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Brewers lose pitchers’ duel on wild pitch after Attanasio gives vote of confidence

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Mark Attanasio - Photo: David Bernacchi/OnMilwaukee.com

Mark Attanasio – Photo: David Bernacchi/OnMilwaukee.com

No matter the type of game, the Milwaukee Brewers cannot seem to figure out a way to finish on the winning side.

A day after losing a 26-run slugfest, the Brewers managed to come out on the wrong side of a 2-1 pitchers’ duel against the Reds at Miller Park.

Closer Francisco Rodriquez (0-2), pitching in a non-save situation, bounced a breaking ball in the dirt and off the chest of catcher Martin Maldonado in the ninth inning, allowing the speedy Billy Hamilton to score from third for the game’s winning run. [Read more…]

Brewers add to bullpen, sign lefty Cotts

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Brewers GM Doug Melvin

Brewers GM Doug Melvin

The Milwaukee Brewers added some left-handed bullpen relief by signing free agent Neal Cotts to a one year deal, worth a reported $3 million.  The deal was announced by President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Doug Melvin this morning.

Needing to make room on the 40-man roster for Cotts, the Brewers designated infielder/outfielder Elian Herrera for assignment.

Cotts, who turns 35 during spring training, went 2-9 with a 4.32 ERA and two saves in a career-high 73 relief appearances last season with the Texas Rangers.  He owns a career record of 20-24 with a 4.05 ERA and 4 saves in 415 games with the White Sox, Cubs and Rangers.

Over the last two seasons, Cotts held opponents to a .223 batting average with 128 strikeouts in just 123.2 innings pitched.

Cotts enjoyed his best season in the majors two years ago, going 8-3 with a 1.11 ERA and 1 save in 58 relief appearances with Texas.  His 2013 ERA was the [Read more…]

Brewers send Gallardo to Texas

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Yovani Gallardo - UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Yovani Gallardo – UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Not wanting to lose another future free agent without compensation, the Milwaukee Brewers sent right-handed pitcher Yovani Gallardo to the Texas Rangers for three young prospects, right-handed pitchers Corey Knebel and Marcos Diplan and middle infielder Luis Sardinas.

The Brewers also agreed to pay $4-million of Gallardo’s $13-million salary for this season to the Rangers.

Gallardo becomes a free agent at the end of the season and the Brewers wanted to get something for him while they could.

The deal opens up some money for the Brewers to add some relief help for their bullpen.  It also clears a path for 25-year old right-hander Jimmy Nelson, who finished 2-9 with a 4.93 ERA in 14 games last season.  But he’s still considered the organization’s top prospect.

Both Knebel and Sardinas played briefly in the majors last season.

The 28-year old Gallardo went 89-64 with a 3.69 ERA in seven-plus seasons with the Brewers.  Gallardo leaves as the franchise leader with 1,226 career strikeouts and served as the Brewers opening day starter each of the last five seasons.

 

Brewers reportedly talking trade with Rangers

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Yovani Gallardo - UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Yovani Gallardo – UPI/Bill Greenblatt

While football was on the brain for most of the sports nation, Major League baseball teams had some of their own action going on Sunday.

Both FoxSports.com and ESPN.com were reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers are sending right-handed pitcher Yovani Gallardo to the Texas Rangers.  Neither team is confirming anything at this time.

The Brewers exercised Gallardo’s $13-million option for 2015, but he can become a free agent at the end of the upcoming season.  The Rangers could convince Gallardo to sign an extension in Texas, which is where he played his high school baseball.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel cites sources from other clubs saying the Brewers had been aggressively shopping Gallardo of late. [Read more…]

Counsell to stay with the Brewers

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Milwaukee Brewers special assistant Craig Counsell has removed himself from consideration for the Tampa Bay Rays managerial opening.

The Rays followed on Friday by announcing that Don Wakamatsu, Kevin Cash and Raul Ibanez are the three finalists for the job.

Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he interviewed twice for the opening, the first time by phone and the second during the general managers meetings in Phoenix earlier this month.

Counsell has reportedly had opportunities to land on-field coaching jobs, but has passed on them.  He could potentially be Doug Melvin’s successor in Milwaukee.  Melvin has one year left on his contract.

 

Counsell on Tampa Bay’s managerial list

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The Tampa Bay Rays unveiled a list of eight preliminary managerial candidates on Thursday and Milwaukee Brewers special assistant Craig Counsell is among the group.

Counsell has been serving in the Brewers front office as a special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin.

Counsell won a World Series with the Marlins back in 1997 and again with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.

Tampa Bay is looking for a replacement for Joe Maddon who opted out of his contract and eventually signed a five-year deal to manage the Chicago Cubs.

Among those on the list are Rays bench coach Dave Martinez and Triple-A manager Charlie Montoyo, as well as San Francisco bench coach Ron Wotus.

Brewers named Darnell Coles their new hitting coach

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Darnell Coles

Darnell Coles

The Milwaukee Brewers today named Darnell Coles the teams new hitting coach, replacing Johnny Narron, whose contract wasn’t renewed.  Coles signed a one-year contract.

This is the second stint in the Brewers organization for the 52-year-old Coles.  He previously served as minor league hitting coordinator from 2010-11 and as manager at Double-A Huntsville from 2012-13.  He spent the 2014 season as assistant hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers, his first career coaching position at the Major League level.  The Tigers offense led the Major Leagues in batting average (.277), hits (1,557), RBI (731) and doubles (325) and ranked second (led the American League) in on-base percentage (.331), slugging percentage (.426) and OPS (.757).

Coles began his coaching career in 2000 as minor league hitting coordinator with the Seattle Mariners.  He played 14 Major League seasons and batted .245 with 75 HR and 368 RBI in 957 games.  He had stints as a player with Seattle, Detroit, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Toronto, St. Louis and Colorado.  He was a member of the 1993 World Series champion Blue Jays.

“Darnell has an impressive Major League background as a player and coach,” said Brewers GM Doug Melvin.  “With his knowledge of hitting and strength as an instructor, he has the ability to connect with our players, with whom he is quite familiar.”

Ron Roenicke to return in 2015

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Brewers manager Ron Roenicke

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke

The Milwaukee Brewers will retain the services of manager Ron Roenicke in 2015, but two of Roenicke’s coaches will not be back.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said he didn’t think Roenicke was ever in jeopardy of losing his job, but there were some key issues that needed to be discussed, including the reasons for the Brewers late season collapse that saw them miss the playoffs.

Roenicke is under contract through 2015 and there’s a club option for 2016 as well.  The Brewers opted to part company with hitting coach Johnny Narron and first base/infield coach Garth Iorg.

Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “We did look at Ron’s career and while we made the playoffs once, he does know our players better than anybody.  He knows our organization.  He has had three out of four winning seasons.  That isn’t satisfactory but from a winning percentage (.517) he compares well with a lot of managers in the game. [Read more…]

The Brewers start the evaluation process

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Ron Roenicke

Ron Roenicke

Milwaukee Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Doug Melvin are meeting this week in Los Angeles to decide manager Ron Roenicke’s fate.

For 150 days, Roenicke had his team in first place atop the National League Central.  Then came the massive meltdown that saw the Brewers go 9-22 down the stretch to fall out of the National League playoff picture.

The Brewers jumped out to a surprising 20-7 start, but down the stretch, they failed to hit home runs, swinging the bat too freely, which opposing pitchers took advantage of.  They had multiple base running mistakes that continued to take their toll.  If Ron Roenicke addressed those issues with his players, nobody knew about it.  The perception is that Roenicke allowed the mistakes to pass, believing instead that the players couldn’t be changed.

The Brewers poor offensive finish will likely cost hitting coach Johnny Narron his job, even if Roenicke stays.

The Brewers built their roster for Miller Park, which is somewhat of a home run haven.  The problem is, the Brewers were out-homered at home, 92-77. [Read more…]

Roenicke’s fate not expected to be known until next week

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Brewers owner Mark Attanasio

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio

Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin is expected to meet next week in California with team owner Mark Attanasio to discuss Ron Roenicke’s future with the team.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Melvin will travel to Colorado Springs this week to meet with officials from the Brewers’ new Class AAA affiliate and then on to Phoenix to monitor the team’s instructional camp.  He’ll then go to Los Angeles to meet next week with Attanasio.

Roenicke reportedly lives close to Los Angeles and has been told to keep time open next week to meet with Melvin and Attanasio.  Roenicke should know at that time just where he stands.

Roenicke is under contract for the 2015 season, but whether or not he spends it on the bench remains to be seen.

The Brewers went 9-22 after August 25th, going from first place in the National League Central all the way out of the playoff picture.  They ended their season Sunday with a 82-80 record.

Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel, “Nothing is going to happen this week.  The best thing is to let the emotions settle down and sit down and evaluate it.