The jolt they needed
Replacing Ron Roenicke with Craig Counsell was Step 1 for Milwaukee Brewers management in deciding what to do with the team going forward.
Step 2 will be determining whether it was the players or the manager that caused a team with decent talent to fail so badly.
If the Brewers start playing better and winning more Tom under Milwaukeearea Haudricourt native Counsell, then a major overhaul of the roster may not be in order. If the team continues to founder, however, look for significant personnel changes to be made before opening day 2016.
Asked bluntly Monday whether the current talent on the Brewers’ roster was capable of contending for the playoffs, Counsell said, “We need to figure out how to win games. We can speculate on scenarios. Let’s win games and find out.
“Let’s get them playing to their capabilities and find out. Are we a contending team right now? We aren’t. I’m looking at this for the players as an opportunity. We don’t get to start over. Our record (7-18) is our record. But we can start being the team we want to be. That is the opportunity.”
What if expectations were just too high for this team? With the same core of players, the Brewers had gone 38-66 (.365) over 104 games since June 28 last season, an extended losing stretch that got Roenicke fired.
“I know we have good players,” said Counsell, who often interacted with representatives from other organizations in his role as special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin. “I hear it from other teams that we have good players.”
time, so I think the timing of it is obviously surprising and disappointing for all of us.”
Braun said he empathized with Roenicke, whose players-first approach was appreciated by many veterans. But as is the case so often, it was the manager who took the fall instead of the players.
“I feel terrible for him,” said Braun. “First and foremost — you guys were around him — he’s a great guy, great human being. I thought he was a great manager. For all of us, I think the accountability, the responsibility for us losing falls on us. Each of us needs to do our job better. I know I need to play a lot better.
“Everybody needs to take accountability, do their own job better, to get us back to where we need to be. It’s unfortunate that the blame has to fall on somebody, but that’s the way that these things tend to go.
“Obviously we all feel bad for him.”
Catcher Jonathan Lucroy, on the disabled list with a broken toe, agreed with Braun that players needed to take responsibility for the firing of Roenicke by not performing up to expectations and career norms.
“Obviously, we go out there and play the game,” he said. “And we didn’t perform up to our standards, obviously, my standards at least. I believe we’re a lot better than what we’ve shown. I know personally, myself, when I was healthy I was not playing to the level I know I’m capable of being at.
“I think it’s hard to put that blame on just one guy, especially when he has nothing to do with the way players play, but I think it is what it is and sometimes these things happen to shake a team up and get guys to open their eyes up and start going. It’s part of the game, part of the business.”
That said, Lucroy thought the Brewers made a good choice in Counsell to replace Roenicke.
“I know Counse was a hard-nosed player when he played,” said Lucroy. “Being a (former) teammate of his, I know how he was when he played. I know he’s a grinder and he’s a big team guy, which is what I love. I like that.
“I think the most successful teams in this league have guys that care about each other and they go out and they want to win together. It’s not about individuals, it’s about a team. He’s that kind of guy. Hopefully it will bleed over to the team, everybody in here, and we’re able to start moving forward and get something positive out of this year.”
As for playing for a former teammate, Lucroy said, “I think it’s going to be a little weird. But obviously when you look at his background and you know he has two rings and an MVP of the
Craig Counsell
2015 NLCS one year, the guy’s been on a lot of winning teams and he’s been around a long time, so he knows what it takes. That’s the kind of guy you want.
“With a guy like him that’s been around this team for the last three or four years in a front-office capacity, I think that obviously he knows where we stand at and how good we are. He knows most of us individually pretty well, so I think that’s a huge advantage for us.
“He was a great teammate. Great teammate. I used to go to him for advice. Him and (Mark) Kotsay and Trevor Hoffman were the three guys I talked to a lot when I was a rookie. He’s going to be good. He’s going to be good for the young guys in here. He’s going to be good for the old guys in here. Obviously, he has a lot of respect in the league and around baseball and within this clubhouse. I think it’ll be a good addition to the club.”
Centerfielder Carlos Gomez also felt bad for Roenicke and agreed it will be different playing for a former
1-0 teammate but said he expected the transition to be a smooth one.
“I played for Ron for five years,” said Gomez. “He wasn’t like a manager. He was more like family. I don’t question the decision they made, but we were playing better the last couple of games. Before that, we don’t pitch, we don’t hit and we make a lot of errors. How are you supposed to win games like that?
“Now things have changed around. We have a chance to start over. Counsell is a guy who respects the game and played a long time. He was in a couple World Series. He knows the game really good. It’s only a few years that he has not played. He still has that feeling and I think we’re going to be all right.
“A lot of players here played with him, so we know him. I think that makes it better. Everything is going to be more straight. He’s going to tell you exactly like it is and we like that. It’s a new beginning and we’ll be fine. We just have to play and do everything we’re supposed to do.”