The Trouble with the 2015 Brewers
As the Brewers enter the month of May, they still do not have consecutive victories this season. Will they break through and finally win 2 in a row? Of course, because as they say, 'even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile'.
What ails the Brewers is 2 major issues. First, the players are minding the store. Brewers GM Doug Melvin hired Ken Macha as manager for the 2009-2010 seasons. Macha had managerial success with Oakland compiling a 368-280 record with them over 4 years. As the manager for the Brewers, the players didn't like his stoic mannerisms and Ryan Braun essentially called Macha out. What happened is that Melvin had to replace the manager because the Brewers players didn't want to play for him. Ron Roenicke, the manager that the Brewers signed to replace Macha, is nothing more than a baby sitter for over paid divas like Braun. Braun tells Roenicke when he can and can't play instead of the other way around. Its like Ron is walking on egg shells and doesn't want to hurt any players feelings when he makes out the lineup.
If you look at successful organizations, they sign professional players that play where they are asked and don't call out management publicly. When Rickie Weeks was a Brewer, he was asked to play a position other then 2nd base. He refused. Now that he is with a different team, he plays positions other than 2nd base and has even bunted. He never bunted in Milwaukee because he didn't want to and Roenicke lets the players run the ship.
The 2nd major issue is rather simple, the Brewers have 26% of their payroll taken up by just 2 players. Those players are Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez. With Brauns mega contract extension going through 2020, don't look for the Brewers to be competitive until they are able to shed Brauns contract which drags the team like a 1 ton anchor.
