Wavin' Hello to Wavin' Dale Sveum
by Jeff Sackmann on Sep 16, 2008 12:14 PM CDT
in Milwaukee Brewers News
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PrintWe've all had our 24 hours or so of relief and celebration, so it's about time somebody calls the cops on this party.
As is often the case with interim managers not named Jack McKeon or Cito Gaston, we really don't have a clue what Sveum will be like at the helm. All we've seen are the handful of innings last season when, as bench coach, he took over after Ned got ejected. Even then, he was probably making decisions that Ned instructed him to, or the ones he thought Ned would make.
Worse yet, while this move is designed to shake things up, there's only so much you can do on September 16th. I doubt we'll see a crazy new lineup (at least not any crazier than the ones in Sunday's doubleheader), and while Gagne might not last as the 8th inning guy, I somehow doubt Sveum will sit in the dugout with a handy leverage index spreadsheet.
My point, I guess, is this: In the eyes of knowledgeable fans--especially sabermetrically oriented ones--most managers hurt their teams. I've certainly never been convinced that Ned was a net positive for the Brewers, so it may well be true that we've got a better team now that he's gone.
But, as was the case when the Mariners dumped Richie Sexson and brought in the great new hope of Bryan LaHair (with a little Miguel Cairo mixed in for flavor), firing the manager doesn't immediately set the scale to league average.
We might get lucky--maybe a bright analytical mind has been hidden in the third-base coaching box all this time. But the odds are against it. A replacement-level manager just isn't very good, and I suspect that, at least this year, Ned was better than replacement level.
Now, I'm probably jumping into the strategy side of Sveum's managerial career a little early. Without a doubt, Ned wasn't fired right now because Attanasio suddenly decided he couldn't take any more stupid late-inning matchups. (Though it couldn't have helped matters.) This is a fire-up-the-boys move, and maybe it doesn't matter who is at the reins so long as most of the right guys are in the lineup and CC and Ben keep pitching every fifth day.
And naturally, if the fire-up-the-boys move serves its purpose and gets us the 8-4 finish that will probably put the Brewers in the postseason, it won't make much of a difference who pitches the eight inning, or who bats second.
But, being a [pick one: contrarian; realist; asshole], I think it's important to recognize that the smart money is on Sveum making just as many lame decisions as Ned did. We can only hope the offense reignites and it doesn't end up mattering who's in the dugout when that happens.
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by the way, Jeff
people blamed the poll, but this whole losing streak started with your game thread proclamations about being at .500 so early. Can we fire you, and promote battlekow to supreme overlord of BCB?
the best thing about Sveum managing:
it keeps him from waving guys around at third base. ;)
With Sveum... all he has to do is straighten out the last chart
Very interesting link below… never seen it before…
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/MLB/National/Central/Brewers2.html
But the real question tonight will be, when is he going to take out CC? That, other than his lineup which I don’t imagine to be too dramatic of a change, the pitch count/inning when CC is removed if at all, will be his first “big” decision that will get plenty of analysis from all of us… dare I say, too much analysis.
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
Linky not worky
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
Starting rotation
Manager’s job, no question:
My plan for these last dozen games is this:
1- cc
2- Sheets
3-Bush
4 -Committee
The committee pitches twice in this rotation. The committee is McClung, Villanueva and Mota. The final game goes to CC on two day’s rest or the committee, depending on the standings.
Swami, are you there?
by heybatterbatter on Sep 16, 2008 12:35 PM CDT reply actions
"smart" money is on him being as bad as Ned?
Did Ned have a smart analytical mind? What did Ned do well?
Look grumpy?
A Kurt Russell impersonation from Tombstone?
I have an unreasonable dislike of Bill Hall.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Sep 16, 2008 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Captain Ron:
“Help me catch my eye!”
I have an unreasonable dislike of Bill Hall.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Sep 16, 2008 6:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Sveum will be marginally better than Ned
With Counsell and Yount there to help him remember simple things like pinch runners, Dale can focus on the tough stuff (“Shouse cannot come in to face Lee and Ramirez”)
by Marty McSuperFly on Sep 16, 2008 1:00 PM CDT reply actions
The final half of Sveum's regular-season interim tenure
It hasn’t been mentioned much yet, but it’ll be interesting to see how much the team is booed the last six games. If most fans were just booing Yost and not the team, it should be a lot quieter, huh? Maybe Corey Hart can stay off the basepaths more loosely then.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
While he wasn’t a great manager, he does come across as a decent guy in his comments post-firing.
We've got uniforms and everything, it's really great!
Me too.
I have an unreasonable dislike of Bill Hall.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Sep 16, 2008 6:09 PM CDT up reply actions
So...gamethread 151
will it be Yostless at Sveumless? I eagerly anticipate the thread title for today’s game.
“Game Thread #150: Brewers (Yostful) at Phillies (Yostless)”
The first item out of the Wavin' Dale Sveum Book On Managing:
Put Whiffin’ Mike Cameron in the leadoff spot. Sweet!
Tararreling our way to the finish line.
Gallardo
I know they mentioned on FSN a few days ago, Gallardo was supposed to throw a game today in Arizona… anyone have some insider knowledge on how/when it when?
Racially insensitive/inflammatory post impending
In the last seven games, the following are our top hitters
Player AB R H HR RBI AVG
Fielder 20 2 8 2 4 .400
Weeks 11 2 4 0 0 .364
Durham 11 2 4 2 5 .364
Hall 9 2 2 0 0 .222
Counsell 9 1 2 0 0 .222
Sabathia is 1 for 2 as well
Our record has been pretty shitty during this time, so that begs the question (at least to my mind) of does race have an impact on how players are performing relative to their team.
I know this is a small sample size (one week, one team) and neglects their defensive performance as well as how these players may have done the rest of the season, but I digress…
Additionally here’s pitching (There are a bunch of pitchers here with <2 IP, so I’ve done a total aggregate by race below)
Coffey 0 0 0 1 2.0 0
DiFelice 0 0 0 0 1.0 0
Dillard 0 0 0 0 2.0 0
Gagne 0 0 0 2 1.2 0
Torres 0 0 1 3 1.2 0
McClung 0 1 0 5 4.0 2.25
Villanueva 0 0 0 7 6.2 2.70
Sabathia 0 0 0 8 7.0 3.86
Mota 1 1 0 2 2.1 3.86
Total pitching staff by race over the last week (assuming I can ID them by skin tone from pictures, given that I can’t see any games on TV and haven’t read any extended bio, I may be off with one or two of the Black/Hispanic calls)
White 33IP 22R – RA of 6.0
Black 11IP 4R – RA of 3.27
Hispanic 8IP 8R – RA of 9.0
So…does this mean that the black players do best when the man has them down (ie, the team can’t seem to get a win)? On the year our best hitters are Rivera, Braun, Hardy and Hart (with Durham in there near the bottom of those top 4, but I think that’s including SF stats?). Does it mean we ought to play Cam, Hall, Weeks, Fielder and find a place for Durham too to pull us out of this slump? Or are they somehow causing us to lose despite their above-average performance?
P.S.
Kapler is a top hitter for the season. Looks like I missed him in my list of best hitters (in terms of avg) for the season.
Truely, I’m not racist, but I noticed that from the stats@CBS.
P.P.S. Sorry that I used the term Hispanic. I believe the proper term is Latino. I grew up in WFB, so that might explain it.
by PagsBrewCrew on Sep 16, 2008 5:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Change for change sake?
No true leadoff hitter and lack of decent bullpen is why Melvin will be let go in offseason if we do NOT make playoffs!
If you always do what you always did you'll get what you always got.
Likin' the early moves
Looks like Dale lives in a reality-based world, and won’t be sticking to guys like the former regime.
Parra has been awful for some time — he’s 1-6 in his last 10 starts — and has been hammered in three September starts, with an ERA over 10.00. Former manager Ned Yost said over the weekend in Philly that he didn’t think Parra had the hit the wall despite pitching more than 20 innings than ever before in a season but Sveum obviously thinks otherwise.
by Marty McSuperFly on Sep 16, 2008 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions
Parra
i hope he gets some time from the Pen though, provided he shows control while warming up, etc.
by PagsBrewCrew on Sep 16, 2008 5:49 PM CDT up reply actions
dude, the guy is like 6'6"
last thing we need to do is stretch him anymore.
Also, cheese.
by Jeff Sackmann on Sep 16, 2008 5:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Depends on what you're stretching... ;)
"Brett Favre looks like a man in a parking lot playing with boys." - John Madden
"Pujols just unloaded." - Bob Uecker
It’s too early to tell whether Sveum will be a good manager or not, but I think it’s encouraging that he does have experience coaching under an actually decent manager (Francona).
Ryan Braun: He loves it.
Ha
Wasn’t that Yost’s major resume builder?
My only regret is that I have but one life to give to my blog
by MadJimiBrewha on Sep 16, 2008 5:31 PM CDT up reply actions
It is Francona
Hard to find a better manager, in my opinion. He gets out of the way, understands new concepts, doesn’t bunt, etc.
Sat: George 2 (37, missed catch, fielding) Fri: George (35, throw) Tues: George (34, throw)
Funny
He wasn’t that well-liked in Philadelphia (you know, pre-World Series ring).
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
It speaks to the crop of managers in MLB
…there’s no one who’s obviously better. Here’s an FJM piece from a year ago that breaks it down, kinda.
Sat: George 2 (37, missed catch, fielding) Fri: George (35, throw) Tues: George (34, throw)
Francona's bullpen management drives me up the wall
I thought he was going to pull a Turnbow with Okajima these past two seasons, and kept on using Javier Lopez to face righties (I used to call Lopez the Left Handed No Outs Guy, it was so bad.)
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Cincinnati
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Houston
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
|
Milwaukee
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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Pittsburgh
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
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St. Louis
|
0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | Lost 0 |
(updated 2.16.2012 at 7:03 AM CST)
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