Is Bob Melvin’s Job in Jeopardy?

Melvin is doing everything he can to right the ship. His job is secure.Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The A’s, as of late, have been stinking up every baseball stadium they enter and, typically, the first person to get the blame is the manager, Bob Melvin. Anybody who has been on Twitter, listened to the post game show or been to a sports bar has surely heard somebody say that Melvin ‘has to go’ and that his style of management is just not working for the team. These folks are usually the same “fans” that abandon their team during a four game losing streak in April so take it with a grain of salt. The fact of the matter is, Bob Melvin probably isn’t going anywhere.

Why would the A’s keep a manager who has captained a sinking ship? Because they should, that’s why. Melvin was hired by the A’s after Bob Geren, who lasted longer than anybody thought he should, led the team to three losing seasons, one even .500 season and was in the midst of a fourth losing season when being fired. In that season, Melvin took a struggling team and brought them up to a respectable 74-88.

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Melvin’s first full year, 2012, saw the A’s have their first 90+ season and first playoff berth since 2006. He did it again in 2013. He is mathematically capable of doing it again in 2014. Most teams don’t fire their managers when they’re on a hot streak and, let’s not forget, he also managed a team with 14 consecutive winning months. There’s something to be said there, too.

Another reason Melvin won’t go anywhere is that he’s doing exactly what Billy Beane wants him to do. If you don’t think Beane has an impact on the lineup and game strategy every day, I’ve got some shares of Enron to sell you. Beane has built this team with a certain strategy in mind and he’s not going to allow Melvin to do it all wrong. Judging from the demeanor and subtext during press conferences, I get the feeling that Melvin doesn’t always agree with the way things are handled from the front office. Melvin has repeatedly cited “the first four and a half months” and has come close to citing the trade deadline but always walks around the subject with his wording but he still tows the company line and nobody ever got fired for doing exactly what their boss wanted.

In order for this style of baseball to work, the players need to buy in to the platoon system. Brandon Moss needs to understand and accept that he’s not going to get four at-bats a game, every game of the week. You have 25 role players and as long as they all stick to the script, things will be fine. The only scenario in which I see Bob Melvin’s job being in jeopardy is if the team has stopped buying in to the system. If the guys are sitting in the clubhouse complaining that they’d be winning more if Player X was in the lineup every day or that they’d give up fewer runs if Player Callaspo wasn’t at second base then you have a problem.

Part of the manager’s job is to get the guys on the same page. A team united in vision plays much stronger baseball than a team of bitter, disgruntled players who all think they should get more time in the game. If a manager can’t keep that united vision in tact, his window for success is quickly closing. There has been no indication in the media that the atmosphere in the clubhouse is turning toxic but stories of clubhouse bickering, in-fighting and resentment tend to pop up the day after the season ends, not the day before.

Unless that clubhouse is a toxic wasteland of arguing and complaining, I don’t envision a big shake up in the A’s leadership and nor should there be. I don’t always agree with Melvin’s in-game decisions but I have to admire his consistency. He’s trying to right the ship by doing what had worked for two and two-thirds years. The blame for this collapse cannot be placed solely on Melvin’s shoulders. His punishment for his decisions will be a longer off-season, not a banishment from the green and gold. Hopefully, no punishment will be neccessary.

The A’s need to win 7 of their final 10 games to have a third consecutive 90 win season.