BREAKING NEWS: MACHA WILL NOT RETURN!

Beane knew Macha wouldn't accept that first offer and wanted him to walk.

Let the "Who will it be" speculation begin!

Candidates:

Bob Geren
Ron Washington
Rene Lachemann
Tony DeFrancesco

Tough love for Macha, but I have to say part of me is happy that he won't be back.  I do feel bad for the guy, though, as you can tell from his comments that he is sad to go.  Have fun in Pittsburg, where your only chance to have a winning record is if you win your first game!

But seriously, Beane treats his manager like his players-- he is not going to overpay anyone.  Moneyball made it very clear that the man behind everything is Beane, and the manager is just an extension of him.

Now, the curious thing is if we promote from within, or if we go after someone outside.  I think Washington would be a good choice or Bob Geren.  Or on a little crazier note, what if we go after Alan Trammell?  Definitely not Lou Pinella.  

I doubt that Beane goes outside of the organization, as he already has a working relationship with these guys, and he knows their value better than anyone.  It is much easier to replace a fielding/3rd base coach or a bullpen coach than it is to bring an entirely new manager on board.  Plus, with a new position coach, the person they are replacing is their new boss, so the dropoff is even smaller than it would be if the coach had just left.

It's clear that Billy didn't want to keep Macha. Billy could have upped his offer by a couple hundred thousand and gotten Macha to sign.

It's kind of curious, because Billy was praising Macha to the skies in the middle of the season.

j/k

He's done a great job down at Midland, though. But it would probably upset anyone else in the organization who's in line ahead of him.

Billy say how good this team played in June and July, and then how, for the second year running, they collapsed in September.

He knows he needs an upgrade, whether at the same pay scale or not. if it's Geren, great. If it's Pineilla, even better. I trust his judgement on this one.

Why would you want to manage for a guy who won't let you manage?  It's a great place to get your feet wet, but not a place that you can prove yourself as a manager.  Beane runs the show and Beane gets all the credit for the success.  Macha will probably get a job somewhere else and be a decent to good coach.  

Billy Beane doesn't make snap judgments. We've all watched him operate for the past several years. This is what he does: he places a value on each position in the organization. He CLEARLY does not think an on-field manager is that valuable. Therefore, he will end up paying something near the amount he offered Macha for whomever he signs to be the manager (I'd be shocked if it wasn't Geren).

Folks, Billy Beane did not gripe about Macha's managing style. In fact, he routinely praised his handling of the team. This organization asks its on-field managers to implement the organizational philosophy, which seems to be keeping pitch counts in check and minimizing the number of outs the offense makes. I just do not see where a new manager would be allowed to steal bases, bunt, and hit and run anymore than the last two managers have.

I can't see how anybody who has followed the A's closely in the BB era could expect that he'd hire a "strong" field manager who will try to emulate Whitey Herzog or Ozzie Guillen. Can anybody really see that happening?

If we dont choose wash now we're gonna lose him forever.  Hire him now!

A's fire GM, Manager.  I thought Billy had been fired at first.  Completely shocked!

...now let's see if the other half holds true over the next few weeks. ;-)

~Nod

didn't like Macha that much either.  Sure he made all those comments saying he'd love to have Macha come back, but you pretty much have to say that stuff.  The fact that Beane didnt try to seriously negotiate a contract with Macha makes me believe that Billy sees better options out there (or maybe within the organization already).  Is there another stat that Beane made up - VORM?  Thats Value Over Replacement Manager.  Maybe he'll give blez the job for chicken scratch and use the extra money to get that power righty everyone's talking about.

I am not well versed in these matters, howe-ever, it seems that Art had similar success with a talented team, and didn't have much at all with the Mets. The similarities between the two managers seem to outweigh the differences, and, as has been stated above, this is not a team driven by strong managerial leadership. We will not have a Pinella, Torre, or Earl Weaver-type manager any more than the Raiders will have a Parcells. The GM drives the bus.

I appreciate what Ken did (um, what did he do?), but suspect there'll be someone similar who fills his shoes. Much as I'd like to see Wash in that role, I don't know that his style fits what the GM looks for.

Perhaps we can entice Felipe...(just kidding)

I think the A's would be better off if they had a strong manager.  Having a BB puppet has led to some pretty hearbreaking chokes.  Let's try something different - let the GM assemble the talent, let the manager do the managing.  Give Wash a shot - but that ain't gonna happen.  BB ain't gonna change his spots.

They've been writing since spring training that BB's close personal friend, Geren, was gonna get the job.  This looks like it's been a done deal for quite a while.

with a thumbnail description of what a bullpen coach does? Other than pick up a phone, listen, then say, "Ricardo, you're up"?

*Dances*

...i just listened to mycheal urban..and i think he knows what he talking about with regards to Wash, who btw would be an awesome manager, but he is not willing to simple be a yes "person" to billy...

Rickey can play and manage! Rickey can play, manage, and drag one of those eskimo sleds around the infield between innings! Sign Rickey now, dang it!

In light of the recent openings on your coaching staff, may I take this opportunity to recommend Mr. Carney Lansford as a potential replacement candidate.
With both his boys out of HS now, I'd bet he'd welcome a return to coaching at the Major league level and why not an organization he still has close ties too?
Hitting coach, infield coach (in the case Wash leaves), a babysitter for Swish, Lansford's your man.

Sincerely,
Lansfords 1 (no relation)
 

Must be really nice to have your stats page in Baseball reference sponsered by a Fire Macha Blog

http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/machake01.shtml

and it starts with Macha is a Moron

http://firemacha.blogspot.com/

he did a hell of a job here in detroit...

...and told him to NOT answer the phone for the rest of the week.

I donno about the whole African American thing...i mean, we only have one half-black dude on our entire team in Jay Payton anyways. Regardless of race, Wash really needs to get this job. I think Geren is dull, boring, and i think our team needs a leader with some personality, and i know Wash will bring that spark that our managers have been missing in the past. What the hell does the bullpen coach do anyways? BB needs to be smart here and not let Wash leave.

He's expensive but I like his fire!

I ask you this, if someone else was managing the A's this season would they have made the playoffs?

For that reason alone I am glad he is gone! :)

Wow! I was so happy to see Macha move on. This team has underacheived all three years he was here, especially the last 2 September's. My hope is that they will bring in a guy (and you know Wolf will make the final decision, not Beane)who will a gad dang fire under these guys asses. Somebody needs to really come in and motivate on an adult level, not just sit back and watch crap happen and do nothing about it.

The A's need some snarl all the way around. This getting close stuff of the last 7 years is old. Either go for the top or completely rebuild...don't just hover with mediocre guys like Macha.

by all accounts. At some point he's also dealt with a lot of the guys on this team as a manager, from Ellis to Swish and DJ. He knows how to manage these players because he's done it before.

I for one am quite happy, but we'll have to see it pan out. I can't imagine it would be Wash. For all  managers are "overvalued" by the market, it's safe to say that I doubt Billy would want to hand over this team to a guy with NO managerial experience.

The man has charisma and respect! I have no idea how well he will manage, some guys are better in a secondary role. We know he exceeds in that.
Let's hire Rickee' as the 3rd base coach.

in making the unsuccessful contract negotiation as the reason behind the separation, where in firing Macha would have created media and fan backlash.

For all of the good points of the moneyball philosophy there are just as many flaws. Not retaining Macha (might as well call it a firing - Beane had no intention of retaining him) is just another manifestation of it. In no way am i saying that Macha is a great manager or even a good one. Fact is that as long as Billy Beane is the GM we'll never know how good a manager is because he'll never let one truly "manage".
The team definitely overachieved this season and Beane can (and most definitely will) take credit for that. But Macha was certainly a major factor.
There's no doubt that Billy Beane is one of the best gm's in the game. We all know his strengths and can cite various moves he's made to support his genius. But for all of his strengths there are fundamental flaws in his philosophy and until these flaws are corrected the team will never achieve it's ultimate goal.
I've been a die-hard fan since 1971. I've stuck with this team thru thick and thin and always will. But that doesn't mean i agree with everything that "moneyball" entails. It's always an advantage to have a manager who knows the strengths and weaknesses of his team. Who's a master at strategy and when to apply his knowledge of the game to help his team win. As long as the moneyball philosophy holds that a manager is just one minute piece of the equation, one to simply adhere to all of the "moneyball" commandments (i.e.: thy shalt not steal...thy shalt not bunt..thy shalt not eclipse the profile of the genius gm....etc) then this team will never reach it's full potential.
I realize that in this forum what i'm saying is blasphemy to many but i'm tiring of watching opponents beat the A's with the very tools that the moneyball philosophy refuses to choose to apply itself. And why? Who says a moneyball team shouldn't bunt..steal bases...etc? Isn't the moneyball philosophy an evolving one? One which adapts to the personnel the team possesses? The 2005 Oakland A's are looked at by most as overachievers. A team for the future. Built for next year just as 1999's team was. But for all of the overachieving in this or ANY year, there's this nagging feeling that if some of the CORRECTABLE weaknesses of the Beane/moneyball philosophy were tended to then all A's fan's would see a truly rosier future. One which didn't have alot of us trying to answer hypothetical questions like "How many walks and 3 run homers does it take to win it all if you can't manufacture runs in any other way". But that's just one of many questions. As for the question  "Does it matter who manages the A's"? The answer is: In the current system it doesn't.
Whats wrong with this picture?

he's way too important to let go. he almost single-handedly took this team from being pretty bad defensively to one of the best defensive teams in the bigs. you can't let someone of that caliber completely leave the organization.

give wash a shot at managing. i think he'll get the best out of the players, as he always does. plus, he brings the passion that the team needs.

Mr. Macha, thank you for three straight winning seasons.  You won a Division title and I thank you for that flag.  Good luck with your future teams.  

Now I think that Mr. Washington should be bumped up that ladder and bring Geren to third base coach.  Mr. Lachman needs to stay here and be the bench guru.  As for the hitting coach, anybody think of calling former batting champ, Carney Lansford?  Maybe we convince Ricky to retire and bring him in as a coach.  

Oh and also sign Piazza to be a DH.

Otherwise, our Oakland A's did a great job coming back from the 15 below sea level and producing 88 wins.  Good job.  Injuries suck.  Get well all A's fan, it's going to a long winter.  But we always have March in the Desert.

In closing, give Ron Washington a shot.

is getting way too much heat. He worked very hard for the A's and was successful by any metric.  The players played hard for him and he never embarrassed the organization.  I understand the economics of the situation and am not averse to a Geren type leading the A's.  It may have been time for a change, but this Macha bashing is pretty disgusting.  He have his heart to the organization for 7 years and i thought that he was in general very competent at his job.  I wish him the best of luck in his next endeavor.

At least we aren't talking about Jim Leyland being our great old hope. We have had it good. Read the news and spin on Leyland and you will smile even if you live in Hayward!

It's Beane who calls the plays.

He offered Macha three years of security for a lil' less than 3 million bucks.

Wow, not too shabby, considering that the A's, though following a season that was magical, is not a team reliant on the managerial strategies of the likes of a Leo the Lip or Billy the Kid.

Agents, man can they foul up the soup.

My recommendation to Macha would've been to go for three years with a fourth year option and bring to Oakland four playoff seasons, and you can write you own check anywhere in the majors.

He thought he had Detroit on the line, but when Detroit didn't wait for Ken's agent to get a response, suddenly Ken was without his boys ... and his job.

Beane did not get these amazing players by playing Old Maid or Fish. He is a poker player to beat the bunch and has little time for toying with a half mil here or a half mil there.

Besides, he needs to find extra millions here and there to sign a Konerko.

Good bye, Ken. May Wash get the job.

Well I give Beane benfit of the doubt he deserves it.

When someone offers you 2.6 ( which is alittle low but reasonable)and you counter with 4.0 thats a 53% increase over the initial, thats basically like spitting on his initial offer.

a mill is alot for a manager these days even.

Basically as we all know to well if you want to stay with these guys and see them grow you get the chance, if you want money you will always get more elsewhere

If his agent had come back with something just over three mill he would have had alot better chance

Im guessing Macha may be second guessing his agents strategy about now

I never got the sense money was his main point

The A's will probably score more runs next year with him in the 3rd base coaching box than with him sitting on the bench. He certainly is deserving of the job but he's so much valuable directing traffic on the field we can't afford to have him collecting splinters in his pants while someone else is sending runners to the deaths on the bases.
So, here's my idea (maybe it's the booze talking but it's only 6:30 and I swear I haven't started yet)
Jason Kendall as player-manager.
(I'll wait for the sarcastic comments to die down)
Right off the bat I can come up with 3 indisputable reasons why Kendall is the best possible choice -

1. As much as people credit Curt Young for the progress of our young staff, and as much as Billy would like to take credit for being the genius that put it together, it was Kendall that managed this staff on the field and their success is largely attributable to him. Most ANers would agree that Macha's Achilles heel was the way he handled the staff, especially the bullpen.
   
2. You'd get 2 jobs done and only have to pay 1 guy. For the always budget-conscious A's, this alone is reason enough.
   
3. Jason is smart enough to have the good sense to bat himself 8th, something Macha never could come to terms with.
   

I'm convinced; I invite you to add your own thoughts or to show me where I'm wrong.

a number of managerial jobs available. It may be that Macha didn't want to return so he had his agent make an offer he knew BB wouldn't accept. He had to know BB's 'negotiating' style and he had to know the outcome. He may really want Pittsburg - it's his home.

As to the following: "I'm not one to be overly critical of things that I haven't done myself.  I think that given the philosophy with which the club was constructed, the bunting/stealing argument does not hold water -- our personnel were not selected for their ability to do so.", I have to disagree. Even if you accept 'the philosophy...' argument, which I don't because a slugger wasn't in the cards, a good manager and/or g.m., for that matter, adjusts to the team they have. I repeat my drum pounding: "Use all of the tools of the game, not just swing from your heels, guys, and it'll all work out". It didn't and it won't.

Wash, would be the best choice.
He has the upmost respect from the players.
He is more of a traditionalist when it comes to strategy...utilizing speed and defense.
He has an edge about him that can be carried more over to the team, such as toughness and grit.
I just hpoe Billy doesn't put Yes Man #3 in..
All of the teams in the playoffs utilize small ball or have huge payrolls...uhmm?
Maybe a field general who is just as creative on the field as the GM is off the field is a part of what this team needs....
I think maybe Billy shoud stand back and give the keys to Wash and let him do his job.

non pitching shoulder today according to espn.com

It seems pretty arrogant to fire both the head coach and hitting coach.  

Then again, I though trading huddy and Mulder was the height of stupidity, what do I know?

I'm not crazy about the figure head manager idea. Both Howe and Macha added nothing to the team and both failed to motivate the team in the playoffs or pennant races. Wash will bring a little character to the position instead of just being Billy's stooge. We could use a little Billy Ball and I'm not talking about Billy Beane.

In my mind, there were only three big changes Beane needed to make in the off season. 1. Fire Macha and replace him.    2. Sign Zito to an extension. 3. Add a real home run slugger DH. Congrats to Beane taking care of #1.

I read all of these. Wow, you guys start early. Pretty interesting.

Generally I agree with the "no small ball" way of going. But I swear that there were classic moments over the season when the hit-and-run, or the stolen base was exactly what was called for and might have changed a losing outcome or three. The A's might have gotten around that ugly slump in May (my head exploded at several games) if they had pulled a surprise or three.

Kendall, Kotsay, Chavez, Payton are all good base stealers. Crosby, Swisher, and Ellis all have the potential. There is no reason that the A's should have a morbid dread of running. No reason except that it's not classic Moneyball.

I may not always agree with Billy's stubbornness, but he is the MVP GM who has made us happy and hopeful. Bring on the new "trained monkey".

Maybe Wash will go with his gut once in a while instead of slavishly and mindlessly follwing Billy's formula all the time. Yes the new manager should adhere to Moneyball for the most part because thats the organizational philosophy but every once in a while the manager should push the players and surprise the opponent. We just need different biorhythms down the stretch instead of the usual timid fade from some grey haired Beane robot. I think we can all agree that it's a good thing Macha/Howe (same difference) are gone, now if we can just try something different.

Wash for manager! Hatte as bench coach or base coach! how awesome would it be to see Hatte out there next year...he was born to be an A and he and Wash might be able to do what Ozzie Guillen/Joey Cora/Harold Baines are doin in Chi-Town. They can all relate to the players and I'm sure that the boys would love to play for the two.

For at least these reasons.

1. Why not? I don't see any other obvious candidates out there who are grabbing everyone's attention. Bob Geren is a sort of "fall-back/safe" choice who's still learning The Ways of The Bigs. Why be "safe" when you can excite the fans and bring that much more energy and attention to the team?
2. "Wash" is a character; a real individual among baseball clones. Kind of like what Bill King is to the `Hawk' Harrelsons of the world.  The Bay Area needs a Manager with Personality - someone who will bring some Style to the job. Art Howe and Ken Macha were like `Wonder bread;' no perceptible personality, no visible signs of desire, motivation, or even really Caring about Our A's. Ron Washington is our `29-grain wheat bread' - complex, good-for-what-we-need, and, most importantly for AN, something to chew on! His heart lives in New Orleans but it bleeds Green and Gold.
3. Next year, 2006, is not the End of a cycle for the A's; it's the first year of the next five-year plan. (It's not a "it's the last year of Barry's contract so we have to win it all this year or forever hold our peace" kind of thing. [Watch out for the SF ad blitz next year!]) Why not experiment a little next year? Throw the fans (AN) a bone, go against the `educated guesses,' or just mess with the Talking Heads on ESPN/etc. for the sport of it?  Perhaps it's time for the A's to flex their organizational wings and let this gentle, incredibly hard-working, and very knowledgeable man have his chance at the Brass Ring?
4. I want that "arm-waving" attitude in the dugout next year. Why play it safe? Why not play `little-ball' when it feels like it'll get us a run? Why not shift Chavy over to short every now and then, when the situation warrants it?  Hey, it's all about What Works!!! And I trust this man's instincts.
5. Can anyone imagine our infield without Coach Washington schooling them day-in and day-out? The word Mediocre would probably be generous.

We need to keep this valuable talent on the field with The Big Team.

All the above reason are great, but the most irrelevant reason I want him is the great commercial he did for A's rootbeer float day

"scoop the icecream"
"pour the rootbeer"
"ahhh, delicious"

or something like that

I will take that over a Macha fireworks commercial anyday

Wash
small ball
real dh

Well, TB's filled. I think it's gonna be Wash. Gut feeling, but I think having someone credited for helping the defensive side of the ball (which plays well into the club philosophy), and also being well liked in the clubhouse, helping with the camaraderie, et al, with so many young players...must be a factor. Knowing it's a real possibility that he would have left and moved up somewhere else might have been a factor in Billy's thinking, with re: to Macha...you think? It sounds like Macha has his own designs as well. I guess we'll find out soon enough, but I'll bet keeping Wash on the team necessitated the move to make him the next manager. And since some folks seem to think that the manager position doesn't matter all that much...then I would just say that keeping Wash with the team is the overriding factor, manager or not. And since he was probably going to leave to be a manager...whaddaya think?

i like his style, and it would really be a positive move given the community in which the coliseum is located...and besides that he is an excellent teacher well respected by players and fans.... he's got charisma, too...something this tbut i doubt he will get the job...

i like his style, and it would really be a positive move given the community in which the coliseum is located...and besides that he is an excellent teacher well respected by players and fans.... he's got charisma, too...something this tbut i doubt he will get the job...

for all you ladies out there... who want to be the next manager, i'm rooting for you too...in fact i put in for my daughter to manager...here's the announcer..."she's been out to the mound about 14x no pitching changes were made, only to give him a hug and a pat on the butt"...:):)

also, could you imagine the headlines if Piniella were mgr...Piniella killed Billy Beane after a dispute re: a bunt...

the people praising Macha are defending him by saying that BB makes all the decisions including the lineups and in game stragety (stealing, bunting).  If that is true then why give him a raise for sitting in the dugout and doing nothing.

The A's would never have won with Macha.  He can learn a lot from Ozzie - go with your best players at the time (see - ALDS game one starter) Macha's philosphy of going with the guys who got you there (ie Mulder) is bad managing.  Washington is the best choice - he would take the A's to the World Series.