strong baseball minds up and down that list. I like Macha of course and I like how they brought new guys in but kept a few of the good guys from the old staff (Castro, Sveum and Sedar) who have some comfort and familiarity with the players. I didn't like Randolph as the choice for Manager but I love him as bench coach and his ability to work with the infielders.

And The New Bench Coach Is..........

Yup, former Mets Manager Willie Randolph. The same guy who was one of three finalists for the Brewers Manager job. It's a very unexpected choice, I would have never imagined Randolph as a finalist for the bench coach job. Mostly because he has had success as a Manager and I would just figure that he would hold out until he was given another Managers job. Overall I think it's a good choice, Randolph although he was fired by the Mets and a lot of people put blame on him for their collapse he has a lot of experience and a good amount of knowledge of the NL. Before Willie got the Mets job he was a bench coach under Joe Torre for the Yankees. Between Macha, Randolph and Sveum I like our baseball knowledge on the coach staff. Now the only coaching position to fill is bullpen coach.

After 17 Years, His Wait Is Over

Bill Castro was once a relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. After his career ended, he never could seem to find his way out of the bullpen. After 17 years as the Brewers bullpen coach, Castro finally got the job he has wanted. After an interview with Castro, Manager Ken Macha decided he didn't need to speak to anyone other candidates about the vacancy left by Mike Maddux as pitching coach. He has given the job to Castro. Congrats Billy, you have worked long and hard for this opportunity and deserve it. Hopefully Castro can bring the type of success to the pitching staff that Maddux had for the last 6 seasons. That still leaves two voids on the coaching staff for Ken Macha to fill, bullpen coach and bench coach. Those should be figured out shortly I would guess.

Election Day Brewers News Blurbs

[Start Political Rant] Today is election day and I just hope that everyone that can vote gets out and does it. It is your right and privilege as an American citizen if you are at least 18 years of age. With all the things currently going on in our world this election may be more important then any in recent memory. So no matter who you vote for, just get out and at least cast your vote and let your voice be heard. Whoever becomes the 44th President of the USA will have quite the job ahead of him and it is your duty to select who you think will do the best job. If you don't select anyone, you have no right to bitch about things happening in the political landscape. I got my ass up earlier then normal this morning and voted before going to work. Stood in line for maybe 30 minutes total. Not to bad, well worth the time. And I will say if your are wondering, I voted for Barack Obama.[End Political Rant]

Brad Fischer was named the new 3B coach for the Brewers today. Fischer had worked in Oakland with Ken Macha and spent 12 years occupying various coaching jobs in the A's system. So here is your up to the minute Brewers coaching staff for 2009:

Manager: Ken Macha
Bench Coach: ????
Hitting Coach: Dale Sveum
Pitching Coach: ????
Bullpen Coach: Bill Castro (who will interview for the pitching coach job)
1B Coach: Ed Sedar
3B Coach: Brad Fischer

John Heyman of SI.com who is at the General Manager meetings out in California said that the Yankees do plan to go "hard" after CC Sabathia. And by hard he means the Yankees plan to offer CC more then what the Mets gave Johan Santana which was 6 years $137.5 mill. If this is true and I'm sure it is, it will be very hard for CC to turn that down. However, I get the feeling Sabathia is not really a "New York" kind of guy. He also has stated on numerous occasions he prefers the NL because he likes the swing the bat. Because of that, his relationship with Mike Cameron and the real love he seemed to mutually share with Milwaukee and Brewers fans I still think we have a slight chance to sign him. Maybe CC will be the first guy to take less money to stay somewhere he really wants to be? Time will tell.

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.