WTF, Doug Melvin?

After the Milwaukee Brewers fired Ned Yost with a dozen games to play last season, the team’s fans had to look for another whipping boy to blame for the shortcomings of the club. With the team three under .500 and 9.5 back of STL as of this writing, it seems the focus has been shifted onto Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin. This is unsurprising; now that Yost is gone the ire falls on the next longest tenured official. I suppose once Melvin is removed, the torches-and-pitchforks crowd will be coming for owner Mark Attanasio.

But for now, Melvin is in the crosshairs. Of particular irritation to many fans is Melvin’s in activity in the free agent market last off-season and at the trading deadline this summer. On the other side of the debate, the cooler heads are wondering just exactly what the irate wanted Melvin to do given the limitations of a small to medium sized budget and market. The fact is, none of us understand the details, nuances or constraints Doug Melvin faces. That makes it very difficult for anyone to know who was truly available for Melvin to acquire, nor do we know the real market value of the chips Doug has to dangle in trade.

So while it might be ridiculous to ask the critics who they would have acquired had they been in Melvin’s position, if they can’t come up with solid, rational, realistic ideas in this regard then all they are doing is venting, and as far as I am concerned, that doesn’t do much to advance the conversation. Asking what others think should have been done does more in this regard because it requires people to use the available data and formulate a thoughtful case (a much more difficult task that just bemoaning that something better wasn’t done). To me, that sure beats assuming that better options were certainly out there and then whining that these mystical, magical and mysterious paths weren’t taken.

Doing something, taking action for the sake of taking action, is rarely the best course. Sometimes it is best to wait for deals that make good sense and not jump impulsively in reaction to present circumstances. Emotional moves might be fine in New York or Boston where large budgets can cover a multitude of mistakes. But in MKE a more dispassionate, rational approach is necessary because of the need for a higher degree of accuracy in transactions. In this way, I think Doug Melvin is playing his cards appropriately.

Tags: Doug Melvin, Major League Baseball, Milwaukee Brewers