Wow. Even Big Stein pulled the trigger on Billy Martin before the 100 game mark back in the day.

Who does this reflect more poorly on? Yost or Melvin?

I can't think of anything even remotely similar to this, from any sport. To fire the manager of a playoff-contending team this close to the end of the season - amazing.

Amazing, and a good idea if you ask me. This team is falling apart late for the second straight season, and it just might light a fire under them.

I think the New Jersey Devils fired a coach about a week or two before the playoffs and then went on to win. Was it Ftorek getting fired and Larry Robinson getting hired?

It was the 1999-2000 season and Robbie Ftorek was cashiered with EIGHT games left.

Whoa. That's bold.

It was definitely Ftorek getting fired and the Devils winning the Cup. I think Robinson was the hire. Lou did it again a couple years ago with Claude Julien I believe, with less spectacular results.

About 300 games too late.

And like I said in the Cubs thread where retro mentioned it, Sveum as manager and Simmons getting reassigned is humorous and probably very irritating to Harvey's.

Even without the Harvey's angle, Sveum as manager is pretty funny.

I can't think of anything even remotely similar to this, from any sport. To fire the manager of a playoff-contending team this close to the end of the season - amazing.

Actually, Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils has been known to do this. He fired Robbie Ftorek with less than 10 games left in the 1999-2000 season and the team went on to win the championship under new coach Larry Robinson. Then he did it again in 2006-'07, firing Claude Julien on the eve of the playoffs (with only three games left) and taking over the team himself.

I think the New Jersey Devils fired a coach about a week or two before the playoffs and then went on to win. Was it Ftorek getting fired and Larry Robinson getting hired?

The Devils have done it multiple times:
1) Ftorek was fired to hire Robinson in 2000
2) Robinson (on his second stint) was fired and replaced by Lamorillo in 2006
3) Julien was fired and replaced by Lamorillo in 2007 with 3 games left

Any coach who signs with the Devils had better be looking over his shoulder at all times.

EDIT: Too damn slow.

Where is Harvey Wallbangers? Hysterically laughing in giddiness in the streets of Milwaukee?

Do we still count hockey as a sport?

(See, I'm totally kidding there. No angry letters from Canadia, please.)

In 1989, Michel Bergeron was fired by the Rangers (Phil Esposito) with 2 games remaining in the season. They lost in 4 straight in the first round of the playoffs

Hysterically laughing in giddiness in the streets of Milwaukee?

Let's just hope that he isn't so giddy he ends up having a heart attack or stroke, though it would me he died with a huge smile on his face.

Where is Harvey Wallbangers? Hysterically laughing in giddiness in the streets of Milwaukee?

I'm more concerned about his head exploding over the Brewers waiting way too long to pull the trigger.

As mentioned in the Lounge, it happened to Bill Frieder at Michigan, too.

As mentioned in the Lounge, it happened to Bill Frieder at Michigan, too.

Unless Yost has already got a gig lined up, it's not quite the same thing. Frieder was canned because he had already agreed to take a job at Arizona State.

About Yost:

Yost is a total enabler and never really gets in his players faces or holds them accountable. Simmons is really, really laid back. The Brewers have no sense of urgency, never really did. That is straight from the two in the dugout.

I have been holding a grudge against the 1982 Brewers. It seems that all the city can talk about are 82 Brewers. Yost was an 82 Brewer. So was Simmons. Even before they hired Yost, fans, the city and even ownership asked P Molitor to be manager, ditto for Robin Yount.

Wouldn't you know it, Dave Sveum was the Brewers 1st round draft pick in the 1982 draft. I can't shake the bastards loose. DROP DEAD!!!

2) Robinson (on his second stint) was fired and replaced by Lamorillo in 2006

This was under very different circumstances than the others. First, the change came in December, not just before the playoffs. Second, it was in 2005. Third, Robinson wasn't fired. He resigned due to stress.

I could be mistaken, but I believe the New Jersey Devils did something similar...

Hockey is kinda different. NHL clubs go through coaches the way C.C. Sabathia goes through meals.

Whoa. That's bold.

If he'd done this 2 weeks earlier, he could've hired Sarah Palin.

This was under very different circumstances than the others. First, the change came in December, not just before the playoffs. Second, it was in 2005. Third, Robinson wasn't fired. He resigned due to stress.

Dammit, you're right - December of 2005. I'd forgotten about the resignation due to stress.

I think the New Jersey Devils fired a coach about a week or two before the playoffs and then went on to win. Was it Ftorek getting fired and Larry Robinson getting hired?

It was the 1999-2000 season and Robbie Ftorek was cashiered with EIGHT games left.

Rangers fired Michel Bergeron in 1989 with two games to go in the regular season, with the team having firmly secured a playoff berth. They went on to get swept in the first round by the Penguins.

Nice move, Espo.

Wow. Huge news.

Where is Harvey Wallbangers? Hysterically laughing in giddiness in the streets of Milwaukee?

I expect he's in the middle of crafting an epic, multi-paragraphed, instant-classic post. In it he will poor his soul onto his keyboard, and he will reveal the sun and the moon to us all. I'm looking forward to it.

So, this seems like a good opportunity to ask something I've always wondered about: Is Yost pronounced like "lost" or like "post"? Or some other way?

There's a poll at the Journal Sentinel's web site, currently running 72% in favor:

linky

Is Yost pronounced like "lost" or like "post"?

The latter.

I'm looking forward to it.

Let's hope you're right: I'm just worried about his ticker.

Nice move, Espo.

He still did a better job there than he did with the Lightning.

As far as rhyming goes, we also would have accepted "toast"

Or the clue "dumb as a _______"

Well, when you bring in a lefty specialist to face Utley and Howard, have him IBB Howard, and then leave him in to face Burrell, Victorino and Feliz... you're pretty much asking for it.

It's a ballsy decision; it'll look like genius if the next 12 games work out, and like complete idiocy if they don't. For this reason, the safe play, that you see 99.9% of the time, is to wait until the end of the year. I admire the guts, though. (I won't discuss the actual merits, since I'm under the impression that neither Yost nor Sveum is the guy you'd particularly want managing your team.)

Wasn't Sveum the worst third-base coach ever? Maybe the Brewers get a couple of extra wins there, as long as they don't replace him with Wendell Kim, of course.

Wow. I step away for a 90 minute class and return to see this along with Ted Lilly holding his own against the Astros.

This is clearly a last ditch effort to avoid missing the playoffs. Melvin knows he's more or less committed his team to getting to the World Series this year and it obviously became clear even to him that Yost had to go.

Norv Turner was fired with a 7-6 record with the 2000 Skins, at the time just 1 game back in the wild card if memory serves. Not quite the same, since Milwaukee is still the favorite to win the WC, and I don't think anyone but HW would concede that Yost is as bad a manager as Norv was (is) as a coach. There was no chance Norv would have rallied that team to a playoff berth.

Milwaukee is still the favorite to win the WC,

Not according to BP's playoff odds chart today...puts the Brewers at less than even money to make the playoffs.

What's the latest a manager was fired during a pennant-winning season? I'm thinking Rogers Hornsby in 1932, but without checking too strenuously. Pat Corrales wasn't as late in 1983, IIRC.

The Brewers often want to replicate their 1982 experience, of course. Seems to require a managerial firing somewhere :)

"The latter."

Thanks much.

BP's playoff odds still show Milwaukee as the team most likely to win the wild card.

What's the latest a manager was fired during a pennant-winning season? I'm thinking Rogers Hornsby in 1932, but without checking too strenuously. Pat Corrales wasn't as late in 1983, IIRC.

Johnny Mac was fired by Boston halfway thru 88 and they ended up in 1st place, but they didnt win the pennant.

I'd guess one (or more) yankees managers was fired during one of their 70's pennant years.

Who knows what reality would have or will give us, but from what I read online last night the perception largely was that the season was over. Now if the Brewers rebound this move will be credited, and if they fail the narrative will be "it was too late to save". Rational or not, I think that's how it will play out, and so I'm happy they have chosen to act sooner rather than later.

Also, Haudricourt suspects (and I don't disagree) that this move came from higher than Melvin.

In 1981, the Expos fired Dick Williams in early September and replaced him with Jim Fanning. Fanning led the team to the post-strike 2nd half title, beat the Phillies in the NLDS, and then Blue Monday...

What's the latest a manager was fired during a pennant-winning season? I'm thinking Rogers Hornsby in 1932, but without checking too strenuously. Pat Corrales wasn't as late in 1983, IIRC.

Does Jimy Williams count? He was fired by Toronto in '89, and they won the AL East.

EDIT: And a wild card for the Astros in 2004, after firing Jimy mid-season.

Dick Williams was fired by the Expos with 27 games left in the 1981 season, replaced by Jim Fanning. They ended up going to the playoffs, but only because of the split-season nonsense.

Does Jimy Williams count? He was fired by Toronto in '89, and they won the AL East.

He was replaced by Cito Gaston only 36 games into the season.

I'd guess one (or more) yankees managers was fired during one of their 70's pennant years

Bob Lemon won two pennants without ever managing the Yankees for a full season. One of them was 1981, when he replaced Gene Michael with 25 games left, à la Williams and Fanning that year. The Yankees had a losing second-split record but had clinched the playoffs in the first split season, and then won the pennant.

He was replaced by Cito Gaston only 36 games into the season.

Missed the "Latest" qualifier. Never mind.

what

Hornsby was fired 99 games into a 154-game season, which is the latest (excluding the split-season nonsense of 1981) that a pennant-winning team fired its manager.

-- MWE

I can't think of anything even remotely similar to this, from any sport. To fire the manager of a playoff-contending team this close to the end of the season - amazing.

Joe McCarthy was fired with 4 games to go in the Cubs 1930 season and the Cubs 2.5 games out.

The 2003 World Champion Marlins fired Jeff Torborg 38 games into the season.

Obviously not "late into the season" by any stretch, but they still went on to win the World Series.

I also missed the "latest" qualifier, and attempted to cover for it with that last sentence.

Congrats, Harveys. You earned it!

Sveum wasn't quite old enough to be an '82 Brewer, so they're taking a real risk by making him the new manager. Who moves up to be the third base coach? Roy Howell?

- So, losing to the Phillies has cost two managers their jobs this season (including the protracted end of Willie Randolph's career). And yet I think the Phillies would rather win a playoff game.

Managerial firings post-ASG for playoff teams in the divisional era:

1978 Yankees - Billy Martin fired on July 23, replaced by Dick Howser (interim) and Bob Lemon
1981 Royals - Jim Frey fired August 29, replaced by Dick Howser
1981 Expos - Dick Williams fired September 7, replaced by Jim Fanning
1983 Phillies - Pat Corrales fired July 16, replaced by Paul Owens
1988 Red Sox - John McNamara fired on July 10, replaced by Joe Morgan
2004 Astros - Jimy Williams fired on July 11, replaced by Phil Garner

Joe McCarthy was fired with 4 games to go in the Cubs 1930 season and the Cubs 2.5 games out.

I'm sure this is the precedent Ned Yost is hoping to follow...

1988 Red Sox - John McNamara fired on July 10, replaced by Joe Morgan

He never said that.

Not to be a Gloomy Gallardo, but in addition to looking at teams that actually made the playoffs, you'd also want to look at teams that were still in the race very late, but fell short...

And like I said in the Cubs thread where retro mentioned it, Sveum as manager and Simmons getting reassigned is humorous and probably very irritating to Harvey's.

Every once in a while, a decision is less about what is being decided than the fact a decision has been made at all. My hunch is that the Brewers are going to right themselves and get into the playoffs with a nice little winning spurt, regardless of how good/bad Sveum might be.

Harvey's might be pleased no matter what that Yost was fired, but I seem to remember him saying that Dale Sveum is among the dumbest people alive, so don't expect it to be all lollipops and rainbows with HW.

Wow. I step away for a 90 minute class and return to see this along with Ted Lilly holding his own against the Astros.

Was the class travelling at the speed of light? If so, that baby you saw before going to class is now Harveys Wallbanger.

Every once in a while, a decision is less about what is being decided than the fact a decision has been made at all.

Indubitably. But it seemed that Simmons was the preordained savior whenever Yost got canned, and now he seems to have been lumped in with Yost. Or maybe his reassignment is a signal that he will be manager in 2009. Maybe the team and/or Simmons didn't want it to appear he sabotaged Yost somehow. That's probably overthinking way too much on my part in searching for the conspiracy.

What's the latest a manager was fired during a pennant-winning season? I'm thinking Rogers Hornsby in 1932, but without checking too strenuously. Pat Corrales wasn't as late in 1983, IIRC.

Charlie Grimm resigned under pressure of being fired in 1938.

Boy, the Cubs sure had a way with mid-season managerial departures in the 1930s, didn't they?

The Brewers often want to replicate their 1982 experience, of course. Seems to require a managerial firing somewhere :)

It's less a Brewer thing than a Milwaukee thing. In 1956, the Braves fired Charlie Grimm a third the way in and replaced him with Fred Haney. They went 68-40 under their new (and incompetent) manager, nearly snagging a pennant in the process.

Given what I've noted about the Cubs, maybe it's more a Lake Michigan thing than a Milwaukee thing, though.

All:

As a follower of the team I approve of the decision. As a fellow human being, I take no pleasure in someone losing their job.

I will point out the most disturbing elements of the past few days were NOT the losing streak. It was Corey Hart complaining about the negative crowds in Milwaukee and Prince Fielder presenting a completely blase attitude toward the team's current situation in an interview over the weekend. I know if I had a controlling interest in a business where the employees were more focussed on things OTHER than results I would be MOST concerned.

Yost has two positives. One, he created a positive atmosphere for a young player to develop. Two, he demonstrated a willingness to learn.

Alas, he had the learning curve of a squash which means Ned would be prepared to be a major league manager in 2103 and as mentioned above his approach quickly transitions from "nuturing" to "accomodating" as a player matures.

Today's move disappoints me in that it was obvious TWO YEARS AGO. And what will further disappoint me is the silly *ss fools who will walk into this thread and use the Brewers statistical numbers as justification for pointing the fingers at the players instead of the manager. For the love of all that is good and holy to the dumb motherf*cker stupid enough to go that route WHY DO YOU THINK THE PLAYERS CRASHED AND BURNED AS SOON AS THE CALENDAR CHANGED? Did you SEE the Mets game on September 1st? Were your f*cking eyes OPEN? Your brain functioning? Trust me, if you haven't gone all Sonny Van Bulow on the world you recognized that anyone who brings in a fat f*ck with a 7 ERA in a close game is a seriously CHALLENGED individual. And that is what Ned DOES. Has for YEARS. YEARS PEOPLE. Not for a few days and learned better. Not for a few months and changed his tactics. YEARS. He repeatedly put folks into position TO FAIL. And would do it over and over and over again.

It's like he had some sick fetish about seing grown men being embarrassed in public. And Doug Melvin just stood around his godd*mned thumb up his *ss while Ned got to play S&M;with the Brewers bullpen.

The players knew in THAT MOMENT that all of their effort would be WASTED. That in a close situation they were still STUCK with Yost making decisions. It was a seminal moment in club's history. The group realization of "D*mn, we are so F*CKED".

Killed them. Right then and there it killed them to a man. That all of that effort getting back into the race, coming back from the Cubs debacle, going 20-7 in August it was all for naught because this "guy" couldn't get past his same failed tactics.

Oh wait, it's MELVIN'S FAULT. That's the next excuse. Melvin failed Yost. Yost got "stuck" with these guys.

You mean the Brian Shouse guy left in to face Pat Burrell with runners on base? Shouse who has been lights out against lefties but is susceptible to righties? THAT Brian Shouse?

Or the Salomon Torres guy plucked from nowhere who provided some sanity to the Brewers pen?

Manager make DO. Have for decades. You find a way. You don't just keep going down the same failed path because you decided in f*cking MARCH that some sloppy *ss fat f*ck was "your guy" that come late in the year once he has guzzled enough George Webb burgers to make Homer Simpson puke and his fastball has lost 20 percent of its velocity that the PLAN supercedes WINNING THE GODD*MN GAMES!!!!!

Ned Yost is a decent person. Tried hard. But given a talented team with elements there to win he has now TWICE "spit the bit". Once, shame on him. Twice, shame on US.

*applause*

All I had hoped for and more.

But what about Sveum, Harvey?

Newsblog: mlb.com: Yost relieved of managerial post
(66 - 4:40pm, Sep 15)
Last: Harveys Wallbangers

Perhaps the most anticipated moment in BTF history.

Edit: And it didn't disappoint.

Sonny Van Bulow

I puzzled over this one, sure that the hubby killed the wife. Then I realized it was "Sunny".

Once, shame on him. Twice, shame on US

I read that first as "shame on USA". I thought HW had truly lost it.

Harv, as a fellow traveller in the depths of despair, i.e, Phila. sports fan, you have my sympathy. You don't get any of the last 4 games back, but you have my sympathy.

HW, what are your thoughts on Sveum? Do you think Milwaukee views him as a long term solution?

Standing ovation for HW!

If he'd done this 2 weeks earlier, he could've hired Sarah Palin.

She's be similarly qualified for this job.

WHY DO YOU THINK THE PLAYERS CRASHED AND BURNED AS SOON AS THE CALENDAR CHANGED? Did you SEE the Mets game on September 1st? Were your f*cking eyes OPEN? Your brain functioning? Trust me, if you haven't gone all Sonny Van Bulow on the world you recognized that anyone who brings in a fat f*ck with a 7 ERA in a close game is a seriously CHALLENGED individual.

I was watching that game, my first thought was that bringing in Gagne in the 8th was what Willie Randolph would have done the same thing had he been the Brewers manager... and to top it off after Gagne spit the bit Yost brought in Mota...

Gagne stinks on ice, yes, but as a Dodger fan it hurts to see him struggle.

All:

Regarding Dale this is the classic "He's not THAT guy" approach. Simmons must have really meant it that he didn't want the managers role even though Ted has done legitimately good work between helping Kendall's throwing mechanics and getting the starters to go deeper in games.

If Harvey Kuenn can manage a winning team anyone can do it over a short term. But the shelf life for being "Not THAT guy" is obviously quite short. Eventually the players figure out the new guy has his own set of issues.

Like Dale. Nice guy.

But he isn't a long-term solution. It would be a disaster.

Glad to see Harveys didn't succumb from the news.

Now, the question is, will this make a difference? I sure hope so, because I have tickets for tomorrow night's game at Wrigley. I don't know if it will make Prince Fielder give a darn (he's already counting that Yankees money) or Corey Hart be able to lay off of the first pitch, but it can't hurt. Nedley's utter misuse of pitchers has to have been contributing to the gloom and doom atmosphere.

If Harvey's post in this thread doesn't win a Primey, they should just retire the entire concept.

I have never in my life waited with such bated breath for a post on a message board. I doubt I ever will again, and to say I was not disappointed would be an understatement of the highest order.

The players knew in THAT MOMENT that all of their effort would be WASTED. That in a close situation they were still STUCK with Yost making decisions. It was a seminal moment in club's history. The group realization of "D*mn, we are so F*CKED".

That was pretty much Bill James assessment of one particular manager back in the 80s- well regarded, well liked by his players, but James said he would always eventually lose the clubhouse because it's disheartening for players to realize- that no matter what happens in a game- it will always come as a surprise to their manager.

Jim Frey, right?

By the way, I reiterate again that I do not take pleasure in anyone losing their job and would prefer folks not make that suggestion.

It wasn't Ned who decided that he was the guy for the job. And it wasn't Ned who decided after several years of clearly challenged performance that he should be retained.

I hold Doug Melvin just as accountable for this mess. He couldn't or wouldn't recognize the obvious and now the organization will likely pay a heavy price.

As a Phils fan in a tight race with the Mets, I was also appalled to see that Eric Gagne was given the privelege of serving up meatballs to the Mets lineup in a game the Brewers should have won. In hindsight, I *guess* it was a good thing, as the Phils would now be 1 game back in the WC and tied in the division, but 1 back in the loss column to the Mets.

The Phils announcers were shocked that Yost didn't bring in Gagne to face Burrell yesterday. He was up and warming.....maybe Yost decided that it was time to buck the averages and go with his gut. That's what happens when you go out on a limb and it doesn't work.

She's be similarly qualified for this job.

My point exactly.

Harris:

I hope you are not suggesting that I believe Yost should be fired based on one decision?

Because I have 103,415 others of the same ilk if needed. I have followed this team with great intensity and despite continued slippage due to age can recite with tremendous clarity the numerous ways in which Yost put players in position to fail.

A Brewers-Red Sox World Series would mean "The Return of the Sveum"! The mind reels! Would Fox put together a highlight reel of all of Sveum's ill-advised "sends"? I'm getting giddy just thinking about it.

As someone reminded me on the Pirates' list, Bill Virdon was fired and replaced by Danny Murtaugh on September 5, 1973, with the Pirates in second place, three games out. Yeah, they were 67-69. They went .500 under Murtaugh and wound up third, as the Mets caught both them and the Cardinals from behind.

-- MWE

Derrick Turnbow's career curve comes to mind as a good example.

If Harvey's post in this thread doesn't win a Primey, they should just retire the entire concept.

I have never in my life waited with such bated breath for a post on a message board. I doubt I ever will again, and to say I was not disappointed would be an understatement of the highest order.

seconded, I kept coming back to this thread just waiting for HW's response and agree with it all.

Polish:

The Turnbow situation was repugnant. Derrick should have been removed from his role months earlier before the damage to his pysche was made permanent. Setting aside his actual performance Derrick's very being has been affected by his repeated public failures in his profession.

And I think Phillies fans everywhere are very thankful this move was made today instead of last Wednesday.

“Yost is toast” has to be the headline of the year.

If Harvey's post in this thread doesn't win a Primey, they should just retire the entire concept.

I have never in my life waited with such bated breath for a post on a message board. I doubt I ever will again, and to say I was not disappointed would be an understatement of the highest order.

seconded, I kept coming back to this thread just waiting for HW's response and agree with it all.

Thirded! Well worth the wait, even if only for the Sunny Von Bulow reference. BRAVO.

As far as Yost and the bullpen: is there a pen with a worse K rate than Milwaukee's? Is that a function of personnel or managerial/coaching approach? (Either way, there is little justification for sending the same gascans out there over and over.)

As someone that watched Dale Sveum manage for a year in AA ball here in Altoona, you can trust me on this one: If the Brewers retain him for 2009, they are boned.

I don't believe that one situation in and of itself leads to a firing (at least not for a baseball manager...in the real world, that could likely be the case).

But...
We so often hear about people complaining about the non-risk takers who just do things by the book and then when it fails they can fall back on "playing the percentages" but the converse is much worse. If a manager is going to do something 'stupid' and it fails he will be completely destroyed for his move. Had Burrell lined out to left, nobody would remember it. Had Gagne managed to pitch effectively in the Sept 1 game, nobody (except shocked Mets fans) would have remembered it.

All I'm trying to say here is .... you can't have it both ways. Yost ran into some bad luck to go with his bad managing and that's what likely cost him his job. Better to be lucky than good. If you've got neither, you're toast.

All I'm trying to say here is .... you can't have it both ways. Yost ran into some bad luck to go with his bad managing and that's what likely cost him his job. Better to be lucky than good. If you've got neither, you're toast.

but the bad luck was predictable based upon months of evidence. That has been one of Harveys points all along, is that Yost didn't recognize situations that were doomed to failure until way too many times he failed. I personally have no problem with Yost pitching whoever he wants in all manner of situations before July because that is one way to help you determine who is useable in future similar situations and who isn't, but in the heart of a playoff race you have to be able to use the evidence that you have gathered in the previous four months, years etc and incorporate it into the best highest percentage strategy. It's September you have expanded rosters, you hopefully have added three or more relievers to your roster and you don't have to think as hard about who is going to be available tomorrow, and you go for the win with the best players you have now.

Phillies over Brewers was the most easily predictable four-game sweep in the history of organized baseball, right?

How about those Packers. . .

there is little justification for sending the same gascans out there over and over.

Yeah, that's the problem. You can hide one Gagne, but not four. And yes, this is the bullpen Doug Melvin put together, with Gagne being one of the highest-paid players on the team. Meanwhile, the kinds of players you normally use to cobble together a bullpen - Sarfate, Eveland, et al. - were traded away by Melvin.

Anyway, people are missing much of the point when they bring up the tactical blunders. It was about the personality. I used to defend - not Yost exactly - but rather the idea that he was not the only element standing between this team and winning. In fact, he was down the list. Well, they finally got to his place on the list.

However, the more I'd seen of Yost lately the less I liked him. It's not really about being a nice guy or a hard guy; it was more about being a reasonable and level-headed person, and he was not that. He hasn't really earned the right to be petulant with the press like he's Tony LaRussa, yet there he is lecturing them as if they're fourth-graders when they ask him a perfectly reasonable question, such as, why the #### is Jason Kendall catching 150 games this year? His performance after the Sabathia scoring call was embarrassing.

So I was wrong about Yost, but I'd like to think it was for the right reasons. I'll tell you who his public persona reminds me of - and this is no joke, except in the sense that we can all be relieved he's only a baseball manager - and that's George W. Bush. He's so goddamned sure of himself, and yet there's a wake of destruction behind him for all to see. So I can only assume that this impetuous faith-based approach to managing carried over to the clubhouse, and they failed to respond after too many years of it. Now Dale Sveum gets to "make do" with the same bullpen.

Phillies over Brewers was the most easily predictable four-game sweep in the history of organized baseball, right?

Right after the Phillies seemed demoralized and looking toward next year, after they lost a series to the Nats and lost a series to the Mets that they could have gotten into first place by sweeping? I don't think so.

I can't believe the Brewers might lose out on the playoffs for 100% bullpen-related reasons. Gagne, Shouse, Mota, and the rest must be about as popular in that clubhouse as that long snapper who cost the Giants a playoff game. Relievers have a relatively small job to do, and they can't do it?!?!? (this perception is actually unfair)

Re 99: There aren't many in that clubhouse that get a free pass for what has happened in September. Sabathia is pretty much the list.