Brewers go to the bullpen

Stewart quits; Castro named pitching coach

By DREW OLSON
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: July 29, 2002

When he took over as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in mid-April, Jerry Royster began what he called "a daily battle" to keep his friend and pitching coach, Dave Stewart, happy, interested and employed.

Brewers   Photo/Tom Lynn Under Dave Stewart's guidance, the Milwaukee pitching staff went 38-67 with a 4.70 ERA.   Quotable   This is just strictly about getting closer to my family and doing things that normal people do for a little bit.   - Dave Stewart   Stewart at a Glance   Full name: David Keith Stewart Birthdate: Feb. 19, 1957, in Oakland Resides: Poway, Calif. Named to Brewers' staff: Nov. 14, 2001 Dave Stewart's Playing Career   Yr.  Tm. Rec.  ERA   '78 LA 0-0 .000 '81 LA 4-3 2.51 '82 LA 9-8 3.81 '83 LA 5-2 2.96   Tex  5-2 2.14 '84 Tex 7-14 4.73 '85 Tex 0-6 5.42   Phi 0-0 6.23 '86 Phi 0-0 6.57   Oak 9-5 3.74 '87 Oak 20-13 3.68 '88 Oak 21-12 3.23 '89 Oak 21-9 3.32 '90 Oak 22-11 2.56 '91 Oak 11-11 5.18 '92 Oak 12-10 3.66 '93 Tor 12-8 4.44 '94 Tor 7-8 5.87 '95 Tor 3-7 6.89 Totals 168-129 3.95

"I called him before every road trip," Royster said. "I wanted to make sure he'd be there and I tried to plan little things for us to do to keep him busy."

The battle ended Monday.

Stewart, who was brought in by Davey Lopes to work with an inexperienced and injury-laden staff, stepped down as pitching coach, walking away from a two-year contract with two months left in his first season.

The Brewers, who begin a six-game trip and three-game series tonight in Atlanta, replaced Stewart with longtime bullpen coach Billy Castro and expanded the duties of bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel, who will take over Castro's old duties.

"It's always difficult to say goodbye to somebody the caliber of Dave Stewart," Brewers general manager Dean Taylor said. "I've got a lot of respect for Dave Stewart as a pitching coach and as a human being. It's tough to say goodbye.

"At the same time, we're very fortunate that we have a very capable individual here in Billy Castro who deserves an opportunity. I'm personally excited for Billy. It's sort of a bittersweet day, really."

It's logical to assume that both the Brewers' disappointing performance this season and the dismissal of Lopes, his closest friend, played a role in Stewart's early exit. However, Stewart, 45, cited family concerns - specifically a desire to spend time with his mother, who has been ill for much of the year - as the primary catalyst for his decision.

"After sitting around and really evaluating the things that should be important, most of those things I've bypassed for better than half my adult life," said Stewart, who will drive to his home in San Diego to establish a residence for his mother, who lives in northern California.

"This is just strictly about getting closer to my family and doing things that normal people do for a little bit.

"I'm a creature of my gut feeling. What my gut tells me to do, I've always followed it and I've never looked back on any decision that I've made. This is what my gut was telling me to do."

Saying "baseball is in my blood," Stewart left the door open for a return to the game he loves.

"One thing I don't like to do is say when it's going to happen," he said. "It could be a month from now, but I doubt that. Baseball is a part of me. I don't know when I'll get involved with baseball. For that matter, I don't know if anybody will hire me again.

"But it's in me. At some point, I plan to get back into it. In what capacity, I don't know. I do plan to do something in baseball at some point at another time."

Milwaukee was Stewart's second stop as a pitching coach. He previously helped the San Diego Padres, who had Kevin Brown and Trevor Hoffman, win the National League championship in 1998, then left the Padres to take a front office job with Toronto. When the Blue Jays declined to name him general manager last winter, Stewart bolted Canada and accepted Lopes' standing offer to serve as Milwaukee's pitching coach.

Under Stewart, Brewers pitchers posted a 38-67 record and 4.70 earned run average and ranked near the bottom of the standings in several categories, including home runs allowed (133).

Dealing with frustration

Asked if he was frustrated by the staff's struggles, Stewart said: "Frustration is a part of teaching. Frustration only lasts for the moment. Though it may seem like there's not much progress, I think all of the pitchers have moved along in certain ways. I think they've all progressed in some way."

What did Stewart learn from his pitchers?

"That I'm not as good as I thought I was," he said, laughing before pressing forward. "Patience. I really didn't know I had this much patience. The ability to come up with different ways to say the same thing.

"Optimism and hope. One thing that I've learned about myself, I have those things in abundance. I've always stayed optimistic about the staff going to be better.

"It's been a different kind of year. The word frustration keeps coming up. It is frustrating, but at the same time if you're really watching what's going on, you see progress in some guys and you see regression in some guys. It can be from week to week."

From week to week, Royster wondered how long Stewart would hang around. Stewart thought about leaving when Lopes was fired. When the Brewers played a series May 31-June 2 in San Diego, he admitted that it was tough to get back on the charter. When the team scheduled an optional workout on the final day of the all-star break, Stewart joked that it would be tough to come back.

Stewart talked about quitting with Royster, Lopes and agent Tony Attanasio, who represents all three, and they urged Stewart to finish the season. Lopes, whom Stewart called "my closest friend in the world," was particularly emphatic, to a point.

Sound advice

"We've been buddies for so dang long, it just got to a point where he said, ' "Stew," you're going to end up doing what the heck you want to do anyway. Just be sure that's what you want to do,' " Stewart said. "That's all he ever said. Just as when he left here, he said, 'Do your best to try to finish out the year. These kids can learn from you.' Since I can remember, he's always said just be sure this is what you want to do. Be sure you understand things that can happen from this, both positive and negative. I looked at all of those things."

Word of Stewart's impending departure trickled through the clubhouse Saturday and Sunday, but there was some thought that he would take a short leave of absence and return.

"When he left the ballpark (Sunday), I still wasn't sure which way he was going to go," Taylor said. "I talked to him (Sunday night) and he felt fairly certain that was his only alternative."

Asked about his situation on Sunday, Stewart was evasive.

"I was caught off guard you guys (reporters) found out," he said. "I don't know why. I've been in baseball for 29 years. You guys are like Sherlock Holmes. I don't know why I was caught off guard. Without telling a lie, I answered the question as best I could."

Though he didn't clean out his locker after the Brewers beat the Rockies, he was seen handing his pitching charts to Castro and received good-luck handshakes from fellow coaches before leaving.

"Being me, as I am, one day I just woke up and said, 'For as good a situation as this is, having the young pitchers I have to work with, it's time to try something else,' " Stewart said.

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 30, 2002.

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Dave Stewart (baseball player)