Davey Lopes became the second major league manager to be fired this season when the Brewers relieved him of his duties on Wednesday. Milwaukee began the season with a franchise worst start of 3-12. Lopes did not have a winning season with the Brewers. He went 73-89 in his first year with the team and fell to 68-94 in 2001.

This job was Lopes' first as a major league manager. After a 16-year major league career as a second baseman primary known for his base stealing abilities, Lopes was hired in 1988 as a coach for the Rangers. He stayed with Texas as a 1B and dugout coach until 1992 when he became the 1B coach for the Orioles. In 1993 and 1996, he also managed an Arizona Fall League team. By 1996 he was a 1B coach with the Padres, having come to San Diego from Baltimore after the 1994 season. Therefore when he was hired as the Milwaukee manager, his only prior managerial experience was the two seasons in the AFL.

His lack of prior managerial experience was evident in some questionable lineup compositions. Lopes was also somewhat careless with the workload of his starting pitchers, particularly Ruben Quevedo and Ben Sheets. However, without extensively having watched Lopes in-game maneuvering, I still think it's fair to say that at the very least he didn't have a lot to work with in order to manufacture a winning season, and he shouldn't shoulder all of the blame for Milwaukee's poor record.

Lopes himself made widely reportedly remarks earlier this week insinuating that not even Joe Torre and Dusty Baker, presumably two of the best managers in the game at this time, could win with the Brewers. I disagree with Lopes' decision to share this opinion with the general public, as it can't be good for a team's morale to hear comments of this nature from their manager. However, I tend to agree with his sentiment as the Brewers will need to make changes to the roster before they can have a successful season.

Jerry Royster has taken over as the interim manager. Lopes invited Royster to join the Brewers in 2000 as his bench coach. Following a 16-year career as a utilityman, Royster began a career as a minor league manager.

LA Minor League Manager 1989: Dodgers, Rookie Gulf Coast League
1990: Yakima Bears, A Northwest League
1991: Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State League
1992: San Antonio Missions, AA Texas League

Royster also managed a team in the inaugural AFL season of 1992. He was the third base coach for the Rockies for their debut in 1993.

SD Minor League Manager 1995: Memphis Chicks, AA Southern League
1996-98: Las Vegas Stars, AAA Pacific Coast League

In 1999, he was the Expos' baserunning coach and infield coordinator.

Lopes' limited managerial experience prior to his position with the Brewers may have been a contributing factor to his troubles in Milwaukee. With his generous minor league managing experience, Royster should be in a position to avoid some of the pitfalls that may have hindered Lopes. He also has the added benefit of already being familiar with the team he will be managing.

However, Royster has only been hired as the interim manager. Milwaukee has not yet committed to him for the rest of the season and the Brewers currently plan to interview other candidates for the position.

Paul Molitor's name is at the top of the list of candidates. He debuted with the Brewers in 1978 and spent the first 15 seasons of his 21-year career as a Brewer. He retired following the 1998 season and joined the Twins as Tom Kelly's bench coach for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

Several columnists have been quick to point out that Commissioner Selig played a large role in dissuading Molitor from taking the Minnesota managerial position this winter. Consequently, it would be very interesting if Molitor emerged as the Brewers' manager. He certainly has less coaching/managerial experience than most of the other candidates but his history with the team and his star playing career minimize that potential short-coming.

Regardless of who takes the team through the rest of the season, there are a few moves that the new manager can make to attempt to improve the team.

First, relief roles should be re-examined. The bullpen has been scrambled by multiple injuries that incapacitated first the closer and then the top candidate to replace the closer. Curt Leskanic did not recover from off-season shoulder surgery to repair a torn right rotator cuff in time to break camp with the team. His rehab is progressing well and the Brewers now expect him to join the team sometime in mid-May. Chad Fox has a sprained ligament and strained tendon in his elbow. Although his rehab is also making headway, he is not expected back until June.

Mike DeJean is currently closing for the Brewers, but I think they have a better option. In 84.1 IP last season DeJean had a K:BB of 68:39, while allowing 75 H and 4 HR. Conversely, Luis Vizcaino had a K:BB of 31:12 with 38 H and 8 HR in 36.2 IP. While Vizcaino had some problems with home runs last season, he has better overall skills. In 59.1 IP Jose Cabrera had a K:BB of 43:25 with 52 H and 5 HR, which is again other than the home runs better than DeJean.

Below are the pitchers stat lines for this season.
Mike DeJean: 7 IP, 9 H, 1 HR, 3 BB, 5 K - 15 GB, 2 FB
Luis Vizcaino: 9 IP, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 9 K - 13 GB, 8 FB
Jose Cabrera: 12.2 IP, 9 H, 2 HR, 5 BB, 10 K - 11 GB, 16 FB

DeJean obviously has an advantage when it comes to keeping the ball on the ground. However that does not compensate for his lesser strikeout skills. Therefore it comes down to Cabrera vs. Vizcaino. Vizcaino again has better strikeout skills and keeps the ball on the ground more frequently. Milwaukee also prefers to use Cabrera for longer outings, so they probably wouldn't want to be tied down to using him as a closer.

Therefore, I feel that the new manager should make Vizcaino the closer, use Cabrera for 2 inning outings and move DeJean back into setup work. I probably wouldn't even remove Vizcaino from the closer's role when the other relievers return. Neither Leskanic nor Fox is a better pitcher than Vizcaino, and Vizcaino isn't troubled by their injury histories. The only acceptable justification for temporarily displacing Vizcaino from the closer's role would be to showcase one of the others for trade.

As for the rotation, Glendon Rusch and Ben Sheets are fine. Nick Neugebauer has been having some problems but needs to be allowed to work through them. However, Ruben Quevedo needs help. Tests have indicated that medical problems are not responsible for Quevedo's troubles, so pitching coach Dave Stewart should focus his attentions on Quevedo. If Quevedo doesn't begin to show improvement, the Brewers should likely experiment with moving him to the bullpen for a time when Jamey Wright returns from the DL. Nelson Figueroa would then remain in the rotation.

Unfortunately, the offense is a little bit trickier. The Brewers have a few choices but none of them are particularly appealing. Provided everyone is healthy, I believe that they should employ the following lineups.

Vs. Right-handed Pitchers
1. Eric Young, 2B
2. Jeffery Hammonds, CF
3. Geoff Jenkins, LF
4. Richie Sexson, 1B
5. Matt Stairs, RF
6. Jose Hernandez, SS
7. Tyler Houston, 3B
8. Raul Casanova, C

Vs. Left-handed Pitchers
1. Eric Young, 2B
2. Jeffery Hammonds, CF
3. Geoff Jenkins, LF
4. Richie Sexson, 1B
5. Jose Hernandez, SS
6. Alex Ochoa, RF
7. Raul Casanova, C
8. Ron Belliard, 3B

When Ochoa is playing, Hammonds should likely occasionally be moved to RF in order to marginally minimize his injury risk. Alex Sanchez doesn't have the plate discipline to justify a regular position at this time. Ochoa doesn't really have a platoon split, but Stairs hits better against right-handed pitchers. Houston allows you to add another left-handed bat against righties. Young isn't a great leadoff hitter, but he's the Brewers' best option considering his skills and contract. The rest of the lineup is closely aligned to the players' OBP and OPS.