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At 7-18, the Milwaukee Brewers by far and away have the worst record in Major League Baseball, which is a big reason why it is not surprising manager Ron Roenicke got fired on Sunday. What is a bit surprising is that it took this long for it to happen.
The Brewers dominated throughout the 2014 season, only for their postseason dreams to come crashing down in the form of an epic failure. After remaining in first place in the NL Central for a majority of the season, they won a mere 34 percent of their final 32 games to miss out on the playoffs completely. Instead of Roenicke getting let go due to the collapse, Milwaukee rewarded him with a contract extension. Of course, that did not sit well with a large portion of the loyal fan base.
Fast forward to the 2015 season and the Brewers get blown out by the Colorado Rockies in the first game of the season in what was the most embarrassing Opening Day performance in franchise history. A team that hit well in spring training looked completely lost in the early going, while the pitching has been as bad as it gets in the big leagues through the first 25 games of the season.
Many are questioning why it took the Brewers this long to fire Roenicke. They have had many opportunities over the first five weeks of the season to tell him to pack his bags, but they decided after the team’s first back-to-back wins of the season to give him the ax.
In my opinion, it had nothing to do with giving Roenicke time to right the ship. Instead, it had everything to do with ensuring his replacement, former Brewer and Milwaukee local Craig Counsell, was prepared to take over the managerial duties.
Roenicke’s firing is certainly unfortunate. In his first year in Milwaukee, he led the Brewers to the NLCS. However, many agree, I included, it was how he managed that series that ultimately cost Milwaukee a shot at a World Series berth. Since 2011, he has done nothing spectacular as the manager for the Brewers.
What is truly unfortunate is that the beginning of the current season is not exactly his fault. Milwaukee has endured more injuries than any other ball club and the players are not playing up to their abilities. With that said, good or bad play will ultimately fall on the man in charge, which is exactly why Roenicke has been fired.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
