Fire Ken Macha?

As the Brewers slide has reached 9 games and counting, the heat under manager Ken Macha’s seat has reached a boiling point. The Brewers are a miserable 15-25 for the second-worst record in the National League (only one game ahead of the Astros) so fans and the media believe that management needs to do something to shake things up and show that they are dedicated to winning. The pitching staff has the 3rd worst ERA in all of baseball, are one of only 8 teams that do not have a single complete game and have issued the 5th most walks in baseball. While I am not the biggest fan of Macha, I don’t believe that firing him will fix any of the problems the Brewers have.

What would firing Macha really accomplish? Would firing Kenny change the fact that the starting pitching rarely makes an appearance after the 6th inning? Would firing him cause Trevor Hoffman to stop blowing save opportunities? Would firing Macha solve the rest of the bullpen collapse that has taken place where there is not one reliable arm out there? Would firing Macha get Prince Fielder to focus on hitting and this season instead of looking ahead to his free agency? I think the answer to all of these questions is a resounding “No.” So why would they fire him? Because Macha has less personality (at least outwardly with the media) than Audrina Patridge, and therefore it appears he is incapable of rallying the team to stop the slide.

The demise of the Brewers was less of a surprise than the revelation of a sex tape involving Kendra Wilkinson. To fix their NL-worst starting rotation from last year, they signed a 33-year old who had just put together a couple of strong seasons (Randy Wolf) and a left-handed Jeff Suppan clone in Doug Davis, whom they had already let go a few seasons earlier. They brought back a 42-year old closer. They continue to hold out hope for a Manny Parra to become an average major league pitcher, and they have now held on too long and he has lost any and all trade value. Why did we believe that this pitching staff was good enough to compete with the Cardinals, Reds, or any of the other solid teams in the National League?

The other end of the equation, is who would be the replacement for Macha? Dale Sveum? Yes, he was the interim manager that held the post for the last few weeks of 2008 and into the playoffs. Did he really do anything other than have more life than Ned Yost? He was so unimpressive that he was not really considered for the full time gig for 2009. And now suddenly he is going to be the answer to fix the Brewers? I just don’t see it. So where do they go instead? Willie Randolph? Is he a big change from Macha? Probably not. The point is that the Brewers should not fire Macha without knowing who they are going to replace him with and if that person is really going to make a difference. Michaelangelo wouldn’t have been able to paint the Sistine Chapel if he was using finger paints.

Firing Macha might make the fans and the media happy, but be reasonable about what effect it will actually have on on the field performance.

Always An Adventure With Airtran

I’ve mentioned in the past my disdain for Airtran, easily the worst of the so-called value airlines. Flying Airtran is just like partying with the North Carolina basketball team…only the exact opposite. It was another recent adventure trying to get back to New York from Milwaukee this week with the airline. I had booked a one-way flight from Milwaukee to LaGuardia as I had flown into Chicago for my brother-in-law’s graduation. Get to the airport, through security and board the plane without issue. As I’m watching the plane board, I’m noticing that the flight is less than 40% full, which is always a bad sign. Sure enough, immediately after everyone has boarded, they announce that there is a 30 minute ground delay, which isn’t a big deal except that they are going to allow people to deplane while waiting. Always a bad sign, meaning they know it’s going to be more than 30 minutes. Sure enough, within 10 minutes, they announce the flight has been cancelled due to “weather in New York.” Really? Do they really think we’re this dumb and gullible? I had spoken with my wife and looked at the weather on my blackberry. I’m not a weather man (I’m right more than 30% of the time, so I’m overqualified) It was 60 degrees, cloudy with no rain and winds under 10 miles per hour in New York. So that’s the weather cancelling the flight? Or is it actually that the plane was so empty it didn’t make business sense to waste the fuel flying an empty plane out to New York? I understand the decision, but don’t just make things up.

As we’re deplaning the lady at the desk is overwhelmed by the people begging her for information about what’s going to happen and what flights they can get. She starts telling people they will either be on the next flight or be routed through Atlanta. As I’m walking to another agent at a gate 50 yards away (in order to circumvent the line and get rebooked immediately) I get an email from Airtran notifying me that my flight was cancelled. Thanks Airtran for keeping me informed about my flight after I’ve exited the plane and am already rebooked on a different flight.

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A couple of quick thoughts while cruising at 35,000 feet…..

The Celtics have absolutely dominated the Magic in no small part because Vince Carter has went back into his shell as a less than clutch performer. With a healthy Garnett, an accurate Pierce and a dominating point guard in Rajon Rondo, the Celtics look unstoppable. The Magic are lost offensively because the Celtics are inviting them to feed Howard in the post so they can foul him and not leaving the Magic shooters open on the perimeter. The only way the Magic can score is with penetration and the only guy on their roster capable of doing that is Carter because Rondo has owned Jameer Nelson. And Carter isn’t capable.

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I was going to save this for a separate post, but it may be time to put Trevor Hoffman out to pasture. It’s a shame that the future Hall Of Famer and all-time saves leader has fallen so far so fast, but he just doesn’t have it. He has blown 5 of 10 save opportunities and has an ERA over 13. The problem the Brewers have is who to put in that spot. LaTroy Hawkins has closing experience, yet he’s on the disabled list and has been hammered this season as well. Todd Coffey just came off a shelling at the hands of the Reds so his confidence can’t exactly be peaked. Does that leave Carlos Villanueva as the closer by default? The Brewers are on pace for a 100 loss season as of this moment and need to do something to turn the tide of this ship. More tomorrow on the people calling for Ken Macha’s head……..Kenny is not the one blowing late game leads and Kenny is not a starting pitcher that can’t last past the 6th inning and Kenny is not the underachieving first baseman worrying more about his contract than about earning this year’s salary.

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The Lakers will take a commanding lead in the series tonight, and the reason will be that despite the Suns playing better defense this year than they have in the past, they are still not playing complete defense. The biggest culprit? It’s easier to score on Amare Stoudemire than it is to score as a cast member on Gossip Girl. Doug Gotlieb described Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol as getting “microwaved” by Stoudemire’s “defense” because as soon as you see him guarding you, you’re already warmed up and about to be on fire. And then for Amare to come out and say Odom had a lucky game when he got lit up for 19 points and 19 rebounds? And yet despite his obvious deficiencies, Amare is going to opt out of his contract this summer and someone is going to give him an outrageous contract. Just doesn’t make sense and I’ve questioned it in the past as well.