Slow Start Costs Lopes His Job

The Milwaukee Brewers, off to the worst start in franchise history, fired Manager Davey Lopes on Thursday and replaced him with bench coach Jerry Royster on an interim basis.

General Manager Dean Taylor said the Brewers should be a .500 team even though they haven’t had a winning season in a decade and own the 21st-highest payroll in baseball, about $50 million.

“We are committed to winning, regardless of the economic circumstance out there,” Taylor said.

Lopes, in the last season of a three-year contract, had a 144-195 record. The Brewers lost 12 of their first 15 games this season and crowds were beginning to dwindle at $400-million Miller Park, site of this summer’s All-Star game.

But Taylor said what really sealed Lopes’ fate was the club’s 33-72 mark since last June 24.