Brewers name Macha manager

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:57 PM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The long playoff drought ended for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008. Now, the club hopes it has acquired the services of the man who can make October baseball a franchise trend.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin announced the hiring of former Oakland Athletics skipper Ken Macha to his team's managerial vacancy in a Thursday press conference at Miller Park. The position became available when the club fired Ned Yost late in the season, replaced by interim manager Dale Sveum.

The 17th manager in Milwaukee Brewers history signed a two-year contract through the 2010 season.

"Today's manager must blend old-school teaching and instructing methods with the new age statistical analysis," Melvin said in a press release. "Ken has been exposed to both styles and has the baseball intelligence to understand that both lead to success. Among many who spoke highly of Ken, we received glowing endorsements from Terry Francona and Joe Maddon about his work ethic and baseball mind."

Macha had four winning seasons as manager in Oakland from 2003-2006, never winning fewer than 88 games in his tenure and guiding the Athletics to a pair of playoff appearances. The A's were swept in the American League Championship Series in 2006, and Macha was relieved of his duties thereafter.

The situation between Oakland and Milwaukee bears similarities. After the 2004 season, the A's traded starting pitchers Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, resorting to a youth movement that paid dividends when the team reached the ALCS two years later.

The Brewers stand to lose free agent pitchers Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia, barring an offseason surprise.

"It's a little bit up in the air when you've lost two pitchers or have the chance to lose two pitchers who contributed 24 wins last year in Sheets and Sabathia," Macha said. "I think Mulder started the All-Star game that year (in 2004), so it was a bit of a rebuilding situation, but I look at the young players on the field and see tremendous upside in these players. They've already had a great amount of success, and to try and get to their potential to the upside would be the challenge for myself and my coaching staff."

Macha was also a finalist for the Brewers opening in 2003 before assuming the reins from departing Athletics manager Art Howe.

Instead, the Brewers turned to Yost, who slowly built the franchise into a winning team.

Milwaukee recorded its first winning season since 1992 with Yost at the helm in 2007, and the club made its first playoff appearance since 1982 after a 90-win campaign in 2008. A near-collapse in September compelled the club to make a maneuver, however, and Yost was fired with 12 games remaining in the regular season.

Melvin, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier in the month, ruled out Sveum as a candidate for the full-time vacancy October 17.

The team also interviewed former Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly and former New York Mets skipper Willie Randolph as finalists for the position. All candidates had one thing in common - experience with winning baseball teams.

"Terry Francona ostensibly talked to me about his second time around, about how much he learned and got better," Melvin said, referring to the Boston Red Sox manager, once the bench coach under Macha at Oakland. "I've got the utmost respect for Charlie Manuel. He got let go by Cleveland, got a job with the Phillies and won the World Series. (Former St. Louis general manager) Walt Jocketty let Joe Torre go. He went to the Yankees and won umpteen World Series. I got let go myself, so I'm a big believer in second chances."

The Athletics went 368-280 (.568) in the four seasons beneath Macha. During his tenure, the Athletics had the fourth-highest winning percentage in baseball.

At the press conference, reporters asked Macha about the reported rift between Oakland general manager Billy Beane, and reports that Macha had communication issues with his personnel.

"When you get dismissed, there has to be a reason," Macha said. "Whatever reason that be is going to stick with you. I know a couple things. I know the difference between perception and reality, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

"One of the things I'll enjoy here is the relationship with Doug. He's been very honest with me, straightforward. He's more of a delegator that will let me go out and do my job as a manager, and I'll be very grateful for that. There are a lot of situations where it makes it difficult for a manager to do his job the way he sees fit because of extraneous pressures. I don't think that's going to happen here."

Melvin and Macha's relationship extended further back than recent weeks. Melvin relayed a story about his own first year as a minor league player, when he was assigned to camp in the Pittsburgh system. He was told to pitch batting practice on his first day, and the first hitter he faced was Macha.

"He was a much better player than I was," Melvin said. "I remember to this day, looking down that batting cage and he's gripping that bat. I was scared to death. I said, if I hit this big donkey in the head, he's going to come after me. It's funny how the game turns in the baseball world, how people are connected."

Melvin also likened Macha's passion for the game to his own.

"This is someone with a winning background who is a baseball lifer," Melvin said. "I'll have a good relationship with him because our backgrounds our so similar. That's our life. We're pretty boring people."

Macha, a Pittsburgh native drafted by his hometown Pirates in 1972 before spending six years in the big leagues as a player, coached with the Expos and California Angels before becoming bench coach under Howe in 1999. Melvin said he expected many coaching staff holdovers, with Sveum potentially among them.

"Ken is very open to bringing the coaches back, and that doesn't happen very often," Melvin said. "We do want to create some stability with this team. This isn't a team that won 54 games and needs a total overhaul. This was a team that won 90 games and had a managerial change."