Well, Duh

I apologize to my two readers for the lack of content, I've been going through a normal period of decompression following the season. I believe that the proper burial of a modestly successful season and a little distance is good for the perception.

I've been compiling a set of questions that need to be addressed sooner or later this offseason, so first and foremost was the decision on Melvin. I thought it was fairly straightforward and once he started interviewing field managers I knew a three-year deal was imminent. Attanasio knows better than to have a GM with one year left on his contract sign a new manager for beyond that tenure. So, yeah, Melvin will still be around.

It's hard to even think why people wanted to replace Melvin in the first place beyond the "change because change is good" theory. Aside from a couple of deals (Linebrink last season, maybe the Suppan signing?), Melvin and his team has crafted a good team with little resources and has turned garbage into gold often times. His deals are constantly evolving to what the team actually needs as the core players become more seasoned, which will make this offseason interesting. What I can fault Melvin on is his loyalty to obvious dead-end Ned Yost and the dearth of starting pitchers in the organization, but I consider those relatively small faults. I'm glad Melvin will still be around, I really appreciate the man.

However, question number two of the postseason, the hiring of a field manager, has me concerned. I knew that they would look for an experienced manager and didn't think Sveum would be back, but the names mentioned thus far are monstrously unappealing. I'm not sure if the names of Brenly, Showalter, and Macha were arbitrarily brought up by Haudricourt or if they were based on evidence, but I'm not stoked about any of them.

Showalter is a curmudgeon, thus the whole untucking of the jersey thing will go away, but he does have success with ascendant teams. Macha has also had success, but I think that has more to do with the Oakland/Beane system. Bob Brenly is possibly the least informed of the lot mentioned and pulled off some serious smoke and mirrors to win the 2001 World Series (see, starting pitching makes EVERYONE look smart). Melvin apparently showed interest in Showalter and may have offered Macha job in the initial managerial search in 2002.

Other names mentioned by Haudricourt flippantly include Jim Tracy, Grady Little, and Davey Johnson. Well, if we're just throwing names out there, how about Larry Bowa, Bobby Valentine, and Willie Randolph. I'm not convinced that previous managerial success demonstrably important, I think most of the time it depends on the context the manager is placed in. Yost didn't suddenly become a supremely better manager from 2003 through this season, he much better talent in which to succeed with.

Joe Torre apparently was dog food when the Yankees hired him, but now he's regarded as a master of personalities and a dugout czar. This entry has become unwieldy enough, but of the names above, none are very appealing. I guess that comes with having "experience," at least we Brewers fans will have a primer on what to bitch about next year. Of the names above, I could stomach a Macha (much to the chagrin of In-Between Hops) and Randolph. I heard Macha filling in for a NESN broadcaster earlier this year and he sounded intelligent and brought up a handful of statistics that he said he computed, so at least he has that going for him.

Time will tell, the postseason doesn't officially begin for a few more weeks.