Firing a Manager Brings Out the Worst in (Some) Fans

I’m generally not a fan of firing managers/coaches in any sport.  I’m skeptical that “shaking things up” is the best way to turn around a losing team…but it certainly seems to be a common practice, so what the hell do I know?  I’m not sure what Ron Roenicke could have done to stop Kyle Lohse from giving up homers in every start, or to get Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez to hit better than .230 after one month, or to encourage Khris Davis to do something productive.

In his latest column about the firing, Tom Haudricourt reports that club officials privately said Roenicke’s style “to bend over backward for his players to make them feel comfortable” made them “lose their edge for winning.”  The idea that professional athletes need to be (or can be) shaken up into winning just seems silly to me.  The also flies in the face of the oft-stated baseball wisdom that players need to be relaxed to be successful, that pressing just leads to more failure.  But again, what the hell do I know?

What I do know is that firing a manager brings out the worst in some fans.  There’s always a contingent of sports fans – usually found calling into the talk radio or in website comment sections – who can’t wait to tell you how firing the manager/coach will solve a struggling team’s problems.  When a manager finally is fired, those fans are thrilled to tell you they told you so, and to go on record that they believe it was the right decision.  As of this writing, the JSOnline poll on Roenicke has close to 7,000 votes with 70% in favor of his firing.  The vast majority of these folks are probably fine human beings otherwise, but when a manager/coach gets fired they just can’t help but indulge their pettiest impulses.

Well, I suppose we all have our petty impulses, and mine is to make fun of these jokers.  The JSOnline story on Roenicke’s firing has 230+ comments at this moment (7:10pm CDT for those of you keeping score at home).  The overall trend in the commentary has shifted over the course of the day, and there are plenty of folks making the case that it’s the players, not Roenicke, who are responsible for the Brewers’ awful start.  This morning there was nearly universal support for Roenicke’s ouster, with the only real objection that Doug Melvin wasn’t also fired.  Here’s a few of the less thoughtful remarks:

hudsonbb

Thank You to Mark and Doug for finally doing what I told you to do last year. What a waste of time and energy over the winter and spring training. Lots of work to do, but maybe now there will not be so many defensive and base running errors and overused relievers at the end of the year. RR-not much of a motivator or in game strategist.

You hear this on sports talk radio all the time – the “I’m been saying this for ages” guy.  If only Mark Attanasio and Melvin hadn’t been so stubborn when geniuses like hudsonbb were telling them how to do their jobs.  He ended up being right, after all.  These guys always end up being right!  Why does no one listen to them?  We really need to start giving these mouthy dudes more credit.

Buckyfan24

The problem is Mark Attanasio. Why in the world does he allow Melvin to run this club any longer? The rebuilding should have begun the moment after the Brewers lost to the Cardinals in the NLCS a few years ago, but they stitched it together here and put a patch in a hole there and stuck it out for a few years.

Now this is outside the box – right after the Brewers had their best season in nearly 30 years, they should have blown the team up and started over.  It worked for the mid-2000’s Florida Marlins.  Why does no one listen to these guys?

Jeffbipolar

Let’s not be soft and cry tears for Roenicke. Dude made in a year what a lot of guys wouldn’t make in ten. He needed to go and so do other guys.

I’ll never understand the mentality that once someone’s income reaches a certain level, they don’t deserve any kind of sympathy.  I wonder if Jeffbipolar voluntarily overpays on his taxes, or if he’s ever gone into his boss’ office and asked for a pay cut.  If he doesn’t, he’s really ceding the moral high ground here.

cataractjack1958

Mark Attanasio is a cartoon of an owner. Just a Cartoon. Roenicke is just a scapegoat right now. How can anyone take M.A. serious. Now if I got word today he fired Melvin and RR then Brewer Nation would except him and take him serious but to fire RR and keep Melvin is one of the dumbest things i have seen in follow this team since it came here to Milwaukee.

Assuming 1958 is cataractjack’s birth year, he’s closing in on 60 years old.  And here he is spouting off about how he needs Melvin fired to take Attanasio seriously?  What does “he’s a cartoon” even mean?  Christ, grow up already.

nabri

The guy Milwaukee should hire but never will because they are way to conservative and soft is Ozzie Guillen.That cat would lite a fire under their …… Council is a waste of time he is a bigger wimp than RR.

Okay, Guillen would be a hoot, but he’d probably spend a great deal of time apologizing for using anti-gay epithets or humorously praising Communist dictators.  That might be a distraction.

badgerfan

I am not a fan of Roenicke but this again shows how disfunctual this organization has become. I have lost all faith in Attanasio and am sure glad I have no investments with his group.

I’m not familiar with Attanasio’s money management work, but he must be something right to have made enough money to buy a majority stake in a professional sports team.  I understand that past performance is not indicative of future returns, but I see no reason to impugn Attanasio’s investment savvy, especially since he’s presided over two playoff teams during his tenure.

BobinMadison

Considering the pitching lineup we will see against the Dodgers, the fire Counsell posts will be in full force by Thursday.

All right, maybe I was being unfair – some of these comments are pithy and insightful.

As the Craig Counsell era begins, it’s hard to say what kind of impact he’ll have (although he clearly hasn’t figured out how to stop Lohse from serving up homers).  If nothing else, maybe we’ll be spared this irritating “fire the manager” nonsense for a month or two.

(Image: Associated Press)