Melvin haters will not like this

[Lefty]

Looks like he could be getting an extension.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2006/07/09/jays_hovering_near_the_top/?page=3

Raising Arizona
The Arizona Diamondbacks will reward manager Bob Melvin with a two-year contract extension, according to major league sources, with an announcement due any day. In the National League West every team is in it, and the Diamondbacks are building around sinkerballer Brandon Webb.

 

[Dback Jon]

Only glimmer of consolation is that means that Dusty Baker will not be the Manager...

 

[boondockdrunk]

What has he done exactly to deserve this extension? I do not think that Melvin is right for young players and with our farm system, we should shift to including more minor leaguers to make up the core of the team.

 

[AZZenny]

Only glimmer of consolation is that means that Dusty Baker will not be the Manager...

Jon, thank you SO much for helping me find the nanoscopic silver lining in this news. Another hopeful thought, is that the Boston Globe is often full of ..it. Or this could be a plot by our NL West rivals to put the team, and the fans, into a comatose tailspin again....

 

[spikecop02]

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060709&content_id=1549566&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari


PITTSBURGH -- The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with manager Bob Melvin on a two-year contract extension with an option for the 2009 season, multiple baseball sources told MLB.com.

Negotiations began in early June, a source said, and the two sides reached the agreement not long thereafter, but the club did not feel the timing was right to announce it with the D-Backs in the midst of a 3-20 slump. An announcement is expected to come next week, following Tuesday's All-Star Game.
Melvin and club officials declined to comment.
Melvin originally was signed a two-year contract with two club options in November 2004 after the club withdrew a contract offer to Wally Backman following the revelation of his legal troubles.
The D-Backs got off to a great start in 2005, before slumping in midseason. They rallied in September to stay in the National League West race until the final week of the season and their 77-85 record was good for second place, five games behind the Padres.
Despite that, Melvin's future in Arizona was not assured since he entered this year in the final year of his contract working for a general manager -- Josh Byrnes -- who was not with the organization when he was hired.
Byrnes and Melvin, though, seemed to hit it off from the time Byrnes was hired in late October and built a solid relationship.
"Josh is always prepared," Melvin said earlier this season. "He always thinks things through."
Byrnes has commented in the past how impressed he was with the Spring Training camp Melvin ran and the way the manager goes about putting together his lineup on a daily basis.
When asked recently if Melvin's job status was secure, Byrnes answered with an emphatic, "Absolutely." Melvin was the D-Backs bench coach in 2001 when the club won the World Series and was hired to manage the Mariners in 2003. After guiding the M's to a 93-69 record in 2003 and setting a club record for most wins by a rookie manager, the Mariners fell to 63-99 and Melvin was dismissed.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I'm not going to buy much stock into this....

The fact is.... the Dbacks are in contention and Byrnes and co. either didnt want to terminate Melvin now since it would distract the team further...or perhaps didnt want him kept in a "lame-duck" situation in which the players wouldnt take him too seriously and gradually would lose any motivation to play for him.....

The Dbacks have orchestrated before (Brenly for example) the penchant to terminate a manager who still had 1+ years remaining on his contract, so if the Dbacks falter beyond belief in the 2nd half and finish in the lower 3rd of the division and start '07 very horribly, it's best to believe that Melvin will be gone by 05/07..... Also.. it must be factored in that his contract will be considerably at a lower level compared to other managers (especially the elite ones the Dbacks hope to lure here someday) and when they do decide to let Melvin go, they'll in interim hire a novice manager (such as Mark Grace) who would settle for less money.... That money along with what they are still obligated to pay Melvin under this scenario wouldnt equate a Lou Pinella, Joe Torre, Jim Leyland..etc contracts....

What is interesting to note here.. does this dictate the Dbacks direction in terms of finally starting the youth movement now... or would this prolong it for a couple years and they'll somewhat still maintain having vast influx of veterans on the roster since Melvin as we all know is veteran oriented manager....

I just hope that this move doesnt signify that they will go in absolutely the opposite direction than all of us hope for and mortgage the bulk of the future for short term false hopes.... I still label them somewhat more pretenders than contenders at this time.... Especially how they've been playing at Chase..which really baffles me.......

We shall see... but if they decide to do away w/their potential youth movement here... myself and practically everyone else will be filled with immense rage....

 

[Ryanwb]

AYFKM?

I'm so sick of coach RAH-RAH........

 

[AZZenny]

It's in today's paper, too. Why TWO years, fer cryin out loud? This is such a downer. Do they WANT me to give up my season tickets? BoMel is such a sad-sack.

 

[BC867]

Between Kendricks' inuendos to the Press about Gonzo . . . and now rewarding Melvin for his weak leadership . . . it's clear that the teams decisions are business oriented . . . and not at all fan-friendly.

That's the way it is. And there's nothing Diamondbacks "sports" fans can do about it.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Rewarding incompetence is always a good idea.

 

[Nasser22]

I don't hate the guy. He was a very good bench coach. I just think he sucks as the manager. I agree with what KLL said:

"The fact is.... the Dbacks are in contention and Byrnes and co. either didnt want to terminate Melvin now since it would distract the team further...or perhaps didnt want him kept in a "lame-duck" situation in which the players wouldnt take him too seriously and gradually would lose any motivation to play for him....."


I think Melvin will be gone soon unless the D-Backs finish off the year very strong which I'm doubtfull they will do.

 

[PAQ77]

So much for getting Gracie in the dugout anytime soon.

 

[green machine]

So much for getting Gracie in the dugout anytime soon.

That too would be a bad idea.

 

[BC867]

So much for getting Gracie in the dugout anytime soon.

As long as Mark Grace continues to refuse to manage at the Minor League level, to see if its the right job for him, he shouldn't be considered for Manager.

He'd be a figurehead, while a Bench Coach manages the team. And that type of arrangement is generally short term.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I still cannot figure how Melvin got his contract extended for 2-yrs....

First, he should have started Quentin in RF and Green at 1B while benching the struggling Jackson who needs a couple of days to sort out all of his struggles....The other matter that baffles me is why did he have Jackson in the 2nd spot in the order? He's essentially guaranteed at least 4 ABs from that position in the line-up and again Jackson is taken out of his element... He should be hitting 6th in the order and Drew should be inserted at #3 since it appears that nothing phases him whatsoever.. He's a natural pure hitter if there ever is one..... Then.. why did he lift Drew in the 9th inning in favor of Easley? True...Fuentes a LH reliever was in the game, however, Melvin must insist on playing the percentages by lifting Drew in fact throughout his albeit brief Minor League career proved to be fully poised/capable of hitting against south-paws.... Easley hasnt played much recently and he shouldnt have placed a rusty player in that type of situation..... He shouldnt have lifted Drew in the first place, but if he had to.. it definitely should have been Byrnes instead....

True, this goes back to lastnite's game, however, Orlando Hudson has excelled hitting 7th, but the genius of Melvin had him batting 2nd......

Also... Julio had no business being inserted into today's game when he's had numerous outings as of late, so it was inevitable that the Rockies would comeback once he went onto the mound....

Oh well.. a 7-3 homestand going in such cities as Philidelphia, Houston, and Chicago.... The next couple of series will ultimately dictate the direction that Josh Byrnes and Co. will take approaching next Monday's trading deadline... I still say trade some veterans regardless.... and continue to put Quentin in the line-up on a regular basis since we're witnessing greatness with him, however, obscured by a rather incompetent manager.....