Reviewing the Brew Round-table: Doug Melvin’s direction

As the Milwaukee Brewers have experienced before, losing seasons are something that make you wonder exactly about the future of this team. However under general manager Doug Melvin, the team has been fairly successful, going to the playoffs twice during his tenure.

After this past season ending on a 74-88 note, the question for this week was, “Do you believe Doug Melvin is guiding this team in the right or wrong direction, and why?”

Where exactly is Doug Melvin leading this team? Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

David Grant:

“Since 2007, no doubt Melvin has had some misses (see: Jeff Suppan); however, he has also brought success to a town that had been waiting over 25 years to return to the playoffs. The NLCS 2011 run was borderline magic for a small market baseball team and the igniting “all in” trade for Zack Greinke (and subsequent trade for Jean Segura) may end up as one of the all-time great Brewer deals. Heading into 2014 feels different. The challenge is how to prioritize competing for a playoff spot, salaries, and preparing for the future. This season may be a crossroads of sort for Melvin. Will the Brewers continue in the “compete” mode, or will Doug and team take a step back and try to develop more talent for the future? At present time it appears he is going to try and do both and I don’t expect this to end well.  Stay tuned.”

Justin Schultz:

“I don’t think Doug Melvin is guiding the Brewers in any particular direction. He’s not in rebuilding mode or win-now mode. Trading for Jean Segura was the best trade Melvin ever made, but signing a player like Kyle Lohse when the team wasn’t expected to be competitive didn’t make sense. Especially since he is so adamant about building the pitching staff around young players. Melvin is a fine GM, but does he have what it takes to build a team for the Word Series? I don’t think so.”

Lou Olsen:

“Right now, I think he is taking us in the right direction. But my opinion changes on this every season. Going into the 2014 season, I think he is doing all of the right things (this is assuming he does not make this deal to acquire Ike Davis). Roll the dice, see what you have in the organization, save some money so you have a little flexibility before the All-Star break. So, I am a happy camper today. But with Uncle Mark and Aunt Doug at the helm, this could change…riiiiight now!”

Benjamin Orr:

“It’s tough to say exactly what Melvin is doing with this team. On one hand, Melvin likes to stay in-house and work with the prospects and that’s fine. However, on the other hand, Melvin is also trying to craft a competitive roster which is something you can’t do when you’re trying to rebuild a team. I guess it’s why we don’t see Melvin make too many moves because there is no general sense of direction for this team and he doesn’t seem too committed to making one. That’s fine and all, but that just means the Brewers will never be anything more than average. Not better, not worse, just average.”

That’s what we had to say about the question, how about you? Let us know your thoughts!