A Bone To Pick With Ron Roenicke

I’m not a Ron Roenicke fan. I’m just not. But to be fair, I loathed Ned Yost and Ken Macha even more. I was at Yost’s throat because he left his struggling pitchers in longer than I ever imagined possible. Macha drew my ire because his decision-making wasn’t up to par and he looked like he was about to fall over and die at any moment.

Dec 4, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke answers questions from the media during the Major League Baseball winter meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports The problem I have with Roenicke is that he never argues with the umpires. He may venture out of the dugout once in awhile to seek an explanation on a close call, but getting into the face of an ump and spitting fire is a rarity. A manager should stand up for his players and be willing to get thrown out of the game. If my memory serves me right, Roenicke was only ejected twice last season.

I’m not advocating for Roenicke’s ejections to rise in 2013, I’m simply stating that he must use the words he learned in the school yard more often when dealing with umpires. That was the one good quality Yost had. He wasted no time telling off an ump and I loved it.

A manager’s attitude affects a player’s mindset. If Ryan Braun sees Roenicke get all hot and heated, don’t you think he’ll start to play with a little more passion? It’s not rocket science. If a manager seems emotionally invested, the players will feed off of that.

So please, Ron, start showing some fire; get out there and defend your men.