Ken Macha comes highly recommended and with a slight breeze of controversy. After the 2006 season, when Macha was fired by Billy Beane (GM of the Oakland A’s), there were rumors of “disconnect” by his former players and Beane himself.  “Not to fault either side, but I felt a disconnect on a lot of levels,” Beane said, “Once again, it’s not to point the finger at Ken or anything like that.  But that disconnect was there and it was something we needed to address as soon as possible.”

I spoke today with Rick Hurd of the Bay Area News Group, the former A’s beat writer and now a national baseball writer.  Hurd says, “There were a lot of things said but for the most part it was a disconnect between Ken (Macha) and management (Billy Beane) that was more the problem.  Ken did a good job putting square pegs in to round holes.  Ken and Billy didn’t see eye to eye on personnel decisions but Ken made the most with what he had to work with.”
John Shea, national baseball writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, backed-up Hurd’s comments regarding Billy Beane.  “There were hard feelings after they were swept out of the ALCS by Detroit .  There were guys that were leaving the team and they wanted to blame someone.  It was more the management (Beane) that ran the show and undermined Ken.”
Macha brings experience, success and a personal relationship with Doug Melvin into his tenure with the Brewers.
Is he a good fit for the Crew?  That’s the question that gets asked to me most often.  After listening to those who covered and knew Macha long before we did here in Milwaukee , it sounds like the Brewers are getting a solid manager who knows how to get the most out of the talent he’s dealt.  He’s a no nonsense kind of guy where results matter most and not egos or feelings.  Macha brings an “open door” policy but isn’t going to be your best friend because he’s judged by wins and losses.  Macha believes in character and effort in both himself and his players.
The Brewers are going to keep Billy Castro, more than likely Dale Sveum and they’re going to offer CC Sabathia a contract tomorrow (Friday) and Ben Sheets a contract in the very near future.
You know as much as we know for now.  Answer your question?