Dead Horse, Volume 300
>> Monday
The Brewers reacted to their apparent collapse today by firing Ned Yost. No doubt these guys are happy.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I always kind of thought Yost was a pretty OK manager. He didn't run the team into a ton of stupid outs (although it seemed like this year he has put on more hit and runs, to my eternal frustration) and he always stuck up for his players in the media and seemed to be universally liked by the team.
That said, it's become pretty apparent over the last couple of seasons that he doesn't handle a bullpen all that well and has a nasty tendency to stick with the (in his mind) established heirarchy, especially in the cases of his stubborn refusals to see the writing on the wall with guys like Turnbow and Eric Gagne. Since managing the bullpen/pitching staff is the most important (and impactful) aspect of a manager's job, it makes sense for the Brewers to finally give him the axe.
It is, however, a little strange to see the move made now. I suppose that Doug Melvin thinks that a shake-up in the clubhouse will re-energize the team and get them back on track for the still very winnable Wild Card. I hope so, but I think it's a very real possibility that the opposite happens, and the team kind of continues the slump towards the end of the season. Hopefully I'm wrong, and Dale Sveum can get these guys out of their collective funk (a tough task, considering how many slumping hitters he's got right now, especially 3-5 in the lineup) and get them into the postseason.
One thing's for sure, though. If the Brewers hire a guy like Dusty Baker or one of his ilk, I'm quitting baseball forever.*
*Not really
Posts
3 comments:
The Brewers made a huge mistake by firing Yost, even if they do make the playoffs. It's not his fault the bullpen would have trouble getting Little Leaguers out. It's certainly not his fault that his team has a beyond awful OBP this season and is lucky just to be in the Wild Card hunt (imagine where they would be without CC).
Completely pointless move by Doug Melvin. Just curious as to who Melvin thinks would be a better available manager come next year than Yost?
Well, I'm just not sure what the move accomplishes at this point. Basically, the hitters ain't hitting. I agree that he's had very poor management of the bullpen, for example his use of Gagne has been baffling. But what is going to change in 12 days? Do the Brewers game one extra win out of this move? And is that going to be enough with the Phils being so hot?
I'm with you Paul. It doesn't necessarily make all that much sense to do this now, but I think the management didn't want to watch this ship keep sinkin' without doing anything about it. Unless Dale Sveum can will Prince, Braun and Hart out of horrendous slumps, this isn't likely to accomplish a whole lot.
Post a Comment