I Stand With Stan

Today the Milwaukee Brewers decided to make a move they hope will right the ship for their bullpen, firing the bullpen coach Stan Kyles. Much of the Brewer world is upset with this move, including myself. Kyles was a great person for the community, and although partially responsible for coaching his players has no direct influence on their performances.

Someone in the bullpen needed to suffer. After giving up 9 runs in a single game, everyone in baseball should have seen a move coming, but to fire the man who answers the phone and gets players ready seems like the wrong route. It is true, Kyles does have a role in working with bullpen pitchers. You can consider him the assistant pitching coach. But to fire someone in that bullpen who is not directly responsible for giving up run after run makes no sense. Kyles has not thrown a single pitch, he has not blown a single lead, he has not put the Brewers into insurmountable deficits, yet while he was surrounded by players who fit those criteria, he is the one without a job.

Congratulations to Kyles for taking the high road out of town. In his last moments with the media he basically said I understand why they did it. He didn’t whine about being the scapegoat. He didn’t complain like I am doing for him. Really if Stan doesn’t feel the need to fight this, the rest of the Brewers fandom should shut their mouths because when you get down to it, it’s only his battle to fight. I refuse to do that. As a fan it is offensive that they would take away the job of a coach, who has a family to support and does so much for this community, when you can get rid of one of the people directly responsible for the chaos. The pitchers get the message just as well if you get rid of one of them. Showing them that they can lose their job no matter how much credibility they have built up before this year.

I hope this move works. I hope every pitcher sitting in that bullpen, with the exception of Jim Henderson, sits out there and realizes that their poor performance is directly responsible for a man losing his job who didn’t deserve it. I hope they know that every home run they have allowed cost this man a profession he loves dearly. I hope they throw until their arms fall off and make this sacrifice at least worth something. I just hope if they do succeed no one takes it as a sign that this is the right move.

Congratulations to the Brewers front office for playing the villain. You had so many other options and chose the wrong one. I wouldn’t cut any of the coaches, but I would cut and send down almost all of the bullpen. If you’re going to punish someone, punish someone who is directly responsible.

-Brad

Yost, Is Officially Toast

Today a little after 2pm, the Milwaukee Brewers announced the firing of Manager Ned Yost. After a 3-11 start to September and just getting swept in 4 games by the Phillies who are now tied with the Brewers for the Wild Card, GM Doug Melvin and mainly Owner Mark Attanasio have seen enough. Yost has been fired and 3B coach Dale Sveum has been named interim Manager for the final 12 games of the season. Also Ted Simmons was reassigned to an "advisory" role from being the bench coach and Sveum names his own bench coach.....Brewers Hall of Famer and Sveum's best friend Robin Yount. With Sveum becoming Manager minor league instructor Garth Iorg who was up with the big club since September 1st will become the 3B coach.

I have to say I was shocked when I heard the news. I was sitting in my cubicle at work listening to 620 WTMJ as I do just about everyday. I was sending an email to a customer when I heard: "Breaking news, the Brewers have just fired Manager Ned Yost." I couldn't believe what I heard, I thought is it a joke? With 12 games left and in a tie for the Wild Card they are firing Yost? I mean I expected him to be fired if we missed the playoffs after another collapse. But with 12 games left?

Well I LOVE the move. It seems Yost had lost the players since September started and with us basically in a 12 game playoff to get to October baseball for the first time in 26 years a move of desperation was made and I am fine with it. All signs point to the players have a huge amount of respect for Dale Sveum and with him and Robin Yount calling the shots for the final 12 games to get us into the playoffs, well I like our chances. Let's do this! It starts tomorrow in Chicago against the Cubs with CC Sabathia on the mound.

Even SI.com Jumps In On The Yost Bashing, Kind Of EDIT: Fox Sports Now Also Joins In

Well they are not bashing Yost, but John Donovan did write an article on SI.com that was posted today about how we (the fans, not all but some fans) love to hate Yost and live to bash him. It's a good read and very true. He does bring up a good point though that it is not just Yost who we have been upset with but others such as Weeks, Gagne, Hall, and Melvin. You can read the article here.

You can view a similar article from Dayn Perry at Foxsports.com here.

When the national media is also picking up on many of us in Brewers Nation's distaste for the Manager and also question if he should be canned you know Yost is really on the hot seat. I guess it only matters though if Mark Attanasio and Doug Melvin feel that way.

How About A Lineup Change?

Well still no word yet of Yost getting fired today, but the day is not over so we can only hope. But I was thinking about how we could shuffle the lineup a bit to try something new and maybe get some of these guys hitting that are not hitting. Here is what I came up with:

1. Jason Kendall- C
2. JJ Hardy- SS
3. Ryan Braun- LF
4. Prince Fielder- 1B
5. Corey Hart- RF
6. Mike Cameron- CF
7. Bill Hall- 3B
8. Rickie Weeks- 2B
9. Pitcher

Let me explain, Weeks and Cameron need to be removed from the 1st and 2nd spots in the lineup. Neither has a very good OBP and they both K a lot. I put Kendall 1st because he has a good OBP, has batted leadoff before and he actually has pretty good speed for a catcher. I put JJ 2nd because he has started to hit a little better lately and has had his best success in his career while batting in the 2 hole. So with Kendall at 1 you move the pitcher back to the 9 spot and you place Cameron 6th since he does have some pop and can drive guys in and put Weeks 8th although you could put him 7th and Hall 8th either or. I say they give this a shot, with Kendall and Hardy 1-2 I think Braun and Fielder will have an opportunity to bat more with guys on for RBI opportunities. Because lets face it with Weeks and Cameron at the top you have two guys batting in front of Braun and Fielder that are not hitting over .200.

Ned Yost Needs To Be FIRED!

I'm gonna make this quick. The Brewers lost again today in Boston 11-7. They got swept in the series and have now lost 5 games in a row and 9 games in a row on the road (swept by Houston, Florida and now Boston). It has never been more clear that this team as talented as they are will not win with Ned Yost as Manager. They are now 20-24 and in sole possession of last place in the NL Central and 7 games back of 1st place Chicago. It is time for Mark Attanasio and Doug Melvin to pull the plug on Ned Yost. I know it isn't all is fault he can't go out there and throw the pitches and swing the bats, but he needs to be a motivator and put his players in a position to succeed and he has not done that. You can't fire all the players so someone becomes the scape goat and it has to be Yost. In 6 years this team is still making bad errors and stupid mental mistakes left and right. They need someone who can change that. My hope is that Attanasio and Melvin are having this discussion and soon promote AAA Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas to interim Manager and see what he can do with a team full of players he has already managed in AAA to championships. I think this could happen as soon as tomorrow or as late as after this road trip finishes up in Washington.