Brewers name Craig Counsell manager
The Milwaukee Brewers will entrust an old friend with rectifying the club's newfound struggles.
Following a 7-18 start, the Brewers relieved manager Ron Roenicke of his duties Sunday and announced less than 24 hours later that Craig Counsell, who spent six years in Milwaukee during his playing career, will take over as manager.
Counsell took a front-office position with the Brewers after his playing career ended following the 2011 campaign. He's expected to receive a three-year deal.
"This has been a difficult start to the season, something that we certainly didn't anticipate," general manager Doug Melvin said in a statement. "Over roughly the last 100 games, we have not performed at the level that we should. It's all about wins and losses, and after the first month of play this year we didn't see the progress and improvement we had hoped for.
"We appreciate all that Ron has done for the organization, and he has handled his duties with great professionalism and dedication. The reasons for our disappointing start are many, but we determined that it's in the best interests of the club to make this move."
The 58-year-old Roenicke's job had been in question dating back to last season following a September swoon. The Brewers entered the month atop the division at 73-63 before finishing 82-80 and missing the playoffs for a third straight season.
Milwaukee dropped 13 of its first 15 games to start the 2015 season, but have won three of the last four games.
"I told Doug I wished it would have happened a week ago. I would have understood it better then," Roenicke told reporters. "I feel like I did everything I could do, but it’s still the responsibility of the manager to get this thing right.
"I'm responsible for how the team is playing. I get that part. When you take on the job, that's part of it."
The team exercised Roenicke's option for the 2016 season this spring after sparing him from firings last October which saw hitting coach Johnny Narron and first base coach Garth Iorg relieved of their duties.
Hired in 2011, Roenicke compiled a 341-331 record across five seasons. After winning the National League Central in his first season with a 96-win campaign, the Brewers have since failed to finish higher than third in the division.
Melvin said Sunday that no other immediate changes would be made to the coaching staff.
Roenicke might not be the only member of the Brewers to receive his walking papers, as it was reported Friday that the team is fielding calls on a number of veteran players.
Milwaukee's offense ranks in the bottom third of the league in runs, average, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging. The pitching has hardly been better, as the rotation owns a league-worst 5-16 record to go with a 5.01 ERA.