On Sunday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced they were firing Manager Ron Roenicke after four seasons. The Brewers were a Major League worst 7-18. They hired Craig Counsell on Monday to replace Roenicke. This might be a good move for the Brewers.
Ron Roenicke accepted the Brewers job in October of 2010. In his first year, Milwaukee went 96-66. They won the National League Central Division and went all the way to the NLCS before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in six games. St. Louis would win the World Series that year.
It was all downhill after that. The Brewers were 83-79 in 2012. 2013 was their worst season under Roenicke as they ended the season with a record of 74-88. Last year the Brewers started out hot going 20-7. The last 31 games cost them the postseason as they skidded to a 9-22 finish. They ended 82-80 and missed the postseason. According to ESPN, Roenicke becomes the first manager to be fired 25 games into the season since 2002.
Craig Counsell signed a three-year contract. Counsell has never managed in baseball. He played 16 years in Major League Baseball with seven teams. Six of those years he played with the Brewers. His career highlights include two World Series Championships and one NLCS MVP. Once his big league career was finished in 2012, he took a front office job with the Brewers. He was the special assistant to General Manager Doug Melvin.
According to ESPN, General Manager Doug Melvin thinks that he is ready for the challenge. Melvin said, “Craig has many years of major league playing experience, and his three-plus years of learning all aspects of baseball operations helps prepare him for this managerial position. There will be challenges, but Craig has never shied away from leadership responsibilities on the field as a player or in his most recent role.”
This is an interesting move. Roenicke had been successful as the Brewers Manager. Not making the postseason last year and the poor start this year cost him his job. Roenicke will be back managing at the Major League Baseball level. He will have to wait for another opportunity.
What do you think of the Brewers hiring a manager that doesn’t have managerial experience?
Interesting move. What were the selection criteria? What are the goals? What are the problems to be resolved? Counsell may be the right guy for short term improvement but it might take a person with greater vision, better planning skills and better strategic thinking and attention to detail to move the brewers to contender status. He played ball here in Az, was a good guy and I wish him well