Before attending Friday night’s game at American Family Field, Milwaukee Brewers Principal Owner Mark Attanasio held an expanded roundtable discussion with members of the local media.
Attanasio typically addresses reporters during milestone dates as the season progresses, but Friday’s talk was a rare, long official talk that took place during the course of the regular season.
During the 40-minute discussion, topics ranged from payroll to Willy Adames extension talks and, of course, Craig Counsell’s recent return to Milwaukee.
Here are six takeaways from the interview.
Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”>
Fans ‘speak for themselves’ with response to Counsell’s return
Attanasio was asked what he thought when he saw the overwhelming booing reaction to Counsell’s return to American Family Field as Cubs manager earlier in the week.
“The fans speak for themselves,” Attanasio said. “There have been times when I’m sure they’re not very happy with me either.”
Does Attanasio feel any sense of vindication about how the Cubs are playing compared to the Brewers right now?
“It’s too early,” he said. “And you go in and out of the Cubs and the Cardinals: one gets hot and the other gets cold. A stretch of 2-8 for us and I won’t be so happy. Look, really, the commitment to the city, the community, the state, especially now with the funding that we have, was critical for me to continue on the trajectory that we were on. And I feel like we’ve done that.”
Counsell also revealed on Monday that the departure of former president of baseball operations David Stearns after the 2022 season, which came after the controversial Josh Hader trade, played a key role in him beginning to consider taking a job elsewhere. Attanasio downplayed his response to Counsell making that information public.
“This means that, whether it’s David, there is movement in all sports everywhere,” Attanasio said. “Craig is the winningest coach in our history, period. So a team that has primarily a regional and local focus had a national (focus) and I wanted to explore that.”
There have been recent discussions regarding a contract extension with a key player.
It appears that Attanasio and the Brewers explored keeping shortstop Willy Adames in Milwaukee long-term, but the extension discussion appears to have reached what was the most likely outcome all along: that Adames’ performance had put him on a trajectory to hit the open market after this. season.
“He’s the best,” Attanasio said. “Yes, there were conversations. Willy’s performance got to a point where he would be – we’ll see what happens after the season – but he will have a pretty significant package as a free agent. The best thing I can say about it is that we had a lot of offers for Willy Adames this offseason. If he puts them into an analytical model, there may have been some merit to build for the future.
“But you just can’t put a price on his leadership, on his position every day. Willy Adames doesn’t want to miss a game. So guess what, now Wiliam Contreras doesn’t want to miss a game. “We have developed a culture and Willy is a key.”
General manager Matt Arnold, who was also present, was then asked if that meant Adames will be off the table when the trade deadline arrives in two months.
“From my perspective, you can never close the door on anything, but he is the heart of our team in many ways,” Arnold said. “I always want to keep an open mind but also recognize the value he brings to us every day.”
“Every day,” Attanasio repeated.
A look at the owner-manager dynamic between Pat Murphy and Attanasio
Arizona Diamondbacks on October 3, 2023 at American Family Field.”>
Attanasio reiterated that the Brewers initially gave Murphy an initial interview as a courtesy when Counsell left for the Cubs, but it went so well that they gave him a second one. After that, Arnold and Attanasio realized that the bench coach under Counsell was the favorite for the job.
Attanasio shed light on what the relationship between him and Murphy is like now.
“He was here nine seasons. Before we had a very calm relationship,” she said. “Many jokes. So I figured there would be fewer jokey interludes, and there it was. Our conversations have been much more serious now than before.
“Interestingly, I probably talk to him less now. As a manager, I don’t want to call Murph all the time. He reached out to me about 10 days ago and said, ‘Hey, I haven’t heard from you.’ So we were kind of losing and I said, ‘I don’t want to call you while we’re losing.’ I don’t want to put any more pressure on it.” He said, ‘But it’s all right, right?’ I told him, ‘Everything is great.’ I’ve sent him a couple of texts since then to make sure he knows I still love him.”
Don’t expect Jackson Chourio to be sent down to Class AAA at this rate.
Attanasio made it clear that he sees no merit in sending Jackson Chourio, who is hitting .210 with a .582 OPS, to Class AAA Nashville at the current rate.
“Player development is critical to this organization,” he said. “I told Matt and Murphy – and they all know how desperately I want to win – that if they feel like they need to develop players, we’ll do it and make sacrifices to win here or there. Seeing as more of a fan, I don’t see where (Chourio) is going to learn anything in AAA at this point.
“And if you’re looking for signs of development, he dropped a ball (earlier this week), but he also made a sliding catch and kept the game under control shortly after. I’m completely good at being patient with Jackson and, frankly, anyone else Matt wants. Last year, Brice Turang learned a lot at the major league level and look where he is now.”
What does Attanasio think when considering whether the team had a significantly larger payroll?
“Obviously, you would love the luxury of that,” Attanasio said when asked that question. “But I think we are obliged to maintain discipline. I don’t know if we would keep it if we had another 100 million dollars. The math is that you have 26 spots on the list. So, as you fill those spots with veterans or any players who are on a long-term contract, you’ll have one less vacancy to fill. We’ve believed in all the guys we brought north this year from Maryvale, but we definitely had a pleasant surprise. Bryan Hudson has had an incredible year. People keep writing: “he was on the Dodgers, he was on the Cubs.” Well, those teams have a lot of very high-quality long-term contracts that are filling those spots. So you don’t have much of a chance if you’re not that well-known.”
The door is not closed to removing Ryan Braun’s number
The Brewers have retired the numbers of four players in franchise history, all Hall of Famers: Rollie Fingers, Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.
One of the few players without his number retired who deserves that discussion is Ryan Braun, who will be inducted into the team’s Walk of Fame this summer. Braun is the franchise’s home run leader and third all-time in wins above replacement, behind only Yount and Molitor, but he also has a controversial legacy due to his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. .
What does Attanasio think about ever retiring Braun’s number?
“We have a whole process on this,” he said. “Ryan, he will be on the Walk of Fame. We have a Wall of Honor, which he is on. I bet (the Walk of Fame) doesn’t have more than 25 players and I know we’ve had more than 1,000 in uniform, so to get to that is extraordinary. Once you’ve made it to the Walk of Fame (number retirement), I guess that’s the next query for you. “Then, after that, it’s time for the statue.”
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