The A’s gave their manager Bob Melvin a three year contract extension today. The ESPN article I just linked is full of ideas like “clubhouse respect”, “great fit for the organization” and so on and so forth. But my opinion is that Melvin just isn’t that great of a manager, and that he’s not worth a *three year* extension.
Melvin’s career record is 535-577 in tours of duty with Seattle, Arizona, and now Oakland. In eight seasons as a skipper, two partial years and six full years, he’s finished above .500 just three times, winning division titles in 2003 with the Mariners and 2007 with the D-Backs, and also winning the NL Manager of the Year award in ’07. But his record is a little deceiving: Melvin has spent his entire managerial career in the NL and AL West, two very weak divisions. It’s not as if Melvin is in the trenches of the AL/NL East every year…he’s out there on the west coast doing his thing, far from the prying eyes of the east coast.
Another thing. This A’s team is very young, with lots of inexperienced players. Is Doug Melvin really the type of manager you want running a young team? Both of his Mariners teams were veteran laden. He had two old teams in Arizona and three young teams. Two of those three young Diamondbacks teams finished above .500, and the third struggled, which led to Mevlin getting dismissed early in the season. That team finished dead last in the NL West, mostly in part to an absolutely atrocious pitching staff.
This A’s team has a lot of similarites to the 2007 Diamondbacks. Melvin’s current team is very young, with their entire infield and rotation in their 20’s. The bullpen, which is something that’s plagued Melvin for most of his career, is experienced and in their 30’s. Whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you. All in all, I think bringing back Melvin isn’t an awful move for a team that isn’t going anywhere. But honestly, three years? That seems like a lot. But hey, if the clubhouse likes him…
