Milwaukee Brewers News Clips Tuesday, November 3, 2015
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Milwaukee Brewers News Clips Tuesday, November 3, 2015 MLB.com Crew hires coaches Murphy (bench), Johnson (pitching) Stearns: Ash ‘going to stay’ with Brewers Journal Sentinel Lee Tunnell retained by Brewers Brewers remove five players from 40-man roster Associated Press Brewers make additions to coaching staff Wisconsin State Journal Former Padres manager Pat Murphy officially named bench coach MiLB.com Arcia takes breakout route to MiLBY http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/156274304/pat-murphy-hired-to-be-brewers-bench-coach Crew hires coaches Murphy (bench), Johnson (pitching) Milwaukee also brings back Tunnell to oversee bullpen By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | November 2, 2015 MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers formally hired Pat Murphy as bench coach and Derek Johnson as pitching coach on Monday and said Lee Tunnell would return for a fourth season as bullpen coach. The additions of Murphy and Johnson had been previously reported. But Tunnell's return represented something of a surprise, since he was among the five Brewers coaches whose contracts were not renewed after the season. "We felt as though the pitching coach needed to be involved in the hiring of the bullpen coach, that there needed to be a strong relationship there," general manager David Stearns said. "Once we hired [Johnson], we went through the process along with a couple of other candidates, and we all felt very comfortable with Lee." In 2015, Milwaukee's bullpen led the National League in strikeouts (548) and ranked fifth in ERA (3.40) and fifth in opponents' batting average (.238). Tunnell will pair with Johnson, 44, who spent the past three seasons as the Cubs' Minor League pitching coordinator after 11 years as pitching coach at Vanderbilt University, where he helped six players develop into first-round Draft picks -- including David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in 2007. Johnson had no previous connection to the Brewers, Counsell or Stearns. "What he did at Vanderbilt gained the respect of our industry," Stearns said. "It led to a very unique opportunity to jump to the Cubs' organization. I had not crossed paths with him previously, but [by reputation] and through references, he quickly emerged as a very strong candidate." If Johnson was an unknown, Murphy, 56, was the opposite. He was Counsell's college coach at Notre Dame from 1989-92, and the two have remained so close that when Counsell took over in Milwaukee on May 3, the Brewers asked permission of the Padres to hire Murphy, who was managing San Diego's Triple-A affiliate. The Padres declined, because they already had plans to elevate Murphy to interim manager at the Major League level after dismissing Bud Black on June 16. When the Padres opted not to retain Murphy at season's end, it was regarded as inevitable he would wind up on Counsell's staff in Milwaukee. "We've had a 25-year baseball conversation," Counsell said. "He's shown a great ability to impact people. I've seen him impact players in college, in professional baseball and in the big leagues. I feel really lucky to be able to get him here." The Brewers dismissed the entire coaching staff after the season except for hitting coach Darnell Coles and third- base coach Ed Sedar. In the wake of Monday's hires, the team has two vacancies; first base, and assistant hitting coach or "extra" coach. Stearns said the team was still reviewing options for those posts. In general, they are interested in good teachers. "I think we recognize that we're going to have a young roster, whether that's this year, next year, the year after," Stearns said. "We're going to have a young group of core players for the foreseeable future, and we want to make sure that we surrounded them with members of a staff who are used to and comfortable with working with younger players." http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/156274304/pat-murphy-hired-to-be-brewers-bench-coach Stearns: Ash ‘going to stay’ with Brewers Longtime executive shifts to advisor role after reaching agreement with GM By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | November 2, 2015 MILWAUKEE -- Longtime Brewers executive Gord Ash will remain with the club in an advisory and pro scouting capacity, general manager David Stearns said Monday. Ash had been the Brewers' assistant general manager since November 2002, but was removed from that role last month as the newly hired Stearns shaped his front office. Stearns subsequently hired Matt Arnold as assistant GM, but he said he hoped Ash would remain in a different role. By last week, they had reached an agreement. "He's going to be a very helpful advisor from a strategic thinking standpoint," Stearns said. "He'll also do some professional and Major League coverage for us once the regular season gets going. But Gord is going to stay." Meanwhile, Stearns' search for a farm director is ongoing, he said. Reid Nichols, who joined the team at about the same time as Ash, was removed from that post last month and will not remain with the organization. "We're trying to be as thorough with that as possible," Stearns said. "We have it down to a shortened list of candidates, and are looking forward to making a hire there in the not-to-distant future." http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/lee-tunnell-retained-by-brewers-b99608182z1-339651492.html Lee Tunnell retained by Brewers Stearns keeps bullpen coach By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel November 2, 2015 As it turns out, the Milwaukee Brewers did not dismiss five coaches from their 2015 staff after all. Bullpen coach Lee Tunnell, originally among the group not retained after the team's disastrous 68-94 season, was invited back to the fold Monday as new general manager David Stearns announced three hirings for the staff. News of the other hirings, bench coach Pat Murphy and pitching coach Derek Johnson, leaked out from their former organizations earlier. Murphy was serving as San Diego's interim manager and Johnson was the Chicago Cubs' coordinator of minor-league pitching. It made sense to keep Tunnell because the bullpen was the only area of the club that performed well in 2015. The Brewers' relievers led the National League with 548 strikeouts in 530 innings and ranked fifth with a 3.40 ERA and .238 opponents batting average. Stearns and manager Craig Counsell first wanted to make sure Tunnell meshed with Johnson, who was part of the process in naming a bullpen coach. "Results are always a part of the equation, but I think a much larger part of the equation was the fit with both Lee and D.J. working together with the experiences and skill sets they have," Stearns said. "We made sure they had a comfort level with each prior to moving forward with this. It worked out very well." Murphy's connection to Counsell goes back to the latter's playing days at Notre Dame, when Murphy was the school's head baseball coach. After replacing fired Ron Roenicke early in the season, Counsell wanted to add Murphy to his staff, but the Padres would not let him interview, a tactic that became obvious later when he was named to replace fired manager Bud Black. "We've had a 25-year baseball conversation," Counsell said of Murphy, 56, who replaces Jerry Narron as bench coach. "I'm pleased to be able to add Pat to the staff. He has shown a great ability to impact people. He taught me a work ethic, encouraged a work ethic that has been very helpful. "I've seen him impact players in college, professional baseball and the big leagues. I think he'll continue to do so in a Brewers uniform. I feel really lucky to be able to get him here." As with Murphy, who also coached at Arizona State for many years, Johnson, 44, has an extensive college background. He was an esteemed pitching coach for 11 years at Vanderbilt, helping that program become a national power, before joining the Cubs in 2012. "Derek is a very well-known pitching coach in baseball circles; has been for a very long time," Stearns said. "I had not crossed paths with him previously, but by reputation and through references he quickly emerged as a very strong candidate. He did an outstanding job in the interview process and we're glad to bring him on board. "We interviewed coaches with all sorts of different backgrounds. Clearly, some of the things we highlighted at the beginning of the process were positive, upbeat personalities who are good teachers. Both of these coaches fit that criteria." Stearns said he and Counsell continue to search for a new first base coach and an assistant hitting coach to replace Mike Guerrero and John Shelby, respectively. "We have a number of candidates we're excited about and are hopeful to have some future announcements in the coming weeks," Stearns said. Stearns revealed that former assistant general manager Gord Ash will remain in the organization in a different role — an adviser "from a strategic thinking standpoint" as well as helping with professional and major-league scouting. Ash was former general manager Doug Melvin's assistant, but Stearns hired his own assistant, Matt Arnold, former director of player personnel in Tampa Bay. Stearns said he has it down to "a short list of candidates" to replace farm director Reid Nichols and hopes to make a hire soon. Player moves: The Brewers removed five players from their 40-man roster by sending them outright to Class AAA Colorado Springs: outfielder Logan Schafer, first baseman Matt Clark, catcher Juan Centeno, left-hander Cesar Jimenez and right-hander Johnny Hellweg.