Brewer's developments

This is very, very interesting. But is it good or bad?



THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2006, 12:05 p.m.By Tom Haudricourt
Brewers dismiss Wynegar, Nelson
St. Louis - The Brewers announced today that hitting coach Butch Wynegar and first base coach Dave Nelson will not be offered contracts for the 2007 season.

The announcement was made by general manager Doug Melvin, who said Wynegar and Nelson will remain with the club though the final series of the season against St. Louis.

Melvin said the rest of the coaching staff has been invited back for next season but bench coach Robin Yount said a few days ago he hasn't decided if he'll come back in that role for 2007. Yount said he had to discuss it with his wife, Michele, to see if it's right for the family.

The others invited back are third base coach Dale Sveum, pitching coach Mike Maddux and bullpen coach Bill Castro.

The Brewers had injuries to several key players this season but Wynegar paid the price for an offense that continually underachieved. The Brewers rank 15th among the 16 National League teams in batting average (.258) and strikeouts (1,204), 14th in runs scored (709) and 13th in on-base percentage (.327) and walks (489).

"We admire the work that Butch and Dave contributed to this organization," said Melvin. "We hold them in high regard. They both have great work ethic and are good baseball people. "We just felt that there were areas of our club that did not improve over the last couple of seasons and we are hoping to get better in those areas." Wynegar and Nelson, who also coaches the outfielders, both are in their fourth seasons on the Brewers' staff. They were hired after Ned Yost took over as manager before the 2003 season. The Brewers also announced that strength and conditioning specialist Rick Spenner will not be offered a contract for the 2007 season.