Evaluate Doug Melvin's performance as the GM

[Comet]

Let's see. When plucking players off waivers, he has acquired Scott Podsednik, Danny Kolb, and Derrick Turnbow. In trades, he acquired Carlos Lee, Francisco Cordero, Lyle Overbay, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva, Johnny Estrada, Claudio Vargas, and many others.

On to his blunders. I never liked the Jeff Suppan signing. I disliked even more as the season when on as he was floundering. He pitched well tonight, but until he does so on a consistent basis, I will continue to bitch about him.

I wasn't such a big fan of the Scott Linebrink trade either. Getting Linebrink was a good idea, but potentially trading away future closers for him was kinda dumb. Who knows, in a couple years I could be wrong though.

He should've fired Ned Yost by now (though for some reason I think Mark A. has had something to do with this, just like Kohl delayed the Stotts firing). It's too late to fire Yost now, since managers are seldom fired in August.

There has been a lot of people from a lot of message boards (i.e. here, JSO, Brewerfan) calling for his head. While I'm not his biggest fan, I don't think he should go. Thoughts?

[livestrong4ever]

Are you crazy. Getting linebrink was a great move. Who the hell knows how prospects will turn out. We are not a team that is building for the future anymore the future is here.


But there is positives yost/melvin has made this season too sending gross and weeks down. I hated gross but now i am one of his biggest fans. The way he carried him self in the minors impressed me a lot. He needs to be in the lineup everyday. Corey hart was cooling down before his injury anyways. You have to go with the hot hand with all the OF we have.






The trades he has made in the past were great moves. We were not going to resign carlos lee. So we made a trade for coco great move.

We have no need for overbay and we got gabe gross and dave bush great move.

Doug Davis we wernt going to resign him and we got vargas a steal and estarda which we needed because miller was getting old and no one in the minors was ready.

Don't see how you can fire doug melvin.

[Comet]

Are you crazy. Getting linebrink was a great move. Who the hell knows how prospects will turn out. We are not a team that is building for the future anymore the future is here.


But there is positives yost/melvin has made this season too sending gross and weeks down. I hated gross but now i am one of his biggest fans. The way he carried him self in the minors impressed me a lot. He needs to be in the lineup everyday. Corey hart was cooling down before his injury anyways. You have to go with the hot hand with all the OF we have.

The trades he has made in the past were great moves. We were not going to resign carlos lee. So we made a trade for coco great move.

We have no need for overbay and we got gabe gross and dave bush great move.

Doug Davis we wernt going to resign him and we got vargas a steal and estarda which we needed because miller was getting old and no one in the minors was ready.

Don't see how you can fire doug melvin.

Please read what I wrote again. I don't think DM should be fired, all I did was breakdown his past transactions (and adding my opinion) while at the same time starting a discussion so I can hear everyone's opinions.

I liked the Sexson trade, the Lee trade, the Overbay trade, the second Lee trade, and the Davis trade. I liked how he plucked Scotty Po, Kolby, and D-Bow off waivers.

I also mentioned the negatives, such as the Linebrink trade. Adding another reliever was a good idea, but possibly giving away closers was dumb. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[trwi7]

Okay let's see what he's done.

-Traded Wayne Franklin for Carlos Villanueva
-Claimed Scott Podsednik off waivers from Seattle
-Claimed Brady Clark off waivers from the Mets
-Signed Dan Kolb
-Signed Doug Davis as a minor league free agent
-Traded Richie Sexson and Shane Nance for Chris Capuano, Lyle Overbay, Junior Spivey, Chad Moeller, Craig Counsell and Jorge De la Rosa
-Traded Keith Ginter for Justin Lehr and Nelson Cruz
-Traded Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino and Noochie Varner for Carlos Lee
-Traded Dan Kolb for Jose Capellan
-Signed Damian Miller
-Traded Junior Spivey for Tomo Ohka
-Traded Enrique Cruz for Brian Shouse
-Traded Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz for Julian Cordero, Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero and Laynce Nix
-Traded Jorge De la Rosa for Tony Graffanino
-Traded Doug Davis, Dave Krynzel and Dana Eveland for Johnny Estrada, Claudio Vargas and Greg Aquino
-Signed Jeff Suppan

So overall I think he's done a great job at finding diamonds in the rough, letting them gain value and then trading them while their value is at its peak.

He's also surrounded himself with a great scouting department to help in the draft.

[Comet]

Trwi, thanks for naming virtually every transaction DM has ever made. I was too lazy to do so.

Traded Wayne Franklin for Carlos Villanueva

Great trade. Franklin's out of baseball, and CV was a great long reliever/spot starter who could make his biggest impact of the season when he returns in September.

Claimed Scott Podsednik off waivers from Seattle

Good move. Scotty Po set the record for stolen bases in a single season in Brewers history, and he eventually helped us land Carlos Lee from the White Sox.

Claimed Brady Clark off waivers from the Mets

He eventually replaced Scotty Po when we traded him. Obviously didn't have his speed, but he probably was a better hitter. Key word: was. He quickly faded and now seems like a fringe player.

Signed Dan Kolb

He was our closer for 1.5 seasons. A great one. Another good move.

Signed Doug Davis as a minor league free agent

This was a good move, as DD was our #2 pitcher for 3.5 seasons. A good one too.

Traded Richie Sexson and Shane Nance for Chris Capuano, Lyle Overbay, Junior Spivey, Chad Moeller, Craig Counsell and Jorge De la Rosa

An absolute steal. The Diamondbacks have nothing to show for, and we got an all-star first baseman (Overbay), an all-star pitcher (Capuano), a stopgap second baseman until Rickie Weeks was ready (Spivey), and a stopgap shortstop until JJ hardy was ready (Counsell).

Traded Keith Ginter for Justin Lehr and Nelson Cruz

Eh, crap for crap. Ginter was a good utility player, but he has minimal value now, Lehr was garbage, and Cruz is a bust.

Traded Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino and Noochie Varner for Carlos Lee

Good deal. Adding C-Lee's hitting helped us return to .500.

Traded Dan Kolb for Jose Capellan

Crap for crap. Kolb imploded when he was with the Braves, and Capellan is a bust.

Signed Damian Miller

Decent move, though Miller isn't a starter anymore.

Traded Junior Spivey for Tomo Ohka

Decent move. We traded Spivey to free up second base for the superior Rickie Weeks, while adding a nice #4 starter (Ohka).

Traded Enrique Cruz for Brian Shouse

Good move. Shouse is one of the top lefty specialists in the game, while Cruz is just a career minor leaguer.

Traded Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz for Julian Cordero, Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero and Laynce Nix

We weren't going to keep Lee anyway. Besides, Cordero is an all-star closer, which prevents us from having to use Turnblow as the closer.

Traded Jorge De la Rosa for Tony Graffanino

Good move. De La Rosa sucks, and Graffy was a decent stopgap option while Rickie Weeks was either injured or underachieving.

Traded Doug Davis, Dave Krynzel and Dana Eveland for Johnny Estrada, Claudio Vargas and Greg Aquino

Good move. We replaced Davis with Vargas, and we got a catcher to replace the washed-up Miller.

Signed Jeff Suppan

Terrible move. Soup eats innings, and has a decent ERA, but why pay $12 million per year to a guy like that? To make matters worse, he has pitched badly.

You did, however, forget to mention his draft choices (Weeks, Rogers, Braun, Jeffress, and LaPorta). The jury is out on Weeks and Rogers. Braun was easily the best player in the 2005 draft. Jeffress looks promising. I haven't seen LaPorta, but he too looks promising.

You also forgot to mention the Overbay and Tabenheim for Bush, Gross, and Jackson trade. Decent trade. We didn't need Overbay because Fielder was breating down his neck, plus adding Bush gave us a good starter. Gross is a good back-up outfielder. I'm a bit disappointed in Jackson though.

Overall, I think he's done a very good job as the GM. However, I started this thread because I wanted people to know that I think he's slightly overrated, and I also wanted to hear everyone's opinions.

[trwi7]

Oh snap I knew I would forget at least one transaction.

I would say Jack Zduriencik gets credit for the draft since he's the one who scouts all the players and gives suggestions to Melvin as to who he deems is the best player available.

[Comet]

Oh snap I knew I would forget at least one transaction.

I would say Jack Zduriencik gets credit for the draft since he's the one who scouts all the players and gives suggestions to Melvin as to who he deems is the best player available.

Yup, I'd be surprised if Jack doesn't eventually become a GM. He's done a great job, and he's given great advice and scouting reports to DM.

But keep in mind that DM still makes the decision regarding the draft though.

[bigkurty]

Considering how much money Doug has had to work with so far as well, he has been phenomenal. Now if only we had a phenomenal manager.

[msiris]

Considering how much money Doug has had to work with so far as well, he has been phenomenal. Now if only we had a phenomenal manager.

I do not know why people continue to stick up for Yost. Give me a break. He has done nothing.

[MickeyDavis]

It's hard to compare GM's in baseball. Budget is a big factor.

If Melvin makes a mistake on Soup he can't go out next year and spend another $40 million.

[bigkurty]

-= original quote snipped =-

I do not know why people continue to stick up for Yost. Give me a break. He has done nothing.

Did you read what I wrote? I wasn't exactly sticking up for Yost. As a matter of fact I think I talk more **** about him than anyone I know except for the other die hard Ned Bashers on this board.

[Woah Guy]

I think signing a starter last offseason was a must. Obviously, in hindsight, Melvin (and Attanasio?) fell too much in love with Suppan's record at Miller Park and against the Division overall.

Looking back, Ted Lilly would have been a better pickup considering he got the same amount of $ from Chicago.

However, Suppan is a more solid choice than some other guys on the market.

Adam Eaton: 3 years 24 mil. Bust

Vincente Padilla: 5 years 50 mil??? I could be wrong but he is no better than Suppan.

Meche: 5 years 55 mil, has played well but he had an injury history that Suppan does not.

Randy Wolf: 1 year 8 mil. Good signing but he was dead set on going to LA and would have never considered Milwaukee. Now out for the year.

Jason Schmidt: 3 years 47 mil. Wildly overpaid and now out for the year.

Jeff Weaver: 1 year 8 mil: I would have personally loved a Weaver signing since he seems to pitch better in the NL. He was having a rough year but has had some good outings lately

_______________________________________________________-

Also keep in mind that the imfamous pitching spending spree of winter 2004.
(rough contract figures)

Kris Benson: 3 yr 24 mil-------bust

Russ Ortiz: 4 years 36 mil----so much of a bust Arizona actually cut him 2 years in

Matt Clement: 4 years 32 mil------injured bust

Pavano: 4 years 40 mil----injured bust

Eric Milton: 3 years 24 mil: Please


So i guess my point is since the market for average pitchers is ballooning from 8 mil to 10 mil and so on.....I applaud Melvin for throwing his hat in the ring and trying to compete. I mean sure, we probably could have offered Suppan 4 years 36 mil and outbid other teams, but the Brewers felt like they needed to blow him out of the water with their offer.

If you look at the above mentioned pitchers, it could be worse. We could be getting absolutley nothing on our investment if he ended up being an injured bust. As long as he stays healthy, we shouldnt complain too much even if he is painfully average, lets face it average starting pitching gets above average money, ever since the Kris Benson deal.

Plus he has the postseason experience, hopefully we make it there.

In the end, it's not my money anyways......I'm sure I would have complained a lot more if Melvin wouldn't have signed anyone.

[MickeyDavis]

Good post.

[Ayt]

That shows why developing and keeping healthy young pitchers is so important.

Hopefully Inman doesn't pan out.