There is almost nothing as ominous as when a professional sports team has a "players-only" meeting in their clubhouse.
What that normally means is that things are rapidly spinning out of control and nobody has any idea how to stop the slide, and it rarely cures anything.
That’s our Milwaukee Brewers, a team that seems destined to break our hearts and spend the fall fishing or playing golf or sitting at home watching playoff baseball on television.
How do you explain a team that had played so well now playing so poorly that they barely contested a whole bunch of games? Have their skills all eroded to minor league level?
I have no real idea how to explain it, but I think I know where the majority of the blame should be placed.
These players can still run and hit and pitch and throw and catch as well as they ever could, but they aren’t doing any of those things even decently now.
And I honestly think it’s the fault of the manager.
The role of a manager is a critical one in baseball, as in all sports. The manager or coach doesn’t make specific decisions. They generally endorse the decisions made by assistants.
What a manager does is create a climate that allows for players to be successful.
During a losing streak great coaches and managers find a way to get players moving in the same direction. They know that sitting back and waiting for things to happen is exactly the wrong thing to do.
Ron Roenicke seems like a very nice guy. But he has presided over this unbelievable job of massive choking and he needs to be held responsible.
And make no mistake, I think this is a case of organizational choking.
You choke when the finish line is in sight and everybody else in the race is behind you and suddenly, without adequate explanation, you begin to do the bad things you have avoided all season long.
Nobody is immune from this indictment. There is plenty of blame to go around here. But things being equal it’s the manager or coach in every case I’ve ever seen who can influence the course of events into a positive pattern.
Doug Melvin needs to stand up and explain what has happened here and who ought to pay the price. Because there clearly is a price that must be paid.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
