Credit Brewers owner for taking action
Posted: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:48 AM
After 24 hours to absorb the news, I haven’t changed my view of l’affaire Brewers. It was the owner’s move to fire manager Ned Yost.
General manager Doug Melvin’s comments, particularly those where he took the blame for the unstable bullpen and admitting he wasn't sure this was the answer, all but pointed the finger at owner Mark Attanasio.
And this is not to blame Attanasio, who has been good for the team and the city. He has spent money, both on the major league roster and in the system, which has brought the first winning seasons in 15 years to Milwaukee.
So don’t blame an owner for wanting to win before a large window slams shut.
This firing is about CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets heading to free agency; Attanasio saw the huge Barry Zito and Johan Santana contracts and knew his team couldn't afford anything similar.
This is about Prince Fielder and JJ Hardy heading to arbitration, and Attanasio knows he’s on the hook for $25 million to Jeff Suppan for the next two years and wondering how long he can pay Fielder.
This has to be about Attanasio knowing his team must not have a second empty fall; the credibility of his operation is tied to this team breaking a 26-year postseason drought.
Yost was a reserved man working for an open organization. As the Brewers increased their contact with fans, Yost remained calm and private. He wasn’t the perfect fit for the direction taken by the new Brewers.
In the end, Yost was another Willie Randolph, a good manager paying the price for an inexplicable late-season fall. Except Attanasio wasn’t going to sit back and let the Brewers crash like last year’s Mets without some involvement.
If the Brewers fell short of the postseason, it’s hard to believe Yost could have been retained. So two weeks may be all he lost and it’s hard to argue, given all the circumstances surrounding the Brewers, with the owner’s urgency to win.
Now we see if Dale Sveum can get the Brewers to hit.
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. FIELDER’S BAT WAS ALIVE IN CHICAGO … but Tuesday’s game ended with a magnificent duel between the slugger and Kerry Wood. With the lead run on base, Fielder fought off a handful of high fastballs and worked a full count. Then Wood dropped a paralyzing slider over the heard of the plate, freezing Fielder and dealing the Brewers another agonizing loss.
2. NO HITTING PROBLEMS FOR THE PHILLIES. Down 7-4 after six innings in Atlanta, the Phils rallied for another win to take over first place with 11 games to play. Ryan Howard homered in the eighth off lefty Mike Gonzalez to win the game. Howard has eight homers this September, 40 career homers in the money month. And Brad Lidge maintained his perfect saves record for 2008 despite walking the bases loaded in the ninth.
3. MOST MANAGERS HATE MEETINGS. Jerry Manuel had a 15-minute closed-door session before Tuesday’s game in Washington. Then Odalis Perez, a pitcher the Mets had battered last week in New York, shut them out over 7 1/3 innings. Is it Groundhog Month for the Mets?
4. THE CLOSER HUMBLED TUESDAY … was Joe Nathan. He has been quietly spectacular, with a WHIP less than 1. But after the Twins rallied from an 8-1 hole in Cleveland, they ended up in extra innings. (Grady Sizemore tied the game with an eighth-inning shot off Eddie Guardado.) Then the Twins offense stalled and Nathan coughed up his fifth homer of the season, a three-run walkoff by Victor Martinez in the 11th. Gavin Floyd’s 16th win in New York pushes the White Sox 2 ½ up on the Twins.
5. HOW TO USE A CLOSER. Francisco Rodriguez holds the single-season save record with 58 saves, achieved by pitching only 64 1/3 innings. He has not had one save of more than three outs and has not been used in more than three consecutive games. Another reason why Mike Sciocsia is the game’s most underrated manager.
