Back-to-back wins can’t save Ron Roenicke
By Phil Watson
A horrific start to the season that followed a nightmare finish to the previous one was too much for Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke to overcome.
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Roenicke was fired by the Brewers Sunday night despite leading the Crew to their first series win and their first back-to-back victories all season in Chicago on Sunday.
In a press release, general manager Doug Melvin pointed out that the decision to part ways with Roenicke was more than about the first 25 games of this season.
“This has been a difficult start to the season, something that we certainly didn’t anticipate,” Melvin said. “Over roughly the last 100 games, we have not performed at the level that we should. It’s all about wins and losses and after the first month of play this year, we didn’t see the progress and improvement we had hoped for.”
The full release was made on Twitter Sunday night:
Roenicke relieved of managerial duties: pic.twitter.com/MKPngn9ykO
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 4, 2015
Fans had varying reactions to the firing:
Now that Roenicke is gone, Melvin needs to be next! #BrewCrew
— Zach Champine (@ZachChampine) May 4, 2015
Roenicke fired?! Lol ok. I was joking with the FSWisconsin crew before the series it was going to happen soon. But after 2 in s row vs Cubs?
— Greg Albrecht (@GregAlbrecht7) May 4, 2015
Count me as one of the, likely, few Brewers fans who didn't want to see Roenicke go.
— Kyle Baker (@KyleMBaker19) May 4, 2015
Roenicke was hired by the Brewers on Nov. 2, 2010, replacing Ken Macha.
After 11 seasons as a coach for the Los Angeles Angels, that included being on Mike Scioscia’s staff for the 2002 World Series champions, Roenicke led Milwaukee to its first division title since 1982 in his first season in 2011.
The Brewers were 96-66 in his first season, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in a five-game NL Division Series before going down to the St. Louis Cardinals in six games in the NLCS.
But Roenicke was never able to get the Crew back to October. They were 83-79 in 2012, finishing third in the NL Central, and collapsed to 74-88 in 2013 as they were ravaged by injuries and rocked by a 65-game suspension for former MVP Ryan Braun.
In 2014, the Brewers spent 159 days leading the Central Division, but a 9-17 September finished a 29-37 second half for the team, as they fell to third place at 82-80.
May 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke (left) and Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon (right) talk prior to a game at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The bad finish carried into a terrible start this season. The Brewers didn’t win back-to-back games until Sunday and by taking two of three from the Cubs this weekend, it marked the first time Milwaukee had won a series this season.
The Brewers are near the bottom of the majors in hitting this season, with a team slash line of .227/.278/.351 and just 82 runs scored in 25 games.
Their .278 on-base percentage is the second-worst in baseball, ahead of only the .276 put up by the Philadelphia Phillies.
But the pitching has also been inconsistent, with the staff ERA of 4.42 ranked 25th in the majors. The bulk of the blame for that has rested with the starting rotation, who have posted a 5-16 record with a 5.01 ERA this season.
Keeping with a theme, the Brewers’ .978 fielding percentage is also 25th in the bigs—leaving them 25th in batting average, ERA and defense.
That’s a recipe for 7-18.
Roenicke’s career record in four-plus seasons was 342-331.
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According to the release, the team will announce Roenicke’s replacement at a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Monday, prior to opening a 10-game homestand with the first of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Whether that will be an interim manager—bench coach Jerry Narron managed for parts of five seasons with the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds—or a new, permanent hire remains to be seen.
But it makes sense that if Narron were going to get the interim gig, it would have just been announced.
That leads me to think they are going to move in a different direction, perhaps moving Craig Counsell from the front office to the dugout.
That’s just a guess. But we’ll have our answers Monday morning.