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May 24, 2009

On the Beat

Weekend Wrap

by John Perrotto

Ken Macha knew that he was walking into a good situation when he was hired as the Brewers' manager last November. The Brewers were coming off of their first post-season appearance in 26 years after winning the National League Wild Card. They had a talented young group of hitters, led by such stars as left fielder Ryan Braun and first baseman Prince Fielder, but Macha also knew that he was stepping into a tricky situation. For as bright as it appeared from some angles, there were also some dark clouds hanging over the team.

The Brewers had stumbled down the stretch in 2008, and manager New Yost was fired with two weeks left in the season. Bench coach Dale Sveum took over as interim manager and got them to the playoffs, where they lost to the Phillies in the National League Division Series. In the offseason, the Brewers lost their two best starting pitchers to free agency in CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, closer Salomon Torres decided to retire, and even though there has been some unwelcome injury news this past week on second baseman Rickie Weeks, Macha has no complaints.

The Brewers have righted themselves following a 4-9 start and are now 26-16, good for a first-place tie with the Cardinals in the National League Central. "It's been a lot of fun," said Macha. "We've got a good young group of energetic guys here who really love to play the game. They play hard every day, they have a lot of confidence in themselves, and they have a lot of fun. It's the type of team you like to manage."

Macha had managed the Athletics for four seasons but was fired just a few days after they lost to the Tigers in the 2006 American League Championship Series. He spent the past two years working as a studio analyst for NESN on Red Sox telecasts before general manager Doug Melvin hired him as the permanent replacement for Yost. The Brewers, though, will be without Weeks, who suffered a tear in the tendon sheath of his wrist that will require season-ending surgery. Weeks was considered a future superstar when he was selected with the second overall pick of the 2003 first-year player draft, and he finally seemed to be living up to that promise after years of inconsistent play. He had nine home runs in 162 plate appearances and a .280 EqA, up from .266 a year ago. "He was hitting everything hard and he had really turned the corner," said Sveum, now the hitting coach. "I really thought this was going to be the year when he broke out and became a star."

Instead, the Brewers will make do with a loose platoon of Craig Counsell and Casey McGehee for now, while top shortstop prospect Alcides Esccobar has begun to play some second base at Triple-A Nashville. Regardless, they still have firepower in the lineup; their average of 5.0 runs per game ranks 12^th in the major leagues. Braun (.339 EqA) and Fielder (.323) are leading the way, while center fielder Mike Cameron (.316) is also off to a hot start, and Counsell (.310) has been productive in a part-time role.