One solution won’t fix what ails the Milwaukee Brewers, but the one that comes the closest is the guy who batted leadoff in the 1982 World Series. If not Paul Molitor, then who?
How about the No. 2 hitter in that order? And if not Robin Yount, then what about the No. 3 hitter? Cecil Cooper, it turns out, is a new member of interim manager Jerry Royster’s coaching staff and, like Molitor and Yount, is considered a candidate for the job.
Even Ned Yost, the backup catcher in ’82, could figure into this open-ended search, which should extend until next fall if that’s how long it takes to get a commitment from Molitor or Yount.
Molitor is the right man for the job. His name and personality could bring fans to Miller Park. His knowledge eventually could help the Brewers produce their first winning season since 1992, which was the future Hall of Famer’s last year in a Milwaukee uniform.
Davey Lopes thought the Brewers were on the right track last season. After a June sweep of the Cubs, Milwaukee was 38-34 and 4 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central. Then the bottom dropped out, as it inevitably seems to for the perennial occupants of baseball’s Skid Row.
Two managers already have been fired this season. There are definite similarities in what happened to Phil Garner in Detroit and Lopes in Milwaukee.
Both Lopes and Garner managed losing teams in beautiful new ballparks. Both entered this season with hopes of making a run at the elusive .500 mark. Both were undercut by the disappointing performance of middle-aged rosters littered with veteran players who haven’t justified their long-term contracts.
“If there’s anything that’s wrong, in my mind, in many ways, it’s an indictment of the economic system of the game,” Brewers general manager Dean Taylor said.
“We are one of the small-market clubs in a difficult situation. . . . It is difficult to be competitive in this environment, and obviously the commissioner has made it very clear. He wants to change the landscape of the game.”
It’s easy to dismiss this as whining. Both the Tigers ($55 million) and the Brewers ($50 million) are outspending Oakland, which is pursuing a third straight playoff spot, as well as early surprises Pittsburgh and Montreal.
But the reality is Milwaukee and Detroit have done what second-division teams often do: overspending to retain veterans or persuade free agents to hop on their sinking ships.
Bobby Higginson, Dean Palmer, Damion Easley, Dmitri Young and Jose Lima account for more than 60 percent of the Tigers’ payroll. So far they have returned one pitching victory, 11 runs scored and 13 RBIs.
The Brewers’ imbalance is almost as bad. Jeffrey Hammonds, Mark Loretta, Jose Hernandez and Eric Young account for about 35 percent of the payroll. They entered the weekend hitting .233 with a combined 16 runs scored and 16 driven in.
Along with Garner, longtime GM Randy Smith was axed after the Tigers’ 0-6 start. Taylor knows it won’t be long until he follows Lopes out of Milwaukee if the Brewers don’t get things turned around.
Taylor hired Lopes six weeks after he was named to replace Sal Bando in 1999. He inherited a bad team with a weak farm system, and the Brewers remain unchanged. Baseball America ranked Milwaukee 26th in its listing of minor-league systems entering 2002.
Fan apathy was the final straw for both Lopes and Garner. After drawing 2.8 million in 2001, their first year at Miller Park, the Brewers saw only 75 percent of their season ticket-holders renew over the winter, perhaps because of the down economy. They are on pace to draw barely 1.9 million this season.
No one doubts that winning games draws fans, but Lopes didn’t get much of a chance this season. The Brewers faced the toughest early schedule in the majors, opening against Houston, Arizona, St. Louis and San Francisco. The 3-12 start left the Brewers with a 33-72 record since sweeping the Cubs last June.
“I had an opportunity,” Lopes said. “It didn’t work out. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
Molitor, a difficult man to read, has given no indications if he wants the position. He quit his job as a coach with Minnesota last winter, saying he needed to spend more time with his family. He reportedly is enjoying life as a civilian.
Brewers President Wendy Selig-Prieb should do whatever it takes to get Molitor involved, even if it means giving him Whitey Herzog-like control as a manager/GM.
Yount, a first-year coach with Arizona, is the next-best choice. He says the Diamondbacks are the only team whose uniform he would wear because he wants to live in the Phoenix area year-round.
Winning in Milwaukee will be a herculean task for whoever accepts it. Better it be someone who knows firsthand it can be done.
