MILWAUKEE – In one of the strangest managerial moves in MLB history, the Milwaukee Brewers fired their skipper, Ned Yost this past week.
The fact that a MLB manager was sent packing late in the year is not unusual. Coaches and managers many times get pink slips at the tail end of a season, or even in the middle of the night like in N.Y; but the timing of the move is utterly asinine.
The Brewers are TIED for the wild card lead with 12 games to go.
Yost’s Brewers were mired in their worst slump of the season, and most recently were swept by the Phillies. The Brew Crew has lost 11 of their last 14 games, and has blown a 5 ½ game wild card lead since the beginning of September but are still firmly in the middle of the playoff hunt.
Although I skipped my calculus classes as often as possible throughout my college drinking career, the math to this Brewer’s equation seems simple and calculates to this:
C.C. minus N.Y. = 0 playoffs.
Apparently, the Brewer brain trust feels third base coach, Dale Sveum, who has no major league managing experience, is the answer to their offensive woes. If Coach Sveum takes the next two weeks getting settled into his newly appointed position, like many MLB managers do, the season will be over.
When asked about the untimely move, Brew Crew GM Doug Melvin said, “I’m not sure if I have all the answers, and I’m not sure this is the right one, either.”
What makes this move even more baffling is this is the same front office, who in July, pulled off one of the greatest deadline trades of all time when they dealt coveted prospect, Matt LaPorta to the Indians for stud pitcher CC Sabathia.
In less than a half season worth of work, Sabathia has pitched well enough to be mentioned as a long-shot MVP candidate. Unfortunately, this masterful move may have been negated by today’s move that could trigger a new “Bonehead-of-the-Week” column.
It’s been 26 years since Milwaukee has sniffed the playoffs, and with Sabathia almost certainly lost to free agency upon season’s end, it may be a much longer wait.
After this Brewer’s “shake-up”, the best news today in Cheeseland is . . . the Favre-less Packers are 2-0.
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