At least management has given up the absurd notion that this team could compete next year. Now it's time to rebuild as this teams still has some holes, notably at SS, the back of the rotation, and most importantly, the coaching staff. Sexson wanted no part of a rebuilding situation in Milwaukee, so I doubt he'd want to be here, even if we made him a decent offer.
"Hire a manager who can coach young talent and load up on free agent young pitching."
Easier said than done unless we can catch lightning in a bottle in the Rule V Draft or with a low-budget steal like Jose Lima. None of the free agent pitchers who are young are good, and the ones that are good and over-30 sure as hell don't want to come here and be backed up by no run support and poor defense. Another option would be loading up on young pitching by trading Randy Johnson, who I'm sure wants out of town ASAP after the last few months.
Or the best option, hire a legitimate pitching coach who knows how to teach both young and old pitchers how to pitch. It must be nice for the Angels and Braves to be able to bring it washouts every year and coach them to success. It amazes me watching Bud Black and Leo Mazzone turn burnouts like Brendan Donnelly, Ben Weber, Jaret Wright, and Antonio Alfonseca into qualitry pitchers. And I bet you these coaches are making less money than what we paid Shane Reynolds this year.
