What we learned: September 29, 2014

This Weekend's Results

Cubs 6, Brewers 4
Brewers 2, Cubs 1
Cubs 5, Brewers 2

Well. at least the Brewers finished the season with a winning record. If you had said that 10 years ago, that would have been a major victory for the team. Now, it's a pretty empty statement. The Brewers had a chance to finish hot and salvage something out of this season. Instead, they basically just played out the last few games. On the pitching side, at least Wily Peralta finished the season strong. He allowed only one run in seven innings on Saturday, while striking out thirteen Cubs. Jimmy Nelson and Mike Fiers weren't as lucky, as Nelson allowed five runs on Friday and Fiers allowed four on Sunday. The offense was again lacking in the series, though Jonathan Lucroy did collect enough hits for a .300 batting average and to tie Lyle Overbay for the Brewers doubles record, as well as take the MLB record for doubles by a catcher in a season. Overall, though, it was a disappointing end to a disappointing season.

The first decision to make this offseason is the fate of Ron Roenicke.

With the season now in the books, the offseason planning must begin. The first question will be about the fate of Ron Roenicke. Mark Attanasio was in Milwaukee over the weekend and he held an extensive press conference on Saturday. Adam McCalvy has several quotes from the press conference in his Brew Beat blog. In it Attanasio did confirm that Doug Melvin will remain the GM, but did not confirm anything about Ron Roenicke's status. Noah did note that the Brewers will perform an extensive review this offseason, and what that could mean for Ron Roenicke is anyone's guess.

Ron Roenicke may be the best manager for the Brewers right now. However, after such a major collapse, he could lose his job just because someone has to answer for it. Mike Bauman of MLB.com notes that the manager is usually the one to take the blame in a bad season, but also that this collapse shouldn't be on Ron Roenicke. Was Roenicke given a team that was destined to collapse? Could Roenicke have done more to prevent it? Yesterday morning, Roenicke had some extensive remarks on his thoughts about the season. He thought he did the best he could do this season. Is that enough to keep him around, or is it time to make a change?

The longest tenured Brewer spent what was likely his last game with the team on the bench.

Rickie Weeks' career as a Brewers has likely come to an end. Despite how he has played, many people have positive feelings about his time in Milwaukee. Over the weekend, Nathan Petrashek looked back at Weeks' career as a Brewer and what we will be losing this offseason. He's one of the last players remaining from a core group that was brought up to turn the franchise around.

Entering this weekend, most people assumed that Rickie Weeks would get a big moment in his final game with the team on Sunday. It seemed like a start by Weeks would be a given. However, on Sunday morning, the lineup came out with no Weeks in it (and Elian Herrera at second base). This was confusing, but hope remained that he could be a late replacement or pinch-hitter. However, neither of those things happened and Weeks remained on the bench for his last game with the team. While the blame originally went on Ron Roenicke, it was revealed after the game that Weeks decided he didn't want one more start or at-bat in the final game. He would have played if Ron Roenicke had put him in the game, but didn't make a special request for it. Instead, he is looking forward to his future, and that's just the way he wants to look at it now.

Cram Session

More from BCB

• With four good outfielders on the roster entering 2015, the Brewers have a decision to make this offseason. One possibility that has been discussed is moving Ryan Braun to first base, and Noah has some notes about this discussion.
• If this season had happened in reverse, would we be viewing it in a more positive way? Jordan compared this season to 2012 and looked at how it would be viewed if inverted.
• Reports came out about the Brewers picking up Yovani Gallardo's option for 2015.  Derek noted that this would be the right decision for the Brewers if true. (It was later confirmed that the option had been exercised.)

The Collapse

• How did the Brewers collapse happen? Sean Lindholm of Beyond the Box Score takes a look at what happened to the 2014 Brewers.
• Meanwhile, on Reviewing the Brew, Michael Trzinski has his own review of the season and how the Brewers went from on top to fighting for .500.

Bud Selig

• On Friday, the Brewers announced that they will retire #1 next season in honor of Bud Selig.
• Despite the debates that come up about Selig's time as Brewers owner and as MLB commissioner, it cannot be denied that Selig is responsible for bringing baseball back to Milwaukee.

Ryan Braun

• On Thursday, Ryan Braun will undergo a procedure that will hopefully help his hand issues and allow him to get back to where he was as a player. Adam McCalvy has some quotes from Braun and notes on the procedure.
• Ryan Braun may have had a bad season this year, but Christian Espinosa of Reviewing the Brew says that Braun's abilities are not something that can just come from PEDs.
• While talk about moving Braun to first is starting, Steven Jewell of Reviewing the Brew notes some good free agents for first base this offseason and that Braun shouldn't be moved to first base just yet.

Other Notes

• Attendance has still been good at Miller Park despite the collapse. The Brewers put together an attendance figure just under 2.8 million in 2014.
• How much does sabermetrics play in the success of a pitcher? According to Ryan Romano of Beyond the Box Score, Mike Fiers is a perfect case to use as proof of the usefulness of sabermetrics.
• Over on his blog, Tim Dillard finishes his story about one of his most prized possessions.

Minor League Update

• Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has a review of the 2014 Huntsville Stars.
• Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew continued their series of the top farm teams in Brewers history with the 1985 El Paso Diablos.

Division Update

• Cardinals @ Diamondbacks
  Friday: Cardinals 7, Dimaondbacks 6
  Saturday: Diamondbacks 5, Cardinals 2
  Sunday: Cardinals 1, Diamondbacks 0
• Pirates @ Reds
  Friday: Pirates 3, Reds 1
  Saturday: Reds 10, Pirates 6
  Sunday: Reds 4, Pirates 1

Today's Action

There's no more action for the Brewers on the field this year. Today begins a long offseason where we are left asking a lot of questions. We will probably find out the fate of Ron Roenicke in the next day or two, as well as get some quotes as players clear out their lockers and head to their offseason homes.

Of course, if you like keeping track of countdowns, Opening Day 2015 is only 189 days away.