The 3rd Man In

Ron Roenicke will return as Brewers’ manager

Milwaukee Brewers fans have waited in anticipation to see if owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Doug Melvin would retain or fire manager Ron Roenicke. On Friday afternoon, they finally made their decision, announcing that Roenicke will return for the 2015 season.

However, they revealed that hitting coach Johnny Narron and first base coach Garth Iorg will not be coming back next season.

The rest of the coaching staff will return: bench coach Jerry Narron, pitching coach Rick Kranitz, bullpen coach Lee Tunnell, third base coach Ed Sedar, outfield coach/assistant hitting coach John Shelby and coach Mike Guerrero.

The fate of Roenicke returning in 2015 was in question after the Brewers historic late-season collapse. The Brewers spent 150 days in first place in the National League Central before falling out of contention late.

Unlike the rest of the coaching staff’s contracts that expire at the end of October, Roenicke is signed through the 2015 season, with a team option for the 2016 campaign.

The Brewers waited a week to decide the verdict on Roenicke, stating they didn’t want their emotions from the disappointing end to the season to affect their decision.

In four seasons with Milwaukee, Roenicke has compiled a record of 335-313, while leading the Brewers to a division crown and National League Championship Series appearance in 2011.

With Ron Gardenhire on the open market, after being let go as the Minnesota Twins manager, many people were hoping the Brewers would fire Roenicke and bring in Gardenhire. Now that the Brewers decided to keep Roenicke, it will be interesting to see how long of a leash he has next season.

While I don’t think the collapse was all Roenicke’s fault, the lack of accountability was. All the players love playing under Roenicke, but if the same mistakes continue to happen that haunted the Brewers this season, Roenicke will be lucky to make it the full 162-game schedule next season.

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