The writing is on the wall. The precedent has been set...twice. The only question remaining is: When?
The Milwaukee Brewers have a decision to make, and there are rumors swirling that they may be making that decision during an internal management meeting scheduled for today.
The timing works. The Brewers have an off-day tomorrow after yet another disappointing run of games. As I write this, they've lost five of six on this road trip including an extra inning affair yesterday.
Many times when a team makes a change mid-season, it is done on a day when that team has no game to play so that the new manager (whomever it may be) has a day to get things in order. This is why many people were pointing to May 24th (the team's last day off) for a change to be made. The noise got so loud that Mark Attanasio took the time to state that no change would be made that day.
By the way, it's not a good thing when the owner has to start fielding questions about the job security of his employees.
To be fair, the team responded well following that last day off. They went 4-2 on a six-game homestand and Macha seemed to be at least tentatively secure going forward.
All of that good will has been wasted in this most recent run of terrible decision-making and unacceptable results. The team is 1-6 over the past seven games and has fallen to a season-low 12 games under .500.
The Baltimore Orioles most recently and the Kansas City Royals before them, perenial losers over the last decade-plus, decided that things weren't working yet again. They made the sometimes tough choice to replace the man in charge of putting their players in the best position to succeed.
The same needs to happen in Milwaukee.
Macha is no longer managing to win, not that he was succeeding much when he was. The decisions that he is making seem to be fueled by a desire to simply keep his job by not losing again.
That style of managing, and please pay attention kids, does not work...ever.
You have to have an agressive, attacking, hit-them-in-the-mouth-before-they-hit-us attitude to succeed in any competition at the highest level.
Macha doesn't have that killer instinct any more.
There has been a lot of rhetoric about how Macha isn't the one throwing the pitches or swing the bats or fielding the grounders. All of this is true. However, preparation, focus and dedication are things that he has control over. Under his watch, the team is committing mental mistakes the likes of which haven't been produced by this team in some time.
When the message is no longer being received, sometimes all you can do is change the vessel that delivers it.
To quote the late, great Owen Hart: "Enough is enough and it's time for a change."
How does tomorrow look on your calendar?
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments