NED YOST IS TOAST! I can see the headlines now. Soon they'll be splattered across every sports section in newspapers and the internet. Some of them (internet) are already displaying the story. In what has become the worst collapse in franchise history (from a team that is known for 2nd half collapses) the wheels have officially fallen off and the end of the Brewers season has begun. Some people think that this will spark a fire under the players' asses (which is what a shake-up like this is supposed to do) but I think that even though Yost deserved to be fired, now was not the time to do it. After the Brewers have lost 11 of 4 games this month, this firing is a panic move because they didn't know what else to do. Sure, it's been a move that has been a long time coming, but most fans will tell you that it should have been made last year. Hell, some people were even calling for Yost's head back in 2006 when they barely finished at .500 (81 - 81 on the final series of the year at Pittsburgh). All arguments (at least the ones that have sufficient data to back them up) have their warrant here, as Yost's decisions and managerial moves were scrutinized more that anything that I've ever seen. Fans screamed bloody murder when he kept on trotting out Gagne and Turnbow, and blasted him for his lineup decisions and constant shuffling of the lineup. Talk radio and newspapers had a field day with the tinkering that Yost did, and honestly I'm pretty sure that I have taken a few jabs at him on this blog here. I don't think that Yost's firing will have any impact on this year's team (and I'll happily eat my words if the players respond and go on a huge winning streak to close out the season and make the playoffs) and knew that it was going to happen during the offseason. Melvin said earlier this year that Yost's 2009 option was picked up on his contract, but that was just to quell the naysayers who were saying that Yost would be fired because it was the last year of his contract. Apparently 2009 doesn't mean shit to Attanasio and Melvin. Not me either. I haven't even begun thinking about the offseason because we are still mathematically eligible for the postseason. When (and if)we are not, then we can start once again looking towards next year like we always do. Time will only tell if firing Yost with 12 games remaining in the 2008 season was the right move to make.space
I'd like to take a second to say some good things about Yost, because I'm almost certain that people will only be saying negative things over the coming weeks.
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1 - He defends his players, sometimes to a fault, which takes the pressure off of the younger players. By refusing to call someone out or chew them right to their face, he instilled some confidence in the players. No one (aside from Gary Sheffield in his late Brewers days) wants to go out and fail at their job. So when Weeks boots a ground ball or when Manny Parra uncorks a wild pitch, Ned didn't yell, he just offered constructive criticism. But sometimes people respond better when you hold them accountable for their actions. Ned never seemed to do that. But he did allow players to work through their struggles. Sometimes the only way to learn is by making mistakes. And the only way to get better is to practice, have continuity and be repetitive. A player cannot break out of a slump by riding the bench. Yost would sometimes stick with players (I hate to say it, but Bill Hall) too long to the point where they were detrimental to the team. He was long known as a players manager, and especially right now, players like Ryan Braun are speaking out defending Yost and saying that he never lost faith in the players, so they didn't lose faith in him. But sticking to his guns and playing favorites regardless of the matchups cost him his job.
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2 - He did end the 13 year losing streak by guiding them to a 81-81 record in 2005, then took them to their 1st winning season since 1992 by finishing 83-79 in 2007 (despite a 2nd half collapse that saw us lose the NL Central division by 2 games). I've been working at Miller Park since the 2002 season, so trust me when I say that I've seen some bad teams. Now it could just be the players assembled by Doug Melvin and Jack Zduriencik (Brewers have drafted arguably quite well in the past few years), but it takes a manager to motivate the individual players and make them work as a team.
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3 - He never tried to make his team something that it was not. Let's face it, this is a power team that hits homeruns and is prone to high strikeouts. He took what he was dealt by Melvin and Zduriencik and ran with it. There's no sense trying to play small ball if you don't have that type of team. Truth be told, he could have tried to change it or use players like Counsell and Durham more often, but he really didn't have much of a choice.
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4 - He was the lightning rod of criticism from the fans, and for the most part he took it. How much would it suck if people were always talking shit about you. How would you respond? The team was better, the expectations were sky high, and maybe we thought that our team was better than it actually was. Maybe now we are seeing the Brewers for what they really are - a mediocre team. Mediocre teams do not make the playoffs, good teams do. In the end, the poor play by the Brewers players cost him his job because people always need somewhere to point the finger when things are going bad, and as manager, all of the fingers were pointing at him. It's not really fair, but in professional sports the coach almost always gets fired before the players are held accountable for their actions.
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5 - Gosh, it's really hard to come up with 5 good things about Ned Yost, which I guess is a reason why people couldn't stand the guy. I guess he deserves some credit for being a former Brewers player, even though he was just a backup. My big thing about Yost was his lack of experience. Did you know that the Milwaukee Brewers are the only Major League franchise that has never hired a manager with post-season experience? Kind of surprising, unless you are a Brewers fan. Everyone around the country is getting used to the fact that it has been 26 years (since 1982) since the Brewers were in the playoffs because it is mentioned in every recent article about them. That really sucks.
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To remedy this situation (which is one of the worst in Brewers history) the Brewers must make the playoffs this year (growing more and more unlikely with every passing day) or go out and hire a proven manager in the offseason, then make the playoffs in that manager's 1st season. If they make the playoffs either way, then maybe it was Ned Yost's fault that we sucked so much even though on paper we should be a very good team. Time will only tell on this one, which is one of the hardest things about it, because we have been waiting so God Damn long for a winning and competitive team, and we are sick and tired of the words "next year." We've spent far too much money and effort investing in this product, and we expect and demand results. So R.I.P. as the manager of the Brewers Ned Yost, but I highly doubt that you will be missed. That is unless someone else comes in here and really screws it up, which will go to show that you were right all along. Best of luck in your future though. But whatever you end of doing, please don't join the Cubs managerial staff then really stick it to us year in and year out. There's payback, and then there is inhumane cruelty. Don't be a dick Ned.
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- pookon -
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email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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