Advertisement
The endorsement was anything but ringing.
``I'm not prepared to make a change with Ned at this point. But again, the bar is raised for all of us. I don't take anything for granted,'' Melvin said.
With that, Melvin relayed a story of his final year in Texas in 2001, when he answered similar questions about his manager at the time, only to learn he himself had been fired.
``The same media was asking me, 'Is your manager coming back for next year?' And I went down and had breakfast with the owner, and I wasn't coming back,'' Melvin said.
Yost, under contract for his sixth season in 2008 with a team option for 2009, has been criticized by the fans after perceived mismanagement of the bullpen despite going 83-79.
The Brewers started 24-10 and led by as many as 8½ games in June, but also lost 16 times when leading by three runs or more.
``When it comes to game management, hey we're all game managers, we're all the biggest second-guessers in the world,'' Melvin said.
But the starting pitching could be where the real blame lies. Despite signing Jeff Suppan to a $42 million contract, only Suppan and Dave Bush made at least 30 starts and the group made just 33 starts lasting seven innings or longer.
In 2006, Brewers starters made 62 starts of at least seven innings.
Again, Milwaukee dealt with injuries to All-Star Ben Sheets, and Melvin acknowledged that he needs to prepare better in case Sheets struggles to stay healthy in his contract year in 2008. He missed 10 starts with finger and hamstring injuries this season.
``Ben is in our plans, you've got to hope he can give you 34 starts next year,'' Melvin said. ``The one thing is it wasn't an arm injury. It's different. It's a shoulder, elbow, an arm injury you'd be nervous about.''
The Brewers have plenty to be nervous about in their bullpen with closer Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink eligible for free agency. Melvin's deal for Linebrink with San Diego cost the Brewers their No. 2 pitching prospect in the organization, Will Inman, as well as reliever Joe Thatcher, who earned a win against Milwaukee the final week of the season.
Former closer Derrick Turnbow allowed runs in only four of his final 25 appearances, but he imploded for at least three runs in each of them as the eighth inning setup man.
``When Derrick blows up, he blows up. I think he'll admit that,'' Melvin said. ``For a while, he was leading the league in holds. You don't get to Cordero if it wasn't for Turnbow. We don't get to 24-10 if it wasn't for Derrick.''
Cordero, who had 44 saves in 51 chances, will be a free agent and says he wants to stay.
``We're going to make a very aggressive offer to Cordero somewhere down the line in hopes of bringing him back,'' Melvin said.
But the Brewers may have to add to their payroll that was nearly $72 million this season.
``It's nice to have more money, but we want to have players that want to come here,'' said Rick Schlesinger, vice president of business operations. ``I don't look at us as a small market team. ... I think we have bigger expectations.''
Melvin also said he'll try to acquire some hitters who can draw walks and get on base for sluggers Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. That would likely come through trades since Melvin said he thinks the list of potential free agents is weak.
``We've got to try and stay away from the high strikeout, low walks guys,'' Melvin said.
That almost certainly means the Brewers won't pick up the $9 million option on Geoff Jenkins. Corey Koskie also has a team option, but Koskie still hasn't returned to baseball since a concussion sidelined him midway through 2006.
``We know we have a lot of work to do,'' Melvin said. ``We're not just going to be like hair conditioner and sit there and think that I'm working. We will be working this offseason.''
