Doug Melvin, Gm; Maybe He is Doing A Good Job

Until they lose 9 out of 11.

Yeah, I probably gave'em a jinx or something.

I think it is wonderful that you have finally realized or noticed the nice job Melvin has done (along with Mark A) since taking over but the above statement lost me. In the 46 years this franchise has been in existence, there really has been only one real stretch that fits the above. From 78-83 the club had .564 winning percentage and two postseason trips. A six-year run.

 

Easily the second best run in franchise history is the latest, 08-14 where the club has a .525 winning percentage as I type (also two postseason trips).

 

There are still GMs/front offices that I would take in a heartbeat over Melvin and Co. (Oaktown, Tampa, Dirty Birds) but Melvin and Co. are definitely in the upper quarter (IMO).

Part of it also comes down to the fact that sometimes the "sure things" don't always pan out (see Laporta, Gamel, Jeffries, Lawrie among others) while less heralded guys do (think Thornburg and Peralta and Khris Davis).    It also helps to know your place.   Milwaukee will never be the Dodgers or Yankees so if they can't afford to re-sign a Fielder or CC or Greinke that's OK.   Life goes on and you look for more stopgap guys. 

I've been critical of Melvin but overall it's hard to sit back and say he hasn't done a pretty good job in retrospect.   They have a good core nucleus of players and if they can find one more younger starting pitcher in the next couple of years to offset a Gallardo or Lohse leaving (possibly) they should be fine

And don't forget that being good is rewarded more now than ever with the added playoff slots. I am sure this is part of the business plan...

 

He's been a top 5 GM in my opinion if you consider a few things.

 

1. Where the franchise was when he got here

2. Payroll that he has to work with

3. Still fielding a competitive team after making "win now" trades several times over the past 5 years.  

 

He has done a phenomenal job of:

1. Keeping the minor leagues relevant, despite the bad reviews from national pubs... we still keep getting productive guys here and there.  

2. Really good at evaluating pitchers that have lost their way.  We seem to always end up with a closer/pitcher that goes off for an amazing year after the entire majors gives up on said player.

3. Not breaking the bank for big money players.. and knowing where their limit is.. see Grienke and Prince.

I realized when I made that statement that it might be a "stretch" to think of the Brewers as a contender and winner given some their past seasons and lack of playoff appearances.  Nevertheless, Milwaukee is a great baseball town going way back to the Braves.  Many good, really good and Hall of Fame players have played in Milwaukee. 

 

When the Brewers came to Wisconsin in 1970, in La Crosse, I was an immediate fan and listened to every game from then until I moved to Colorado in 1980.  Even after that I followed them.  There were many great seasons under Harry Dalton.  And we saw contentious series develop between some of AL East teams that always provided good games and rivalries.   The Brewers had their "murders row" too...Harvey's Wallbangers.  There were many seasons when the Brewers played well, but not well enough.  So yeah, it makes me happy to see them climbing back to top again.