Ron Roenicke calls timing of firing 'terrible'

After the Brewers beat the Cubs today, I got up a recap of the game, then a quick hit on a rumor that Carlos Gomez was not on the trade block, then an update on Jean Segura's health after being hit by a pitch. The way I saw it, that was a pretty good Sunday, all in all. Certainly nothing left to write about that would be pressing. Just time to sit back and watch Game of Thrones and maybe hit the hay early.

Boy was I wrong!

Despite two consecutive wins and the Brewers really looking like they were playing better recently (5-5 over their last 10 games, now), the team made the decision to fire Ron Roenicke after over four years of service as the team's manager. As it turns out, Roenicke seems to have been taken by surprise just as much as I was.

"I told Doug I wished it would have happened a week ago. I would have understood it better then," Roenicke told Adam McCalvy. The now-former Brewers skipper apparently also called the timing 'terrible'.

General Manager Doug Melvin appears to have made the decision to fire Roenicke before the team won their series against the Cubs. That indicates the team needed a small amount of time to figure out who the as-of-yet unannounced replacement for Roenicke would be. Said Melvin about the poor timing: "We play every day. If you play football and you play once a week, you've got time to make those changes."

Roenicke told McCalvy (1, 2):

"I feel as bad as anybody that last year happened and the beginning of this year, that I couldn't get the guys going. I feel like I did everything I could do, but it's still the responsibility of the manager to get this thing right."

When asked if the Brewers were likely to reverse their fortunes under a new manager by Tom Haudricourt, Roenicke answered "I thought we were turning it around." He also expressed his gratitude for Milwaukee:

Roenicke: "I enjoyed the city. I loved it here. So, that was good. It's part of the job."

— Tom (@Haudricourt) May 4, 2015

Roenicke led the Brewers to an NL Championship Series appearance as a rookie manager in 2011 and had an overall record 10 games over .500 with the team. However, his recent track record was not so good. Milwaukee, of course, has the worst record in the majors right now and also finished 2014 with an epic collapse and an 11-24 run. Overall, the team is just 18-42 over their last 60 games.

The Brewers will announce their new manager at a press conference tomorrow morning.